After Linking New Strain of Staph to Gay Men, University Scrambles to Clarify Gay men reacted strongly to a study saying they were more likely to acquire a potentially lethal strain of bacteria, which seemed to cast an all too familiar stigma on their sexuality. By JESSE McKINLEY.

Tax Rebate or Payment? A Policy Debate Begins The big fight on economic stimulus will be over whether to put more money in the hands of low-income families who paid little or no income tax last year. By EDMUND L. ANDREWS.

Letters Of Mortgages and Realities. By .

Georgian Leader Sworn In, Wants Better Russian Ties TBILISI (Reuters) - Georgian president Mikhail Saakashvili pledged at his inauguration on Sunday to mend Georgia's tattered relationship with Russia after he narrowly won an election which his opponents say was rigged. By REUTERS.

Roadside Bomb Kills 5 Afghans A roadside bomb probably intended for Afghan or NATO forces killed five civilians in a taxi in an unstable part of southern Afghanistan, an official said Sunday. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Living With Ghosts For more than 50 years, Geoffrey Hill has written a pinch-mouthed, grave-digger’s poetry. His rich and allusive books are normally greeted by praise from critics and bewilderment from readers. By WILLIAM LOGAN.

All the World’s a Page The protagonist of Geraldine Brooks’s novel is a precious volume. By LISA FUGARD.

Extra Noir This novel takes the reader inside, or slightly outside, the mind of a former R.A.F. tail gunner. By FRANCINE PROSE.

Mountains Into Molehills Environmentalists are trying to keep coal-mining companies from removing entire mountaintops in West Virginia. By TIMOTHY EGAN.

Alpha Poet The singular life of the poet Louis Zukofsky, author of the masterly “A.” By DAN CHIASSON.

Sin City The hero of this novel, a blocked painter, returns to his native Las Vegas and its temptations. By ED PARK.

White Irish Need Not Apply In his first story collection, Roddy Doyle comes to terms with the new face of his homeland. By ERICA WAGNER.

A Word From Our Sponsor In the 1950s, the C.I.A. helped finance magazines, student groups and unions. By NATHAN GLAZER.

Jimmy Breslin’s Perpetual Deadline Still pounding the pavement at 77, a reporter keeps alive the grit, vitality and maverick spirit of New York’s phone-booth-and-fedora days. By ALAN FEUER.

Their House to Yours, via the Trash A group of book-scavenging homeless men are regulars at the Strand, helping the city’s best-known used-book store keep its shelves stocked. By SUSAN DOMINUS.

Ex-Time Editor to Help Lead Book Publisher Priscilla Painton, most recently the deputy managing editor of Time magazine, has been named editor in chief of Simon & Schuster’s adult trade imprint. By MOTOKO RICH.

‘Condoleezza Rice’ “The story of Condoleezza Rice begins at the close of the nineteenth century on a cotton plantation in southeastern Alabama, near the flourishing little town of Union Springs.” By ELISABETH BUMILLER.

‘Coal River’ “This is the heart of the Appalachian coalfields — not fields at all but rugged, forested hills that still hide billions of tons of coal. No shiny new McDonald’s restaurants or Burger Kings punctuate Route 3’s 56-mile passage from Racine south to Beckley.” By MICHAEL SHNAYERSON.

‘Day’ “It wasn’t that he was awkward, or peculiar, quite the reverse: he was biddable and sensible and ordinary, nothing more: but even an ordinary person could sometimes have enough and get browned off and, for example, want to be offered, every now and then, a choice.” By A. L. KENNEDY.

The Story of ‘Night’ How did a Holocaust memoir rejected by 15 publishers and largely ignored by readers go on to sell 10 million copies? By RACHEL DONADIO.

The Lemur Chapter 2: Louise Glass was 48 and looked 30. By BENJAMIN BLACK.

Odyssey of State Capitols and State Suspicion The story behind an exhibition: postcards, designs, photography, travels, history, stamps and law enforcement. By KATHRYN SHATTUCK.

