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EXCLUSIVE Inside Sports Illustrated 12.3

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si-logoTHIS WEEK’S SPORTS ILLUSTRATED

SI Highlights Anthony Davis the Pelicans’ Do-It-All Big Man & Wisconsin’s Record-Breaking Running Back Melvin Gordon

NEW YORK, NY (December 3, 2014) – This week’s issue of Sports Illustrated highlights New Orleans Pelicans’ Anthony Davis rise from overlooked high school junior to NBA phenom – mirroring his teenage growth spurt. Following his undeniably lofty goals, the 21-year-old is off to an historic start. In the NFL, greater emphasis is always placed on big skill-position players: taller QBs, taller receivers, taller tight ends. With humor and analytic incisiveness, Austin Murphy dives into the strategic value of the NFL little guys. He may be one of the shortest players in the majors, but Houston Astros’ Jose Altuve’s numbers aren’t small at all producing historic stats for a player of his height. Also in this issue,  Alan Shipnuck profiles Ed O’Bannon, former college basketball standout who laid the groundwork for an overhaul of the revenue-distribution practices of the NCAA and has singlehandedly done more to change a sport than any other individual.

On the regional cover, a look into Wisconsin’s running back Melvin Gordon, who despite his late start, is making a spectacular run at the Heisman Trophy after breaking the NCAA single-game rushing record.

Below is a link to the high res cover:

https://app.box.com/s/26sbgxfm5bwkjce0erxa

Lee Jenkins: Year Three A.D.

Jenkins takes us from the Davis schoolboy days where his basketball ambitions were to one day coach the game to today where he is in the conversation as one on the most dominant players in the game. Interestingly after his first practice for the MeanStreets AAU program in Indiana, an intimated Davis wanted to quit. Cajoled to continue by his coaches he continued. Then a 19-year old scout changed everything. Writes Jenkins:

In April 2010, Davis played his first game for MeanStreets, in Merrillville, Ind. Daniel Poneman, a 19-year old Chicago-based scout who lived with his parents in Evanstown, showed up at halftime. He recorded the action on a Flip video camera. “I can be prone to hyperbole,” Poneman acknowledges, “but I was seeing things I’d never seen before: block a three, lead the break, dunk it, block another shot, lead another break, lay it in.” Poneman conducted a postgame interview- in which Davis said he intended to be a high school coach someday- then hurried home to upload the footage to his Facebook account. He didn’t have enough material, so he included clips of Jamari Traylor (now at Kansas), under the heading MEANSTREETS MONSTERS. Poneman tagged about a dozen college coaches, most of whom called or texted by morning, with some variation of the same question: Oh, my God, is this real?

When talking about that AAU game, the scout responsible for the uploaded video Daniel Poneman recounts Davis’s performance: “I can be prone to hyperbole, but I was seeing things I’d never seen before: block a three, lead the break, dunk it, block another shot, lead another break, lay it in.”

Fast Forward four years and Davis is now in the conversation when debating the best player in the NBA.  Of that talk Davis says: “It makes you smile to see yourself becoming the player you want to be. When people talk about the greatest ever, I want to be in that conversation, [but] I’m nowhere close to it. No…where…close.”

While some would suggest that Davis’ average of 14.2 points per game as a freshman wasn’t eye-popping. There were always glimpses of the greatness to come. Said his college coach John Calipari: “There were things he did that made me sit down, a touch pass, a lefty hook, a Ginobili layup.”

Brian Hamilton: The Biggest Cheese

Melvin Gordon arrived in Madison wanting to be remembered forever. After two years of waiting his turn, working while others slept and a 408-yard game that disintegrated all anonymity, the Wisconsin back is on the verge of being one of college football’s best.

“I told you if you stick to it, you’re going to be an amazing player” – former teammate and Denver Bronco’s running back Monte Ball

“When he sees other people doing well, it pushes him to try to be better than them” – Wisconsin sophomore tailback Dare Ogunbowale

“It’s just a pride thing man. Every running back who has started here had a great career and helped lead the team to great success. They took the team to greater heights. I wanted to keep the bar high. That’s just how it is”- Gordon

Emma Span: Little Slugger

The NFL is not the only place where big hits come in small packages. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve is among the majors’ shortest players, but with his lightning reflexes and refined mechanics, the AL batting champ doesn’t produce like it. His 2014 performance was superb by any measure – but it was historic for a player of his height.

“A player like him, who just doesn’t strike out and can make contact, has tremendous value. He was in the best shape of his life and he paid attention. He looked for keys on the pitcher, he started to study those things. And he had no fear.” – Jeff Luhnow, Houston’s GM

Alan Shipnuck: Closing The Deal

In championing the rights of amateur athletes to control – and profit from – their names and images, former UCLA basketball star Ed O’Bannon has become the face of the most important legal case in the history of collegiate sports. Now a car dealer in Las Vegas, O’Bannon keeps a low profile. He has little to gain from the lawsuit, and that has made him an ideal plaintiff.

