LEADING OFF
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PHOTOGRAPH BY BILL FRAKES/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
The Hedge of Glory The Dawgs had tongues wagging in Athens after their 41--30 win over No. 6 South Carolina put them in poll position in the SEC East. Reserve tackle Zach DeBell (76) didn't play, but his offensive linemates had plenty to bark about: The Bulldogs ran for 227 yards and a touchdown—but more important was their neutralizing Gamecocks defensive end Jadeveon Clowney, who left Athens with just three tackles and a sack. Said Clowney, who let QB Aaron Murray slip through his grasp on a crucial fourth-quarter TD, "They just took me right out of the game."
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PHOTOGRAPH BY JEFF GROSS GETTY IMAGES
Reach Man, Poor Man Randall Cobb is 5'10", which puts him on the small side for an NFL wideout. Still, San Francisco cornerback Carlos Rogers—he's the one clinging to Cobb's feet—no doubt cursed the fact that the third-year Packer isn't even shorter. Cobb needed every one of his 70 inches to stretch into the end zone for a first-quarter touchdown at Candlestick Park on Sunday. Cobb caught seven passes for 108 yards, but it wasn't enough to keep San Francisco from grabbing a 34--28 win on Week 1 of the NFL season.
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PHOTOGRAPH BY ERICK W. RASCO SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Long May She Wave BY S.L. PRICE It's the most familiar scene in tennis: The final ball flies and, suddenly, a carpet unrolls and a table appears. Photographers jockey for position. Cellphones rise in the stands, the nicer kind of digital salute, and after the on-court interview comes the champion's classic, corny, but somehow necessary posing—"Over here, Serena!"—with hardware in hand. Williams knows the drill by heart, of course. On Sunday night she won her fifth U.S. Open, her 17th Grand Slam title. You could be forgiven for thinking you'd seen it all before. But the 2013 gathering at Flushing Meadow was different, as each year must be. The final threw an unexpected curve: A swirling wind that ravaged Williams's usually impenetrable serve and nerve. Look at the photo: The flags—and the skirt that bedeviled her all match—are waving still. Look at Victoria Azarenka, waving too; down a set and two service breaks in the second, she tunneled into Williams's head with a daring variety of shots. For the second straight year she lost the final (7--5, 6--7, 6--1) but won the crowd. "I gave my heart," she said. Williams did too, and she's not done. The win left her within reach of Steffi Graf's Open-era record of 22 Grand Slams. She won't say she doesn't care about beating it. "I do," she said late Sunday night. "But if I never win another Grand Slam, I'm not going to be mad. I never thought I would win eight. Now I'm at 17 and I'm, like, Wow. Everything—everything—is a bonus." FOR FULL COVERAGE OF THE MEN'S FINAL, WHICH TOOK PLACE AFTER SI WENT TO PRESS, GO TO SI.COM