February 05, 2007 | Volume 106, Issue 5

Gator Glory

MINUTES AFTER the Colts beat the Patriots in the AFC championship game, Tony Dungy made an offhand remark about the upcoming Super Bowl between Indianapolis and Chicago. "It's a shame we have to...

Roger Federer and Tiger Woods are good pals who won't argue about who's the most dominant athlete around. But two SI writers will

During his courageous fight for survival, Barbaro brought humans and horses together again

Cleared To play in Super Bowl XLI, Chicago defensive tackle Tank Johnson (above). Following a December arrest on firearms charges—his third arrest in 18 months—Johnson, 25, was told he could not...

The Yankees are at the forefront of baseball's foray into the untapped Chinese market

20 Percent decrease in the number of penalties in NFL games in 2006 from the previous season, the first decline since 2001.

Roger Clemens hasn't announced his 2007 plans. Who's leading the race to sign him—the Astros, Yankees or Red Sox? The update: AFTER THROWING OUT the first pitch at the University of Texas alumni...

THE DEATH OF Hall of Fame goaltender Lorne (Gump) Worsley at age 77 of a heart attack last Friday was a somber reminder that they don't make hockey nicknames like they used to. Washington Capitals...

Through the years with the crudest finger in sports

The 57-year-old former manager of the Giants and the Cubs will begin as an ESPN baseball analyst this spring.

HER FATHER invented the Ali Shuffle, so perhaps America should expect great things from Laila Ali on Dancing with the Stars. Muhammad's daughter (left)—who is 23--0 in the ring—is rumored to be in...

A Wisconsin strip club owner is offering a lifetime membership in exchange for Super Bowl tickets.

"Maybe I should take up hockey—at least they let you wear a helmet." That's probably what Massimo Scali was thinking last Friday when partner Federica Faiella dropped him on his head at the...

TODD JONES, Tigers pitcher and Alabama resident, on the $12 million contract ex-teammate Jamie Walker, a Tennessee native, signed with the Orioles: "Twelve million dollars in Tennessee? He might...

What to watch and watch for

Tracee Jones SCORECARD, Nov. 13, 2006

Kierah Kimbrough GREENBUSH, MINN. > Basketball Kimbrough, a sophomore forward at North Dakota, led all players with 23 points and 10 rebounds in a 95--67 win over Nebraska-Omaha; it was her...

COLTS LINEBACKER

WHO'S Hot

Which current assistant coach should already be a head coach?

Under an NHL jersey, a canvas

[This article contains a table. Please see hardcopy of magazine or PDF.]

Bears Linebacker

A Saint learns from a master—and a fan

New Jersey's top recruit broke tradition by choosing Rutgers over Ohio State

Once recruits kept their college commitments, but schools are finding that the minds they are a-changin'

EVEN IF Jerimy Finch holds with the Hoosiers, BCS champion Florida looks to be the leading beneficiary of the trend toward switching commitments in 2007. Its recruiting class, rated No. 1 by...

HOLD THE MAYO

The matchup in Miami will hinge on a line-of-scrimmage mind game. Can Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher outsmart Colts quarterback Peyton Manning for football's ultimate prize?

The first appearances by African-American head coaches in the Super Bowl

The AFC's best offense versus the NFC's best defense

Do the Bears have the bite, or will the Colts be carrying too much horsepower? Inside the numbers game

Roger Federer's victory at the Australian Open came as no surprise, but the way in which a rusty Serena Williams marched through the women's draw was downright shocking

Home of the last two Stanley Cup champions, most of the NHL's leading scorers and a fan-friendly, up-tempo style, the once lowly Southeast is hockey's best, most raucous division

1998 VINCENT LECAVALIER LIGHTNING The center, says Hitchcock, "put the division on the map" when he went No. 1.

Nothing Betterer Roger Federer celebrated his Australian Open championship—he didn't lose a set in seven matches—after defeating Fernando Gonzalez in Melbourne on Sunday for his 10th Grand Slam...

NBA general managers are diligently working the phones as the trade deadline approaches, but many of them seem reluctant to make a big move. Why the reluctance to take arms in this sea of mediocrity?

SI plays general manager and suggests three trades--none yet on the table--that should be made before the Feb. 22 deadline

It was always a big game, but in its early days it was still just a game. Then the convergence of TV, football and American commerce turned the Super Bowl into a...

College Basketball Who's the player of the year? The next George Mason? This season's Florida? Answers to these and other pressing questions

Final Forum

1 The national coach of the year will come from the Pac-10. A case can be made for UCLA's Ben Howland, Washington State's Tony Bennett and USC's Tim Floyd, but the choice here is Oregon's Ernie...

One Tough Kid

1 Noelle Pikus-Pace is the feel-good story of the year. Pikus-Pace (right) regained the world skeleton title last Friday, 15 months after a runaway bobsled shattered her right leg and nearly ended...

YOU UP for a challenge?

Exclusively on VCast from Verizon Wireless and SI.com.

Having battled to the top in a man's world, Torrey Pines South course superintendent Candice Combs is on the verge of making history

BY NOW everyone has seen the outtakes of Tiger Woods unexpectedly decking his costar in a Buick commercial, but no one has heard from the deckee, Al Nowicki. "It was a lot of fun," says the actor,...

27%

Jack Nicklaus, pillar of fatherhood, ruined it for other golfers

In 2006, for the first time, more golf courses closed than opened

by JAMES P. HERRE

A seventh straight win puts Tiger Woods a step closer to the Tour's most hallowed record

THERE'S A FRESH TAKE ON GOLF EVERY DAY AT SI.COM/GOLF.

For this cross-country star, a shot to run in the U.S. nationals could mean a reunion with his long-lost family