Lineup

30 Beyond Sochi

Mikaela Shiffrin offered a glimpse of golden days to come for U.S. skiing

By Tim Layden

• CANADA REPEATS AS HOCKEY CHAMP

MOTOR SPORTS

40 Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With a newfound confidence and maturity, the 39-year-old had the race of his life at the Daytona 500

By Lars Anderson

BASEBALL

46 Fundamental Lapse

In this era of low-scoring games, taking care of the little things is more important than ever

By Albert Chen

PRO BASKETBALL

52 The Birth of Showtime

A strange series of events set the stage for Pat Riley's and Magic Johnson's Lakers of the '80s

By Jeff Pearlman

SOCCER

60 The Two Brazils

On the eve of a World Cup in the spiritual home of the sport, questions linger about the host

By Grant Wahl

DEPARTMENTS

2 | SI Digital

4 | Leading Off

12 | The Mail

15 | Scorecard

26 | Faces in the Crowd

68 | Point After

Lee Jenkins: With a nod to Jackie Robinson, another trailblazer comes to Brooklyn

SI HAS REGIONAL COVERS THIS WEEK: SIMON BRUTY/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (MIKAELA SHIFFRIN); ROBERT BECK/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (CANADIAN HOCKEY); STEPHEN A. ARCE/CSM/LANDOV (DALE EARNHARDT JR.); MANNY MILLAN/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (LAKERS INSET)

PHOTO

HEINZ KLUETMEIER FOR SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (ORIOLES)

LET NOTHING SLIDE Orioles position players reported to spring training in Sarasota, Fla., last week and dived into the tough task of taking the AL East.

PHOTO

SIMON BRUTY/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED (SHIFFRIN)