“I loved playing basketball – I got all I wanted out of it, all I could. But it’s not forever. At some point you have to move on.” – O’Bannon

“It’s a nice life. A quiet life.” – O’Bannon

Derek Jeter Unplugged | Sports Illustrated

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Below is a link to the high res cover:

https://app.box.com/s/zjybz1y0wcw1xray0d1f

NEW YORK, NY (September, 24, 2014) – Mr. November. The Jerterian Swing. Captain Clutch. Number 2. Derek Jeter may be the most familiar baseball player of all time; no one has been covered more or played in front of more people. After nineteen years in the league and fourteen Sports Illustrated covers under his belt (with hardly a scratch to show for it), Jeter gives senior writer Tom Verducci his “exit interview” through a series of interviews sharing everything from his leadership style and media approach to his plans for the future. The elusive athlete is unplugged – Jeter-on-Jeter.

Jeter on how the game has changed…”The game has changed a lot. The way the game is played. Now it’s more analytics and shifts and tendencies and pitch counts, and that really didn’t exist when I first came up.

Jeter on the media…”At times probably a lot of the media gets frustrated with me. But for me the only way I’m able to operate here for this long is I don’t like negativity. I don’t like to talk about it. I don’t like to answer questions about it. I always hear people say I give the same answers or I don’t you give you much. No, I just don’t give you much negativity.”

Jeter on being a public figure…”You have to assume that everything you do is public knowledge. Everything. Because now everyone is a reporter. Everyone is a photographer. Someone can take a picture and make a story, which has happened plenty of times, and twist it and turn it anyway they want to. You used to be able to go out…it’s all I’ve known.”

Jeter on using the same Louisville Slugger model for 20 years…“Maybe I’d pick up another one in batting practice if I broke one. But I’ve never had an at bat in a game with another one.”

Jeter on his leadership style…“One of the biggest things about leadership is you have to get to know your teammates. You have to get to know who you’re leading because there’s different buttons you push with different people. Some guys you can yell and scream at, and some guys you have to put your arm around. You can do that only if you get to know them as people.”

Jeter on what is next…“That’s the beauty of it. I don’t know. You know what I want to do? Wake up one weekend and not have to go anywhere and do nothing.There are things I want to do in the future. But I think for me I need to get away for a while first. Come see me in eight months, and then maybe I can answer that question.”

Private Practice: Alan Siegel

Jeter is almost as famous for his ability to avoid controversy as for his on-field skill, and New York’s reporters are in still in awe.

Ask any New York reporter about Derek Jeter and they will all tell you the same thing; his ability to fly under the media’s radar is almost as commendable as his hit total. Writer Alan Siegel dives into the Yankee’s relationship with the media and examines his talent for sidestepping controversy. The following are interesting insights into Jeter from a who’s who of celebrity gossip writers:

Former Page Six editor, Richard Johnson, in an email, writes, “If he has any flaws, I’m not aware of them.”

Despite the countless tipsters who claim to have spotted Jeter, Lachlan Cartwright, executive editor of Radar Online, rarely could confirm his presence. Even then, he was never able to run the story.“It is very clear that he was a protected species…there were only two people I came across in that space: Leonardo DiCaprio and Derek  Jeter.”

Very few club owners and publicists talk extensively about Jeter. “They’re happy to see everyone else’s name in the paper with their club, but they were afraid of the backlash from Jeter, [of him] saying, ‘Hey, I’m not gonna come to your place anymore.’”

When Gary Sheffield asked his teammate for media advice, Jeter answered, plain and simple, ‘Just be boring.’c

Johnny Manziel on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated

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si-logoThis week’s Sports Illustrated includes the 2014 NFL Draft Preview which features a 10-plus page section with Texas A&M’s quarterback Johnny Manziel on the cover. Features include, “The Trouble with Running Backs,” “SI’s Mock Draft,” and the “Four Most Sought After Skill Sets for 2014.” This is Manziel’s first SI cover. 

Johnny Manziel_5.5

 

Five-Part Sports Illustrated Investigative Report on Oklahoma State football program to Launch Tuesday, September 10

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SI-2Sports Illustrated Investigative Report “The Dirty Game”
Set to Launch Tuesday, September 10, at 9 a.m. ET

The rapid ascent of the Oklahoma State University football program into a national powerhouse
is examined in a five-part series to run across SI’s platforms

(NEW YORK – September 9, 2013) – “The Dirty Game,” a Sports Illustrated special investigative report that looks into the transformation of a struggling college football program into a national powerhouse, is set to launch tomorrow morning on SI.com. The series is the result of a comprehensive 10-month investigation into the Oklahoma State University football program. It includes independent and on-the-record interviews with more than 60 former OSU football players who played from 2001 to ’10, as well as current and former OSU football staffers.

The findings will be presented in a five-part series across SI’s family of platforms, beginning with Part 1 (money), which launches on SI.com tomorrow at 9 a.m. ET and is this week’s magazine cover story, on newsstands and tablets Wednesday. Additional live coverage can be found on SI Now, SI.com’s live daily talk show (weekdays at 1 p.m. ET) and across SI’s social media outlets.

