By Carlos Diaz
updated 12:00 PM EDT, Thu October 06, 2011
ESPN The Magazine’s “Body Issue” is here… let the controversy begin! It is extremely revealing… Extremely! There are four different covers featuring soccer star Hope Solo, Olympic Snowboarder Gretchen Bleiler, NBA rookie-of-the-year Blake Griffin and New York Met Jose Reyes. Along with those 4, there are 18 other athletes who pose very nude, with their naughty parts barely covered in the “Bodies We Want” section. The difference between the Body Issue and Sports Illustrated’s annual “Swimsuit Issue” is that this issue is said to celebrate athletes, not models. And you probably never thought you’d hear this: SI’s Swimsuit Issue features much more clothing than The Body Issue.
Tiger Woods has signed his first major endorsement deal since his marriage scandal… and this one is a biggie! Rolex has announced a partnership with the embattled golfer. Citing Tiger’s “exceptional stature," the folks at Rolex believe Tiger “still has a long career ahead of him.” They also say they are committed to accompanying Tiger “in his new challenges.” Watchmaker Tag Heuer dropped Woods 2 months ago. Golfers like Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus have been associated with Rolex, so Tiger’s in good company. Tiger’s agent says more new endorsements are to come. Tiger tees off today at 3:10pm Eastern Time in the Frys.com Open in Northern California.