LINEUP

DEPARTMENTS

4 Leading Off

10 Letters

15 Scorecard

The marriage of bloodlust and distance makes the NFL an ideal product

21 Faces in the Crowd

22 Just My Type

The secret to Tim Tebow's late-game success

BY DAN PATRICK

26 Inside ...

NHL

Drew Doughty's heroics

NBA

Whither Dwight Howard?

Baseball

Bargain-hunting teams

Olympic Sports

U.S. women's volleyball

68 Point After

The Patriots' legacy took a beating in the Super Bowl

BY PHIL TAYLOR

FEATURES

SUPERBOWL XLVI

34 ONE GIANT LEAP

A pulse-pounding win over the Pats for Eli Manning and Big Blue

By Damon Hack

• THE MIRACLE CATCH, 2.0

• THE EXCUSE-ME WINNING TD

46 COLLEGE FOOTBALL

SIGNING DAY

In a frenzied final week, no program had more highs and lows than Rutgers

By Albert Chen

50 BASEBALL

DAVID FREESE

The World Series MVP is a hometown hero—and now the Cardinals' cornerstone

By Tom Verducci

54 COLLEGE BASKETBALL

DOUG MCDERMOTT

The high-scoring and highly efficient forward has Creighton fans dreaming big

By Kelli Anderson

MIKE POWELL

MAN IN FULL

The high school wrestling coach has shown his kids courage under the most trying circumstances

By Chris Ballard

P. 58

"Manning knew that the Patriots' safeties didn't play very wide toward the sideline, and that might allow him a small window to find a receiver deep. He let fly a rainbow that dropped perfectly into Manningham's fingertips.

—Damon Hack on the signature play of Super Bowl XLVI

P. 34

ON THE COVER PHOTOGRAPH BY SIMON BRUTY

Please Recycle This Magazine Remove Inserts or Samples Before Recycling

PHOTO

BILL FRAKES (SUPER BOWL)

PRIZE SIGHT Eli Manning (10) and the Giants huddled atop an emblem of the Lombardi Trophy in Indy during their 21--17 defeat of New England.

PHOTO

TODD ROSENBERG (POWELL)