Earlier today, ESPN released an online version of Wright Thompson’s profile of Michael Jordan for the Feburary 22nd issue of ESPN The Magazine. If there’s anything you read on the internet today, this is it. Thompson is his usually brilliant self, slashing through Jordan’s hardened exterior and capturing a 50-year-old man struggling with directionless competitive rage and a growing nostalgia.

Yesterday, when we posted the video of Alex Morgan’s transformation into Katy Perry for ESPN the Magazine’s music issue, we noted our fondness for the idea in general, and thought it would eventually warrant a post on the rest of the transformations, too. Well, friends, that time has come.

ESPN the Magazine has a music-themed issue coming out. In it, they used athletes from several different sports to recreate iconic images from the music world: Josh Freeman became “Thriller”-era Michael Jackson, and Ryan Lochte became the baby from the Nevermind cover, for example. As much flack as ESPN gets, we think this is a pretty cool idea, and after the jump, we focus on one transformation in particular.

There have been a lot of weird things going on in the sports world recently. You know what’s not weird? The fact that Kobe Bryant claims he’s never lost a game of one-on-one, grudges Shaq for holding him back at the beginning of his career, pumps his own gas and absolutely hates dog poop.

Tailgating before any sporting event brings out pretty much the absolute base of human behavior. Not that I expect anything more; there’s only so much good that can come from binging on meat and liquor in a parking lot. But this might be a new low.

David Stern doesn’t care what you think. You knew this, but it’s never been more clear than it has in the last week or so. First there was the Jim Rome fiasco, and last night, while he didn’t say as much to rock the boat, he still got some shots in.

Marijuana is not the worst thing in the world. Many people are willing to admit this. Some are not. And as long as some are not, we’ll keep getting stories like one recently, unfortunately published in ESPN the Magazine.

Blake Griffin posed for ESPN the Magazine’s recent body issue. The reason he was chosen was hopefully made clear the second you saw the Griffin photo above (as well as this cover). There’s no cutesy way of putting it – the figure this guy cuts is just absurd. But as it turns out, it doesn’t appear he was baring all of that figure for his shoot.

When posing nude for a magazine shoot isn’t something you do often (and maybe even if it is – believe it or not, we wouldn’t know), the moments before you bare all have to be nerve-racking. This is putting yourself out there in the most basic sense, and even for elite-level athletes, it’s not an easy decision to make.

In an upcoming issue of ESPN the Magazine, there’s an interesting piece about role-reversal: instead of interviewing athletes as they get dressed in the locker room, a reporter is the one who has to talk while he’s naked.