March 23rd is the 10-year anniversary for ESPN the Magazine, and while it’s still not Sports Illustrated, the rag is an ok read, and a fairly good prognosticator, too.

Remember that cover? Its ESPN TM’s first ever, what’s become it’s trademark “Next”, symbolizing who’s up-and-coming.

The verdict after ten years? They nailed Kobe and A-Rod, each maybe the best in their individual sport.

The whiffs? Eric Lindros and Kordell Stewart.

True, Lindros might have been one of the greatest had injuries, concussions et al not diminished his play; he only reached a 30-goal season twice after that ESPN cover, retiring in 2007.

But Kordell Stewart? We could see that one coming when he made the front page. While he was an amazing athlete, he just wasn’t a great quarterback, something that became more apparent the years after the cover, leading to his release in 2005 by Baltimore.

Still, getting half the picks right is impressive, especially when you consider A-Rod had only finished two full seasons with the Mariners, and at that point hit a whopping 64 home runs.

Kobe? He was in the middle of his second season in Los Angeles, and only averaged around 8.5 points a game his first two seasons.

Heck, it could be worse: They could’ve chosen Gheorghe Muresan and Andruw Jones.