Lineup

36 | NFL PLAYOFFS

Brett Favre

At 40 he has the Vikings on the brink of the Super Bowl

By Tim Layden

• Jets crash the party with league's best D, ground game

By Peter King

• Saints' motley crew of running backs brings the wood

By Lee Jenkins

• Taking the long view pays off for Colts' rookie coach

By Damon Hack

46 | PRO BASKETBALL

Kevin Durant

He's still scoring a ton of points, but it's his improved defense and complementary players that have put the young Thunder in playoff contention

By Chris Ballard

52 | COLLEGE BASKETBALL

Northern Iowa

The Panthers are dominating the Missouri Valley Conference and just cracked the Top 25. Soon they won't be the game's best-kept secret

By Albert Chen

56 | PRO FOOTBALL

Jim Irsay

The guitar-picking son of Robert Irsay wanted to be a different kind of owner when his turn came to run the Colts. He's a resounding success

By L. Jon Wertheim

Departments

6 Leading Off

14 Letters

18 Scorecard

College coaches go; let players go too

27 Faces in the Crowd

28 Just My Type

Allen Iverson: Eagles, hoops and getting fat

by Dan Patrick

30 Inside ...

• College Basketball

Buckeyes' point man

• The NHL

Isles' goalie returns

• The NBA

Hawks own Celtics

64 The Vault

Mary Decker, 1980

70 Point After

Mark McGwire's career move

by Selena Roberts

SPLIT COVERS

The Jets cover went to readers in the Northeast. All others received the Vikings cover.

ON THE COVER Photographs by John Biever (Favre) and John W. McDonough (Sanchez) Insets: Peter Gregoire (Irsay); Bob Rosato (Bush); Greg Nelson (Durant)

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SIX PHOTOS