After we saw the leaked photos of Serena Williams and Sarah Reinertsen, nude, on two covers of ESPN‘s first-ever Body Issue, we knew we had to get our hands on a copy. And today we did.

The Oct. 19 issue has seven different cover variations, each featuring a different athlete. Ours features a glistening Dwight Howard, the Orlando Magic basketball player. Inside the magazine, there is more nudity than we had expected to see in ESPN, especially since a lot of the naked and nearly naked bodies belong to men. The story that shows photos of athletes’ scars and other physical costs of dedication makes sense, in our opinion, for the magazine. The numerous images of athletes without any or many clothes? Not so much. Our only guess is that ESPN is trying to attract more women readers. And we’re not complaining.

Click through for the full, somewhat NSFW version of the above photo featuring the D.C. United soccer team.

As part of Nike Women’s new “Here I Am” ad campaign, British Olympic runner Nicola Sanders exposes what it’s like to be a world-class female athlete—on the inside. In the virtual reality video, her brain shouts directions while her heart pushes her to win. Other inspiring videos in the series feature Swiss triathlete Nicola Spirig, Russian tennis champ Maria Sharapova, and judoka star Delphine Delsalle. [Kottke]

Every four years, the Summer Olympics provide us with an inspiring display of physical and mental abilities. The athletes who get to compete are at the top of their games, whether that game is archery, swimming, Taekwondo, weightlifting, or any of the other 34 sports represented in this year’s Beijing Olympics. While we might obsess over models’ and actresses’ bodies in the years between the Games, right now there is absolutely no reason why any of us should be flipping through Vogue and dreaming of having a body like Kate Moss’s or Keira Knightley’s. The women vying for medals are a nice reminder that we don’t have to be tall and thin to be fabulous—heck, Kate could never even dream of winning a medal. Every sport emphasizes a different set of muscles, a different type of body. Even within particular sports, different proportions are represented. Take artistic gymnastics. All-around gold medalist Nastia Liukin is about 5’3” tall with long limbs, while Shawn Johnson is under 5’ and has more defined muscles. Let all of this be a lesson: Be happy with the booty, legs, back, and abs you’ve got, because the women competing in the Olympics—whether they’re short, tall, petite, big-boned, super muscular, or lithe—are using their bodies to do incredible things, and so should you.

It’s hump day and while we should be busy working, spring flings are on our minds.  Boys, boys, all types of boys—it’s the stuff daydreams are made of.  According to Savvy Miss, there are ten classic types of dudes that women fantasize about: the pirate, the movie star, the cowboy, the younger guy, bad boy, the musician, the foreigner, older man, the nerd, and the knight in shining armor. Classic. However, we have vivid imaginations and a few more men on our minds—so here are our Top Six Fantasy Lovers:

6. The Astronaut This voyager isn’t afraid to go deep into space. He’s half sexy pilot, half adventurous explorer and 100% irresistible in his helmet.

Some really successful female athletes rarely or never get their periods. We would say this is unfair, except we’re not really into working that hard, physically. These athletes’ loss of periods was traditionally thought to be the cause of ridiculous training sessions and strict diets (and many still believe this to be true), but now some researchers think polycystic ovary syndrome may be the cause. Magnus Hagmar, a researcher at the Karolinska Institute, found that polycystic ovaries were much more common in athletes training for the Olympics compared with the average woman. Not only that, but this syndrome causes an increase in testosterone, which can result in a competitive advantage by helping women build muscle mass and absorb oxygen more easily—but they also might have excess body hair and acne. Ah, the price of gold. [BBC]

There is a thin line between good facial hair and bad facial hair. But extremely horrible, offensive, make-you-wanna-wretch facial hair is really easy to recognize. Like Scott Spiezio who plays for the St. Louis Cardinals. Nice devil goatee, dude. AOL Sports has compiled many, many more terrible examples. I weep for the razors going unused. [AOL Sports]