Gameplan
• WATCH
Packers at Vikings Forgive Brett Favre if he throws a few picks in this game—he spent 16 years aiming for those green-and-gold jerseys. Minnesota's new QB faces his old team for the first time, on Monday night (ESPN). Awkward ... as is a possible Metrodome conflict: If the Twins tie the Tigers atop the AL Central, a playoff scheduled there will be bumped to another park.
• WATCH
NHL openers Individual honors? Alexander Ovechkin has those down cold. Now the Capitals' winger, the NHL's MVP the last two seasons, wants team glory. Early in training camp he predicted the Caps will finish "on top of everybody." On Thursday they face the Bruins, another Eastern Conference heavyweight and Stanley Cup contender, in the season's first game. See it on Versus.
• COVER
Your ears ... lest you catch a snippet of Tim McCarver Sings Selections from The Great American Songbook. The Fox analyst gets his groove on with a new CD of standards such as Two for the Road and I Wish I Didn't Love You So. The effort is applaudable, but the former catcher, never known for his hitting, still isn't a swinger. You can hear his voice doing what it does best during the MLB playoffs.
• LEARN
The host city for the 2016 Games After nearly three years of studying bids, the IOC finally makes its pick in Copenhagen on Friday. The finalists: Chicago, Madrid, Rio de Janeiro and Tokyo. Many think Rio is the favorite, but Chicago has a trump card: Barack Obama will travel to Copenhagen to stump for votes, the first time a U.S. President has lobbied the IOC in person.
• WATCH
Full Color Football The AFL is long gone—it merged with the NFL in 1970—but its spirit is very much alive. Names on jerseys, scoreboard clocks, wide-open offenses: The NFL absorbed more than franchises from its upstart rival. Full Color, an engaging five-part series on Showtime (new episodes air on Wednesdays), recounts the AFL's 10-year history and the many ways it brought personality to pro football.
• READ
The Catch Nobody remembers that Joe Montana stunk for the first 59 minutes and two seconds of the 1982 NFC Championship Game. It didn't matter after he hit Dwight Clark with a pass in the back of the end zone, giving the 49ers a win over the Cowboys and their first Super Bowl berth. A dynasty was born that day, and Gary Myers expertly recounts that game and its lasting effect on the NFL.
The Pop Culture Grid
HOWARD FOR PRESIDENT
Swine fluTy CobbThe postseasonThe Exorcist RHYS LLOYD Panthers K Old lady with a MARRY ME sign Sounds like a visa Pelé The change in weather I don't do scary movies DENARD SPAN Twins LF MIKE REDMOND IS MY FATHER A flu? Michael Jordan Nothing. I'm from Florida Tales from The Hood VINCENT JACKSON Chargers WR Any Raiders fan's sign A periodic table thing Barry Sanders College GameDay Saturdays The Shining
Inside the Grid
Stanley Kubrick's 1980 horror masterpiece starring Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall still makes Jackson uneasy. "It scares me to death," says the five-year NFL veteran. "It's one of those movies where you're afraid to go to sleep when you get home and you look for NoDoz to try to stay awake."
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PETER READ MILLER (FAVRE)
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LOU CAPOZZOLA (OVECHKIN)
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ARCHER RECORDS (MCCARVER)
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JAE C. HONG/AP (FLAG)
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WALTER IOOSS JR. (NAMATH)
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WARNER BROS. INC./AP (SHINING)
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JODY GOMEZ/US PRESSWIRE (JACKSON)
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CHUCK SOLOMON (SPAN)
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HOWARD SMITH/US PRESSWIRE (LLOYD)
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ROBERT BECK (UTLEY)
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JOHN W. MCDONOUGH (SIGN)
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JERRY COOKE (PELÉ)
TWO PHOTOS