Playboy September 2003

COVER STORY One groggy morning, a Starbucks counter goddess hopped us up with a double espresso and a side of sex appeal. These 10 ladies of lattes put the foam on the macchiatos of men across the world. Warning: Our photos by Senior Contributing Photographer Arny Freytag will leave you totally wired. Our tuckered-out Rabbit rests his head on his favorite spot. FEATURES 66 THE ANATOMY OF AN OUTBREAK An encounter among a handful of world travelers—all strangers—in a Hong Kong hotel led to the SARS epidemic. We went to ground zero to trace the path of the 21st century's first killer virus and the attempts to control it. BY MICHAEL PARRISH 78 NFL ROULETTE: THE PLAYBOY 2003 PREVIEW Forget dynasties: In the new-school NFL, any team can win. Don't blow your bonus on the office football pool until you can make sense of it all with our fearless forecast—our annual guide to the winners, the losers, the long shots. Plus, smack talk with top players, scouting reports on the hottest babes and Playboy's All-Overpaid Team. BY ALLEN ST. JOHN 84 LOOKING FOR LOVE IN ALL THE STRANGE PLACES A man walks into a lesbian bar and tries to pick up a girl. It's no joke—our intrepid reporter really tried it, plus five more unlikely locales for getting lucky. Did he get lucky . . . or slapped with a restraining order? Read on. BY COREY LEVITAN 90 PERSONAL VELOCITY Nothing comes close to the rush you get topping out the fastest car, boat, jet or motorcycle on earth. How can we be sure? We took the controls. BY JAMES R. PETERSEN 108 KEEPING THE FAITH So you thought there was a separation between church and state? Think again. In a year undercover, our reporter attended some bizarre leisure time outings of the new religious right and discovered that politics and prayer make hilarious, and disturbing, bedfellows. BY MATT TAIBBI 123 CENTERFOLDS ON SEX: SHANNA MOAKLER When her lover couldn't perform, Shanna gently coaxed him back into action. We have no problem raising our flags to her. 124 20Q NICOLAS CAGE Hollywood's notoriously edgy star opens up about playing twins, why most of his films are set in Las Vegas and which son-in-law the King of Rock and Roll would have liked most. BY ROBERT CRANE FICTION 126 TUBA CITY A baseball scout sees stars when he finds a Navajo kid who has a perfect pitch. BY JOSEPH KIERLAND INTERVIEW 57 JON GRUDEN Tampa Bay's freakishly intense Super Bowl–winning coach has staked out a place in the popular imagination. In a full-contact Playboy Interview, Chucky offers his picks, explains why he wakes up at 3:17 every morning and reveals which Buccaneers look scariest in jockstraps. BY KEVIN COOK PICTORIALS 72 THE INTERN STRIKES BACK A few months ago, our intern Jenny was the first Employee of the Month (check out After Hours each month for others). Readers clamored for her to go full-time. 94 PLAYMATE: LUCI VICTORIA Saddle up! This British equestrienne sure likes to ride. 130 THE WOMEN OF STARBUCKS Who are you calling slackers? These caffeinated cuties will perk up more than your coffee. NOTES AND NEWS 13 BUNNY HOP Fred Durst and Joe Millionaire's Sarah celebrate Easter with Hef 49 THE PLAYBOY FORUM Thailand's killing fields, tiplines for snitches and a senator gets down on sodomy. 155 PLAYMATE NEWS Dalene Kurtis gets fast and furious with street racers, Teri Harrison's hot sex dreams. DEPARTMENTS 5 PLAYBILL 15 DEAR PLAYBOY 19 AFTER HOURS 38 PLAYBOY TV 40 PLAYBOY.COM 43 MANTRACK 47 THE PLAYBOY ADVISOR 106 PARTY JOKES 148 WHERE AND HOW TO BUY 159 ON THE SCENE 160 GRAPEVINE 162 POTPOURRI FASHION 114 THE DEBONAIR BILLIONAIRE Howard Hughes flew planes, bedded starlets and became one of America's first billionaires. No wonder he's the latest style icon. BY JOSEPH DE ACETIS REVIEWS 29 MOVIES S.W.A.T. makes us sweat, Gigli makes us gag. 32 MUSIC Crank up Dashboard Confessional, get high with Busta Rhymes. 33 GAMES Create a virtual dream team with Madden NFL 2004, kick spandex ass in WWE Raw 2. 34 DVD Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers offers a feast of visual effects, lap up the flavor of spaghetti Westerns. 36 BOOKS Chuck Palahniuk's husband-andwife fight club, Helmut Newton's obsession with nude women.