March 25, 2013 Table Of Contents
SI.com
LEADING OFF
In the final days of camp, hope springs eternal for five veterans of struggle and heartbreak
By Ben Reiter
THE MAIL
MARCH MADNESS PREVIEW
VICTOR OLADIPO'S JOURNEY FROM OVERLOOKED RECRUIT TO THAT GUY WHO COULD SINGLE-HANDEDLY CHANGE THE TIDES OF MARCH HAS EVERYTHING TO DO WITH THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN THERE WITH HIM ALONG THE WAY—AND THOSE WHO HAVEN'T
By Tim Layden
GONZAGA'S KELLY OLYNYK HAS BECOME A MODEL OF EFFICIENCY THANKS TO DRILLS BORROWED FROM ANOTHER SPORT
A FRESHMAN WHO COULD GO NO. 1 IN THE DRAFT, BEN MCLEMORE STILL HAS TO LEARN HOW TO TAKE HIS ACT ON THE ROAD
POINT GUARD MICHAEL CARTER-WILLIAMS BARELY PLAYED LAST SEASON FOR SYRACUSE. NOW, HE HARDLY EVER SITS
By Dan Greene
FROM A (AARON CRAFT) TO Z (THE NO. 1 ZAGS), HERE'S HOW TO SORT THROUGH THE STATS—AND FIND THE KEY PLAYERS—TO BUILD THE BEST BRACKET
By Luke Winn
SI'S ANALYTICS EXPERT CALCULATED THE WIN PROBABILITIES FOR ALL 68 TEAMS IN THE FIELD. CHECK OUT THE FULL, INTERACTIVE BRACKET AT THEPOWERRANK.COM
By Ed Feng
SETH DAVIS'S ALL-GLUE GUY TEAM, NCAA TOURNAMENT EDITION
By Seth Davis
MONTANA COACH WAYNE TINKLE AND HIS KIDS RACKED UP FOUR TITLES
EACH OF THE FOUR TEAMS WITH THE BEST SHOTS AT THE TITLE HAS A HIGH-WATTAGE STAR. BUT THEY EACH HAVE A PLAYER JUST AS IMPORTANT, ONE WHO FILLS KEY GAPS AND KNOWS EXACTLY WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE
NOTORIETY ISN'T USUALLY GOOD FOR A REFEREE, AND A WILD RUN-IN 15 YEARS AGO HAS TURNED TED VALENTINE INTO AN INVITING TARGET FOR FANS. BUT IF TV TEDDY IS SO BAD, WHY IS HE WORKING ALL THE BIGGEST GAMES?
By Seth Davis
Seen Benny? Have Him Give Me a Call
THE AUTHOR SEARCHES FOR AN ICON OF HIS ADOLESCENCE, BENNY ANDERS—THE LONG-LOST, HIGH-FLYING MEMBER OF HOUSTON'S PHI SLAMMA JAMMA, WHICH 30 YEARS AGO TURNED GAME TIME INTO THE WORLD'S MOST SPECTACULAR LAYUP LINE
PRO BASKETBALL
WHEN NOT IN THE GUISE OF HIS MUSTACHIOED, INSURANCE-PEDDLING ALTER EGO, ULTRAINTENSE POINT GUARD CHRIS PAUL HAS MADE THE CLIPPERS NOT ONLY THE HOTTEST TEAM IN L.A., BUT ALSO A THREAT TO WIN THE WEST
By Lee Jenkins
JEFFREY LORIA
Less than eight months after he opened a stadium built in his own image and at a taxpayer expense that will eventually exceed $2 billion, Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria green-lighted yet another stripping down of the franchise. He insists it's all in the name of winning
By S.L. Price
POINT AFTER
Mr. Rose? Dr. Phil Will See You Now
By Phil Taylor
Departments
This year's tepid player market suggests that the days of the massive—and massively back-loaded—free-agent deal are over
By Jim Trotter
Asking a draft prospect about his sexual orientation could land a team in a legal minefield
Geno Smith went 60 for 64 at his pro day ... What does that mean?
By Don Banks
It would be easy to give all the credit for the Heat's winning streak—which on Sunday reached 22, the second longest in NBA history—to LeBron James, who's having his best season. But bad news for other title hopefuls: It hasn't just been James firing on all cylinders during the streak
By Chris Mannix
A surprise ice dancing gold aside, U.S. skaters continued to slump at the world championships
Team USA just didn't get the WBC party vibe
By Tom Verducci
A more nuanced way to test for doping is catching on—and catching athletes in ever larger numbers
By Mark Bechtel
Edited by Alexandra Fenwick
By Dan Patrick