THIS WEEK IN SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans reveal the untold story of Tyrann Mathieu; Alexander Wolff and David Epstein detail Lance Armstrong’s misdeeds; Chris Ballard explores the seemingly impossible dream of Williamsport high; Andy Staples reveals which teams can give Alabama a run for its money
(NEW YORK – October 17, 2012) – Tyrann Mathieu found overnight fame last year, becoming only the third defensive player since 1994 to be named a Heisman Trophy finalist, but Senior SI writers Pete Thamel and Thayer Evans uncover how the spoils of that fame have led to rehab, exile from the LSU football program and comparisons with his imprisoned father, Darrin (Cornbread) Hayes (page 34).
Like his father, Mathieu derailed his college football career. The Honey Badger was dismissed from the LSU program on Aug 10, and he faces no shortage of other obstacles: Including a complicated family situation, supporting a baby boy due in January and dealing with possible NCAA violations stemming from his involvement in promoting a Baton Rouge nightclub.
Former NBA player John Lucas has counseled Mathieu as he works to return to football, but the road ahead is difficult. Mathieu’s sister Darrineka says, “I’m not making excuses for my brother, but I would smoke too, dealing with everything.”
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“A MASSIVE FRAUD NOW MORE FULLY EXPOSED” – ALEXANDER WOLFF AND DAVID EPSTEIN (@Alexander_Wolff & @SIDavidEpstein)
For years, Lance Armstrong vehemently denied doping as he became the most dominant cyclist in history. Recently, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency pulled the last thread from the fiction that Armstrong had meticulously woven: That he had been the lone clean champion during cycling’s most corrupt era. Senior SI writer Alexander Wolff and David Epstein have compiled some of Armstrong’s most strident assertions. They then annotate them with evidence that he took performance-enhancing drugs, pressured his teammates to do so and bullied anyone who opposed him (page 40).
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MOURNING GLORY – CHRIS BALLARD (@SI_ChrisBallard)
Deep in the heart of Maryland, not far from Baltimore and Washington, there was another story of baseball magic, this one mixed with tragedy- two deaths, three years apart- that ended with the realization of a seemingly impossible dream.
When Coach David Warrenfeltz was hired to lead the Williamsport baseball program in 2011, some of the locals grumbled – at 23, he was inexperienced and not much older than the players. Warrenfeltz found his way to coaching after experiencing heartache three years ago when his boyhood friend, Nick Adenhart, was killed by a drunk driver in California the night of his best performance as a promising young major league pitcher with the Los Angeles Angels. On the night of May 5th, the town experienced the same horror again as the team’s best player, Brendon Colliflower and his girlfriend Samantha Kelly died in a car accident coming home from the school prom. In the face of tragedy, Coach Warrenfeltz brought the town and team together and proved that he was the right man for the job (page 58).
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WHO CAN ROLL THE TIDE? – ANDY STAPLES (@Andy_Staples)
The undefeated Alabama Crimson Tide beat Missouri 42-10 Saturday in a romp that actually lowered Bama’s average margin of victory to 33.0 points. Coach Nick Saban holds his team to its own standard of excellence, not that of its opponent, and while it doesn’t look like they can be stopped en route to the national title, Andy Staples makes the case for three teams that could give the Tide a run for its money (page 26).
- Florida: If the Gators and Tide meet in the SEC championship game on Dec 1, Florida’s suffocating brand of defense and simple offensive scheme known as “God’s Play” could turn the game into a slugfest reminiscent of LSU’s 9-6 overtime win at Alabama last season.
- Notre Dame: Notre Dame’s defense has proved its toughness this season, having already forced more turnovers (15) than it did all last season (14), and Irish linebacker Manti Te’o and nosetackle Louis Nix might be the best-equipped tandem in the country to handle Alabama run-blockers Barrett Jones and Chance Warmack.
- Oregon: Known for their fast-paced offense, the Ducks can play defense too. They may be susceptible to allowing big plays, but they clamp down when it matters, having held opponents to just nine touchdowns on 26 red-zone attempts this season.
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POINT AFTER: THIS TIGER IS A HORSE – PHIL TAYLOR (@SI_PhilTaylor)
Why pull a pitcher who never gets tired? Justin Verlander throws harder and longer than any pitcher in baseball. But in this new era of treating pitchers as if their shoulders are made of crystal and their elbows of cotton candy, it’s amazing that his manager, Jim Leyland, lets him pitch so long. The reigning AL Cy Young winner and MVP states, “I don’t think it’s fair to just say 100 or 110 pitches is the limit for everybody…. I’ve always been the kind of guy who gets stronger as the game goes along” (page 68).
THIS WEEK’S FACES IN THE CROWD
- Drew Wolitarsky (Canyon Country, Calif/Canyon High) – Football
- Haleigh Washington (Colorado Springs/Doherty High)– Volleyball
- Riley Lyons (Roswell, GA./Dartmouth College) – Football
- Katie Johnson (Sioux Falls, S.D./Washington High) – Softball
- Joey Colton (Lake Forest, Calif./El Toro High) – Water Polo
- Keri Lambert (Amherst, Mass./USC) – Cross-Country
To submit a candidate for Faces in the Crowd, go to SI.com/faces. Follow on Twitter @SI_Faces.
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