Installment Plan A SoHo loft designed to accommodate a blue-chip contemporary art collection — not to mention the couple who live there. By PILAR VILADAS.

Ancient Vase Comes Home to a Hero’s Welcome The Euphronios krater, at the heart of a three-decade tug of war between the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Italian government, received a hero’s welcome in Rome. By ELISABETTA POVOLEDO.

Scandal Steals Spotlight in Greek Culture Ministry Greece’s culture minister pruned the powers of the country’s new archaeology chief after the dismissal and suicide attempt of the politician who preceded him in that post. By ANTHEE CARASSAVA.

Eve Thompson and Richard Robinson Two busy world travelers find time to find a connection in each other, and fall in love. By LINDA LEE.

Behold! An Operatic Miracle “Elmer Gantry” takes 17 years of dramatic developments to reach a stage in Nashville. By JESSE GREEN.

They’ve Got Those Mekong Blues Again From Los Angeles, a town of polyglot pleasures, a band that pays tribute to lost Cambodian pop. By R J SMITH.

Settling Old Scores by Beethoven A professor in England challenges some widely held assumptions about Beethoven’s sonatas. By MICHAEL WHITE.

Rock Cantankerousness and Other Moods Reviews of releases by Cat Power, SSM, Prosumer and Murat Tepeli, Rhonda Vincent, Blind Boys of Alabama and Black Mountain. By JON PARELES.

Inspired by Old Masters, and Each Other’s Artistry The pianist Leif Ove Andsnes was the soloist in a vibrant, brilliant performance of Brahms’s Piano Concerto No. 2 in B flat. By ANTHONY TOMMASINI.

Capturing Dream States and Unraveling Knots Ms. Oppens devoted her recital to Elliott Carter’s complete solo piano music. By ALLAN KOZINN.

Revisiting the Works of a Former Firebrand to See if They’re Still Warm to the Touch “Le Marteau Sans Maître” (“The Hammer With No Master”) was performed by the dynamic, young Lucerne Festival Academy Ensemble during this concert dedicated to Pierre Boulez’s music. By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER.

Familiar Songs, the Way You’ve Never Heard Them Ms. Jungr took a radical approach to songs by Bob Dylan, Richard Thompson, Ray Davies and other songwriters. By STEPHEN HOLDEN.

When an Innocent Turns Aggressor A wall was the main feature of a simple, atmospheric set designed for “Scenes of Gypsy Life (A Cautionary Tale Featuring Music of Janacek and Dvorak),” a double bill conceived for the Morgan Library. By VIVIEN SCHWEITZER.

1989: Potato, Shiitake and Brie Gratin In the late 1980s, Regina Schrambling, a writer for The Times, used Brie in a happy mash-up of 1980s fads. By AMANDA HESSER.

China Says Its Seafood Is Now Safer and Better In an unusual public acknowledgment, Chinese officials said that pollution and water-quality problems had become the biggest challenges facing China’s fish farming. By DAVID BARBOZA.

State Revises Hormone Label for Milk Pennsylvania’s Agriculture Department has backed off its plan to ban milk-container labels stating that the milk comes from cows not treated with bovine growth hormone. By ANDREW MARTIN.

Two Upsets Promise Change at the Top Bambale Osby dropped to the court with his hands covering his face. He knew his basket had given Maryland the lead late. He heard the horn as North Carolina’s final desperation shot clanged off the rim. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Hibbert Sets Pace as Georgetown Easily Beats Notre Dame Georgetown’s victory against Notre Dame was just as dominant as the final score indicated. By ADAM HIMMELSBACH.

