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
PHOTO
JED JACOBSOHN/GETTY IMAGES
PHOTO
LOU CAPOZZOLA
PHOTO
ROB TRINGALI/SPORTSCHROME
PHOTO
SIMON BRUTY
PHOTO
KATHERINE JONES/IDAHO STATESMAN/AP