After 11 losing seasons in 12 years, OSU turned itself into one of the top programs in the nation. Since 2002, OSU has had 10 winnings seasons, earned its first Big 12 title and went to its first BCS Bowl. The report reveals that OSU went to extreme measures to build a winning program, with an increased willingness to cut corners and bend rules. The transgressions began under former coach Les Miles, who was the head coach in Stillwater from 2001 to ’04 and is now the head coach at LSU, and continued under current head coach Mike Gundy, who was promoted from offensive coordinator in 2005.

SI executive editor Jon Wertheim, SI assistant managing editor Hank Hersch and SI.com executive editor B.J. Schecter oversaw the investigative report, which was written and reported by senior writers George Dohrmann and Thayer Evans.

“We wanted to take a comprehensive look at a big-time program, particularly one that made a rapid ascent,” says Wertheim. “There’s obviously a steady drumbeat of scandal in college sports – improper benefits here; a recruiting violation there – and plenty of rumor and hearsay about the unseemly underbelly. For this piece, we were more about venturing inside the factory and seeing how the sausage is made.”

Parts 2 — 4 of the report continue on SI.com this week and the series culminates in next week’s SI issue and on SI.com. In addition, SI.com will feature videos of former Cowboys talking about their experiences in Stillwater. SI Now will have live coverage and reaction throughout the week. The series will run as follows:

·         Part 1: Money (On SI.com Tuesday, 9/10 and in the 9/16/13 SI issue): SI finds that OSU used a bonus system orchestrated by an assistant coach whereby players were paid for their performance on the field, with some stars collecting $500 or more per game. In addition, the report finds that OSU boosters and at least two assistant coaches funneled money to players via direct payments and a system of no-show and sham jobs. Some players say they collected more than $10,000 annually in under-the-table payouts.

·         Part 2: Academics (On SI.com Wednesday, 9/11): Widespread academic misconduct, which included tutors and other OSU personnel completing coursework for players, and professors giving passing grades for little or no work, all in the interest of keeping top players eligible.

·         Part 3: Drugs (On SI.com Thursday, 9/12): OSU tolerated and at times enabled recreational drug use, primarily through a specious counseling program that allowed some players to continue to use drugs while avoiding penalties. The school’s drug policy was selectively enforced, with some stars going unpunished despite repeated positive tests.

·         Part 4: Sex (On SI.com Friday, 9/13): OSU’s hostess program, Orange Pride, figured so prominently in the recruitment of prospects that the group more than tripled in size under Miles. Both Miles and Gundy took the unusual step of personally interviewing candidates. Multiple former players and Orange Pride members say that a small subset of the group had sex with recruits, a violation of NCAA rules.

·         Part 5: The Fallout (On SI.com Tuesday, 9/17, and in the 9/23/13 SI issue): SI finds that many players who were no longer useful to the football program were cast aside, returning to worlds they had hoped to escape. Some have been incarcerated, others live on the streets, many have battled drug abuse and a few have attempted suicide.

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This Week’s Sports Illustrated National Cover Story: The Last Days of A-Rod

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SI-2(NEW YORK – July 30, 2013) – With Alex Rodriguez facing a potential lengthy suspension by Major League Baseball for allegedly using performance-enhancing drugs from a Biogenesis “anti-aging” clinic, senior writer S.L. Price takes a look at the painful and ugly last days of A-Rod in this week’s Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday. Rodriguez, who spoke to Price last week while rehabbing with the Triple A Scranton/Wilkes-Barre RailRiders, makes his seventh SI cover appearance. The last time he appeared on a cover was on February 16, 2009, when SI revealed that Rodriguez had tested positive for steroids in 2003. Price writes on SI.com about his experience interviewing Rodriguez here.

While Rodriguez refused to specifically address the Biogenesis case, he did say he was concerned by the “noise,” since he wants to be a role model. “Look, it’s concerning,” Rodriguez said. “I have two daughters at home, and I’m sensitive to that, and above all, I want to be a role model, continue to be a role model—especially to my girls. So all the noise sometimes gets on my nerves, but that’s it. I can’t let it get any further than that. I have a job to do.” (PAGE 58)

Price recalls in the story how scouts once saw A-Rod as the best prospect ever and how coaches praised him as a tireless worker and learner with a high baseball IQ. “When this came out, I said, ‘You got to be kidding me,’” says Rich Hofman, Rodriguez’s baseball coach at Westminster Christian in Fort Lauderdale, of the Biogenesis story. “I’ve heard of dumb guys doing this but not a guy of Alex’s nature. He’s one of the more intelligent people in the game.” (PAGE 62) Jerry Narron, Rodriguez’s manager in Texas for two years, says nobody worked harder. “He came to the park every day,” Narron says, “like he was the 25th guy trying to make the ball club.” (PAGE 62)

Price also wonders how a smart person could make so many dumb mistakes beyond using steroids, such as last week, when Rodriguez tried to embarrass the Yankees into activating him despite being diagnosed with a quad strain by the Yankees’ team doctor. “Alex is a player for us: We treat him like we do every other player to make sure he’s healthy,” Yankees President Randy Levine says. “He and Derek Jeter have the exact same injury, happened around the exact same time—and he’s being treated just like Derek Jeter is.” (PAGE 62)

