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Lineup

THE '00s

An interesting and complicated decade, and an important one for sports

By L. Jon Wertheim P. 45

47

ALL-DECADE

SI's experts choose the best players, position by position, in six sports

49

BIGGEST MOMENTS

Ten events, triumphant to tragic, that made the last 10 years memorable

50

TOP TEAMS

The best pro and college champions in football, baseball, hoops, hockey

51

BAD GUYS

Villains whose actions drew scorn and whose names will live in infamy

53

BEST ATHLETES

SI ranks the top 10 since 2000; the floor is now open for debate

58

LOVE STORY

Boise State's fairy-tale couple, three years later

By Joe Posnanski

Departments

8 Leading Off

14 Letters

18 Scorecard

• A case for Texas

• Danica passes test

• Strange but true

• The best of They Said It

26 Faces in the Crowd

32 Just My Type

Interview highlights

by Dan Patrick

88 Point After

Jeremy Bloom reaches out to a special group

by Selena Roberts

Features

66 | PRO FOOTBALL

Hot Blitz

The Double A Gap is the new king of blitzes and the bane of NFL quarterbacks

by Tim Layden

72 | OBITUARIES

Farewells

Mark Fidrych was one of dozens of beloved sports figures who died in 2009

by Mark Bechtel

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED WILL NOT PUBLISH NEXT WEEK BECAUSE OF THE HOLIDAYS. THE NEXT ISSUE WILL BE DATED JANUARY 11, 2010

ON THE COVER Photograph by Jonathan Ernst/Reuters Insets: Rick Stewart/Getty Images (Manning); Robert Beck (Bolt, Woods); David E. Klutho (Pujols); Simon Bruty (Phelps, Federer); Bob Rosato (Hansbrough); Reuters (Armstrong)

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PHOTO

HEINZ KLUETMEIER (PHELPS)

Michael Phelps won a total of 14 gold medals in Athens and Beijing.

ILLUSTRATION

ILLUSTRATION BY SLIMFILMS (BLACKBOARD)

PHOTO

LANE STEWART (FIDRYCH)

PHOTO

JIM ROGASH/GETTY IMAGES

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JED JACOBSOHN/GETTY IMAGES

PHOTO

LOU CAPOZZOLA

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ROB TRINGALI/SPORTSCHROME

PHOTO

SIMON BRUTY

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KATHERINE JONES/IDAHO STATESMAN/AP