With the launch of the SI Photo Blog on Tumblr, Sports Illustrated is providing its fans with a new destination for 57 years worth of iconic, award-winning photography. It’s a treasure trove of thousands of photos dating back to the magazine’s birth in 1954; some of the photos are classic, some are funny and some are just plain weird. All of them will be managed and posted by SI.com special projects producer Andy Gray (@si_vault). So how did Andy develop this idea?

“It’s something I’ve wanted to do ever since I started a Twitter feed for the SI Vault,” he says. “Whenever I posted photos — especially quirky ones from the 70s and 80s — they got a ton of response. So I started thinking of what I could do to branch out.”

Think of SI’s Tumblr as a social media-powered photo album. Fans are alerted to new photos when they’re posted, get to express their opinions and, if they so choose, re-blog those photos. If Gray’s credentials are any indication, there’s a lot that fans will like about the photos he choose. He was assigned to curate the SI Vault upon its launch in the spring of 2008, at which time he was encouraged to create galleries consisting of selections from SI’s massive catalog.

“Those scavenger hunts for various photos have yielded some great ideas,” Gray says. “Last year I was doing a gallery of rare Tom Brady photos and came across his high school yearbook picture. That got me thinking about other athletes and their yearbook photos, and that turned into one of our five most popular galleries for the year.

“Whenever you create a good gallery, it’ll feel like a viral video. You know what’s going to catch on.”

So what can fans expect from Gray and the Tumblr? The photos he posts will fit into one of three categories: news of the day, this day in history and photos of the day from the SI Snapshot app for Google Chrome. As long as fans continue to ask for and react to SI’s photography, Gray will be happy to provide them with it.

“People who follow me on Twitter tell me I have the best job in the world,” Gray says. “I get to look at great sports photos every day and share them with others to enjoy. It’s not a bad gig at all.”

Since Jeff Pearlman left Sports Illustrated in 2003, he has written five books, two of them New York Times best sellers. Among Pearlman’s great strengths are the thoroughness of his reporting and his ability to draw the most from his sources. For his latest work, Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, which is excerpted beginning on page 70, he interviewed nearly 700 people over 2 1⁄2 years to draw a detailed and sometimes heartbreaking portrait of a complex hero. As a football player Payton was magical, and for fans in Chicago and beyond he defined ruggedness and commitment. But like all truly transcendent figures, the great Payton had many more layers than were apparent from his public image. The excerpt from Pearlman’s book looks at Payton’s life with empathy and an understanding of the difficulties he faced once he left the game.

Nothing is more satisfying during football season than messing with the playbook, especially if you can surprise even yourself. That’s how we feel about the new Sports ­Illustrated Football Rivals application. One of our most ambitious digital productions, the app explores great college and pro football rivalries: the seminal games, deciding plays and dominant performances, enriched with video, audio and 3-D surprises. The more than 300 pages include rare video, such as the breakout runs in 1972 that pointed Ohio State freshman Archie Griffin toward the Heisman. There are also archival photos from the early days of the ­Auburn-­Alabama rivalry, an exploration of what originally froze the Bears and ­Packers’ icy relationship and a resonating meditation on the Army-Navy game played in the aftermath of President John F. Kennedy’s death. Each rivalry lives on a “time line” interface so that users can intuitively find highlights, stories from SI’s vault, key statistics, and updates from this season’s showdown.

The app was put together by SI’s Digital Products team, led by creative director Christopher Gibbons. The look and feel are his, as was the vision: “I want people to feel a sense of wonder when they first download the app. But as they get into it, they should feel completely embedded.” Producer Mike Phillips relentlessly oversaw the project’s myriad details and worked with Emmy Award–winner Kyle Chandler (Friday Night Lights) on the narration for seven original videos, which Chandler nailed with nuance and emotion. “I got goose bumps,” says Phillips. Innovative technical director Munish Dabas created most of the motion ­graphics — he’s the guy who enables you to spin Bear Bryant’s houndstooth hat — while senior designer Dominic Aratari produced many of the app’s surprises. Presented by Coca-Cola Zero, the free app is available for the iPad, iPhone and Android smartphones and can be downloaded at SI.com/rivals.

As part of the agenda, senior writer Jon Wertheim (@jon_wertheim) conducted an on-stage interview with Luma Mufleh, who was profiled by Gary Smith (Sports Illustrated, 6/23/2008) for her work as a youth soccer coach for young war refugees living outside of Atlanta. In addition to being blown away by Mufleh’s story — which has been chronicled in the New York Times and on CNN, The Today Show, ESPN and The Early Show — Wertheim learned a lot about how she is currently drawing attention to her cause.

“She’s in this interesting place where she’s an entrepreneur, wanting to expose as many people to her idea as possible,” he says. “But she wants to build this up and give access to people without losing sighting of what the goals are.”

Mufleh’s new identity as a social entrepreneur, Wertheim says, marks a departure from who she is at heart: a coach.

“If it was up to her, she’d be on a field with her kids instead of in New York at a private equity firm raising money,” he says. “But she realizes, for better or worse, that those are the rules of engagement.”

Speaking to Mufleh wasn’t the only satisfaction Wertheim got out of the symposium. He says that hearing about the effectiveness of sports as a force of good was a welcome antidote to the current headlines on the NBA lockout and conference expansion in college football.

“People are finally realizing there’s an awful lot of powers locked into sports,” Wertheim says. “You hear about the highest echelons, but there’s an awful lot going on at the grassroots levels.”

“Cynics will say it sounds cliché, but sports really do serve as a metaphor for life and a way to unite and teach.”

Walter Payton appears on the national cover of this week’s Oct. 3, 2011, issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands now. In addition, Phillies pitchers Cliff Lee and Ryan Madson (available in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia) and Bills cornerback Drayton Florence (available in New York and New England) appear on regional covers.

Below is the last time each team appeared on the cover and how many appearances they’ve had overall:

• Bears: Jan. 24, 2011 (Jay Cutler); 25th appearance
• Phillies: July 18, 2011 (Carlos Ruiz); 26th appearance
• Bills: Dec. 17, 2007 (Kevin Everett); 12th appearance

WALTER PAYTON: THE HERO NO ONE KNEW – JEFF PEARLMAN

Author Jeff Pearlman — who has written five books, two of them New York Times best sellers — provides an exclusive excerpt from his new book Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton (Gotham Books, out Oct. 4). Pearlman interviewed nearly 700 people over 2 ½ years to draw a detailed and sometimes heartbreaking portrait of a complex hero. The excerpt looks at Payton’s life with empathy and an understanding of the difficulties he faced once he left the game (page 70).

One of the moments Pearlman revisits is the weekend of Payton’s 1993 induction into the Hall of Fame. Pearlman says that unbeknownst to the public, Payton had been living apart from his wife, Connie, more or less since his retirement in 1988, though they remained married for fear of how a divorce would affect their children, Jarrett and Brittney, and Walter’s well-cultivated public image. Connie made the trip to Canton that weekend in 1993 with the kids, and according to Pearlman so did a woman, Lita Gonzalez (not her real name), with whom Walter had been in a five-year relationship, one that would continue until the year he died. Pearlman writes that Payton was anxious throughout the weekend, mostly staying in his hotel room with his girlfriend while his family was in a separate suite. Payton’s then executive assistant, Ginny Quirk, tells Pearlman that she was given the task of keeping the women apart:

• “The introduction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame is supposed to be the greatest moment in his life. And in truth, it was probably the worst…. Four full days, and Lita and Connie were like two ships passing in the night. If Connie was scheduled to come late, I’d make sure Lita was there early. If Connie was there early, Lita would be there late. I can’t describe the horror of that trip.”

Payton’s longtime agent, Bud Holmes, tells Pearlman that he received a call from Connie after the ceremony, asking him to introduce her to Lita, who sat a row behind Connie during the event. Holmes says:

• “I introduced the two of them, and they sat and talked for a quite a while. They were friendly, chatty. There was no hair pulling. It was very civil.” Holmes told Pearlman that, at one, point Connie looked Lita in the eyes and said bluntly, “You can have him. He doesn’t want me or the children.”

Pearlman says that as a player, Payton numbed his maladies with pills and liquids, usually supplied by the Bears, and that the self-medicating continued after he retired. Payton would take a cocktail of Tylenol and vicodin; he kept tanks of nitrous oxide stored in his garage and took hits throughout the day; and he secured Ritalin from a friend whose son was prescribed pills. Pearlman also says that in 1988, Payton visited a handful of dental offices complaining of severe tooth pain, was supplied with several prescriptions for morphine and visited several drugstores to have them filled. Pearlman says this drew the suspicion of one of the pharmacists, who contacted the police. Pearlman says that when they arrived at Payton’s house to clear up the situation, they merely issued him a warning. Holmes tells Pearlman:

• “Walter was pounding his body with medication, I wish I knew how bad it was, but at the time I really didn’t.”

Pearlman says that by the mid-90’s Payton was depressed and even suicidal. In a letter to a friend, Payton said he imagined himself murdering those around him and then turning the gun on himself. In their interviews with Pearlman, both Holmes and Quirk recall receiving calls at all hours of the day from Payton, threatening to end his life. As they tell Pearlman:

• Holmes: “Walter would call me all the time saying he was about to kill himself, he was tired. He was angry. Nobody loved him. He wanted to be dead.”
• Quirk: “He would call and say, you won’t see me when you get to the office tomorrow. Enjoy life without me.”

Pearlman says that after being diagnosed with the liver disease Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis and incurable bile duct cancer, Payton spent his final months trying to maintain a sense of normality, not wanting anyone to feel sorry for him. Pearlman writes: “He hosted some dinners for old Bears, and while it was never stated, the purpose was obvious: to say goodbye.” Some of those old Bears recall those last months for Pearlman:

• Linebacker Mike Singletary: “I never heard him say, ‘Why me?’ I know I would have been saying, ‘Why me? Why me There are other guys out there killing people—why me?’ I never heard Walter say that.”
• Offensive tackle Jimbo Covert: “I was there with about 30 other guys. Walter took time to go around to everybody personally and grab him and say, ‘What are you doing?’—just getting the down low on how you’d been. Can you imagine how strong a person he had to have been to do that? He knew he was going to die.”

To read the full online version of The Hero No One Knew, click here.

MLB PLAYOFF PREVIEW: AN OPEN AND SHUT CASE – TOM VERDUCCI

Recent postseason history has laid out a road map to the World Series: It starts with a team’s ace and ends with its closer. Of the 44 combined playoff victories by the past four champions, 33 were won or saved by the ace or the closer. And according to senior writer Tom Verducci, the Detroit Tigers—with Justin Verlander starting and Jose Valverde closing—have this year’s best one-two punch. At the same time, keep an eye on the Phillies. With an ace to start every game — not to mention home field advantage throughout the playoffs and a solid closer of their own in Ryan Madson — they may have found an even better road map through October (page 42).

To read the full online version of An Open and Shut Case, click here.

On the Tablets: Tom Verducci makes his picks for the MVP, Cy Young and Rookie of the Year award winners in the American and National Leagues.

PHILLIES FANS: “WE’RE IN BASEBALL HEAVEN” – GARY SMITH

In the third part of his seasonlong series covering the Phillies, senior writer Gary Smith drove through Philadelphia with Cliff Lee en route to Citizens Bank Park. Smith, a La Salle University graduate who spent seven years with Philadelphia’s Daily News, writes about how the Phillies’ dream 2011 season (thus far) has galvanized the city and brought together an ever-growing fan base — one that cuts across race, gender and socioeconomic status. Says Philadelphia mayor Michael Nutter (page 46): “The people have become happier, more supportive. There’s a sense of joy here, a feeling we can do big things. Everyone’s together. Everyone knows who’s pitching each night even more than who we’re playing against. It’s a Cliff Lee Night or a Cole Hamels Night or a Doc Halladay Night or a Roy Oswalt Night. The Phillies have taken this town by storm. It’s the perfect storm.”

Lee struggled early in his career, the result of an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder that left him perpetually distracted. “Never read a book in my life,” he admitted to Smith when discussing his affliction. By focusing more on each individual moment — as well as deciding to take Adderall — Lee became one of the game’s best pitchers and, eventually, the toast of Philadelphia. Of his home for at least the next four season, Lee tells Smith: “It’s been great. It’s been nothing but positive. They’re superfans, really. I’ve seen what they can do to players who left here — they can be pretty cutthroat fans. But they pack the place every night and they bring it every night, so you have to respect that.”

To read the full online version of “We’re in Baseball Heaven,” click here.

On the Tablet: Gary Smith discusses his story in a podcast interview with media writer Richard Deitsch (@richarddeitsch).

BUFFALO BILLS: FITZ MAGIC – BEN REITER (@SI_BenReiter)

Quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has led the Bills to 3–0 by embodying the spirit of togetherness that reflects the city of Buffalo — both on the field where, teammate David Nelson says, “he has the kind of persona that allows him to come up to a defensive lineman, approach a receiver, and find common ground”; and off, where he hosts gatherings known as Crock-Pot Sundays for his neighbors after each Bills home game. Here are two other examples of how the Harvard-bred signal-caller has found a home in Buffalo
(page 56):

• On discussing rap music with his teammates: “I’ll memorize a line and spit it out in front of them and they’ll all start laughing. I usually just pick the most vulgar thing.”
• On his Crock-Pot Sundays: “I get to play with my buddies, work our way up together, and then I get to come home and be with my family and friends. It’s just fun, isn’t it?”

To read the full online version of Fitz Magic, click here.

On the Tablets: Senior writer Peter King (@SI_PeterKing) conducts podcast interviews with keg cogs for two 3–0 teams: Lions coach Jim Schwartz and Bills quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrck. Plus, King’s “Last Word on the NFL” heading into Week 4.

WISCONSIN FRONT FIVE: THE THICK RED LINE – LARS ANDERSON (@LarsAndersonSI)

Saturday’s Nebraska-Wisconsin matchup will be more than an Big Ten clash of Top 10 opponents. It will be a showcase for the Badgers’ version of classic Midwestern football — which they borrowed from the Cornhuskers. Says Wisconsin athletic director Barry Alvarez, who coached the Badgers from 1990 to ’05 and played at Nebraska in the 1960s (page 64): “The blueprint for everything I did came from Nebraska. You’re not going to find many five-star running backs in Nebraska or Wisconsin, but you can find big offensive linemen. So we wanted a big line, and we wanted to be physical. That’s how we played at Nebraska, and that’s how we play here now.”

Some other noteworthy quotes from senior writer Lars Anderson’s story include:

• Alvarez, on the anticipation for Saturday’s game: “In the history of Camp Randall Stadium [built in 1917], there’s never been a harder ticket to get than the one for this Nebraska game. I personally ran out of tickets two months ago.”
• Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema, on why the state produces so many offensive linemen: “We simply have a lot of big people in Wisconsin. Maybe it’s eating all those cheese curds.”
• Quarterback Russell Wilson, on seeing the linemen working out during a visit to Madison this summer (while he was deciding where to transfer): “Never seen anything like that before in my life. I couldn’t believe how much weight they were pushing. That pretty much made up my mind.”

To read the full online version of The Thick Red Line, click here.

On the Tablets: Hot spots on five smashmouth heroes from Wisconsin’s past and video highlights of the Badgers’ big win over South Dakota last Saturday.

INSIDE THE HEAD OF SIDNEY CROSBY – DAVID EPSTEIN (@SIDavidEpstein) AND MICHAEL FARBER

When Sidney Crosby’s recovery from a concussion was seemingly stalled in August, he sought help in alternative medicine. Enter Ted Carrick, regarded as the father of chiropractic neurology — a discipline that seeks to improve brain function with anything from eye exercises to music therapy,  without medication or surgery. The validity of Carrick’s methods is widely debated, but Crosby — now skating without headaches or dizziness — believes they have helped him. He says (page 60): “I don’t think this is a case of trying to do something wacky. When someone came along and invented the airplane, people must have thought they were out of their mind. Who thinks he can fly? I’m sure people thought that person might have been stretching it a bit…. At the end of the day, as long as the person getting the care is comfortable, I think that’s what’s important.”

To read the full online version of Getting Inside the Head of Sidney Crosby¸ click here.

On the Tablets: Crosby goes into greater detail on his concussion recovery and the treatment he’s received from Ted Carrick.

SI PLAYERS NFL POLL

Who is the most underrated player in football? (page 26)

1. Josh Freeman, Buccaneers QB….3%
2. Andre Johnson, Texans WR….3%
3. Danny Woodhead, Patriots RB….3%
4. Ray Rice, Ravens RB….2%

[Based on 269 NFL players who responded to SI’s survey]

FAST FACTS: Clearly, if a lot of people say you’re underrated, you’re not underrated: 142 players received at least one vote, but only 18 got more than three…. While Freeman and Woodhead are just making their marks, Johnson is a five-time Pro Bowl pick…. Chargers QB Philip Rivers got six votes but was named five times in a similar poll on overrated players. Top pick in that one? Cowboys QB Tony Romo (7%).

POINT AFTER: A HIGHER CONSCIOUSNESS – PHIL TAYLOR (@SI_PhilTaylor)

When senior writer Phil Taylor stumbled upon the blog Six Months to Dunk — the brainchild of 30-year-old screenwriter Matt O’Neill — he found more than a supposedly quixotic quest to soar above the rim. O’Neill wanted to chase one last youthful fantasy before giving himself up completely to adulthood. But when O’Neill was laid off from his day job as a writer’s assistant, he had to put his quest (which began in February) on hold and look for work. He hasn’t given up hope. As he tells Taylor (page 84): “Life just kind of got in the way. This makes for a natural end of the second act, the lowest point of the story that I would then heroically overcome to eventually dunk.”

To read the full online version of A Higher Consciousness, click here.

SCORECARD: GET ME REWRITE – DICK FRIEDMAN (@DickFriedman24)

Senior editor Dick Friedman calls for sports rules to be more organic, to adapt to changing styles and conditions and reflect common sense rather than represent something handed down from Mount Olympus. Some of the rule changes he would enact (page 21):

• Do away with college football’s “the ground can’t cause a fumble” rule.
• Limit NBA teams to one timeout in the last two minutes of a half.
• Add a 15-second pitch/serve clock in baseball and tennis, respectively.
• Send a player off for five minutes for a yellow card in soccer.
• Don’t penalize golfers a whole stroke if, while they’re preparing to putt, the wind moves the ball after they’ve addressed it.

To read the full online version of Get Me Rewrite, click here.

THIS WEEK ON THE TABLETS

• SI Digital Bonus: Pickup Artists – Last Sunday, the NBA’s biggest names got together in one of the sport’s most iconic venues, Philadelphia’s Palestra, to play a little ball — a game streamed live by SI.com and dubbed “The Battle of I-95.”

INSIDE THE WEEK IN SPORTS

• NFL (page 34): Zeros to Heroes – Winless in 2008, the Lions have used a potent aerial attack to soar to a 3–0 start. (Damon Hack, @si_damonhack)
• NFL (page 36): Fail, Do the Chiefs – The reigning AFC West champs are hapless, not to mention winless, and the outlook isn’t likely to get any better until next April. (Jim Trotter, @SI_JimTrotter)
• On the Tablets: Jim Trotter’s Week 4 predictions.
• College Football (page 38): Oklahoma is O.K. – Oklahoma State may have beaten Texas A&M, but the Cowboys’ D still lack championship teeth, which is good news for the rival Sooners. (Albert Chen)
• NASCAR (page 40): Checkered Season – After a regular season marked by combativeness and an inability to win, Tony Stewart has positioned himself as the Chase driver to beat. (Lars Anderson, @LarsAndersonSI)

THIS WEEK’S FACES IN THE CROWD (page 30)

• Gyasi Zardes (Hawthorne, Calif./Cal State-Bakersfield) – Soccer
• Amanda Jones (El Dorado Hills, Calif./Oak Ridge High) – Water Polo
• Hayden Burnett (Richardson, Texas/Garland Christian Academy) – Football
• Tracy Copeland (Reno) – Triathlon
• Dan Marino (West Cornwall, Conn./UConn) – Fly-Fishing
• Andrea Marsh (Panama, N.Y./Panama Central) – Football

Follow Faces in the Crowd on Twitter @SI_Faces

Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has become one of the most powerful and visible franchises in publishing because of its ability to expand — expand its audience, expand the breadth of content offered and expand the number of channels through which it is delivered to consumers. Today, with the announcement of an ambitious partnership between SI and Electronic Arts, the Swimsuit franchise makes good on growing in all three of those areas.

As part of this partnership, 2011 SI Swimsuit cover model Irina Shayk and fellow Swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen play guest-starring roles in EA’s “Need for Speed The Run,” due out in November. This will bring together the worlds of fashion, video games, cars and beauty in a first-of-its-kind marketing partnership. As part of the partnership, Sports Illustrated and Electronic Arts are producing “The Making of Need for Speed The Run” DVD which will be included in a Sports Illustrated subscription offer whereby new subscribers will receive a six month All Access subscription to SI, Need for Speed The Run video game** and the DVD (for $49.95).

Read on for more after the break.

EA PUTS SPORTS ILLUSTRATED SWIMSUIT MODELS BEHIND THE WHEEL IN NEED FOR SPEED THE RUN

2011 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit cover model Irina Shayk and fellow Swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen Play Guest Starring Roles in Adrenaline-Pumping Racing Game

Electronic Arts Inc. (NASDAQ: ERTS) and Sports Illustrated today announced details of an exclusive marketing partnership between the internationally renowned Need for Speed™ and Swimsuit franchises bringing together the worlds of fashion, video games, cars and beauty in a first-of-its-kind partnership. The deal will see 2011 SI Swimsuit Cover model Irina Shayk and popular Swimsuit model Chrissy Teigen play guest starring roles* in one of this holiday’s most anticipated releases, Need for Speed™ The Run. The action-packed racing game takes players on a heart-pounding cross-country race from San Francisco to New York. In addition, the partnership powers a new SI subscription bundled offer featuring Need for Speed The Run assets and both EA and SI will execute significant cross-promotion across in-game, TV and social media.

“We’re thrilled to be working with Sports Illustrated to deliver the biggest, fastest, and sexiest entertainment event of the holiday with Need for Speed The Run,” said Steve Seabolt, Vice President of Global Brand Partnerships at EA. “With a global reach and a quality standard that’s comparable to what we achieve in our games, Sports Illustrated makes the perfect partner. Gamers, racers and Sports Illustrated Swimsuit aficionados alike will love seeing Irina and Chrissy transform from the physical to the digital world, playing lifelong friends competing in a heart-pounding race from San Francisco to New York.”

Irina Shayk, cover model of the 2011 SI Swimsuit and Chrissy Teigen, a feature model in the 2011 issue, star as best friends and rival racers competing against Jack, the protagonist and “man on the run” in Need for Speed The Run. As part of the partnership, Sports Illustrated and Electronic Arts are producing “The Making of Need for Speed The Run” DVD which will be included in a Sports Illustrated subscription offer whereby new subscribers will receive a six month All Access subscription to SI, Need for Speed The Run video game** and the DVD (for $49.95). Additional marketing extensions will also include commercial promotions for the offer and Sports Illustrated will have promotional billboards in the game, which will be used to promote the Sports Illustrated “All Access” Subscription offer as well as SI’s Sportsman of the Year and Swimsuit franchises.

“There are only a few companies that deliver upon the promise of excitement and innovation with every new product launch and EA stands at the top of that list. This is why it is very exciting that SI Swimsuit will be part of the latest edition of the Need for Speed franchise,” said Frank Wall, Vice President and Publisher of Sports Illustrated. “I’m sure that the millions Swimsuit fans will be excited to see Irina and Chrissy behind the wheel and millions more will be introduced to franchise in a fun and unexpected way.”

Developed by Black Box, an Electronic Arts studio, Need for Speed The Run will be available November 15, 2011 in North America and November 17, 2011 in Europe for the Xbox 360® videogame and entertainment system, PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system, PC, Wii™ and Nintendo 3DS™. For more information on Need for Speed, visit www.needforspeed.com or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/needforspeed and follow us on Twitter @needforspeed.

* Characters will only be available in the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC versions

** Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions only

Earlier today, SI.com announced that its production of “The Battle of I-95” — an exhibition game featuring 16 NBA stars that aired online at SI.com yesterday night, live from the Palestra in Philadelphia — resulted in more than 235,000 video streams. This was the first live basketball game ever produced and streamed by SI.com and featured SI staff writer Chris Mannix (@ChrisMannixSI) providing insight and analysis from courtside, where he was joined by Newsday’s Alan Hahn in the second half. Mannix also conducted pregame interviews with the team captains, Hakeem Warrick (for Team Philly) and Carmelo Anthony (Team Melo).

The game featured the strongest compilation of star power since the NBA Finals this past June. Headliners included All-Stars Anthony, LeBron James, Kevin Durant, Chris Paul and Tyreke Evans in addition to Philly hoopsters Kyle Lowry, Lou Williams, Mardy Collins, John Salmons, Wayne Ellington and Ronald “Flip” Murray.

Read and watch more about “The Battle of I-95″ by clicking through to the following links:

• Video: Top 10 highlights from the game
• Photo gallery: Team Melo vs. Team Philly
• Game recap: LeBron, Carmelo, Paul fall short to Team Philly in “Battle of I-95″
• Bryan Armen Graham (@BryanAGraham): Tribute to Philly’s proud basketball tradition
• The Point Forward/Nicki Jhabvala (@NickiJhabvala): Sights and sounds from the Philly-Melo showcase

Brad Pitt joined a select fraternity this week by appearing on the cover of Sports Illustrated. Rarely in the 57-year history of SI have its editors granted the honor to a non-athlete or non-coach. When they do, it’s for something or someone that transcends the sports world and crosses over into greater pop culture. So who else is on that list, and what did they do to be so honored? Among them:

• Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale (12/20/2010) – In its 2010 Year in Media issue, Sports Illustrated named The Fighter the best sports movie of the decade. And with good reason; Bale and Melissa Leo swept the Golden Globes and Oscars for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, for their performances.
• Stephen Colbert (12/21/09) – The eponymous host of The Colbert Report was recognized for mobilizing his “Nation” and saving the U.S. Olympic speedskating team from a budget shortfall on the eve of the 2010 Winter Games.
• Steve McQueen (8/23/1971) – In racing across the Mojave Desert on a motorcycle, McQueen proved that his passion for motor sports extended far beyond the big screen.
• John F. Kennedy and Jackie Kennedy (12/26/1960) – Less than two months after winning the Presidency, JFK penned an essay for SI bemoaning the general physical decline of American youth.
• Gerald Ford (7/8/1974) – The then Vice-President reflected on his days as a Michigan football star and Yale coach and pondered the state of sport, arguing that winning is a necessary goal; that international athletic victories serve nations well; and that the preoccupation with money may end up alienating fans.

To see more celebrity covers from over the years, click here.

If you’re as excited for Moneyball as we are, you’ll like what the tablet edition of this week’s Sports Illustrated has in store. To whet your appetite between now and the movie’s release tomorrow, we have four clips from the movie: a clubhouse scene with Scott Hatteberg (Chris Pratt) and David Justice (Stephen Bishop), the first meeting of Billy Beane (Brad Pitt) and Peter Brand (Jonah Hill), Beane working the phones at the trade deadline and a confrontation between Beane and A’s manager Art Howe (Philip Seymour Hoffman).

On the gridiron, SI has you covered. In light of Cam Newton’s record-breaking start to his career, there are hot spots of six former QB stars detailing how each fared at the start of their careers. That is supplemented by senior writer Peter King’s (@SI_PeterKing) podcast interview with Ravens LB Terrell Suggs, his “Last Word” video and senior writer Jim Trotter’s (@SI_JimTrotter) predictions for Week 3. Our college coverage includes video highlights of Baylor’s do-everything quarterback, Robert Griffin III, along with photos from the best of last weekend’s games.

This week’s SI Digital Bonus, E.M. Swift’s 1994 Sportsman of the Year story on Johann Olav Koss, runs in conjunction with “Sports Saves the World” by senior writer Alexander Wolff. Wolff is interviewed via podcast about his story, which includes a promotional video for Grassroot Soccer — one of the programs Wolff highlights in his story. There are also bonus photos from the new book The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs and the weekly Off the Record feature, highlighting the week’s must-see moments in sports video.

It’s not just the content that readers should sit up and pay attention to this week. The Sept. 26 issue marks another step for SI’s magazine tablet app. Among the additions:

• Twitter Social Pulse – a social media “home page” where readers can click on a writer’s head shot to view his or her respective feed in real time
• Hashtag specific to Tom Verducci’s cover story – readers are invited to participate in a conversation about the Red Sox story via the hash tag #SISoxRace
• Point After/Joe Posnanski – links to his blog and his Twitter feed in real time

We hope you enjoy it.

You’ve seen the Sept. 23 cover featuring Brad Pitt and read our review of Moneyball. Here’s what else readers can find in this week’s issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands now.

OUTTAKES FROM BRAD PITT’S PHOTO SHOOT

To say that Pitt enjoyed his photo shoot with photographer with Simon Bruty would be an understatement. Check out some of the outtakes that hit the cutting room floor by visiting Sports Illustrated’s Facebook page today . To view the photos, click the “Like” button at the top of the page (if you’re not already a fan) and click the “Fan’s Only” section on the lefthand side of the page.

THE NEW MONEYBALL: THE ART OF WINNING AN (EVEN MORE) UNFAIR GAME – TOM VERDUCCI

Eight years after Michael Lewis’s bestseller forever shifted baseball’s paradigms, Moneyball’s ethos has changed. Intellectual firepower is still necessary, but it’s no guarantee of success now that the game’s financial giants have cracked the code. Senior writer Tom Verducci spoke with Red Sox G.M. David Epstein about how he and his colleagues have harnessed statistical analysis while simultaneously taking advantage of Boston’s deep financial reserves (page 38).

Addressing Boston’s organizational philosophy, Epstein says: “I’m proud of the people and the processes here, but just about everything we’re doing here is being done elsewhere, and a lot of it better. We have a pretty big cushion with our resources. We can take sixth-rounders and pay them third-round money without thinking twice about it.” Oddly enough, Boston’s investment in the draft over the last five years has only been matched by the small-market Tampa Bay Rays, whose deep farm system may help them overtake Boston in the AL wild-card race for their third postseason appearance in four years.

To read the full online version of The Art of Winning An (Even More) Unfair Game, click here.

On the Tablets: An interactive timeline documenting the history of sabermetrics.

CAM NEWTON: THE REAL THING – TIM LAYDEN (@SITimLayden)

Cam Newton may be 0–2, but his record-setting start with the Panthers has silenced critics who doubted that the former Heisman Trophy winner had what it took to make it as an NFL quarterback. Among the people who have come around on Newton after having initial doubts (page 50):

• Chris Weinke, who designed Newton’s workouts this off-season at the IMG Academies, recalling an X’s and O’s session during their time together: “I wanted to see what he was capable of learning. And there was no question that he had studied that playbook. It was unbelievable. I had seen the Gruden thing, so I was shocked at what he could actually do — pleasantly so.”
• Ryan Kalil, Carolina’s sixth-year center, on Newton’s Week 1 performance vs. Arizona: “There were at least two times where I made a protection call and he changed it. Basically he said, ‘No, they’re coming from over here.’ And both times he was right. Hey, I saw the Gruden thing too. I wondered what he could handle. But we got both of those blitzes blocked in Arizona.”

To read the full online version of The Real Thing, click here.

On the Tablets: Hotspots on how six other rookie quarterbacks with big performances in their first two starts fared for the rest of their careers. Plus, senior writer Peter King’s (@SI_PeterKing) Last Word and his podcast interview with Ravens LB Terrell Suggs.