When asked why he even bothered to rehab with a suspension looming and a team that seems to not want him back, Rodriguez said, “It’s who I am, right? My father was a baseball player. When I was in my mom’s belly, I just heard baseball, had Mets and Yankees games on, living in New York. That’s in my blood. It’s my DNA. That’s who I am. That’s what God gave me: my talents, my skills. And I want to simplify it in my life. I’m going back to being just a baseball player.” (PAGE 56)

Despite a tarnished legacy, Rodriguez somehow still remains hopeful for a happy ending to his story. “I’m not giving up,” Rodriguez said. “I have tremendous faith, and hopefully there’s a couple more chapters to this book. And hopefully there’s a happy ending somewhere. I have faith.” (PAGE 57)

To download a high res image of the cover click here | Find more coverage here

 

SI COVER TWEET:  This week’s national cover: The Last Days of A-Rod. http://on.si.com/1cadnVW 

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Johnny Manziel featured on regional cover of this week’s SI

(NEW YORK – July 31, 2013) – A year ago, Johnny Manziel was simply trying to win the starting quarterback job at Texas A&M. After a historic Heisman Trophy season, he is now learning that being Johnny Football is a 24/7 gig with many perks and a few pitfalls too. In this week’s Sports Illustrated, on newsstands now, Manziel discusses his image, his mistakes, his struggles with fame, his future and more. Manziel, who sat down with senior writer Andy Staples for an exclusive interview last week at his parents’ house in Bryan, Texas, appears on a regional cover of this week’s SI. Staples describes on SI.com about his experience tracking down Manziel here.

“I probably rubbed people the wrong way in some cases,” Manziel says, “but at the end of the day, people are mad at me and people are upset at me because I’m doing everything they want to do.” (PAGES 28–30) People were upset last month when Manziel tweeted about his desire to leave College Station after getting a parking ticket, and while he takes full responsibility for his dismissal from the Manning Passing Academy in July, he remains shocked by the response. “I oversleep at the Manning camp, and there’s a weeklong special,” Manziel says. (PAGE 31)

“I’m adapting. I’m learning. I’m trying to learn from these mistakes,” he says. “But I’m not going to change who I am because the media wants me to be this, this or this. I’m not going to do that. . . . You love me when I’m running around being dangerous and a loose cannon,” Manziel says. “What makes me special on the field is what people don’t like off the field. I’m still learning how to put that into perspective.” (PAGE 32)

Manziel says he and his family are still struggling to adapt to his fame. “That probably is what’s getting us in trouble—wanting to be normal,” Manziel says. “We want to be just like we’ve always been, where none of this is a big deal.” (PAGE 30)  When he won the Heisman, he had no idea how much his life would change. “I never knew what that trophy would do,” Manziel says. “I never knew the power of it.” (PAGE 31) To help cope with his newfound fame, Manziel asked his coach, Kevin Sumlin, for help. Sumlin set him up this past February with a therapist to work on dealing with stress and on how to say no to autograph and photo requests.

Will Manziel say no to the NFL draft after this season? His own mother, Michelle, doesn’t see how he can stay in school. “It’s sad that the system doesn’t allow it,” she says. “We can’t go through this another year. We would all be in the loony bin.” Johnny says he could handle another year. “There’s so much that factors in,” Manziel says. “I don’t want to be a guy who has a first-round grade and come out and go into the second round. That’s the difference between $12 million and $4 million or $5 million. That’s still a lot of money, obviously, but not when you have two full years left on the table.” (PAGE 32)

Along the way, Manziel has crossed off many items on his bucket list, such as rubbing elbows with stars like Drake and LeBron James. “When we look back 20, 30 years down the road, we’re going to sit there and be like, We pretty much hung out with the f—–’ Beatles,” Manziel says. “We pretty much did everything we wanted to do.” (PAGE 32) After experiencing so much on and off the field, what does he dream of now? “Being the best player to ever play college football,” says Manziel. (PAGE 32)

To download a high res image of the cover click here | Find more coverage here

 

SI COVER TWEET:  @SInow: This week’s Regional Cover: Walking in the Shoes of Johnny Football: http://on.si.com/1cdNl43 

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Sports Illustrated Launches Peter King’s TheMMQB.com

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mmqb

New York, NY (July 22, 2013) – Sports Illustrated today introduced The MMQB (TheMMQB.com), a new, digital franchise led by award-winning SI senior writer Peter King that is devoted to NFL coverage. The franchise, an offshoot of King’s popular Monday Morning Quarterback column, will deliver insight, access and analysis from a team of reporters that will set a standard for future multimedia NFL coverage.

 

“We are aiming to be the thinking man’s website dedicated to covering the NFL in a more modern way,” said King. “We will combine the great SI storytelling style with an added emphasis on video, social media and photography.”

