LINEUP

FEATURES

SPECIAL REPORT

38 STEROIDS: TEN YEARS LATER

To cheat or not to cheat? A decade after SI shined a light on the national pastime's dirty secret, players still struggle with how they and their teammates answered that one question

BY TOM VERDUCCI

STANLEY CUP FINALS

52 THE KINGS' LONG QUEST

The franchise that rarely rises above second-banana status in Los Angeles is closing in on its first championship—and a chance to rewrite its hapless history

BY MICHAEL FARBER

SI'S FINALS PREDICTION

NBA PLAYOFFS

58 BOSTON'S BIG THREE

The injured, aging Celtics reached another conference finals. Whether or not the series is the talented trio's last stand will depend on the play of a kid they molded

BY IAN THOMSEN

BONUS

64 THE ART OF BOXING

The savagery and spectacle of prizefighting, in the work of George Bellows

BY ALEXANDER WOLFF

DEPARTMENTS

4 SI Digital

6 Leading Off

12 The Mail

15 Scorecard

Can horse racing be saved?

24 Just My Type

Carson Palmer's timeout

BY DAN PATRICK

26 Faces in the Crowd

30 Inside ...

Motor Sports

MLB

NBA

72 Point After

Fighting cancer as a team

BY PHIL TAYLOR

ON THE COVER: PHOTOGRAPH BY ROGERS PHOTO ARCHIVE/GETTY IMAGES; INSET BY JAMES PORTO

Please Recycle This Magazine Remove Inserts or Samples Before Recycling

PHOTO

MICHAEL J. CLARKE (CELTICS)

BIG GREEN MEN Paul Pierce (center) and the Celtics try to stave off the end of an era.

PHOTO