September 10, 2012 | Volume 117, Issue 10

THREE THE HARD WAY

Michael Rosenberg's story on Paralympic rowers Rob Jones and Oksana Masters was one of the most moving I have ever read. After the horrific treatment Masters received in an orphanage in Ukraine,...

IAN OREFICE is a storm of energy. He grew up in Clifton Park, N.Y., playing golf, teaching golf and then playing professionally—which he quit Siena College to do—in mini-tours and generally...

Founder: Henry R. Luce 1898--1967

With all the benefits to watching the NFL on television, there's little to gain from seeing the game in person anymore

A bottle of water supposedly taken from an ice bath in which double Olympic gold medalist Mo Farah of Great Britain soaked during the London Games is for sale on eBay with a minimum bid of $1,000.

HOT: IN THE HUNT

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Who is the most underrated manager in baseball?

One year on from a Russian jet crash, players face the prospect of returning to the KHL

A boisterous, brave and well-traveled fan club keeps the flag flying for the men's national team

"When your own house is threatened, you stand at the door in your boxer shorts and with a pitchfork in hand to defend it."

A player bids to come back from a beaning

COACHES EDITION

An Aussie surfing star rides to the rescue during a vicious attack

SEATTLE'S BEST

SAY WHAT?

Get fat on the Savannah States all you want, but in the new BCS you might want a few more Cowboy Classics on your résumé

1 ALABAMA

The horses are out of the gate, and Matt Barkley's 372 yards and four TDs put him at the top of a tight field that includes Geno Smith, who ran for 65 yards and a TD in addition to his impressive...

Handicapping NASCAR's postseason contenders

The tight budgets of three leading wild-card contenders extend beyond their payrolls to their skimpy run production

There are two traditionally accepted paths to becoming a marketable star in boxing: either lose your head in front of the cameras or be willing to use it as a piñata in the ring. Floyd Mayweather...

A year ago, the Red Sox were baseball's model franchise. Words can only begin to describe how far they've fallen

Ben Reiter traces the long, strange trip of Dodgers G.M. Ned Colletti, who helped make the Red Sox bailout of 2012 possible, at SI.com/mlb

For most teams the fate of the franchise—in the form of that highly drafted, high-priced quarterback—often boils down to the blocking prowess of a guy like Tyler Polumbus. Who? Precisely

Four other lineman join Tyler Polumbus to form a No-Star squad of blockers on the spot this season

Oh, the U. S. Open has changed—less raw, more polished, the nouveau province of the hipster and the high-heeled. But the old electricity? It still courses through the most thrilling fortnight in...

Get daily analysis from Jon Wertheim, Bryan Graham, Andrew Lawrence and the rest of SI's team at SI.com/tennis

The do-or-die life of kickers—outsiders in their own game—forges a bond that connects them across generations, and misses

Which team will need a big kick to win this weekend? Andy Staples previews the action every Friday in The Walkthough at SI.com/cfb

TOO OFTEN FORGOTTEN IN THE NFL CONCUSSION DEBATE ARE THE WIVES AND GIRLFRIENDS WHO BEAR THE BURDEN OF CARING FOR SUFFERING PLAYERS—AND WATCHING THE MEN THEY LOVE SLOWLY SLIP AWAY

Hosted by RICHARD DEITSCH

Sometimes it sounds as if sports figures are speaking a different, more carefully crafted language—as though a staff of flacks, spin doctors and lawyers had extracted every trace of candor from...