Is the 2009 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Cover Too Risque or Not?

Yeah, okay it's that time of year again, the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue 2009 hits stands today, and I thought I'd refrain from talking about it this year but two things I just gotta get off my chest.

First, on the cover, what is up with Bar Refaeli and her practically non-existent bikini bottom? Pull your knickers up girl! You can almost see your va-jay-jay. Is it me or is this just way to risque for a cover because honestly if I was with my nieces, I'd cover their eyes.

And that caption, "Bikinis or nothing." Seriously SI, are you wanting to turn Playboy? Inside, there are a huge number of shots where the girls are wearing bikinis that have bottoms that are practically a piece of string with a small patch of fabric, and they are either pulling the bottom down or have their hand near their cee u next tuesday as Charlotte on SITC would say. Did I miss some fashion thing where there is more fabric in my kitchen towel than on the modern bikini?

I thought this picture of Brooklyn Decker would have made for a more tasteful cover.

Second, Danica Patrick, WHY! She's in a teensy bikini lying on the hood of a car like a hoochie mama in a low rider magazine. UGH! Here we have this woman who is so badass on the race track, and then she's gotta go pose on the hood of a car like an ornament. I'm all for showing that your tough and sexy, but girl this ain't the way to execute. Geez! You go forward and backward in the same magazine. The contradiction rattles my brain.

Okay, so there we have it. I could go on more and more about the rest of the magazine but it makes me dizzy. I just find that SI's definition of sexy seems to be going more towards hoochie where it could be more sophisticated. Now, I'm missing the days when Christie Brinkley and Elle MacPherson were the cover girls in their one piece. That was hot. Here's a walk down SI swimsuit cover memory lane.