Seton Hall Rallies to Defeat Louisville Jeremy Hazell scored a career-high 29 points — making nine 3-pointers — and Seton Hall overcame a 14-point deficit in the second half Saturday night to defeat Louisville, 92-82, in Newark. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Montgomery Leads Connecticut in Rout Renee Montgomery was asked to provide more of Connecticut’s scoring after the top-ranked Huskies lost a second starter to a season-ending knee injury this week. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 2 Memphis 83, Southern Mississippi 47 MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) -- Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 19 points and Derrick Rose added 13 to help No. 2 Memphis stake its claim to the nation's top spot with an 83-47 victory over Southern Mississippi on Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 3 Kansas 76, Missouri 70 COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) -- Brandon Rush shrugged off 2-for-14 shooting with three key free throws in the final 1 minute, 4 seconds to help No. 3 Kansas hold off border rival Missouri 76-70 on Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

U.S.C. 72, No. 4 U.C.L.A. 63 LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Southern California's two freshmen were better than UCLA's one. Davon Jefferson scored 25 points and O.J. Mayo added 16 as the Trojans upset the fourth-ranked Bruins 72-63 on Saturday, ending UCLA's nine-game winning streak. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 6 Tennessee 75, Ohio State 69 KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Tyler Smith made two free throws with 11 seconds left and No. 6 Tennessee got some small revenge for its NCAA tournament loss to Ohio State last season with a 74-69 victory on Saturday. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Duke 93, No. 7 Duke 80 DURHAM, N.C. (AP) -- DeMarcus Nelson scored 24 points and No. 7 Duke beat No. 24 Clemson 93-80 on Saturday night for their 22nd straight win in the series. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Kansas State 75, No. 10 Texas A&M 54 MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) -- Michael Beasley scored 21 points and Bill Walker added 19 for Kansas State, which broke a close game open in the second half and went on to beat No. 10 Texas A&M 75-54 on Saturday. The win gave the Wildcats (12-4, 2-0 Big 12) their first 2-0 start to a conference season in 15 years. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 12 Butler 78, Youngstown State 69 YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio (AP) -- Matt Howard scored 20 points and Pete Campbell had 19, including two timely 3-pointers that helped No. 12 Butler put away Youngstown State 78-69 Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Cincinnati 62, No. 15 Pittsburgh 59 CINCINNATI (AP) -- Adam Hrycaniuk had two tip-ins during a 13-point run in the second half Saturday that helped Cincinnati pull off its second Big East upset in eight days, 62-59 over depleted No. 15 Pittsburgh. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 17 Wisconsin 62, Northwestern 50 MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Marcus Landry scored a career-high 21 points and No. 17 Wisconsin defeated Northwestern 62-50 Saturday night at the Kohl Center. The Badgers (15-2, 5-0 Big Ten) used a 13-2 run at the start of the second half to break open a close game. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 16 Vanderbilt 92, LSU 76 NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Alex Gordon and Shan Foster both scored 18 points and No. 16 Vanderbilt snapped a two-game losing streak with a 92-76 victory over LSU on Saturday. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Auburn 80, No. 18 Mississippi 77 AUBURN, Ala. (AP) -- Frank Tolbert scored 29 points and DeWayne Reed had 21, both career highs, to lead Auburn to an 80-77 victory over No. 18 Mississippi on Saturday, keeping the Rebels from matching the best start in school history. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 19 Texas 69, Colorado 67 AUSTIN, Texas (AP) -- D.J. Augustin scored 25 points, A.J. Abrams sparked a second-half rally and No. 19 Texas rallied from a 13-point deficit to beat Colorado 69-67 on Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 20 Xavier 74, George Washington 66 WASHINGTON (AP) -- Drew Lavender and Josh Duncan each scored 14 points to lead No. 20 Xavier over George Washington 74-66 on Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

North Carolina State 79, No. 21 Miami 77 RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- Gavin Grant stole an inbounds pass and scored with 2 seconds left to cap an amazing last-second rally and give North Carolina State an unlikely 79-77 overtime victory over No. 21 Miami on Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Stanford 67, No. 22 Arizona State 52 STANFORD, Calif. (AP) -- Brook Lopez scored every point during a 10-0 second-half run, and Stanford handed No. 22 Arizona State its first Pac-10 defeat with a 67-52 victory Saturday night. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

No. 25 Villanova 81, Syracuse 71 SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) -- Scottie Reynolds scored 25 points, Corey Fisher added 15 and No. 25 Villanova pulled away in the closing minutes to beat foul-plagued Syracuse 81-71 on Saturday. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Howls and Wonder: Shakespeare on Love In London, new productions of “Othello” and “Much Ado About Nothing” reveal a common theme: love’s susceptibility to deception. By CHARLES ISHERWOOD.