 

King, who will continue to write Monday Morning Quarterback, in addition to producing other stories and videos each week, will be joined by SI newcomers Greg Bedard, Robert Klemko and Jenny Vrentas to form the nucleus of The MMQB editorial team. Bedard will focus on trends and tactics that are shaping the game. Vrentas will write feature articles and contribute regularly on the critical health, safety and legal issues confronting the NFL. Klemko will concentrate on the league’s most important news stories and go inside the lives of players off the field. “10 Things I Think I Think,” a well-known component of King’s MMQB column, will become 10@10, a daily feature whose contributors will include NFL personalities. The individual entries will be tailored for sharing on Twitter, and the column will be posted at 10 a.m. ET. And for a feature called 3@3, an NFL player, coach or executive will respond to three questions, which will be posted weekdays at 3 p.m. ET.

Other regular contributors include SI media reporter Richard Deitsch, who will look at how the NFL is covered and how it interacts with fans through media; SI senior writer Don Banks will dive into the league’s hottest issues on and off the field in a column called The Conscience; SI senior writer Jim Trotter’s column, The Takeaway, will focus on what’s happening on the West Coast; and former Green Bay Packers executive Andrew Brandt will write a weekly column that provides insight into the business of football and the inner workings of NFL front offices. In addition, SI’s video group will fully support TheMMQB.com by producing short- and long-form original stories and companion pieces using the site’s entire editorial team.

 

TheMMQB.com was developed by Time Inc./Sports Illustrated and utilizes a responsive design that optimizes the user experience across mobile, tablet and desktop platforms, with deep integration to social platforms like Facebook and Twitter. The forward-looking design allows users to easily access the “river” of content to keep up to date on the latest stories and videos, as well as find and search archived content.

“We’re thrilled to launch another digital franchise under the Sports Illustrated  umbrella, especially one  being led by our most popular writer about the most popular sport,” said Paul Fichtenbaum, the Editor of the Time Inc. Sports Group. “In many ways this represents a natural evolution for us.”

 

This launch follows the recent successful debuts of SwimDaily.com and ExtraMustard.com, adding to the SI Digital Network. Gillette Clear Gel anti-perspirant/deodorant and Windows 8 are launch sponsors of the site. SI will support TheMMQB.com with new social extensions across Twitter (@theMMQB), Facebook, Google+, Instagram (@theMMQB) and more.

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Pirates Closer Jason Grilli on National Cover of SI’s MLB Second-Half Preview

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SI-2Regional Cover Story: Tom Verducci on Buster Posey, Baseball’s Most Indispensable Player

5-Minute Guide: Revised Predictions and What to Look For in the Second Half

(NEW YORK – July 17, 2013) – Last night’s All-Star Game marked the unofficial halfway point of the baseball season, and this week’s Sports Illustrated, on newsstands now, previews the top story lines of baseball’s second half, including Ben Reiter’s national cover story  on how the lights-out Pittsburgh bullpen has the first-place Pirates playoff-bound and is re-stirring a romance with the fans in the Steel City. All-Star closer Jason Grilli’s first SI cover appearance is also the first time a Pirate has been on the cover since Barry Bonds on May 4, 1992.

Grilli, a 36-year-old first-time closer has bounced around as a starter and middle reliever for eight teams, including stints in the minors, since 2000. Yet, he enters the second half with an NL-best 29 saves and a 2.15 ERA. Along with All-Star set-up man Mark Melancon (0.85 ERA), the duo have emerged as baseball’s top and least likely shutdown eighth- and ninth-inning combination. “Give us seven innings, and we’ll figure it out from there,” says Pittsburgh manager Clint Hurdle. (PAGE 36)

Grilli, who served as the Pirates’ set-up man last season says his time with the Tigers in 2006 made him think that he might want to try closing games. “I saw the rock ’n’ roll of Joel Zumaya and Todd Jones entering games, and I thought, Jeez, I’d much rather do that,” he says. “Nobody says, ‘I want to be a middle reliever in the big leagues!’ That’s like saying, ‘I want to be an offensive lineman in the NFL.’ There’s no glory in that.” (PAGE 39)

Thanks to Melancon the Pirates’ bullpen has a nickname to match its new identity—the Shark Tank. The name stuck after he told teammates in spring training that he and his wife had gone shark-cage diving two winters ago. Researchers on the same trip encountered an unfamiliar great white shark and asked Melancon if they could name it after him. “When the [bullpen] gate opens, you smell blood, just like a shark,” explains lefthander Tony Watson. “You’re going out there to attack hitters, be aggressive. That kind of symbolizes the way sharks are in the water. . . . I guess. I’m not a big oceanographer.” (PAGE 36)

The Shark Tank’s ERA of 2.89, second best in the majors, is a big reason why the Pirates enter the second half tied with the Cardinals atop the NL Central. And while skeptics will point to each of the last two seasons when Pittsburgh flirted with a winning record only to collapse in the second half, this year’s team appears primed to end the longest streak of losing seasons in major American pro sports (20 after 2012). G.M. Neal Huntington says the rejuvenated fan base now expects even more than a winning season. He says, “They’ve shifted from hoping that we could win 82 games to being angry that we didn’t make the playoffs last year, and that’s a wonderful dynamic.” (PAGE 41)

