book Page 42 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
You Can't Go Home Again
John Ed Bradley's memoir of playing football at LSU, It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium, is one of the finest sports books ever written. If you've never read it, do yourself a favor a pick up a copy. It's a beautiful book. ...
A Little Greedy, And Exactly Right: Red Smith On Secretariat
Red Smith is the most respected sports columnist we've ever had. In his prime, Jimmy Cannon, Smith's friendly rival, was certainly as well-known. Cannon, the Voice of New York, was an emotional, colloquial writer whose reputation, unfortunately, has faded. But Smith endures. What is it about his wri...
The Black Berets: Red Smith On The Olympic Black Power Salute
Red Smith is the most respected sports columnist we've ever had. In his prime, Jimmy Cannon, Smith's friendly rival, was certainly as well-known. Cannon, the Voice of New York, was an emotional, colloquial writer whose reputation, unfortunately, has faded. But Smith endures. What is it about his wri...
Night For Joe Louis: Red Smith On Rocky Marciano's Knockout
Red Smith is the most respected sports columnist we've ever had. In his prime, Jimmy Cannon, Smith's friendly rival, was certainly as well-known. Cannon, the Voice of New York, was an emotional, colloquial writer whose reputation, unfortunately, has faded. But Smith endures. What is it about his wri...
Gregg Popovich's Yearbook Entry: "His Future Plans Include Happiness"
"Popo" played four years of basketball at the Air Force Academy, where in 1970 he earned a bachelor's degree in Soviet studies. But doesn't this tell us so much more about where the young cadet was headed in life? It's basically a droll outline for every one of his eventual encounters with sideline ...
Miracle Of Coogan's Bluff: Red Smith On The Shot Heard ‘Round The World
Red Smith is the most respected sports columnist we've ever had. In his prime, Jimmy Cannon, Smith's friendly rival, was certainly as well-known. Cannon, the Voice of New York, was an emotional, colloquial writer whose reputation, unfortunately, has faded. But Smith endures. What is it about his wri...
Hold that Tiger
From Stanley Woodward's great memoir, Paper Tiger, here's how the legendary newspaper editor lured Red Smith and Joe Palmer to the New York Herald Tribune:...
This Shitting Dog Is The Blackhawks' Good Luck Charm
Turns out the Red Wings lost to a pile of dog crap....
Yearbook Typo: "Congrats To Our Home Run Hitler"
Via Reddit, a truly unfortunate typo in a high school yearbook. Or maybe not a typo, just a truly unfortunate nickname. ...
Bad Ass
My favorite bean ball story involves Dock Ellis when he was pitching for the Pirates in the 1970s. The following excerpt is from In the Country of Baseball, written by Ellis with Donald Hall....
He Punches like a Fucking Mule Kick
Here is a good story from "Second Wind: Memoirs of an Opinonated Man," by Bill Russell with the historian Taylor Branch (1979, Random House; currently out-of-print). It’s about Russell’s grandfather and his mule, Kate. Russell’s family was from Monroe, La., and he lived down there until he was about...
Why You're Still A Fan, Despite All The Crap: A Look Inside Your Brain
Adapted from The Secret Lives of Sports Fans: The Science of Sports Obsession....
No Steroids, No Birthday Cake: Parsing MLB's Employee Handbook
Congratulations! It's your first day working for Major League Baseball. You probably grew up a huge baseball fan, and while this isn't as good as actually playing, you're about to embark on a fun and rewarding career with MLB. But first, there's something you need to read and sign....
Sweet Dreams
From Carlo Rotella's collection of essays and stories Playing in Time, check this out:...
Get Lost, Norman
From Bob Klapisch and John Harper's entertaining book about covering the Mets in the early '90s, The Worst Team Money Could Buy:...
Brownsville Bum
Here's W.C. Heinz's classic True magazine story on Bummy Davis (Jimmy Breslin called it the best magazine story ever written):...
Phil Jackson Finally Compares Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant
Phil Jackson had the savvy and good fortune to coach two of the greatest players the NBA has ever known—both 2-guards, both brilliant sociopaths. But for the first time, Jackson writes about how the two measure up against each other....
John Tortorella's High School Yearbook Entry Is All Sorts Of Confusing
Every high schooler has their inside jokes. But this being John Tortorella, we can only assume each one is a reference to strangling hobos....
True Grit
Mark Kram Jr's heart-breaking book, Like Any Normal Day is now out in paperback. Check out this excerpt from SI.com:...