ESPN’s Body Issue comes out in stalls today, and in it is a picture of our favorite poker pros playing a game of strip poker – and it seems that the game’s almost done as they’re all wearing nothing but their birthday suits! Who, exactly, is in the picture, you ask? Well, for starters, there’s Daniel Negreanu and Scotty Nguyen. There’s also Jennifer Harman, the only female in the group, looking pretty dashing wearing, well, nothing. Ah, and here’s the clincher: we all get to see a picture of Phil Hellmuth and his moobs!!
Oh God, get him some clothes
Like everything else about the Poker Brat, Hellmuth, this is an “opposite sides of the spectrum” thing – this picture will either get people rushing to the stores for an issue or rushing to make placards demanding that this issue be banned. After all, Hellmuth’s man boobs can be nothing short of traumatizing. Seeing him in full Roman Regalia was more than enough, thank you very much. But here he is now in his birthday suit – you’ve just got to love him and his gumption! Nobody else gives poker more “oomph” than Hellmuth. Not only is he a great player – he’s also a damn great character!
Besides, we practically owe Daniel Negreanu’s presence to Phil Hellmuth. Daniel said, “It’s not like they were going to have Patrik Antonius or Gus Hansen there, I can fit in with this group.” Indeed, Daniel didn’t shy from the camera at all once he saw who his fellow models were.
What’s with all the skin?
ESPN’s choice of representatives for the Poker Industry was simply genius. A Poker player isn’t meant to be a muscle-bound Hercules. That would simply be wrong. If there’s anything that these pros exercise, it’s their brains. You’d be hard put to find observation skills sharper than theirs.
But why did they have to be naked?
ESPN Magazine’s Editor, Gary Belsky, answered that question in an interview. He said that they (ESPN) want to show fans a “different side of the sports and the athletes they love”.
And really, this issue has got to be one of the most “different” issues of them all. 80 athletes from several different sports, from poker to football to horse racing to bull fighting and so much more, have all posed for the magazine in their birthday suits. The photos were all tastefully and artistically made, and the articles full of insight into the lives of the athletes. It’s an impressive issue – no doubt about that – most definitely worth getting, Hellmuth’s moobs or no.
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