NFL PLAYERS POLL

Who would you pick first if you were building a team from scratch? (page 17)

1. Tom Brady, Patriots QB….24%
2. Peyton Manning, Colts QB….18%
3. Aaron Rodgers, Packers QB….14%
4. Adrian Peterson, Vikings RB….7%
5. Michael Vick, Eagles QB….6%

[Based on 272 NFL players who responded to SI’s survey]

FAST FACTS: Players voted overwhelmingly to put the ball in a quarterback’s hands, as seven of the top 10 vote getters (and 10 of the top 15) play QB. Peterson was the only ballcarrier to pick up more than four votes, and Lions DT Ndamukong Suh (4%) was the only defensive player to crack the top 10. In a Facebook poll online, QBs also led the way, with Rodgers (47%) topping Brady (19%) — though Suh finished third with 17%.

ROBERT GRIFFIN III: BACK OF ALL TRADES – PABLO S. TORRE (@SIPabloTorre)

Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin II runs, throws, sings, volunteers for charities and makes the honor roll. He might also be the fastest quarterback ever and the first in at least 30 years to be projected as both a first-round NFL pick and an Olympian (in the 400-meter hurdles). So, what can Griffin not do? He tells reporter Pablo S. Torre (page 56): “We all have our flaws. I’m not good at … trivia games? … You know, I can’t play … polo. Or water polo, either. Or … archery.”

The praise that Griffin has received since arriving at Baylor in the spring of 2008 (having graduated a semester early from Copperas Cove High) includes:

• Baylor track and field director Clyde Hart, who has coached Olympic gold medalists Michael Johnson and Jeremy Wariner: “You can put limitations on even the great ones. With Robert, you can’t do that. He’s … different.”
• Texas coach Mack Brown: “He’s as good as anybody out there that I’ve seen. He has changed their program completely.”

To read the full online version of Back of All Trades, click here.

On the Tablets: Video highlights of Baylor’s do-everything quarterback and a slideshow of the best action from last weekend.

SPORTS SAVES THE WORLD – ALEXANDER WOLFF

Around the globe, visionaries are using athletics to tackle the most pressing problems of the developing world. In Rio de Janeiro a former British universities light middleweight boxing champion named Luke Dowdney uses a boxing and martial arts program called Luta Pela Paz (Fight for Peace) to curb youth violence in one of the city’s largest favelas; in Port Elizabeth, South Africa, Grassroot Soccer has helped break down a wall of silence and educated many Africans about HIV; in the Middle East Peace Players International (PPI) uses basketball to build bridges among young people in the Israeli and Arab communities. Can such projects make a lasting difference, or is the dream of salvation through sports too grandiose? Starting with the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver, senior writer Alexander Wolff set off on a yearlong journey to find the answer (page 62).

On Sept. 27 at Yankee Stadium, Beyond Sport — a London-based firm that helps match practitioners with corporate sponsors — will host Beyond Sport United, a first-of-its-kind symposium focusing on how teams can effect social change in their communities. The event, which is supported by the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS and WNBA, will bring together representatives of more than 75 professional teams from around the world, along with league officials, business and government figures and grassroots entrepreneurs to share information, ideas and positive practices. Sports Illustrated is the official media sponsor of the event.

To read the full online version of Sports Saves the World, click here.

On the Tablets: A podcast interview with Alexander Wolff about his yearlong journey and a video promoting Grassroot Soccer. Plus, this week’s SI Digital Bonus is E.M. Swift’s Sportsman of the Year story on Johann Olav Koss from Dec. 19, 1994.

SCORECARD: HEY, FLOYD—FIGHT MANNY – CHRIS MANNIX (@ChrisMannixSI)

After another empty win over a good-but-not-great opponent on Saturday, it’s clear that Floyd Mayweather must fight Manny Pacquiao to get the respect he craves. Speaking with staff writer Chris Mannix, Pacquiao’s promoter, Bob Arum, expressed pessimism that it would ever happen (page 13):

• On the supposed agreements on blood testing: “We agreed to everything he wanted a year and a half ago. What the f— is he talking about? I have no optimism. He will say we can’t use WADA [the World Anti-Doping Agency] when we are in the Philippines. He will say Manny can’t train in the Philippines. Mayweather will find some reason for this fight not to happen.”
• Making the argument that Mayweather is afraid of Pacquiao: “A southpaw like Manny with a good right hand is the one kind of opponent Floyd knows he shouldn’t be in with. If I was promoting a young Floyd and a young Manny, I would never put Floyd in with him.”

To read the full online version of Hey, Floyd—Fight Manny, click here.

POINT AFTER: IT TAKES A VILLAGE – JOE POSNANSKI (@JPosnanski)

As Cubs fans go, they don’t get more optimistic than Steve Hirschtick. In the late 1990s, the Chicago native moved with his Thai wife, Orawan, to her village about 50 miles from Chiang Rai. Shortly thereafter, he hired villagers to build a little Wrigley Field on his land in an attempt to reverse the Cubs’ fortunes. (His first project, a 15-foot replica of a baseball with a Cubs logo, came about when Chicago lost 14 straight games to start the 1997 season.) Hirschtick says the villagers are still confused by his passion project, but they still happily wear the Cubs shirts he gives them. Hirschtick says (page 76): “They think it’s a religion. They think I’m praying to the god of the big red C.”

To read the full online version of It Takes a Village, click here.

On the Tablets: A display of Posnanski’s Twitter feed—updated in real time—and a link to his blog, Curiously Long Posts.

