November 26, 2007 | Volume 107, Issue 21

Excited Lee

Myth Busters

Two SI writers explore the complicated dynamics behind the undoing of Michael Vick

Is the Barry Bonds era finally behind us? Tick tock

WHO'S Hot

Who is the most courageous receiver in the NFL?

Joined The Dolphins on Monday, running back Ricky Williams, who was reinstated by NFL commissioner Roger Goodell last week after a 1 1/2-year suspension for violating the league's substance abuse...

WHEN HE MADE his major league debut for the Reds on June 10, 1944, in a blowout loss to the Cardinals, Joe Nuxhall got the first man he faced to ground out. The third popped out; in between he...

DAVID BECKHAM Looking back on his first year in MLS: "It's been great so far, very positive and smooth apart from ... the season."

1 Players in major-college history who have had 20 rushing touchdowns and 20 TD passes in the same season: Florida's Tim Tebow, who has thrown for 26 scores and run for 20 this year.

A 102-year-old woman from Lincolnshire, England, posed nude for a calendar to raise money for a local soccer team.

After a rough stint on NBC, provocateur Brett Hull is getting a shot as a G.M.

On the Hornets' leaving Oklahoma City after two years Fans there were hurt. They had a bond with us. I'd see fans on the street and they'd tell me we were a part of their family. The biggest...

Thomas and Julius Jones face off

LAILA ALI will have a hard time squeezing in another title defense between TV gigs. She's set to mentor a dozen kids from rival Decatur, Ill., high schools as the host of Nickelodeon's teen...

A 26-year-old is rewriting the harness racing record book

He's been E-ROD, PAY-ROD, STAYROD and STRAY-ROD in the New York press. Now that he's agreed to a 10-year, $275 million contract, what personas will Alex Rodriguez assume next?

A documentary follows Caltech's brainiac basketball team

BALTIMOREANS WERE buzzing about the Orioles last week; alas the chatter concerned DH Aubrey Huff's drop-by on the Bubba the Love Sponge Show on Sirius. Huff (right) played down to Bubba's Howard...

CHRISTMAS CAME early for those who catch stadium bratwursts tossed from three sections away and then ask the vendor for the recipe. Concessionaire Delaware North Companies Sportservice has...

Janelle Lynch MACUNGIE, PA. > Field Hockey Lynch, a sophomore forward at Alvernia, was named Pennsylvania Athletic Conference player of the year after leading the league in goals (17) and points...

SI PLAYERS, OCT. 29 The last time the U.S. women's soccer team was looking for a coach, in 2004, Pia Sundhage (below) was the first choice of many players. That support likely cost her a shot at...

What to watch and watch for

The first 115 meetings between bitter rivals Kansas and Missouri were mostly forgettable, but this Saturday's victor will be one win from playing for the national title

Border War

While the Patriots continue to operate on a higher plane, NFL Nation is left to wonder whether a viable contender—Dallas? Green Bay? Indy?—will rise to meet them. Time is running short

Top of the Heap

Another Sunday, another precision display from the Patriots. Credit their play-calling, their execution and their sheer will

With a flawless run at Homestead, Jimmie Johnson sewed up his second straight Nextel Cup and proved that he and his Hendrick Racing team are the best of their era

Overdrive

After nine months of banging, drafting and jawing—i.e., racing—here are the highs and lows of the Nextel Cup season

As blue-chip recruits across the country signed with schools last week, other promising players like point guard Oscar Bellfield waited to make their commitments—determined to prove how good they...

Basketball Jones

1. DUNCANVILLE (Texas) 39--0

GLORY DAYS FOR THE VOLS

Behind its Canadian Rastafarian midfielder, Dwayne De Rosario, the Houston Dynasty—er, Dynamo—seized its second straight MLS Cup

Through his rise and fall, Michael Vick stayed loyal to a tight circle of friends—homeboys who used him and ultimately sold him out. He's not the first pro athlete to be swallowed up by his old...

Legal Eagle

The NFL The Bears face the hard truth: Rex Grossman may be their best option at QB • Peter King: Are the Patriots running up the score? • Dr. Z's Forecast: The Redskins get rolling

Him Again?

The contribution of Josh Cribbs (right) to the Browns' 6--4 start can't be overstated. His 39-yard kickoff return on Sunday at Baltimore set up the field goal that forced overtime, and his 41-yard...

Some say it's a killer instinct. Others view it as running up the score. Whatever you call it, the 10--0 Patriots' penchant for going for it on fourth down with big leads this season isn't...

Seems kind of freaky, doesn't it, that only 12 of the 32 NFL teams have winning records? It's as if someone were saying, "O.K., everybody over .500, pick up your pass for the playoffs." Which...

Wade and See

On the Clippers, who were 5--4 at week's end without All-Star power forward Elton Brand and point guard Shaun Livingston, both out with injuries until after the All-Star break:

Dawg Bite

1 Michigan fans pining for alum Les Miles to succeed the retiring Lloyd Carr had best hope LSU loses one of its last two games. Though Miles is believed to covet the job, it's unlikely he would...

The smallest-brained crustaceans are water fleas. The smallest-brained parasites are flatworms. And the smallest-brained mammals are the men and women who run high school athletics in the state of...

These players are just good enough to lead you to ruin

Read Will Carroll's analysis of the latest injury reports every Thursday at SI.com/fantasy.

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