Prosthetics and Athletics on the Cover of ESPN The Magazine

Business Wire, April 23, 2008

Indianapolis Colts Top Annual Franchise Rankings - The New York Knicks Bottom Out

Also - EXPN Magazine in This Issue

NEW YORK -- The prosthetic-enhanced athlete will be able to run faster, jump higher and pitch harder than mere mortals...this brave new world is just around the corner and the cover story for this week's issue of ESPN The Magazine, on newsstands Wednesday, April 23. From an idea lab at MIT to a prosthetic design company in Iceland to amputees who see no limits to what their bodies can attain with prosthetics, ESPN The Magazine's Eric Adelson, in "Let 'em Play", takes readers into the lives of athletes who represent the future of sports and prosthetics, and demonstrates that new ideas and technology will change the way we think about what is possible for the human body to achieve.

"In many ways, we are facing the advent of the bionic man," says MLS commissioner Don Garber. "It's something that our industry has to start thinking about."

Bioethicist Andy Miah predicts: "I suspect it will become an imperative and the responsible course of action to reinforce one's body through prosthesis when competing at an elite level."

This issue showcases split covers featuring Iraq War veteran Jerrod Fields of Chula Vista, Calif., who uses a leg prosthetic to play basketball, and Anthony Burruto of Orlando, Fla., whose double leg prosthetic keeps him excelling on the baseball field.

In "The Ultimate Standings" The Mag, with the help of the Warsaw Sports Marketing Center at the University of Oregon, reveals the best and the worst franchises in its sixth annual franchise rankings...and the winner is...the Indianapolis Colts!

"No team gives as much back to fans for the emotion, money and time they invest as Jim Irsay's club does," says writer Peter Keating in the essay that accompanies this year's rankings. "..those teams near the bottom have convinced fans that management is clueless."

So who is at the absolute bottom of this year's ESPN The Magazine rankings - the New York Knicks! The methodology, plus much more is available on espnthemag.com.

Also in this issue: EXPN Magazine for action sports fans everywhere!

OTHER FEATURES INCLUDE:

NOW IT'S PERSONAL. After a business deal gone bad back home in Columbia, Tigers shortstop Edgar Renteria and White Sox counterpart Orlando Cabrera won't be sharing hitting tips anytime soon. Inside the AL Central's hottest rivalry. By Jorge Arangure.

GLAD TO BE HERE. Pau Gasol won the lottery when the Lakers snagged him midseason, but that doesn't mean he's living on easy street. Plus: How all the other boldface trades have fit in. By Ric Bucher.

WHEN WORDS GET IN THE WAY. Despite 4.4 speed, linebacker Patrick Trahan didn't make the grade at Auburn. You could blame his learning disability, or everyone who looked the other way. By Bruce Feldman.

THERE'S SOMETHING ABOUT ST. MARY'S. Where does the Great One send his son to school? The same hockey factory that sent Sidney Crosby and lots of other NHL stars on their skate to stardom. By Gare Joyce.

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