Kate Upton Runs The 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Yesterday, the 2012 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue accidentally shipped early and the world found out that Kate Upton is the lucky cover star. The surprise was definitely ruined, but what do we care for surprises when we have tons of photos of Kate Upton strolling the shore in various states of clothedness?

You might be wondering: who found out first? Did the press get first wind of it through some shady dealings? Did Sports Illustrated "accidentally leak" a web-ready scan of the issue to a shadowy blogger? Did some kid dig his fist into a box of cereal, only to find that the free prize from Kellogg's was a magazine filled to the brim with bikini-clad breasts? No, TMZ reports that the issue showed up early at a random gas station in Michigan.

It's times like these that we wish we were real journalists so we could hunt down the people who first held this magazine and ask them what it felt like. We suspect "pants-tightening" is the only answer.

· Sports Illustrated (sportsillustrated.cnn.com)