Michael Keaton Never Expected to Be the Director Movie actors making their directorial debuts often do it as a labor of love. For Michael Keaton, directing “The Merry Gentleman” was a bit of a daredevil adventure. By DAVID M. HALBFINGER.

There on Broadway, Friends From Home Laurie Metcalf talks about opening cold on Broadway in “November” and how the Steppenwolf Theater is storming New York. By ERIK PIEPENBURG.

An Old Mentor’s New Medium Nearly 89, Merce Cunningham is ready to offer studio lessons over the Internet. By JULIE BLOOM.

Drugs, a Dad and His Midlife Crisis A sitcom dad turns drug dealer in AMC’s “Breaking Bad.” By HUGH HART.

Dark Fissures of an Israeli Soldier’s Soul With “Beaufort,” the Israeli director Joseph Cedar has made a movie about the futility of war. By ISABEL KERSHNER.

A Doctor’s Passion, a Journalist’s Eye A different perspective on the war in Iraq: behind the scenes at a hospital. By ELIZABETH JENSEN.

For a Change, Heat (Not Knicks) Is Reeling The Knicks beat a recent N.B.A. champion and the worst team in the Eastern Conference on Saturday night. The Miami Heat own each of those identities, so the Knicks can choose what to make of the outcome. By HOWARD BECK.

Raptors Rally Late, but the 76ers Hang On for a Win Willie Green tied a season high with 23 points and the Philadelphia 76ers survived a late rally for a 99-95 victory Saturday night against the visiting Toronto Raptors. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Islanders Cannot Hold an Early Lead Against the Flyers Scott Hartnell’s third power-play goal Saturday night snapped a tie, completed his second hat trick of the month and carried the Philadelphia Flyers to a 5-3 comeback victory over the host Islanders. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Iran’s Small Boats Are a Big Problem History shows that a tough but measured military response to Iranian harassment may lessen the odds of a much bigger clash down the road. By DAVID B. CRIST.

New Precaution for Contraceptive A new study showing an increased risk of blood clots among women using a contraceptive skin patch has prompted the Food and Drug Administration to add that finding to the drug’s label. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Caution: Elephants Brake for Food on Bangkok’s Roads Of all the illegal activities that animate the streets of Bangkok — pirated DVDs and fake watches, brothels that call themselves saunas — roaming Elephants stand out more than others. By THOMAS FULLER.

Japan’s Best Sellers Go Cellular In Japan, cellphone novels have not only infiltrated the mainstream but have come to dominate it. By NORIMITSU ONISHI.

Pakistani Police Uncover Plot to Kill Shiites The Pakistani police said Saturday that they had arrested five militants planning to attack Shiite Muslim processions with cyanide and suicide bombs. By .

A Cutting Tradition Inside a female-circumcision ceremony for young Muslim girls. By SARA CORBETT.

Canada to Rewrite Manual Linking U.S. and Torture The Canadian minister of foreign affairs said that he had ordered officials to rewrite an internal government manual that listed the United States among countries that potentially torture prisoners. By IAN AUSTEN.

Leonard Takes the Lead His Way at the Hope During four rounds of desert golf at the $5.1 million Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Justin Leonard did not seem to break a sweat. By LARRY DORMAN.

A Classic Event Thrives Without Its Famous Host What started with a small group of Bing Crosby’s pals at the Crosby Clambake in 1937 turned into a 50-year run for celebrity-branded pro-ams, and the Bob Hope Chrysler Classic is lone surviver. By LARRY DORMAN.

Agent Leaves Players in Lurch Many players who were represented by David Parker of Links Sports Management Group in Plano, Tex. are now left in a contractual mess. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Intervention, Hailed as a Concept, Is Shunned in Practice Three years after the United Nations adopted a groundbreaking resolution to help it intervene to stop genocide, it has not helped the organization end the violence in Darfur. By WARREN HOGE.

Congo Groups Blame Each Other for Killings Rebels and militias in eastern Congo blamed each other on Saturday for the deaths of as many as 40 civilians in fighting over the past two days. By .

Spain Arrests 14 on Suspicion of Plotting Attack on Barcelona Spain’s interior minister, told reporters that the 14 had been arrested in Barcelona, the capital of the Catalonia region in the northeast, and that more arrests were expected. By VICTORIA BURNETT.

New Wave on the Black Sea The auteurs of post-Ceausescu Romania are reinventing the European art cinema. By A. O. SCOTT.

The Risk of Innovation: Will Anyone Embrace It? Whether humans will embrace or resist an innovation is the billion-dollar question facing designers of novel products and services. By G. PASCAL ZACHARY.

For Disc Jockeys as Well as Desk Jockeys If you’ve always longed to be a disc jockey — or at least to play one on Saturday nights — some new, highly portable D.J. gear could bring that dream much closer. By ANNE EISENBERG.

A Helping Hand in Technical Training A program is helping assess the value of academic and counseling support services for low-income people who show potential to work in high-growth jobs. By JOSEPH P. FRIED.

Child’s Play, From Clicks to Downloads Technological skills, like maneuvering a mouse, are becoming part of child’s developmental milestones. By PHYLLIS KORKKI.

Dr. Jekyll Meets Mr. Hybrid High-performance gas guzzlers competed with alternative-fuel vehicles at the 2008 North American International Auto Show in Detroit. By LAWRENCE ULRICH.

Radical Left, Iran’s Last Legal Dissidents, Until Now Political protest has been suppressed under Iran’s current government, especially if linked to the West. But the radical left, despite its antireligious message, has been permitted relative freedom. By NAZILA FATHI.

Hezbollah Taunts Israel With Claims of Soldiers’ Remains Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, restated his claim that the militant group possessed the remains of several Israeli soldiers left on the battlefields of southern Lebanon. By NADA BAKRI.

15 People Are Killed Across Iraq on Shiite Religious Holiday Sporadic violence continued in Basra and Nasiriya, as millions of Shiites turned out for the climax of Ashura, the religious holiday marking the killing 13 centuries ago of a grandson of the Prophet Muhammad. By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and QAIS MIZHER.

War, Meet the 2008 Campaign In Iraq, a sense of a long slog ahead. In the air at home, hints of victory or prompt exit. By MICHAEL R. GORDON.

Here’s My Check; Spend It All at Once Relief organizations are anything but relieved when donors tell them what to do. By STEPHANIE STROM.

Foreigners Buy Stakes in the U.S. at a Record Pace Foreign investors are buying aggressively, taking advantage of American duress and a weak dollar. By PETER S. GOODMAN and LOUISE STORY.

Scenes From a Marriage in Baghdad Two Times journalists found that the conflict could bring them closer together when not pushing them apart. By DAMIEN CAVE.

The Construction Site Called Saudi Arabia In a massive city of steel at the edge of the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia is trying to move beyond oil to become an industrial power. By JAD MOUAWAD.

A Veteran’s Descent, and a Prosecutor’s Choice Walter R. Smith’s identity as a psychologically injured veteran shaped the way his murder of the mother of his children was handled. By DEBORAH SONTAG.

The Legal Trail in a Delta Drama One of the nation’s best-known plaintiff’s lawyers, Richard Scruggs, is ensnared in legal drama involving federal conspiracy and bribery charges. By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ.

