WOW, WE’RE 10! ESPN The Magazine Presents Special Two-Sided 10^th Anniversary Issue with 10 Covers

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--2 SIDES AND 10 COVERS:

“I’ve been coming here since I was 6. I’d beg my parents to take me, and they’d eventually drop me off for a couple of hours. I skated every day at this park. I learned all my tricks here. It’s my inspiration.”

A TWOFER - CALL IT ESPN THE MAGAZINES: ESPN The Magazine celebrates its 10^th Anniversary with a special split issue that celebrates the personalities and history its been fortunate enough to chronicle since its launch in March 1998. The issue is also devoted to the athletes and issues in today’s sports conversation, all while taking a peek at the future in true NEXT-style! This celebratory issue features 10 total covers, five of which feature athletes that represent The Magazine’s first 10 years and the other five feature athletes who represent the NEXT 10 years. Join us on our journey!

A TIP OF THE HAT. What better way to celebrate The Magazine’s 10^th Anniversary than with some diamonds! The Mag commissioned jewelry designer to the stars Lorraine Schwartz to design a diamond and ruby emblazoned ESPN The Magazine logo that is featured on white and black fitted baseball caps (by NextLevel Accessories) in The Magazine’s corresponding 10 covers. Signed by all 10 athletes, the 30-carat logoed-hat will be auctioned off for charity later this year.

MY PLACE. We asked the 10^th Anniversary cover athletes to take us to the place that gives them their spark.

Ichiro Suzuki: Kobe Port Earthquake Memorial Park; Kobe, Japan – “I jumped out of bed when I felt the earthquake and had an experience where I felt the possibility of death. The fear, The crushed feeling from the lost lives, the cruel spectacle of what the city I knew so intimately had become – all those things I can’t forget to this day.”

Shaun White: YMCA Skate Park; Encinitas, Calif. – “I’ve been coming here since I was 6. I’d beg my parents to take me, and they’d eventually drop me off for a couple of hours. I skated every day at this park. I learned all my tricks here. It’s my inspiration.”

LeBron James: Room 345 at St. Vincent-St. Mary HS; Akron, Ohio – “This school is where the legacy began. I won three of four state championships and created a dynasty here, something that will live forever.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Junior’s Garage; Mooresville, N.C. – “I got a great appreciation for the history of NASCAR where I grew up, in Kannapolis. And this is old-school gas station reminds me of that town, where the old cotton mill was the big industry. Its all torn down now, and I’m real nostalgic for it.”

1998-2008 - THE FEATURES:

HITTING THE JACKPOT. Tom Brady? A-Rod? LeBron? Sorry, nobody had more fun than Fantasy Owners over the past 10 years. And to think they were once geeky outcasts. Matthew Berry – The Talented Mr. Roto Reports.

YOU CAN’T STICK A LOGO ON COOL. Pop Culture absorbs edgy trends all the time. But how often does a fringe element swallow up the mainstream? Behold, the evolution of Action Sports. By Zev Borow.

FOR YOUR RECONSIDERATION. The Magazine has profiled hundreds of athletes. Here are five who have rewritten their endings.

HEY, THAT’S ME! Ever wonder what it feels like the first time your face stares back at you from airport newsstands and bookstore checkout lines? Nothing special to hear Steve Nash tell it. Poor guy needs to get in touch with his emotions. Like these peers did. As told to Eddie Matz.

COAST TO COAST TO COAST TO COAST TO COAST TO COAST TO… Spurred by one NBA team’s ball-without-borders game plan, GMs in every sport spent the decade asking: Where in the world can we find talent like that? By Eddie Matz.

IT ALL ADDS UP TO DOMINANCE. Its not whether you win or lose – its how you grab a heart, rip it out and stomp it into the mud. We did the math to find the players and teams who drew the most blood over the past decade. By Peter Keating.

2008 AND BEYOND - THE FEATURES:

PROJECT X. Global Warming and the cooling dollar got you down? Perk up, sports fans. There are still plenty of reasons to wake up tomorrow. (No. 1:3-D Broadcasts!) By Luke Cyphers.

A SHOT AT GLORY. One reporter’s incredible journey to the frontier of performance enhancement. Written by Zev Borow.

ESPN 100 - 2018. A selection from our annual look back at the definitive events of the past year (assuming everything goes according to plan a decade from now).

WILL THE FUTURE OF SPORTS HAVE A NEW ADDRESS? When the World Cup comes to Cape Town’s Green Point Stadium in 2010, everyone will be watching – but not just for the soccer. The city that’s still wrestling with Apartheid’s legacy is poised to be a player on the global stage. What happens if the games don’t thrive? You don’t want to know. By Wright Thompson.

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

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