Lineup

FEATURES

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

30 The Big Brutal
Spend a week with Syracuse and you'll see why the Big East is the best—and toughest—conference in the land
By Jack McCallum
• Why the ACC isn't far behind

NASCAR

40 Bang-up Revival
In a wreck-marred Daytona 500, NASCAR's ultimate survivor showed he's back and gunning for the Cup
By Lars Anderson

HOCKEY

44 Stimulus Needed
It's on Sid the Kid to rescue the Penguins
By Michael Farber

SNOWBOARDING

48 Good 'n' Ugly
Shaun White put on a show in Vancouver
By Austin Murphy

SOCCER

54 Proving Ground
Tough tests await the U.S. in '09
By Jonah Freedman

The Fabulous New Life of COLE HAMELS

Suddenly everyone wants a piece of the World Series hero. How does he cope? With help from a savvy celebrity: his wife
BY BEN REITER Page 56

Departments

6 Leading Off

14 Letters

18 Players
• Return of Becks: a good thing?
• Brett Favre keeps his cred
• The passing of a p.r. legend

26 Faces in the Crowd

28 Just My Type by Dan Patrick
• Roy Williams on Coach K
• The life of a NASCAR teen

70 Point After by Phil Taylor
How low can coaches go?

Inside ...

64 The NBA
• Fast times, good times in Philly

66 College Basketball
• Did Siena overschedule itself?

68 The NFL
• Economy's effect on free agency

PHOTO

SIMON BRUTY

48 PIPING UP At the Olympic venue outside Vancouver, Japan's Ryoh Aono won silver in the men's halfpipe in last week's World Cup event.

PHOTO

MICHAEL ZAGARIS/MLB PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES