Drew Brees – the Saints’ Saving Grace – Graces ‘ESPN The Magazine’ Cover

January 15, 2010

In New Issue, Dallas Power Forward Dirk Nowitzki – the Anti-Tiger – Opens up about Lost Love; Player X has Choice Words for Gilbert Arenas

Links: Covers / Video

Brees-scr[1] The cards seemed to be stacked against QB Drew Brees – he was too short, wasn’t recruited by his team of choice and was severely injured early in his pro career. And then you have the Saints. They too seemed to have been dealt a bad hand – long known as the “Aints,” with stands full of paper bag-wearing fans and a 3-13 record. The two: a match made in heaven. In this week’s ESPN The Magazine, on newsstands now, writer David Fleming presents cover story “Saving Grace,” in which he tries to figure out which came first, the chicken or the egg: did Brees save the Saints, or did the Saints save Brees?

QUOTES:Drew Bees: “I realized the city, the Saints and me, we all had something to rebuild – and we could all do it together. It was a defining moment in my life.”

Carl Nicks: “That dude is a beast, an animal. His drive for perfection is contagious. If he told me to jump off a cliff in order to win a game, I’d do it. I would do it.”
The Magazine’s Allison Glock, in “Love Hurts,” an Outside The Lines companion piece, interviews Dallas Mavericks all-star power forward Dirk Nowitzki. The player, characterized as the anti-Tiger and a shy guy, who was duped by his fiancée, a master con, and a year later he’s still trying to make sense of it all.

Player X, The Mag’s anonymous NFL columnist, has a few choice words of advice for Gilbert Arenas and any other player who will listen: “Pro athletes always fight the temptation to feel like we’re above consequences… I can tell you that bringing a gun to my workplaces is just plain crazy…We’ve learned the hard way a lesson that NBA players are probably getting lectured on right now.”

The Mag also features a second cover that highlights its Winter X Preview; featuring stories about skier Simon Dumont, action sports rivalries and what people are buzzing about with the Winter X Games 14 looming.

Additional features in this issue of ESPN The Magazine include “Jump Start,” a story about Jordan Crawford, the Xavier sophomore who dunked on LeBron James and “I See It. I Feel It. I Hit It.,” a look at the PGA without Tiger.

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