LINEUP

DEPARTMENTS

2 Leading Off

8 Editor's Letter

10 Letters

13 Scorecard

A Smart plan to share the NCAA wealth

19 Faces in the Crowd

20 Just My Type

Troy Aikman's NFL postseason roundup

BY DAN PATRICK

22 Inside ...

College Basketball

Mizzou plays short

NHL

Playoff-bound Panthers

NBA

Reshaping the Mavs

Olympics

Marathon qualifying and women's soccer

64 Point After

What hath Tebowmania wrought?

BY PHIL TAYLOR

FEATURES

28 BOXING

MUHAMMAD ALI

Turning 70, the beloved champ still has our attention

By Richard O'Brien

NFL PLAYOFFS

34 NFC DIVISIONAL ROUND

THE 49ERS

Alex Smith outdueled the Saints' Drew Brees in an epic

By Jim Trotter

• ELI MANNING QUIETS HIS CRITICS

40 AFC DIVISIONAL ROUND

THE PATRIOTS

Two tight ends are New England's best weapons

By Peter King

• LAST SHOT FOR THE RAVENS' D?

46 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

ELENA DELLE DONNE

A prodigy who once quit the sport is the nation's top scorer

By L. Jon Wertheim

52 HOCKEY

NHL NETMINDERS

When it comes to goalies, nobody knows anything

By Michael Farber

Ricky Rubio

Two trying years after being drafted, the point guard is spreading joy in Minnesota

By Lee Jenkins

P. 58

"Just as he did in those terrible wars with Joe Frazier, George Foreman and Ken Norton, Ali on the world stage played for the highest stakes, at a level of risk unthinkable in today's sports culture.

—Richard O'Brien on Muhammad Ali, who turned 70 on Jan. 17

P. 28

THIS WEEK SI HAS REGIONAL COVERS OF QUARTERBACK ALEX SMITH (11) AND THE 49ERS, AND OF GIANTS RECEIVER HAKEEM NICKS (88)

ON THE COVER

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERT BECK (49ERS) AND JOHN BIEVER (NICKS)

Please Recycle This Magazine Remove Inserts or Samples Before Recycling

PHOTO

DAMIAN STROHMEYER (WARREN)

TIM'S RUN OUT Defensive tackle Gerald Warren (98) and the Patriots brought Tim Tebow's season to a brutal end, 45--10.

PHOTO

GREG NELSON (RUBIO)

TWO PHOTOS