Some Offstage Help for Apollo Theater Richard D. Parsons, chairman of Time Warner and a Brooklyn native, has been a patron of the Apollo Theater in Harlem since his high school days. The first act he saw there was the Jackson Five. By JANE L. LEVERE.

Burned but Bullish at Citigroup Despite, the market’s recent plunges, Tobias Levkovich, the chief United States equity strategist at Citigroup, remains optimistic for gains in 2008. By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ.

Is the New Supply Side Better Than the Old? The presidential campaign has brought back to the fore the vexing question of how much to tax high-income Americans. By AUSTAN GOOLSBEE.

A Recession’s Impact Is All in the Timing Does the timing of a recession really matter? If you’re an equity investor, it does. By PAUL J. LIM.

This Time, Rate Cuts May Not Be a Panacea The recent bleak returns on Wall Street have prompted many investment advisers to prescribe the same bromide: switch to defensive stocks and cut back on bonds. By J. ALEX TARQUINIO.

Who Needs a 401(k)? I’d Rather Have a Castle Daniel McGinn’s “House Lust: America’s Obsession With Our Homes,” raises several provocative questions that strike at the covetous soul of America’s culture. By HARRY HURT III.

The Dow Toll: Down 507 Points in 5 Days Despite statements from Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and President Bush, it was a withering week on Wall Street. By JEFF SOMMER.

When Retirement Collides With Reality Finding a sense of purpose or new endeavors can ease the transition from work life. By PHYLLIS KORKKI.

It’s All About Focus During times of self-doubt, it’s about focus, tunnel vision, and learning as much as you can. By BARRY SALZBERG As Told to EVE TAHMINCIOGLU.

The Onward March of the Jumbo Colonials New Milford, Conn., is taking a proactive approach to slow residential development and preserve large tracts of agricultural land. By LISA PREVOST.

A City That Needs More Places to Sleep Hotel owners, developers, brokers and consultants are almost uniformly shrugging off any doom-and-gloom ideas about the year ahead. By C. J. HUGHES.

C.I.A. Officers Turn to Legal Insurer Every whiff of investigation or litigation drives nervous federal workers to Wright & Company’s door. By SCOTT SHANE.

Number of Rooms Can’t Meet Surging Demand As if the sagging dollar and soaring oil costs weren’t enough to dent travel budgets, hotel room rates are expected to surge in the coming year. By DAVID KAUFMAN.

No Room at the Lot and Late at the Gate With more travelers taking to the skies, it’s becoming harder to find a parking spot at the airport. By MICHELLE HIGGINS.

Thinking Twice About That $400 Handbag Losing the luxury to pretend we’re rich, one handbag at a time. By MICHAEL BARBARO.

Unscrambling the Alphabet of Fund Fees Mutual fund investors are right to wonder and worry about the costs they are paying to own their shares -- $37 billion went into funds with loads in 2006. By GRETCHEN MORGENSON.

Georgetown Efficiency Thwarts Notre Dame For long stretches on Saturday, the Hoyas flashed the poised and precise attack that should make them a national-championship contender. By ADAM HIMMELSBACH.

Strother Puts Another Job on Her Résumé When the Colorado’s assistant coach Aisha Veasley tore her Achilles’ tendon last month, Ann Strother, the team’s director of operations, temporarily took on some of her duties. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Majerus’s Comeback Has Its Ups and Downs Coach Rick Majerus is the undisputed star of the St. Louis program, meriting a Sports Illustrated profile last week. So far, his comeback has been confounding. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Guided by Laughter, Kansas State’s Beasley Chases Greatness MANHATTAN, Kan. (AP) — Take it back to the beginning, all the way to the womb. The baby is two weeks late, probably laughing from inside his mother while everyone waits for him to come out. When he does, it is at a whopping 10 pounds 9 ounces, and 23 inches long. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Bruins Edge Rangers in a Messy Game Boston’s Phil Kessel and defenseman Zdeno Chara scored in the shootout to give the Bruins a 4-3 victory Saturday afternoon, ending a game full of mistakes on both sides. By LYNN ZINSER.

