Lineup

FEATURES

28 PRO FOOTBALL

Matt Forte

He's the brain and the heart of the Bears' lethal offense

By Tim Layden

+ MLB PLAYOFF PREVIEW

36 BASEBALL

Playoff Preview

Keep the bullpen rolling—and find a few hitters who can beat the heat

By Tom Verducci

40 Clayton Kershaw

The Dodgers' ace is chasing one last big prize: October glory

By Lee Jenkins

+ NHL PREVIEW 2014--15

50 Anze Kopitar

The Slovenian center has the Kings on the verge of becoming a modern dynasty

By Eric Nusbaum

58 Power Rankings

The best—and worst—teams in the East and the West

By Brian Cazeneuve and Sarah Kwak

66 5-Minute Guide

Predicting all the major awards, and which team will hoist the Stanley Cup

DEPARTMENTS

2 SI Digital

6 Leading Off

12 Inbox

15 Social Media

17 Scorecard

24 Just My Type

Dan Patrick: QB Taysom Hill of unbeaten BYU

26 Faces in the Crowd

68 Point After

Steve Rushin: The real deal on being a Real Man

ON THE COVER: ROBERT BECK/SI (KERSHAW AND KOPITAR); DILIP VISHWANAT FOR SI (ADAM WAINWRIGHT AND T.J. OSHIE, BACKGROUND); SIMON BRUTY/SI (ALEXANDER OVECHKIN); JONATHAN BIELASKI FOR SI (ADAM JONES); TODD OLSZEWSKI FOR SI (LOCKERS); PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY SI PREMEDIA (ST. LOUIS, BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON)

PHOTO

PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT BECK/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED