Speed Thrills: Pittsburgh Steelers Speedster Willie Parker on the Cover of the New Issue of ESPN The Magazine

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

ESPN The Magazine

COVER:

I’LL SHOW YOU. Want to know the secret behind Steelers running back Willie Parker’s smile? It’s having speed to burn, knowing he can do anything and believing that the best is yet to come. Tim Keown reports.

NBA FANTASY PREVIEW:

HAVING FUN YET? As RC is among colas, so is the NBA is among fantasy sports: a distant third. And that’s just wrong. The Magazine has 17 reasons why fantasy basketball should pull you in like a Gerald Wallace dunk.

HOW ABOUT NOW? Maybe you’ve dabbled, maybe not. But c’mon admit it, you want to get into the game. And when you win, you don’t want it to be just dumb luck. The Magazine’s pals at ESPN.com ranked the top 100 players for a standard game – 10 starters, eight categories – to help make hoops your No. 1 fantasy play.

MLB POSTSEASON:

THE BIG SQUEEZE. Recent history says the team popping the bubbly this season won’t be the one with the best record. So is it all luck? The Magazine’s Buster Olney asks a guy who aught to know: Braves pitcher John Smoltz.

LUCKY SEVEN. In each of this century’s Fall Classics – including the Cardinals’ surprising win over the Tigers last year – the winner’s biggest asset turned out to be its rabbit’s foot.

FORTUNE TELLERS. ESPN’s distinguished panelists from Baseball Tonight recall their most memorable postseason moments – from the miraculous to the ridiculous.

OTHER FEATURES:

HOLD THE LINE. In a season filled with upsets, Jake Long is teaching his Wolverines – and the rest of college football – the season’s not over until the final whistle. Ryan McGee reports.

NERD HERD. Cardinal twins Brook and Robin Lopez see the NBA in their future – the distant future. For now their happy being kids. John Gustafson reports.

THE ANTI-BECKS. Let the tabloids obsess about you-know-who. Chicago striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco is taking U.S. soccer in a whole new direction. Chad Nielsen reports.

YOU DON’T KNOW JACQUES. He was born in Canada, raised in Monaco and schooled in Switzerland. So what exactly, is Jacques Villeneuve doing in NASCAR? Luke Cyphers reports.

***ESPN THE MAGAZINE COVERS ARE AVAILABLE VIA AP PHOTOEXPRESS and WWW.BUSINESSWIRE.COM***

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