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Lineup
30 | WORLD SERIES
THE DROUGHT IS OVER
Thanks to their young, homegrown pitchers, the Giants ended 56 years of heartbreak and brought San Francisco a title it can call its own
By Tom Verducci
NFL MIDSEASON REPORT
38 | THE YEAR OF SPECIAL TEAMS
The league's most overlooked units are having a large impact on games and on the playoff race
By Peter King
• WHO WILL PLAY (AND WIN) IN THE POSTSEASON
45 | PETER KING'S ALL-PRO TEAM
SI's NFL expert chooses his top first-half performers, with few familiar names and a slew of surprising ones
52 | SNAP, GRIP, DROP, SETUP ... THROW
A quarterback's ability to blend the simple elements of delivering a football is what separates merely good passers from the alltime greats
By Tim Layden
62 | COLLEGE FOOTBALL
UNDEFEATED UTAH
Coach Kyle Whittingham has his team challenging for a BCS berth, thanks in part to a life-altering decision he made six years ago
By Austin Murphy
Departments
4 Leading Off
10 Letters
12 Scorecard
Refs, meet players. It's about time
18 Just My Type
Kobe Bryant on rings and retirement
by Dan Patrick
20 Faces in the Crowd
22 Inside ...
• The NBA
Players on the market
• College Football
The demise of USC?
• Fantasy Football
Pickups on bad teams
• NASCAR
Denny Hamlin's plan
78 The Vault
The '77 Irish go green
82 Point After
Nothing to cheer about
by Selena Roberts
The Fire Inside
With hustle and heart, Joakim Noah has transformed himself into the soul of the Bulls
By Lee Jenkins
PAGE 68
ON THE COVER Photograph by Al Tielemans
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PHOTO
GREG NELSON (NOAH)
FIVE PHOTOS