THIS WEEK ON THE TABLETS

• Scorecard: The Way They Were – Bonus photos from the new book The Big Show: Charles M. Conlon’s Golden Age Baseball Photographs.
• Off the Record: This week’s must-see moments in sports video.
• Social Pulse: Follow the real-time tweets of all of Sports Illustrated’s writers.

INSIDE THE WEEK IN SPORTS

• NFL (page 28): Bounceback – A gritty fourth-quarter performance should take the heat off Matt Ryan. For now. (Jim Trotter, @SI_JimTrotter)
• On the Tablets: Jim Trotter’s Week 3 predictions.
• Fantasy Football (page 31): Backup Plan – Five players who began the season on the bench or in part-time roles but have proven they’re worthy of a roster spot. (David Sabino, @SI_DavidSabino)
• NASCAR (page 32): The Power of Tenth – Reigning Cup champ Jimmie Johnson didn’t win the first race of the Chase, but his solid finish sent a powerful message nonetheless. (Lars Anderson, @LarsAndersonSI)
• MLB (page 34): Last Crusades – Which of the majors’ six cellar dwellers is most likely to deliver an outhouse-to-penthouse turnaround next season? (Joe Sheehan, @joe_sheehan)
• College Football (page 36): Power’s Out – The ACC last expanded with the goal of catching the SEC; as it moves toward another expansion, it’s still not there. Not even close. (Albert Chen)
• On the Tablets: Nebraska QB Taylor Martinez is interviewed this week in the latest edition of Just Askin’.

THIS WEEK’S FACES IN THE CROWD (page 20)

• Stephan Neville (Foxborough, Mass./Stonehill College) – Football
• Grace Min (Lawrenceville, Ga./USTA Training Center) – Tennis
• Zeke Gossett (Cropwell, Ala./Pell City High) – Bass Fishing
• Pat Gallant-Charette (Westbrook, Maine) – Open-Water Swimming
• Bob Price (Chantilly, Va.) – Rowing
• Fran Strub (Coralville, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana High) and Caitlin Wnek (Amana, Iowa/Clear Creek Amana High) – Softball

Follow Faces in the Crowd on Twitter @SI_Faces

Brad Pitt, the star of the upcoming movie Moneyball, doffs an Oakland A’s hat and graces the cover of this week’s September 26, 2011, issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands Wednesday. Pitt joins an exclusive group of non-athletes and non-coaches to be so honored — a list that includes Mark Wahlberg and Christian Bale, Stephen Colbert, Bob Hope, Ed Sullivan, Steve McQueen and Arnold Schwarzenegger in addition to former presidents John F. Kennedy, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan (appearances on the 11/26/84 and 2/16/87 covers) and Bill Clinton.

Commenting on his photo shoot with SI photographer Simon Bruty, Pitt says: “I was just happy to do Sports Illustrated. To do something other than the fashion-y things, for something I respect, is much more fun.”

Senior writer Austin Murphy (@si_austinmurphy) spoke at great length with Pitt about getting Moneyball made. Among the topics they discussed:

• Pitt’s background (or lack thereof) in baseball: “It’s shameful how little I know about baseball…. I’m amazed they let me do this movie…. Baseball and I didn’t get along that well. I wrestled one year [in high school]. I dove one year. Everything but baseball.”
• How Pitt acquitted himself to his role as a baseball lifer: “I’m an Oklahoma-Missouri boy, so I’m no stranger to a bit of dip. We start early with that, so really, I was just revisiting my roots.”
• What Pitt was initially drawn to about the story: “I’m a sucker for the underdog story.”
• The end goal of the film: “What we were trying to do is tell an unconventional story in the Trojan horse of a conventional baseball movie.”
• The comparisons Pitt makes to the movie and three of his favorite ’70s films (The French Connection, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, All the President’s Men): “In scripts today, someone has a big epiphany, learns a lesson, then comes out the other side different. In these older films I’m talking about, the beast at the end of the movie was the same beast in the beginning of the movie. What changed was the world around them, by just a couple of degrees. Nothing monumental. I think that’s true about us. We fine‑tune ourselves, but big change is not real.”

Murphy spoke with several other people who saw Moneyball through on its long journey to the big screen. Among them:

• Director Bennett Miller, on how unlikely it was for the movie to be completed: “It seemed like a shoot-the-moon project because it was complex and messed up in a thousand different ways.”
• Billy Beane, recalling when Michael Lewis followed him around in 2002 for the book: “When he first came here, we didn’t know he was going to write a book. But he’s a great storyteller, and just an interesting person. And really, that’s how he ended up getting the access he did. He sort of hypnotized us.”
• Lewis, on not getting too involved with the film adaptation of his book: “Nobody really gives a s‑‑‑ what I think. And I don’t either! … They shouldn’t care. I’m glad they don’t care. It suggests a certain level of initiative on their part. Having said all that, I’d say they got my book on the screen about as well as you can get my book on the screen.”
• Jonah Hill, on working with his esteemed Moneyball co-stars, producers and screenwriters: “I kind of felt just like Peter Brand, the youngest person in the room with all these revered professionals.”

Murphy’s profile of Moneyball includes the following praise for the film and cast:

• “Like all enduring sports movies, this one transcends its genre.”
• “The film is so crisp and clean…. [Bennett] Miller’s pace and storytelling [is] seamless.”
• “[Phillip Seymour] Hoffman’s obstinate, dyspeptic take on the obstinate, dyspeptic [Art] Howe is a darkly comic gem.”
• “[Jonah Hill’s] depiction of [Peter] Brand…. is a masterpiece of understatement.”