Halfpipe Champ, Aspen Icon Gretchen Bleiler on the Cover of ESPN The Magazine

Plus: Winter X Preview & The Sports Guy Throws Inside on Roger Clemens

January 16, 2008 -- WINTER X 2008:

THE GRETCHEN BLEILER SHOW. The greatest show in snow sports hits Aspen Jan. 24-27: four days, 17 events and 200-plus stars who do their own stunts! Top billing goes to the homegrown halfpipe champ, Gretchen Bleiler, who’s more than ready for her close-up. Alyssa Roenigk reports.

GUEST STARS. Winter X is an arena where a no-name day player can go from Joe Schmo to Joe Pro just by stealing the snow show. Just ask slopestyle champ Jamie Anderson and three other spotlight-grabbers. Eddie Matz reports.

FLIGHT PLAN. Ever wonder how Xers pull off their aerial stunts? The Magazine asked snowboarder Torstein Horgmo to take us inside a frontside 1080.

7 THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT WINTER X. The freeskier bites the hand that feeds him. Winter X champ Simon Dumont reports on the slopes, food and chilling out in Aspen.

THE SPORTS GUY:

How do you put an asterisk on the best moments of your life? The Sports Guys weighs in on the damage of the Steroids Era in baseball.

OTHER FEATURES:
THE BOOK OF LIFE. Forget the wife, teammates and coaches. The closest relationship an NFL player has is with his playbook. Equal parts instruction manual, motivational guide and diary, it’s the key to unlocking a Super Bowl season. David Fleming reports.

EVERYBODY LOVES ANDREW (EVEN KOBE). Not too long ago, Andrew Bynum’s main value to his team was as trade bait. Just goes to show you what a bunch of double-doubles can do for a rep. Chris Broussard reports.

NOW YOU SEE HIM … He plays in obscurity, in a city that is no one’s idea of hockey heaven, and he has a fraction of the YouTube cred of Crosby and Ovechkin. But the Thrashers’ Ilya Kovalchuk is the greatest show on ice. Eddie Matz reports.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT. From predictable (Mike Modano’s record-setter) to remarkable (Al Arbour’s coaching comeback), the NHL’s first half was a high- (and low-) light reel.

WHAT YOU GOTTA DO. When Tyler Smith transferred home to Tennessee, he had everything he’d ever wanted: to be close to his dad while he played for the team of his dreams. The only thing missing was time. Tom Friend reports.

THIS WAY TO THE DRAFT. NFL prospects like Tigers QB Matt Flynn are always being judged—and not just by future employers. Luke Cyphers, Alyssa Roenigk and Carmen Renee Thompson report.

Source: ESPN

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