Why Fans and Players and Playing So Rough
The worst brawl in NBA history highlights the combustible mix of rabid spectators and strutting athletes. Is the game itself losing out?

Soccer Fans Out of Control In Europe

Massacre in the Woods (Society)
Why did a man open fire on a group of hunters? He says it was about race, but a survivor disagrees

The Next Wave in Superhighways, or A Big, Fat Texas Boondoggle?
The fight is on over a plan to build vast corridors for cars, trucks, trains — and almost everything else


Zapped!
How the toy industry is being outplayed by video games this holiday season

Desperately Seeking Santa

Disappearing-Card Trick
Gift cards, one of the most popular holiday purchases, can lose value if not used quickly


A Guy Who Loves Going to the Principal's Office (Innovators/Education/Forging the Future)
The head hunter

History with Flavor (Innovators/Education/Forging the Future)
The page charmer

The Parental Link (Innovators/Education/Forging the Future)
They're all connected now


10 Questions For Tom Brokaw
The NBC nightly news anchor talks to TIME about his career, Dan Rather and terrorism

The Battle Is Over, but the War Goes On (Essay)
Those who think they won on "moral values" may be in for a surprise

Letters (Letters)

Is Bush Serious About a New Spy System? (Notebook/In The Arena)

A Pork Festival

Q&A with Alan Alda; stars go abroad with mixed results

22 Years Ago In Time (Notebook/Milestones)

Arnold's Groupies
Campaigners want the Constitution changed to allow a Schwarzenegger presidential run

Milestones (Notebook/Milestones)

Don't Call It A Comeback

How To Spin A Catastrophe
Sudan's leader dismisses talk of genocide

Numbers

Out of the Picture?
Despite rumors to the contrary, Kim Jong Il remains alive

Reality Bytes

Verbatim

Melting into the City
Flushed out of Fallujah, Iraqi insurgents are adopting deadly new tactics in big urban areas

Iran, Still Defiant
Scott MacLeod and Nahid Siamdoust report from Tehran on how it views the nuclear standoff with the West

The Orange Revolution
Why Russia, the U.S. and Europe care so much about Ukraine's disputed presidential election

Viktor Yanukovych: Mother Russia's Favorite Son

Viktor Yushchenko: Ukraine's Rebellious Wonk


Missionary of the Vine (Living)
In her PBS TV series, Karen MacNeil aims to teach Americans how to lose their inhibitions about wine


The Wiz Of Show Biz (Arts/Movies)
George Clooney knows you think he's slick and pampered — and he'll make you like him for it

Small Is Beautiful (Arts/Books/Short Stories)
Two new short-story collections are more full of literary pleasures than a shelf full of blockbusters

The Way She Wanted It (Arts/Poetry)
A new edition of Sylvia Plath's Ariel finally gives us her version — before her husband edited it

Clouseau's Last Mystery (Arts/Television)
An HBO biopic pursues the real Peter Sellers. But it doesn't quite make us want to find him

The Spy Who Left Us Cold (Arts/Theater)
Democracy recounts the story of Willy Brandt's betrayal by a top aide. Good history, bad drama


A Safer System For Prescribing A Dangerous Drug (Your Time/Health)

Extra Baggage (Your Time/Health)

New Prozac Blues (Your Time/Health)

Body And Mind (Your Time/Health/Paging Dr. Gupta)
Brain scans suggest a link between dementia and long-term obesity

Action Hero (Your Time/Living)

Perfect Party Plans (Your Time/Living)
A group of new cookbooks takes the peril out of hosting holiday events

Tune Togs (Your Time/Living)

A Smart Time To Hand Over The Keys (Your Time/Money)

Fly Now, Pay Later (Your Time/Money)

It's Yours — For Free (Your Time/Money)
A new law allows consumers to check their credit once a year without charge


The American Money Machine (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Sport)
Sure, it's got fat tv contracts. But there's far more to the NFL's success than the nation's passion for football

TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Biz Briefs (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Biz Briefs)

How to Score on The Small Screen (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Sport)
Hard hits, blitzes and technical wizardry make football tv's top sport

The Car Wars Get Local (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Services)
Looking for growth, hertz revs up its off-airport business and moves in on enterprise's turf

Bubble Busting (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/CEO Speaks)
As the head of homebuilder toll bros. Tells it, the housing market is not about to slow down

Going Hollywood (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Entertainment)
With cutting-edge digital technology and lower-cost projection systems, IMAX is ready for its close-up

Farm Of the Future (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Change Agent)
A harvard grad morphs his family's 100-year-old iowa homestead into a technological marvel

The Feel-Good Funds (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/Investing)
Investors are pouring into socially responsible funds. Do they know what they're getting?

Beyond Bourbon (TIME Bonus Section January 2005: Inside Business/A Half Day In...)
In new orleans, life's a party. Don't forget to take in the art, the food and the best jazz anywhere