Grilli hopes to not only bring fans a championship but to also be the last guy standing. “I’d be honored to be the last guy on the hill, get that last out and celebrate,” he says. “It’d be fitting. I’d be humbled by that chance, to be a part of that. I want to see people swinging from the Clemente Bridge.” (PAGE 41)

To download a high res image of the cover click here | Find more coverage here

 

SI COVER TWEET:  This Week’s Cover: The playoff-bound @Pirates and their #Sharknado bullpen led by Jason Grilli (@GrillCheese49): http://on.si.com/1asi763

 

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Buster Posey Featured on Regional Cover of This Week’s SI

Also in this week’s SI MLB Second-Half Preview: Senior writer Tom Verducci profiles the game’s most indispensable player—Giants All-Star catcher Buster Posey. Featured on a regional cover of this week’s SI, Posey is the only player in MLB history to win the Rookie of the Year Award, the MVP and two World Series titles by age 25. This is Posey’s third SI cover appearance.

Posey is off to another great start for a Giants team that enters the second half 6-½ games back in the NL West. It’s no surprise that the Giants, World Series winners in two of the last three years (2010 and 2012), are a significantly worse team when Posey is out of the lineup. When his 2011 season was cut short in late May after he broke his leg and tore ankle ligaments, the Giants failed to make the playoffs. Verducci says, “Over the past four seasons, the Giants are a .561 team when Posey is in the starting lineup and a .510 team when he’s not—the difference between 91 and 83 wins over 162 games.” (PAGE 50)

On a team full of characters such as Pablo Sandoval, Sergio Romo, and Hunter Pence, Posey stands out with his stellar play and humble nature. “The juxtaposition of Buster with those guys enhances him,” Giants CEO Larry Baer says. “Buster is cut out of all-America land. What we find is the fans like all of them, but Buster is the glue.” (PAGE 50)

Verducci adds that it’s Posey—a fame-phobic country boy—who has become the face of the team in the nation’s most progressive city. Verducci says, “For all the costumes, the hats, the watercraft and the characters, however, it is a humble, self-confessed homebody from Turkey Farm Road in Leesburg, Ga.—an idyll even further removed from the maddening San Francisco crowd than its Carson McCullers–like name implies—who is the Giants’ best and most popular player.” (PAGE 50)

With his wife Kristen (whom he met in high school), and daughter, Addison, Posey enjoys the same quiet, family-centric life he enjoyed growing up on a farm in Georgia. “I don’t really get into the city much—just for the games,” says Posey, who lives in the East Bay area during the season. For the off-season, he has a home 20 minutes from Turkey Farm Road. “I think that’s the way I like it, the way my wife likes it and hopefully my kids grow up liking it,” he says. (PAGE 50)

Despite signing a groundbreaking nine-year contract extension worth $167 million in March, Posey remains a humble country boy on and off the field. When asked what about baseball brings him joy, Posey said, “I was just thinking today as I was driving here how fortunate I am that this is my job. . . . I enjoy being in the clubhouse with the guys. I enjoy batting practice before the games. I enjoy the atmosphere. I like all of it.” (PAGE 53)

To download a high res image of the cover click here | Find more coverage here

 

SI COVER TWEET:  This Week’s Regional Cover: Baseball’s most indispensable player, @SFGiants’ catcher @BusterPosey: http://on.si.com/1asi763 

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5-Minute Guide: This week’s SI MLB Second-Half Preview also features a 5-minute guide that offers revised standings and playoff predictions, players most likely to be traded, and more. Find more coverage here.

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LeBron James Featured on Cover of This Weeks Sports Illustrated

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SI-2The Unique Ubiquity of LeBron James
on the Cover of This Week’s Sports Illustrated

(NEW YORK – May 29, 2013) – LeBron James’s ability to contribute at a high level at all five positions places him among the most versatile players the NBA has ever seen. This week’s Sports Illustrated, which features James on the cover, breaks down James’s stunning array of skills, position by position, with takes by Lee Jenkins, Chris Ballard, Ian Thomsen, Mark Jackson and Bill Walton. This is the 19th SI cover for James; the last time he appeared was when he was named the 2012 SI Sportsman of the Year.

