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December 12, 2011 Table Of Contents

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LEADING OFF

LEADING OFF

GOLF PLUS

PGA TOUR CONFIDENTIAL

How big was Tiger's victory at the Chevron? Can Luke Donald hang on to No. 1? Who's most likely to become the top American? How do the major venues rate, and who will win the four championships?

ELEVEN FOR '11

Great majors, a new No. 1, LPGA dominance, an old school fight for the money title and the rediscovery of a vintage track too tough to die made 2011 a terrific year in golf

By Gary Van Sickle

THE LIVES THEY LED

The game will long remember Europe's leading light, a pioneering woman and a television innovator

By Mick Rouse

EDITOR'S LETTER

SPORTSPEOPLE OF THE YEAR

By Terry McDonell

Inside: THE WEEK IN SPORTS

OFF AND RUNNIN'

A new coach and a roster full of transfers have made Sin City hoops exciting again

By George Dohrmann

SETH DAVIS'S THREE-POINTER

By Seth Davis

MANY HAPPY RETURNS

Cardinals rookie Patrick Peterson has been bringing back punts for touchdowns at a torrid pace—and making it look easy. If only someone would just kick the ball to him again

By Jim Trotter

THE SHOE FITS

Denials to the contrary, the Lions' Ndamukong Suh has a problem. And so do his teammates

By Damon Hack

PETER KING'S THINGS I THINK

By Peter King

THE NEXT ACT OF BOBBY V

It's been nearly a decade since the Red Sox' new manager has been inside a big league dugout—but that's not why he's such a refreshing hire

By Joe Sheehan

WISH YOU WERE HERE—OR NOT

The NBA's 149-day lockout sent dozens of players to all corners of the globe. For some, it was an extended vacation. For others, a holiday from hell

By Mark Bechtel

SEASON'S BEST

The month of December means it's that time of the year: time to recognize the best in college football for 2011. The top of the list? One unstoppable dual-threat quarterback from Baylor

By Cory McCartney

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR / SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR: Mike Krzyzewski / SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR: Pat Summitt

The two winningest coaches in Division I college basketball history (907 for him, 1,075 for her) have more in common than just extraordinary success. For reaching far beyond their campuses and refusing to be defined by their genders, SI honors them together

By Alexander Wolff

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR, 1981

SUGAR RAY LEONARD

The megawatt smile is still there, and perhaps shines even brighter for the wisdom and perspective he's gained the hard way

By Lee Jenkins

SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR, 1976

CHRIS EVERT

A couple of recent divorces have dusted up the Girl Next Door, but as always she will never sit back and accept defeat

By L. Jon Wertheim

SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR, 1982

WAYNE GRETZKY

A man can gather plenty of insight on the road from boy wonder to senior statesman for the sport he loves

By Brian Cazeneuve

PRO FOOTBALL

THE NEW NO-NAMES

The Patriots' defense, built from spare parts, castoffs and converted receivers, ranks dead last in the NFL, and yet New England is once again cruising to the playoffs. The real test is yet to come

By Ben Reiter

SPECIAL REPORT

One Team, 25 Years On

In a first-ever comprehensive survey of football's long-term effects on an entire NFL roster, SI polled the former members of the 1986 Bengals, whose physical and psychological conditions a quarter century later range from near complete normalcy to near total disability. But no matter their current hardships, the vast majority say they have no regrets

By Peter King

LIVES IN THE BALANCE

Former linebacker Emanuel King weighs his own daily pain against his son's dream of reaching the NFL

By Matt Gagne

SWINGING AWAY

Quarterback Boomer Esiason maintains a full media workload and still has plenty left for fun and games

By Peter King

A DIFFERENT KIND OF PAIN

Bobby Kemp, once a punishing safety, committed suicide at age 38. Was it football, or lifelong depression?

By Matt Gagne

COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SO I WENT TO VEGAS ...

For a weekend of football that would not change the national-title picture, the author ventured to the only place where every game still counts

By Austin Murphy

HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL

HOW TO BECOME AN AMERICAN

In the west Arkansas town of Magazine, one sure way for boys from the immigrant Hmong community to assimilate is to put on helmets, cleats and shoulder pads

By CHARLES P. PIERCE

BASEBALL

BEST. NIGHT. EVER.

In 136 major league seasons, there's never been a more dizzyingly dramatic day than Sept. 28, 2011. The Red Sox and the Braves may disagree, but for everyone else it's a date that will live in ecstasy

By Lee Jenkins

PRO HOCKEY

IT'S ALL ABOUT OVIE

With the club slumping and captain Alex Ovechkin seemingly checked out, the Capitals dumped their coach. Now one of the NHL's superstars isn't just struggling to rediscover his game, but he's also trying to shed an ugly label

By Michael Farber

TURN, TURN, TURN

The NHL's coaching carousel began to go 'round in earnest last week, with three jobs turning over in a four-day stretch. Besides the departure of Bruce Boudreau and the arrival of Dale Hunter in Washington, D.C., here's the lowdown on what went wrong and what to expect from here on in

By Pierre McGuire

COLLEGE BASKETBALL

ACCORDING TO ALEX KLINE ...

The world's first teenage recruiting guru spreads the word on prospects through Twitter, Skype, Facebook and message boards, and college coaches (not to mention fans) have learned to pay attention

By Jim Gorant

WALTER IOOSS JR.

THE EDUCATION OF WALTER IOOSS JR.

The intrepid SI photographer spent the last 50 years shooting the biggest games, the greatest athletes and the most beautiful swimsuit models. Some guys just can't catch a break

By Walter Iooss Jr.

POINT AFTER

HEISMAN HELPER

By Phil Taylor

Departments

LETTERS

Masthead

DREAM ON

As evidenced by the Heat and the Eagles, it's time for athletes to get hip to the hubris of the Dream Team tag

By Richard Hoffer

HOT | NOT

FOR THE RECORD

Running into Trouble

The family of track legend Sydney Maree is protesting his imprisonment in South Africa

By Brian Cazeneuve

Pluck o' the Irish

Trading punches for pride with the Emerald Isle's nomadic Travellers

By L. Jon Wertheim

THE POP CULTURE GRID

TEEN DREAM

By Tim Layden

FACES IN THE CROWD

Edited by Alexandra Fenwick

Pushing His Luck

For Stanford's star QB, upper arms are a cardinal concern

By Ben Freed

JUST MY TYPE

By Dan Patrick