December 31, 2012 Table Of Contents
SI.com
LEADING OFF
THE MAIL
BEST MOMENTS OF 2012
HOW DO YOU MEASURE A YEAR IN SPORTS? IN MIRACLE COMEBACKS, IN LAST-SECOND SHOTS, IN VICTORY LEAPS, IN MIND-BLOWING LAPS. ONCE AGAIN WE ASKED SI'S FACEBOOK FANS TO PICK THE YEAR'S MOST MEMORABLE MOMENT. AN ALLTIME OLYMPIAN'S FINAL ASCENT TO THE PODIUM STOOD ABOVE THE REST, BUT THERE WAS PLENTY MORE TO CELEBRATE—AND TO MARVEL AT
By Steve Rushin
SIX TEAMS, EIGHT HOURS, THREE OVERTIMES, 10 LEAD CHANGES AND 206 POINTS: HOW ONE EVENING IN NOVEMBER SHAPED THE BCS CHAMPIONSHIP MATCHUP AND BECAME, EASILY, THE BEST DAY OF SPORTS IN 2012
WHO WILL WIN? OUR ANALYTICS EXPERT, AN ENGINEERING PH.D. FROM STANFORD AND THE BRAINS BEHIND THEPOWERRANK.COM, WENT INSIDE THE TENDENCIES OF BOTH CONTENDERS THIS SEASON TO CREATE A SIMULATION THAT MAY BE CLOSER TO REALITY THAN REALITY ITSELF
By Ed Feng
FOR ONE MAGICAL APRIL AFTERNOON, PHILIP HUMBER WAS FLAWLESS. BUT THAT RANDOM SMILE FROM THE PITCHING GODS CAME WITH A HEAVY BURDEN: THE PRESSURE TO LIVE UP TO A STANDARD NO ONE CAN MEET
By Albert Chen
GRINNELL'S JACK TAYLOR IS THE LATEST MEMBER OF A TINY FRATERNITY OF PLAYERS WHO SCORED AT LEAST 100 POINTS IN A COLLEGE OR NBA GAME. THE QUESTION IS, AT WHAT COST?
A BOWLER AND SEVERAL BRAWLERS, COACHES AND A CARD SHARP, TWO SLUGGERS AND A TACKLE WHO SLUGGED A HORSE—LUMINARIES OF ALL SORTS PASSED AWAY IN 2012
By Mark Bechtel
POINT AFTER
After Newtown: Change Has Gotta Come
By Gary Smith
Departments
The Mayans may have been wrong about 2012 being apocalyptic. But that's not to say that it didn't sometimes feel like things were going off the rails
By Kevin Kerr
A time capsule of things we'll miss
By Mark Bechtel
The Case [X] For ... Against NFL Playoff Expansion
Edited by Alexandra Fenwick
By Dan Patrick