Rookie at Bat

By Richard Zoglin

In its inaugural editor's note, America's newest sports magazine promises "no swimsuits, no bikinis...no rehashes, no game stories, no press-box pontificating, no wistful reminiscences about the good old days." It's a direct shot at rival SPORTS ILLUSTRATED and serves notice that the No. 1 sports weekly (published by Time Inc.) is facing a potent challenger.

ESPN the Magazine, a biweekly that debuted last week, is so distinct in look and approach that it hardly seems to be playing the same game--which, of course, is the point. In an effort to grab a young male audience, ESPN's book is oversize, a la Spin or Vibe, with a hip tone, stylish graphics and hide-and-seek typefaces. A section up front offers quirky tidbits like a chart showing an odd correlation between the number of letters in the names of each year's NCAA men's basketball champion and Best New Artist Grammy Award winner. (You cared, right?) There's news as well: the magazine uncovers a scoring error from earlier this season that means University of Connecticut star Nykesha Sales, awarded a controversial two-point gimme shot last month, is still short of the school record. And its well-written feature stories include an alarming profile of former heavyweight Tommy Morrison, who is HIV positive and refuses treatment.

Boosted by its TV brand name and backed by parent Walt Disney Co., ESPN is guaranteeing advertisers an initial circulation of 350,000 and hopes to reach 2 million in five years, vs. SI's 3.15 million. Not that anyone is keeping score yet. The goal isn't to grab SI readers, says ESPN editor in chief John Papenek: "We're thinking about all those people who don't read a sports magazine." SI has added pictures and short news items up front, but managing editor Bill Colson says he "would have done it regardless of ESPN's appearance." Hey, guys, what ever happened to putting on your game face?

--R.Z.