I Got Robbed: Matt Leinart Steps in as Editor in Chief of ESPN The Magazine and Interviews GM’s and Coaches Who Passed on Him Draft Day

REVENGE OF
THE JOCKS. The Magazine has always dreamed of switching places with the
athletes it covers, but do athletes have the same career envy? To find out, The
Magazine asked pro, college and high school stars to take over for one issue.
Turns out jocks have fantasies too.

IF I RAN
THE MAGAZINE. Leinart isn’t just a football player; he’s a fan. And he’s got
plenty of ideas about how to make The Magazine better. (Paparazzi photos,
anyone?) The QB takes a shot at being the Editor in Chief.

LOOK WHO’S
IN CHARGE. He’s not over it. More than a year after fading in the draft, Matt
Leinart wants to know how it happened. Luckily, The Magazine gave him a chance
to find out and sent him to the owner’s meeting to get answers. Matt Leinart
reports.

“I’ve
thought about the Draft process a lot over the past year. I was coming off a
national championship game, my second straight, but my stock kept falling.
Why?”

“I
know some teams thought I was

Hollywood.
But the Titans knew better. Jeff Fisher is a SC guy. And they took Vince. It
still hurts.”

YOU GUYS
JUST CAN’T GET ENOUGH. Fed by a 24/7 sports-news cycle, the media has turned the
clubhouse from a jock’s refuge to a place where nothing is sacred and nothing
is off the record. Fifteen-year MLB veteran Brad Ausmus wonders if it’s all
gone too far. Brad Ausmus reports.

“We’ve
put ourselves in the spotlight. And sure, a lot of us make as much money as
movie stars, but you don’t see reporters waiting for Brad Pitt in his trailer
when he walks off the set.”

THE GILES
BROTHERS INSIST: WE’RE NOT CRAZY! A key step in the magazine business is making
sure the facts check out. For this story on Brian and Marcus Giles, The
Magazine thought it’d be fun to run it by more-rigorous fact-checkers than
ours: their Padres teammates. Whitney Pastorek reports.

THE FINAL
WORD ON THE FINALS. What’s life like for an NBA pro trying to win those last
four games and claim the golden ball? We give you the behind-the-scenes dirt
from guys like the Spurs Bruce Bowen who’ve been there.

THE KIDS
SAY LOOK, BUT DON’T GET TOO CLOSE. Thanks to networking sites like MySpace and
YouTube, Michael Beasley and other rising stars have learned a valuable lesson:
Someone’s always watching.

“I AM
SO STICKY, STINKY AND NASTY …” Jeff Gordon has been to Victory Lane more
times than all but five Cup drivers. But his celebration on the Aaron’s 499
podium at

Talladega
was something else! The day after the race, Gordon spoke with The Magazine
about what it was like to make his mark on the very track where Dale won 10
times.

GIMME THAT
CAMERA! Turning The Magazine over to the athletes wasn’t just about giving
jocks a pen, a pad and the last word– it was about giving them a shot, too.
See what developed when The Mag handed out cameras to an all-star squad of
shutterbugs including: Laila Ali on the set of Dancing with the Stars, Holly
Beck painting her surfboard and gardening, Randy Couture with actor Dennis
Haybert, and Matt Hasselbeck on a commercial set.

STREET
SENSE DECIDES WHEN IT’S TIME TO GO. Take it from Calvin Borel, the jockey who
rode Street Sense to a win in the Kentucky Derby and a place at the Preakness:
Communication is key. And it all starts with the hands.

OUTTAKES.
Steve Nash steps in for Dan Patrick and interviews Thierry Henry.