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Gameplan
• WATCH
Titans at Steelers
Few events can bring together fans of Tim McGraw and the Black Eyed Peas. Such is the power of NFL opening night (Thursday, NBC). The country star and hip-hop supergroup will perform a free concert in Pittsburgh that will be simulcast at Heinz Field before the defending champs host Tennessee.
• READ
Shooting Stars
Few books can bring together blurbers as diverse as Bob Costas, Jay-Z and Warren Buffett. Such is the power of LeBron James and co-author Buzz Bissinger, who helped with this memoir of James's youth in Akron. The juicy revelations (James smoked pot!) are rare, but Buzz's style complements LeBron's stories well.
• WATCH
Hoops Hall enshrinement
Good news for Michael Jordan: On Friday he enters the Basketball Hall of Fame, with David Robinson, John Stockton, Jerry Sloan and C. Vivian Stringer (NBA TV). Bad news: He won't play in the NBA again. "This is not fun for me," he said when elected. "[When you're in the Hall], your career is completely over."
• PLAY
NHL 10
The new version arrives on Sept. 15—and it's chippier than ever! This year EA Sports has added Post-Whistle Action, so you can irk opponents with late cheap shots, and first-person fighting, which lets you operate goons with as much precision as scorers. Cover boy Patrick Kane, who threw some cheap shots himself this summer, would approve.
• CHECK OUT
The return of FJM
Beware, lazy writers, ill-informed broadcasters and whatever Steve Phillips is: Fire Joe Morgan is back. For a day, anyway. Ken Tremendous et al, the editors of the riotously funny media-skewering blog that went off-line last year, will guest edit Deadspin on Sept. 16. Gee, think Joe has said anything mockable lately?
The Pop Culture Grid
block against the Texans
The Score by the FugeesGoing to Vegas with my momEating habits ADRIAN PETERSON Bears RB President Obama Last week, playing Madden Tha Carter III by Lil Wayne Getting a '67 Lincoln Continental convertible Nothing. I'm not into that stuff JAMES DAVIS Browns RB Barry Sanders May, when the Hawks lost to the Cavs Paper Trail by T.I. Buying my daughter a doll My personality
Inside the Grid
Anderson majored in studio art at Virginia Tech and now designs T-shirts for his old high school, Deep Creek, in Chesapeake, Va. The 6'3", 246-pound Applewhite says, "I can eat anything and still have my figure. McDonald's late at night, candy, doughnuts, anything—I still look good."
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JIM COOPER/AP (BLACK EYED PEAS)
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WALTER IOOSS JR. (JORDAN)
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COURTESY OF EA SPORTS (GAME)
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GEORGE BURNS/ESPN (MORGAN)
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PAUL J. RICHARDS/AFP/GETTY IMAGES (MCDONALD'S)
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COLUMBIA PICTURES/EVERETT COLLECTION (STEP BROTHERS)
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DAVID RICHARD/AP (DAVIS)
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DENNIS WIERZBICKI/CAL SPORT MEDIA (PETERSON)
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JODY GOMEZ/US PRESSWIRE (APPLEWHITE)
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NFL PHOTOS/GETTY IMAGES (ANDERSON)
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CHARLES DHARAPAK/AP (OBAMA)
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CASH MONEY RECORDS (LIL WAYNE)
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