Lineup

40 | COLLEGE FOOTBALL

Boise State

Despite their light schedule and lightly regarded conference, the Broncos want to play in the BCS title game. Well, should they?

By Austin Murphy

• It may depend on these seven games

48 | PRO FOOTBALL

Pittsburgh Steelers

Defying expectations, they put away the previously unbeaten Bucs to go 3--0, and they have only one more game to play before the return of Ben Roethlisberger

By Jim Trotter

54 | BASEBALL

Billy Wagner

His fastball still hums, his competitiveness still burns and his team is still in the playoff hunt, but the Braves' 39-year-old closer insists that this is his last season

By Michael Bamberger

NHL PREVIEW 2010--11

62 Young Defensemen

From the Kings' Drew Doughty to the Thrashers' Zach Bogosian to the Sabres' Tyler Myers, the league has never had so many blueliners who are so good and so young

By Michael Farber

70 Scouting Reports

SI breaks down all 30 teams; predicts the final conference standings, division winners, playoff teams and Stanley Cup finalists; and explains why Alex Ovechkin and the Caps will hoist the trophy

Departments

4 Leading Off

14 Letters

16 Scorecard

Michael Vick, pit bulls' best friend

28 Just My Type

Dwight Howard on Heat, Lakers, Melo

By Dan Patrick

30 Faces in the Crowd

32 Inside ...

• The NFL

The surprising Chiefs

• Fantasy Football

Multiskilled risers

• College Football

Auburn's dynamic QB

• Baseball

A case for King Felix

88 The Vault

Steve Carlton starts to slip, 1983

92 Point After

The plague of premature statuary

By Selena Roberts

Howard confesses his worst nightmare: a trade to ... Cincinnati?

ON THE COVER Boise State takes the field against Oregon State, photographed by Peter Read Miller

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PHOTO

BOB ROSATO (HOWARD)

THREE PHOTOS