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THE HUNT FOR OCTOBER

We're talking baseball: How will Bryce Harper and the Nationals perform under the bright lights of the 2012 MLB playoffs? Will Johnny Cueto's late-season resurgence carry the Reds? Can Yankees ace C.C. Sabathia again be the King of New York? Is Josh Hamilton healthy enough to lead the Rangers back to the World Series?

Go to SI.com for complete coverage of the postseason, including ...

• Three Strikes: SPORTS ILLUSTRATED baseball expert Tom Verducci goes inside the game to examine the three most important story lines from all of the day and night playoff action on the diamond.

• Catch of the Day: Photo galleries featuring the day's most arresting shots and images, as well as daily videos and buzz and commentary from host Maggie Gray and SI.com baseball editor Ted Keith.

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SI DIGITAL BONUS

Red, White and Blew It

FROM THE SI VAULT: OCT. 2, 1995

The stunning collapse of Curtis Strange and his U.S. mates on the last hole handed the Ryder Cup back to an unheralded team from Europe

BY RICK REILLY

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Jim Trotter

@SI_JimTrotter

Green Bay fans unfortunately learning they can be screwed by the regular refs as well as the replacements. Wow.

Andy Staples

@Andy_Staples

Raleigh N&O uncovers what looks like institutional endorsement of plagiarism for athletes at UNC. But the NCAA got John Blake, so it's cool.

SI COMMENTARY

Peter King On ...

The fall of the Saints

It took them just 22 days to surpass their 2011 loss total (3). New Orleans has allowed an eye-popping 463 yards per game. And Drew Brees is getting hit too much. Someday, someone will write a book about the impact of the NFL sanctions on the Saints, but as one league source said about the absence of coach Sean Payton: "Sean was as good as I've seen at putting his foot on the throat of his team when they needed it. This team has no one to put a foot on the throat." ... Read more of King's MMQB atSI.com

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION

PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY TREVOR LAZARUS; CHUCK SOLOMON (HARPER, SABATHIA, HAMILTON); JOHN BIEVER (CUETO)

PHOTO

MEL LEVINE (KING)

PHOTO

JACQUELINE DUVOISIN (STRANGE)

TWO PHOTOS

ILLUSTRATION