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