One Team’s Discard, Another Team’s Ace Acquired on waivers in November when the Anaheim Ducks allowed him to find his fortune as a No. 1 goalie, Ilya Bryzgalov wound up in the open arms of Phoenix. By JEFF Z. KLEIN and LEW SERVISS.

Toomer and Strahan Bonding at 100 Yards and at 35,000 Feet Amani Toomer and Michael Strahan have built a unique friendship and bonded tighter than ever during this playoff run, which leads to Green Bay on Sunday for the N.F.C. championship game. By JOHN BRANCH.

The N.F.L. Pulled Something Out of the Air This Season A convergence of schemes, rules and personnel made this the highest-flying season in N.F.L. history. By JUDY BATTISTA.

Chargers Find Renewal Under a Coach Who Shows His Resilience In a place where plants are pushing through ground charred by the wildfires, the San Diego Chargers, led by Coach Norv Turner, provide the most visible sign of renewal. By KAREN CROUSE.

Packers’ Robinson Playing for Redemption and a Ring Because for all of Koren Robinson’s undisputed talent, the 6-foot-1 frame, the sprinter’s speed, the Pro Bowl on his résumé, he has let folks down in the past. By GREG BISHOP.

Games Hardened by Winter Stay Deeply Etched in Memory Some of the most famous games in N.F.L. history are remembered as much for the weather conditions as for the outcomes. By JOHN BRANCH.

A Scout at Heart Leads a Revival in Green Bay The rookie scout in the Green Bay personnel department did not attend college all-star games or scouting combines. He parked himself in a chair in an empty office and watched tapes. By GREG BISHOP.

Ex-N.F.L. Player Pleads Guilty in Balco Case Dana Stubblefield pleaded guilty Friday to making false statements on his use of performance-enhancing drugs. By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and DUFF WILSON.

Giants Recall a Stinging Defeat and See How They’ve Changed Coach Tom Coughlin said Friday the Giants spent considerable time this week revisiting their home opener against the Packers that amounted to a forgettable 35-13 defeat. By DAVID PICKER.

Ernie Holmes, 59, N.F.L. Lineman, Is Dead Ernie Holmes won two Super Bowls as an anchor of Pittsburgh’s famed Steel Curtain defense in the 1970s. By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS.

Georgia Frontiere, 80, First Female N.F.L. Owner, Is Dead Georgia Frontiere was thrust into the pro football world in April 1979 when her husband, Carroll Rosenbloom, died, leaving her majority ownership of the Los Angeles Rams. By RICHARD GOLDSTEIN.

The Giants’ Country Boy in Short Sleeves Rich Seubert, the Giants’ left guard, is something of a throwback to a more organic game, or at least the game we like to romanticize as one of survival as much as if not more than of skill. By HARVEY ARATON.

All Roads Still Lead to Lombardi Vince Lombardi, a New Yorker originally out of Sheepshead Bay, St. Francis Prep and Fordham, gilded Green Bay with a major league mystique. By DAVE ANDERSON.

Leaping-Room Only at Lambeau Field Ryan Verrier and Chris Drosner are hoping to catch another Green Bay Packer or two in Sunday’s National Football Conference championship game against the Giants. By VINCENT M. MALLOZZI.

Name of Possible Witness Emerges in an Audiotape At two key moments of a taped telephone conversation between Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee, McNamee cites meetings he had with Hendricks Sports Management’s Jim Murray. By MICHAEL S. SCHMIDT and DUFF WILSON.

Ignoring the 800-Pound Gorilla At the very least, Commissioner Bud Selig has done an abysmal job of waging a public fight against drugs as a moral and health issue. By GEORGE VECSEY.

White Sox Playing Catch-Up in A.L. Central Only two seasons after they won the World Series for the first time since 1917, the White Sox incurred the largest dropoff in victories in the major leagues last season. By MURRAY CHASS.