John Walters started at Sports Illustrated in 1989 at the age of twenty-two; his most recent byline appeared in 2022. A full-time Sports Illustrated staffer for fifteen years, he was also a staff writer at Newsweek for four years and a columnist at NBC Sports. The Notre Dame alum has worked as a producer for NBC Sports at seven Olympics, winning four Sports Emmys. He is the author of The Same River Twice: A Season with Geno Auriemma and the Connecticut Huskies. In 2004 he survived a cross-country RV trek with his coauthor, but has also ventured to all fifty states and all seven continents.

Adam Duerson worked at Sports Illustrated for twenty years, arriving as a reporter at the tail end of the glory days and leaving in 2023?the dark ages?when he was executive editor. As a writer he covered the NFL and college sports, twice traversing the US in an RV for the NCAA tournament. His George Plimpton moment: He was bloodied in American Gladiators' joust event by a guy named ?Wolf.? As an editor he tickled the prose of Steve Rushin, Peter King, Grant Wahl, and Tim Layden; he oversaw endless cover packages; and he created Sports Illustrated's Daily Cover. A resolute protector of the Sports Illustrated style guide, he got ?steamrollered? changed to ?steamrolled.?