
Lineup
BASEBALL: STRETCH-RUN SURPRISES
30 | The Upstarts
Forget those April predictions. Unexpected contenders, breakthrough stars and resurrected veterans will make it a September to remember
By Tom Verducci
34 | Joey Votto
Professional, polite, eager to please—could this guy be more perfect? An MVP award and an end to the Reds' 15-year playoff drought wouldn't hurt
By L. Jon Wertheim
40 | PRO FOOTBALL
Kevin Kolb
A tough Texan who can take down a boar with a Bowie knife, he isn't scared off by the pressure of succeeding Donovan McNabb in Philly
By Andrew Perloff
46 | SWIMMING
Ryan Lochte
With an almost Phelpsian performance in the year's biggest meet, the free spirit overtook the king of Beijing as the world's best—for now
By Kelli Anderson
50 | COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Joe Pasternack
The New Orleans coach went home hoping to build the team he had grown up watching into a Division I power. Then everybody else left
By Luke Winn
Five-Year-Old Slugger
He's an Internet curiosity and a media star. How can Ariel Antigua handle 85-mph heat? What are his parents up to? Is he for real?
BY THOMAS LAKE
Page 54
Departments
4 Leading Off
12 Letters
14 Scorecard
The man who led the feds to Roger Clemens
22 Just My Type
Ray Lewis tackles the NFL
by Dan Patrick
23 Faces in the Crowd
24 Inside ...
• Tennis
A wide-open Open
• Fantasy Football
Avoiding draft busts
• NASCAR
How to fix the Chase
64 The Vault
The great Gooden
68 Point After
Bud Selig needs to bring replay to MLB
by Phil Taylor
Please Recycle This Magazine Remove Inserts or Samples Before Recycling
ON THE COVER Photograph of Joey Votto by Al Tielemans, after a photo of Stan Musial circa 1950 (page 12)
Inset: Michael J. LeBrecht II/1Deuce3 Photography
PHOTO
MICHAEL J. LEBRECHT II/1DEUCE3 PHOTOGRAPHY (ANTIGUA)
FIVE PHOTOS