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DEPARTMENTS

2 Leading Off

8 Letters

11 Scorecard

The passion behind Bill Clinton's PGA pro-am

17 Faces in the Crowd

18 Just My Type

Warriors coach Mark Jackson holds court on defense, desire and (uniform) design

BY DAN PATRICK

22 Inside ...

NBA

The coming Celtics sell-off

College Football

A Fighting Irish Gunner

Tennis

True grit in Australia

MMA

Hollywood's knockout

64 Point After

A kind word for the goats

By PHIL TAYLOR

FEATURES

NFL PLAYOFFS

32 NFC CHAMPIONSHIP

THE GIANTS

A familiar cast has New York back in the Super Bowl

By Peter King

38 AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

THE PATRIOTS

New England needs another win to cap its emotional year

By Damon Hack

• PREVIEWING A SUPER BOWL REMATCH

44 PRO BASKETBALL

THE CLIPPERS

All of a sudden, stars want to join the club, not flee

By Lee Jenkins

48 PRO HOCKEY

WINNIPEG

The reborn Jets give every Canadian something to cheer

By Mark Bechtel

52 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

HERB POPE

After cheating death, the big man has revived Seton Hall

By Pablo S. Torre

Joe Paterno 1926--2012

The clouded legacy of an American sports icon

By Tim Layden

P. 56

ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY SIMON BRUTY

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"His was one of the most profound, legacy-altering final chapters in modern American sport, a sudden fall from idolatry to shame that seemed unthinkable for most of his long life.

—Tim Layden on Joe Paterno, who died on Sunday at the age of 85

P. 56

PHOTO

ROBERT BECK (MANNING)

MIST OPPORTUNITY Eli Manning (10) and the Giants advanced to the Super Bowl by beating the 49ers in the rain 20--17.

PHOTO

ROB TRINGALI/SPORTSCHROME (PATERNO)