Sports Illustrated

VERLANDER

CHASE FOR THE CY YOUNG

CAIN

Winning last year's AL Cy Young was like taking candy from a baby for Justin Verlander. This year, the babies grew up a bit. Can the Tigers' ace heat up and bring home the hardware? Will the Giants' Matt Cain find a perfect ending to his season in the NL? Go to SI.com for Cliff Corcoran's weekly MLB Awards Watch to find out who's in the running for the biggest prize in pitching. Plus ...

Jay Jaffe's Hit and Run Blog: In what's been announced as Chipper Jones's final season, the 40-year-old third baseman has been hitting .339/.414/.614 since the beginning of July, tops among the Braves' regulars. Doesn't sound like the retiring sort to me....

Power Rankings: The Dodgers played themselves into sole possession of first place in the NL West last week, while the Diamondbacks won four straight games to close to within 4½ games of the Giants, and are now the highest-ranked NL West club on our list.

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SI DIGITAL BONUS

CONFERENCE ALIGNMENT

This week SI Video goes on the gridiron with senior writers Stewart Mandel and Andy Staples for a close look at the movers and shakers in college football's major conferences, including Badgers running back Montee Ball. Can Ball lead Wisconsin to a third straight Big Ten title?

SI TWITTER

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PETER KING

@SI_PeterKing

Forgot to mention Andrew Luck on why he's not on Twitter, which as he told me yesterday, is basically because he has nothing to say.

ANDY STAPLES

@Andy_Staples

How does LSU not have this class? RT @AUtitude: At Auburn I got to pet a Tiger from the Atlanta Zoo. He was sedated for surgery.

SI VIDEO

Washington, D.C.'s Friendship Collegiate Academy, once a symbol of violence and despair among the city's high schools, is now a place of hope and promise for youth in the nation's capital. Last year, 19 of the school's football players received Division I scholarships. Go to SI.com/underdogs for more on Friendship and other schools that have bounced back from the brink in the new, 10-week SI Video series Underdogs.

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

BASEBALL ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXIS SANCHEZ; JOHN BIEVER (VERLANDER, BALL); BRAD MANGIN (CAIN)

PHOTO

MEL LEVINE (KING)

THREE PHOTOS

ILLUSTRATION