This week’s Sports Illustrated: Prepare for a Patriots-Giants rematch; Muhammad Ali turns 70; the emergence of Ricky Rubio; the “art” of overpaying NHL goalies; why perhaps the best player in women’s CBB plays for Delaware
Posted: January 18, 2012 Filed under: Alex Wolff, Ben Reiter, Damon Hack, Jim Trotter, Jon Werthiem, Lee Jenkins, Neil Leifer, NFL Playoffs, Peter King, Phil Taylor, Sports Illustrated Cover, Tim Layden | Tags: baltimore ravens, elena delle donne delaware, muhammad ali 70th birthday, muhammad ali photos, New England Patriots, New York Giants, NFL Playoffs, pekka rinne nashville predators, ricky rubio minnesota timberwolves, san francisco 49ers, super bowl xlvi prediction Comments OffFollowing their triumphs in the divisional round of the NFC playoffs, the Giants and 49ers appear on regional covers of this week’s Jan. 23, 2012, issue of Sports Illustrated, on newsstands today. Below is the last time each team appeared on the cover and how many appearances it has overall.
- Giants: Aug. 4, 2008 (David Tyree); 22nd appearance
- 49ers: Oct. 26, 1998 (Kevin Gogan); 34th appearance
AFC AND NFC CHAMPIONSHIP GAME FORECASTS – TIM LAYDEN (@SITimLayden)
Patriots 27, Ravens 17: “Neither [Ray] Rice’s rushing nor the Ravens’ D will relieve QB Joe Flacco of the pressure to make as many big plays as [Tom] Brady does. And that won’t happen.”
Giants 31, 49ers 21: “San Francisco’s seasonlong ascent was built on the NFC’s best defense, but Drew Brees picked it apart last Saturday for 462 yards. Expect the red-hot [Eli] Manning to be nearly as effective—and counterpart Alex Smith much less so against a better pass rush than new Orleans’s, with higher stakes.”
On the Tablets: Senior writer Peter King’s guest on his weekly podcast is Joe Horrigan from the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Plus, King’s “Last Word on the NFL” leading up to the AFC and NFC title games.
