September 07, 2009 | Volume 111, Issue 9

Running on a wild pitch, Chula Vista's Nick Conlin slid safely across home plate to tie the score at 3--3 in the fourth inning of the Little League World Series championship game in Williamsport,...

If continuity is the key to the defending champions' success, then '09 is looking like another good year

A new coordinator won't mess with their defensive style. Will his new tactics get them past the Steelers?

Branded a bust in Chicago, tailback Cedric Benson is one of several castoffs being counted on to help a woeful team change its stripes

It'll take a Mangenius to fix all the mistakes by the lake—and the floundering franchise hopes it has one in its new coach

With the core players hitting their prime, this bunch is (finally) ready to reach the top in a daunting division

What do you do when the second-leading receiver in NFL history is gone? Indy turned to its bench instead of the draft

The defense's new boss knows all about smashmouth. But can hard hitting make up for a massive loss up front?

After an off-season housecleaning, Jack Del Rio's underachievers are restoring their toughness and direction

With Shawne Merriman pumping electricity back into the defense, the prospects are looking sunnier for the Bolts

The rush is on to shape an LSU-dominated front seven into a unit that pressures the other team, for a change

The big shake-up came at QB, but if the defense can't keep the score down, it won't matter who's throwing the ball

Structure and discipline? With team? Those are the watchwords for a new staff that's going back to basics

The already formidable running game will carry an even greater load, and that includes backs catching more passes

You-know-who has left town, and now Big D looks to homegrown wideout Roy Williams to make some noise

The defense took some big hits, but a high-scoring offense that got younger and better can crank it up one more notch

An already stout defense got a whole lot better in the off-season—but is that where the help was needed most?

A cannon-armed new quarterback has raised the stakes, and now it's up to the wide receivers to raise their game

Brett Favre adds a new dimension to the offense—it's called a passing game—and juices the postseason prospects

If the No. 1 back regains his form and the reconfigured defense comes together, the Pack will have a playoff shot

New season, new coach, new players, new outlook. Time to turn the page on the past and start fresh

Youth is served in the remaking of the defense, but a knowledgeable veteran will be central to its success

After earning the top seed last season, they sank to the depths in the playoffs. Now depth is their biggest concern

Don't expect much? Fine—this bunch is glad to sneak up on teams with their dynamic offense and a rejuvenated D

A new coach schooled in Tampa's defensive tradition will try to restore some of that swashbuckling swagger

Given a fresh start thanks to a coaching change, Julius Jones plans to energize an offense that counts heavily on the run

They're rethinking the defense—fewer risks, more consistency—so that the offense doesn't have to do it all

The franchise once led by Joe Montana and Steve Young needs one of its two unspectacular passers to take charge

Attempting a ground-up renovation, a rookie coach hopes his cornerstone will be a raw and respectful rookie tackle

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several smiling Buddhas in Madame Katherine's parlor, along with a menorah and figurines of Christ and the Virgin Mary. Madame Katherine has her bases covered. We sit across from each other in...

Henry R. Luce 1898--1967

Sex testing an athlete isn't nearly as simple as it sounds

WHICH BALLPARK DO YOU MOST LIKE TO PLAY IN?

A slugging California crew continues the U.S.'s dominance in Williamsport

Former NHL coach Jacques Demers, who admitted in 2005 that he was functionally illiterate, was appointed to Canada's Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

At age 73, Toni Sailer , who in 1956 became the first skier to win gold in all three Alpine events at one Olympics. A native of Kitzbühel, Austria—he was known as the Blitz from Kitz—Sailer was a...

Players who have homered in their first major league at bat, after Arizona catcher John Hester hit a 420-foot shot against Houston last Friday.

After a disastrous stint with the Lions, Matt Millen returns to the broadcast booth, site of his best work

Solo circumnavigators keep getting younger

What smart fans should do this week

Buchanon, an eight-year NFL vet and one of the few people watching T.O.'s low-rated VH-1 series, sees himself in the laid-back image Owens projects on the show. "That show is hilarious," Buchanon...

The Dodgers fan stars in , in theaters on Friday

John, a senior at Felisa Rincon de Gautier Institute for Law and Public Policy, won the all-around title in the 14--15 division at the Visa Championships for the third straight year. He placed...

A teen athlete keeps beating the odds

The start of the FedEx Cup playoffs proved that what happened at Hazeltine did not stay there

On Sunday won the U.S. Amateur at Southern Hills Country Club in Tulsa with a 7-and-5 rout of , a Clemson senior, in the final. At 17, An became the Amateur's youngest champ, making good on his...

The forecast for this winter? A flurry of trades that could include some of the biggest stars in the game

The trade wasn't entirely about shedding salary for the Rays. No, the trade was an acknowledgment that Kazmir was no longer one of the team's top five starting pitchers. His ERA was 5.92 at...

None were among the top 70 picks in April, but these opportunistic rookies deserve a spot on your draft board

A breakaway threat who might score on any play, Cal's Jahvid Best could juke his way into the Heisman race

They're among the greatest athletes in sports—and often the loudest. As Offenses become ever more reliant on their skills, the NFL's new stars are dominating the air and the airwaves. Welcome to...

Already among the elite receivers, Larry Fitzgerald went stratospheric in the 2008 playoffs. A snapshot look at one of the NFL's most compelling figures

That would be quarterback in the NFL, of course. So what does it take to make it? SI gathered five of the league's elite young players at the position, opened up the notebook and let them tell us

SI.com's Monday Morning Quarterback columnist called on five NFL experts to evaluate the league's passers in critical categories

Super Bowl in Miami, SI's NFL writers and editors gathered for dinner at Joe's Stone Crab. At one point senior writer Peter King, who was sitting at the end of the table wearing a bib, was...

He directed the most prolific offense in NFL history two years ago. Now Tom Brady is back, and the outlook is Super

A fad, or the future? This season will tell whether the Wildcat, which sparked the Fins' playoff run, is here to stay

The Rex Ryan era begins—and it's no surprise that the tone will be set by a swarming, stifling, run-stopping defense

There's a new star in town, but the reality is that one man—even one with his own TV show—can't turn things around