September 10, 2007 | Volume 107, Issue 10

Clay's pigeons

Easy Does It

Betting on tennis is now a big business—just ask the fixers

HE'S A third-team All-America safety and an electrifying punt returner, and he certainly puts some fight into the Irish. Notre Dame senior Tom Zbikowski was once a fearsome Golden Gloves boxer,...

WHO'S Hot

What is your favorite tournament?

AFTER THE U.S. romped to a gold medal—and an Olympic berth—at the FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas, USA basketball managing director Jerry Colangelo was thinking about bigger things than...

Died Of lung cancer at age 75, 1967 Masters champion Gay Brewer. The victory at Augusta was a redeeming moment for Brewer (below), who lost the '66 Masters to Jack Nicklaus in a playoff after...

1--12 Baltimore's record since the team made Dave Trembley its permanent manager on Aug. 22.

A Florida man pleaded guilty to giving steroids to his 13-year-old son, who was training for a roller skating competition.

RON ARTEST Kings forward, on Michael Vick: "[He] lied and then came back and apologized to everybody. I felt that was classy."

Whenever there's a chance to mention the beverage, Andy Roddick hops to it

Indians ace C.C. Sabathia hasn't allowed more than two earned runs in any of his last nine starts. But he won just three of those games, a reminder of why—regardless of how well a pitcher...

The inspiration for 49er Vernon Davis

BRAVES THIRD BASEMAN

Before they were major leaguers, they were kids in the hall

One year in the life of college football

WHO DOESN'T love a little football trickeration? Answer: the young players who were duped in the clip at SI.com/clickthis. In this game—the time, locale and level are unclear—a conniving...

Russell Crowe

Lexi Zimmerman BARRINGTON, ILL. > Volleyball Zimmerman, a freshman setter at No. 20 Michigan, made her college debut with 64 assists and 13 digs in a five-game win over No. 10 Hawaii in the finals...

What to watch and watch for

Using its speed and spread-option attack to run circles around the bewildered defense of No. 5 Michigan, Division I-AA Appalachian State kicked off an otherwise uneventful opening week with one of...

Good Read Check out an exclusive excerpt from Austin Murphy's new book, Saturday Rules.

No one is saying that Jay Cutler has to play like John Elway, but it would sure help the Broncos—0 for 2 in finding Elway's successor—if the second-year passer could come close

Answer Man Peter King tackles your questions in his online column every Tuesday.

Meaty matchups mean a whole lot of hurtin' in Week 1

In the waning days of a typically erratic Phillies summer, their catalyst and rock, Jimmy Rollins, continued to build a compelling case for National League MVP

Inside Pitch The arms race is on in the AL East; Tom Verducci looks at Boston's Clay Buchholz.

Led by sprinters Tyson Gay and Allyson Felix, the U.S. dominated the world championships and set the stage for a potentially golden Olympics

Out in Front A gallery of the best of the World Track and Field Championships.

Long overshadowed, 36-year-old Kristine Lilly is now the high-scoring captain of a U.S. team out to win its—and her—third World Cup title

Heads Up More on the Women's World Cup, including postgame analysis from Mark Bechtel.

Which games and players to watch, and which team will win

<b>Miami's exhaustive search for a football coach ended with a man who'd been there all along: assistant Randy Shannon, a loner with a mysterious, tragic past.</b>

Hurricane Season The latest customized news, statistics and photographs for Miami football.

College Football Virginia Tech stumbled to a victory in an emotional opener • TCU could pull off an upset of Texas • Notre Dame's quarterback controversy will continue

A Small Step An unconvincing victory didn't give Virginia Tech the sort of lift it had hoped for—especially with LSU up next

1 Looking for a potential upset next week? No. 22 TCU, whose 27--0 rout of Baylor last Saturday was its fifth straight win over a Big 12 opponent, visits No. 4 Texas, which lost wideout Billy...

Backsliding Is the Russian revolution over? At the U.S. Open, that country's most gifted players continued to disappoint

Late Correction Jack Del Rio had second thoughts about his QB and made a decision that could save the Jags' season or cost him his job

Everybody doing a preseason forecast seems to have the same script on San Diego: All the pieces are in place except one—the coach. Norv Turner carries the reputation of an underachiever into what...

Quick Hitters Stressing speed and athleticism over power, a new breed of linebackers is changing the way teams play defense

JENKS (Okla.) at UNION (Tulsa), Sept. 7 Some 30,000 fans are expected at the University of Tulsa's Chapman Stadium for the 40th edition of this rivalry, dubbed the Backyard Bowl because the two...

END OF THE LINE

l CARROLL (Southlake, Texas) 0--0 Should kick off season with easy win over Lake Highlands

Twilight Zone Dale Earnhardt Jr. is caught between the sad end to this season and the excitement of starting anew in 2008

1 This week Joe Gibbs Racing will make it official: The organization will jump from Chevrolet to Toyota in 2008. The move will bring a huge infusion of cash to Gibbs and raise Toyota's profile in...

YOU SAY YOU'RE 41 years old and your fastball is slower than gums receding and your pitches are so wild people get hurt catching you?

A fast start is a must if these players are to retain their fantasy value

Get other fantasy owners' input on your pending trades and roster moves at SI.com/fantasy.

QUARTERBACK

QUARTERBACK

Annika's hoping for a late surge

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I FIND IT ANNOYING WHEN LPGA PLAYERS HAVE THEIR CADDIES ASSIST IN LINING UP THE SHOT. IS THERE ANY CHANCE THIS PRACTICE WILL BE DISALLOWED TO SPEED UP PLAY? --Mike Angolia, via e-mail

Who: Sherri Steinhauer

The best way to view the FedEx Cup is as a work in progress

by JIM GORANT

The FedEx Cup Lifts off with a Phil Mickelson Win in Round 2