Who knew that an NFL referee could be on the cover of Sports Illustrated? Thanks to the end of the NFL referee lockout last week, the real officials were back on the job for Week 4. And it means that America’s most popular referee, Ed Hochuli will be on the cover of this week’s SI showing off his massive guns.
SI will look into what led the NFL and the NFL Referees Association to come to an agreement and what role Hochuli played in getting the officials back on the field.
SI also delves into the push for the MLB Postseason and writer Grant Wahl has a piece on one of the world’s most popular soccer clubs, Barcelona.
Take a look at what’s in this week’s issue in print and in tablets
More Than Just Big Guns: Ed Hochuli Is the Most Important Man in Football
How Do You Win in October? Tom Verducci Breaks Down the Playoffs
FC Barcelona: The Beautiful Game at Its Finest
SI Exclusive: Davis Love III on the Ryder Cup Disaster
Driven by a Family Tragedy, Georgia’s Jarvis Jones Is the SEC’s Best Defensive Player(NEW YORK – October 3, 2012) – After a controversial Hail Mary ended last Monday’s Seahawks vs. Packers game and expedited the end of the referees’ lockout, Ed Hochuli, the referee known for his bulging biceps, is the most important man in football. His leadership of the locked-out referees and commitment to the game land him on the cover of this week’s Sports Illustrated.
A partner at a Phoenix law firm and grandfather of ten, Hochuli has officiated NFL games since 1990 and is known for his intensity. Why? He knows all of America will scrutinize his calls. He says: “Sometimes I open my mouth and don’t know how the sentence is going to end. I can’t tell you how many times I start to say something and realize halfway through, ‘This is going to be on YouTube, isn’t it?’ ” (page 48).
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WHAT IT TAKES – TOM VERDUCCI
Baseball’s postseason has changed—and so has everything you thought you knew about winning in October. SI’s Tom Verducci explains why the Cardinals, Rangers, Tigers and Giants fit the winning profile for an October team (page 42).Cardinals general manager John Mozeliak said, “When putting a roster together, we’re always looking for balance. We want some players who hit for power, for extra bases and we always like guys that get on base. What you’re trying to avoid is somebody who strikes out a lot and is not a run producer.”
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THE WORLD’S TEAM – GRANT WAHL(@GrantWahl)
FC Barcelona is more than a club, more than a champion and more than Lionel Messi. It is the embodiment of a sporting ideal and is beloved across the world. Is there any place without Barcelona fans (page 68)?
The fact that the team has been so good has only increased its popularity. Barça has won 14 of 20 team competitions over the past five years. When asked where this team ranks among the top soccer clubs of all time, Spanish soccer commentator Ray Hudson said, “The short answer is by far the best. I can’t imagine anybody going beyond this purest example of football. They have spoiled the game for me. When I try to watch other teams and other leagues, it’s like I’ve just read a wonderful novel and gone back to nursery-rhyme books.”
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LOVE’S STORY – DAVIS LOVE III(@Love3d)
Mayhem at Medina might have been a more fitting title for the U.S.’s shocking 14 ½ -13 ½ loss in the Ryder Cup (page 49).In an SI exclusive, Davis Love III explains what it is like to captain the U.S. Ryder Cup team and what went wrong on Sunday. Love said, “To me, a big part of the captain’s job is to help people have a dream week. A bigger part of the captain’s job is to put on a show on TV that will make people want to take up this great game. The biggest part of the captain’s job is to win, and I lost.”
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THE FIGHT IN THE DOG – ANDY STAPLES (@Andy_Staples)
Compared to other challenges Georgia linebacker Jarvis Jones has overcome, being the SEC’s best defensive player sounds easy. On top of the serious spinal injury he suffered in 2009 while at USC, and NCAA investigations into his guardians’ paying for his flights to and from Los Angeles, Jones’s most consuming tragedy came as an eighth grader, when his older brother was murdered during an argument outside a bar. Driven to keep his brother’s memory alive, Jones plans to make the most of his remaining time at Georgia and pledge that when he turns pro he will work to ensure that other kids in his hometown don’t meet the same fate. He says: “I just want to show them that there’s more to life than being on the streets smoking marijuana, drinking and getting into trouble. You can do positive things” (page 61).
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NFL PLAYERS POLL
|Do you expect Peyton Manning to return to his old form?
Yes 81%
No 18%
[Based on 235 NFL players who responded to SI’s survey]FAST FACTS: While the percentage of respondents answering yes was virtually the same in the AFC (82%) and the NFC (80%), 24% of the AFC yes votes included the caveat “but not in 2012,” compared with 17% of the NFC believers…His fellow QBs (92%) had the most confidence in Manning, while, outside of special teams players, defensive backs (wishful thinking?) were least convinced (73%).
SCORECARD: REALLY ROCKIN’ THE VOTE – RICHARD HOFFER
Democracy is part of the fabric of our society, but are sports ready for democracy? Drew Carey, TV star and part-owner of the Seattle Sounders, has enfranchised the team’s fans, offering them the chance to vote the team’s general manager out at the end of the season. But do you really want the guy in body paint to choose your team’s G.M. (page 15)?POINT AFTER: NFL, YOU HAVE A PROBLEM – PHIL TAYLOR (@SI_PhilTaylor)
The NFL is so intoxicated by its popularity that its judgement is impaired and it feels invincible. It is time for an intervention. Though the NFL might have a problem, we are its enablers (page 76).THIS WEEK’S FACES IN THE CROWD
- Aaron Chatfield (Petosky, Mich./Northern Michigan Christian Academy) – Soccer
- Brianna McCormick (Bristol, Vt./Mount Abraham Union High) – Horseshoe Pitching
- Jake Leingang (Bismarck, N.D./Bismarck High) – Cross-Country
- Rose Bernheim (Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho/Corps of Cadets at Norwich University) – Rugby
- Jamie Cunningham (Greensboro, N.C./Howard University) – Football
- Lani Chapko (Seattle/Northwest School) – Sprint Kayaking
To submit a candidate for Faces in the Crowd, go to SI.com/faces. Follow on Twitter @SI_Faces.
INSIDE THE WEEK IN SPORTS:
- NBA (page 36): A Strong Euro – With the improvement of scouting, NBA teams are having more success drafting the Euro players. Toronto’s Jonas Valanciunas may be the next Euro star.
- NASCAR (page 38): The Case for… Talladega – Why drivers loathe “the track where dreams are crushed” and how it’s become the most important race in the Chase (page 38).
- NFL (page 32): Cardinal Virtue – The Cardinals are off to their first 4-0 start since 1974 with a confident QB who has finally found his form.
- College Football (page 27): Fresh Squeezed – The Miami Hurricanes’ first year RB, Duke Johnson is so explosive, even LeBron James can’t ignore him.
And more stuff is coming up.