Small Forward: Since every player requires a position, Heat coach Erik Spoelestra pencils in James at small forward. Often manned by the most versatile player on the floor, the three spot is where the 6′ 8″, 250-pound star seems to fit best. Jenkins says, “James performs all the job’s diverse duties: slashing inside for layups and stepping out for three-pointers, handling the ball and hitting the glass, accepting the toughest defensive assignments and smothering them.” (PAGE 32)

Point Guard: Warriors coach Mark Jackson, a former point guard for 17 years in the NBA, says James’s skills at the point are similar to Magic Johnson’s, if Johnson had possessed the ability to score 30 every day. “To me, he has the chance to be the leading scorer in the history of this game and one of the top five assists guys,” says Jackson. “That’s how special he is.” (PAGE 33) Jackson says that in addition to being an excellent passer, James uses his length and strength to disrupt opposing point guards on the defensive end. “Even if he had to play only point guard on both offense and defense, he’s my Number 1 pick at the position right now,” says Jackson. (PAGE 33)

Shooting Guard: When James entered the league, he struggled with his outside shooting—teams dared him to shoot threes as he often took off-balance shots. Since his days in Cleveland, Ballard finds that James has worked with a shooting coach to create a “calmer” shot, which has helped turn him into a better long-range shooter. Now, Spoelestra takes James off the ball for large chunks of time, which enables James to take more efficient spot-up jump shots.“LeBron James could be, would be and is an excellent shooting guard,” says Ballard. “He can drive, he can score and he can defend opposing twos.” (PAGE 34)

Power Forward: James recently developed a post-up game, in which he bangs and bruises like a power forward, writes Ian Thomsen. After working on post moves with Hakeem Olajuwon before last season, teams now fear James inside—a place where he is one dribble from the basket and one kick-out pass from finding a wide-open shooter. “When the time is right, James could yet become the league’s most challenging power forward, having both an unparalleled ability to pass out of the post combined with a touch that will stretch defenses out to the three-point line,” says Thomsen. “It’s shocking to be the best player in the world and continue to improve,” says Pacers coach Frank Vogel. (PAGE 36)

Center: Hall of Fame center Bill Walton says James, who has played some center in the Heat’s small-ball lineup, can handle the pivot for even longer stretches of time should his team need him to. “He’s an outstanding passer and has outstanding footwork, which are two things you look for in a center,” says Walton. “Plus, who could guard LeBron? What center is equipped to take on that challenge? He can post you up and take you outside and shoot effortless jump shots.” (PAGE 37)

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Sidney Crosby on Cover of This Week’s Sports Illustrated; Regional Cover Features Stephen Curry

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SI-2(NEW YORK – May 7, 2013) – Pittsburgh Penguins’ star Sidney Crosby continues to amaze by coming back from injury better than when he left, writes Michael Rosenberg in this week’s Sports Illustrated.  Since returning from a 13 game absence with a broken jaw, Crosby, who makes his fifth appearance on the SI cover, has scored two goals and assisted on three more, including the game-winner in Sunday’s come-from-behind overtime win over the Islanders.

Despite missing 25% of the lockout shortened season, Crosby still finished third in the NHL with 56 points. Rosenberg finds that Crosby, still just 25 years old, uses his time off from injury to study the strengths and weaknesses of himself, his teammates and the rest of the league. “If this is how you succeed at work, we should all call in sick,” says Rosenberg (Page 38).

After missing 11 months with a concussion in 2011 and another nine months in 2012 due to the NHL lockout, Rosenberg writes that Crosby returned each time with an increased level of passion and improved stats (his points per game average has risen after each break).  “I’ve always loved hockey, but I realized how much I really do love it,” says Crosby about his time away from the game. (Page 40)

Crosby’s work ethic while off the ice has turned him into the best all-around player in the NHL, according to Rosenberg. His teammates agree. “How complete he is, that is what separates him,” says teammate Matt Niskanen. “That and his drive. Lots of guys work hard, but he works harder. Lots of guys can skate fast, and lots of guys can stickhandle really well. He can do both at the same time and at a very high level.” (PAGE 38)

However, to many hockey fans—especially American ones, Crosby is unworthy of his seat atop the NHL best player throne once occupied by Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. Crosby hears the boos and worse in every road arena. Rosenberg concludes that “Crosby is playing at such a high level now that his game should have the same effect on critics that LeBron James’s peaking game did the last two years, forcing them to applaud against their will.” (PAGE 42)

Give Steph Curry An Inch and He Might Take Golden State A Mile

This week’s SI also features a look by senior writer Chris Ballard at the top complementary shooters in this year’s NBA playoffs who give elite scorers room to operate and one star—Stephen Curry—who doesn’t need anyone’s help to find room to get off a shot. The regional cover is Curry’s first appearance on an SI cover.

During the Warriors six-game first-round victory over the Nuggets, Ballard says that Curry “appeared to be engaged in one very long, extremely thorough heat check.” (Page 52)

Ballard writes that Curry is a different breed who not only creates his own space, “but he also thrives in the absence of it.”

Along with some nudging from his sharp shooting father Dell and coach Mark Jackson, Curry has adapted to defenders playing him tight by shooting more quickly and from more difficult angels. This approach has led to Curry scoring 59.1% of his buckets unassisted this season. For comparison’s sake, Kevin Durant, another space creating shooter, was assisted on over half of his shots.

“It’s ridiculous the types of shots he makes in games,” says Jarrett Jack, the Warriors’ sixth man. “And each he hits one, it only helps the rest of us.” (Page 53)

Ballard also profiles the floor spacers who open up the lane for their team’s primary scorers and simply wait for their moment to come. Ballard says “The NBA has been a shooter’s league for a while now, but never as much as it is today: a record 39.9 threes were launched per game this season.” (PAGE 50)

Miami Heat forward Mike Miller played the role of a floor spacer in last year’s clinching game 5 of the NBA finals. Says Ballard, “His job: Stretch the Thunder’s defense so it couldn’t collapse on James and Wade as they attacked the basket.” Miller made 7 of 8 threes, and the heat won the championship.

Ballard highlights other floor spacers in the playoffs, such as New York forward Steve Novak, San Antonio guard Danny Green and Thunder guard Derek Fisher. Heat coach Eric Spolestra even runs a primary offense in which the entire team sets up on the perimeter to create space for James and Wade to drive. Sharp shooters like Ray Allen and Shane Battier have even left Miller and other three point specialists James Jones and Rashard Lewis primarily on the bench thus far in the playoffs.

“They haven’t had to use Miller and Jones and Lewis yet,” says an NBA scout. “But I guarantee you, through 16 wins those guys will come in and make a difference. Even if it’s one for one series, or one game. That’s why they’re there.” (PAGE 53)

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Tiger Woods on Regional Cover of This Week’s Sports Illustrated

By

SI-2Inside This Week’s Sports Illustrated:

Tiger Woods Might Be Back; Thinks He Can Win 20 Majors

(NEW YORK – April 2, 2013) – After six wins in his last 20 events and a return to the No. 1 world ranking, Tiger Woods is the clear favorite to win next week’s Masters for the first time in five years. In this week’s Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday, senior writer Michael Rosenberg uncovers the numerous life changes that have helped Woods find inner peace and bring his game back to an elite level. Woods appears on a regional cover of this week’s SI, his 23rd all-time cover. Rosenberg writes that since 2010:

“Woods has revamped his swing yet again; been divorced; hired a new instructor; switched caddies; changed putters; recovered from knee and Achilles-tendon injuries; moved from inland Orlando to the coastal Florida town of Jupiter, where he and Elin share custody of their five-year-old daughter, Sam, and four-year-old son, Charlie; switched home courses; started dating Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn; and returned to No. 1 in the World Ranking.” (PAGE 62)

After interviewing Woods’s friends, fellow PGA players, former instructors, his coach and caddie, Rosenberg finds that all of these life changes have Woods now at peace with his worldwide attention and have him set on making history. It has always been speculated that Woods was hunting Jack Nicklaus’s record of 18 majors. Notah Begay, former PGA Tour player and one of Woods’s best friends since childhood says: “He is focused on 20. That may be a little hard to believe, considering what’s transpired in the last three years, but that’s where his focus is. He thinks he is capable of winning 20 majors. (PAGE 62)

Tiger’s quest for greatness started when he was a child prodigy. Rosenberg finds that the numerous stories suggesting Tiger’s father Earl strategically planned his son’s destiny are false. Says Tiger’s first coach, Rudy Duran: “Earl was way less pushy, was less trying to groom a touring pro than most of the parents.” Rosenberg notes that Earl actually had to push Tiger away from the course toward school at times. He writes “the father was not obsessed. The child was.” (PAGE 62)

Tiger’s obsession with greatness had him working very closely with his coach and caddie early in his career. Tiger’s former coach Hank Haney was known to overload him with information, while his former caddie Steve Williams infamously would stand up against photographers, spectators and fellow golfers. Rosenberg writes that Woods now relies on coach Sean Foley to just coach and caddie Joe LaCava to just caddie, as they help him prepare using a simpler, more hands off approach.  Rosenberg writes: “He (Foley) wants Woods’s swing to hold up under pressure. He gives detailed answers to Woods’s questions but doesn’t micromanage his swing thoughts.” (PAGE 64)

Woods used to snap at his former caddie and coach, but LaCava says Woods has not blamed him once for a bad club choice or read on the green and that after his Torrey Pines victory, he told LaCava: “We won this F—— tournament!” (PAGE 64)

Woods is treating everyone better these days and working hard at it. His friend Steve Stricker tells Rosenberg: “I think he learned a lot from a couple of years ago: Be more cordial to everybody, respect other people. He is happier with himself. You can see it. Just the way he is treating people is better. It looks like he is working hard it.” (PAGE 65)

Fellow golfers are noticing the change in Woods as well. While they hadn’t spoken in years, Casey Martin was pleasantly surprised to see this tweet from @TigerWoods after Martin qualified for the U.S. Open last spring: “Simply incredible. Ability, attitude and guts. See you at Olympic Casey.” (PAGE 66)

Woods is now a member at the Medalist Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Fla., where you’ll find him working on his game, playing Rory McIlory or Bubba Watson in a 36-hole duel or perhaps the biggest change—calling staffers by their first names and chatting with them before heading to the first tee. He still has the same competitive drive he has always had since he was a child prodigy, but Rosenberg says the 37-year old now simply “looks happy.” (PAGE 66)

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Also in this week’s SI:

 

·         Luke Winn and Kelli Anderson take you inside the inspiring runs by Louisville and Wichita State to the Final Four. Both schools are featured on regional covers of this week’s SI.