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The Queen is Hyped Up
Check out Stephen Rodrick's profile of Serena Williams in the new issue of Rolling Stone:...
Entourage
From SI back in April of 1988, here's Gary Smith: "Ali and His Entourage":...
Female Sprinting Star Suspended For Failed Drug Test
Jamaica's Veronica Campbell-Brown, winner of the 2004 and 2008 Olympics women's 200m and reigning world champion, reportedly failed a drug test after testing positive for a banned diuretic used as a masking agent....
Who Shot Battling Siki? The Life And Murder Of A Prizefighter
Originally published in 1949 in The New Yorker and anthologized in The World of John Lardner. Reprinted with permission of Susan Lardner. For more on John Lardner, read Alex Belth's introduction to a new Lardner collection, Southwest Passage....
The Real McCoy
Another classic from Lardner, "The Life and Loves of the Real McCoy":...
Lede Time
Michael MacCambridge does us all a mitzvah with his "Director's Cut" series over at Grantland. Earlier this year he blessed us with one of Lardner's best profiles, "Down Great Purple Valleys," which is most famous for its first sentence:...
Infographics: Where Do Pro Basketball Players Come From?
Depending on whom you ask, the hotbed for NBA talent might lie in D.C., Seattle, Prince George's County (Md.), Baton Rouge, or, uh, Slovenia. Thousands of people have played professional basketball—there are a lot of places vying for the crown. So: Where do most players actually come from?...
Chad Johnson Gets Out Of Jail, Claims To Be Losing $46,000 A Month
It's been one week since Chad Johnson earned himself a trip to jail for excitedly patting his attorney on the backside (he thought he was getting off without jail time, you see). But the judge has decided that Johnson learned his lesson, and after an apology, he's a free man....
Doesn't Anyone Around Here Knock?
From Harper's back in 2001, dig Rich Cohen's fun trip to Chicago, "Down and Out at Wrigley Field":...
Dear Dad
Here's a letter ESPN's most-gifted Eric Neel wrote to his father:...
My Old Man, On The Scales: Was My Racist Truck-Driver Father A Hero?
Here's a Father's Day treat from the late, great Paul Hemphill. From The Good Old Boys, published in 1974....
You Gonna Play Golf or You Gonna Fuck Around?
A Keeper: Charlie Pierce's 1997 GQ profile of Tiger Woods:...
Mookie Blaylock Gets Out Of Jail, Gets Put In Other Jail
Former Hawk Mookie Blaylock is facing a charge of vehicular homicide for a crash last month that killed a 43-year-old woman. After two days in jail, Blaylock bonded out late last night. He was immediately taken to a jail one county over....
Does The Majority Party Have An Advantage In Congressional Ballgame?
Tonight, Congress will once again take part in its annual baseball game, an ultra-American tradition that dates back to 1909. The Democrats, led by Louisiana Ace Cedric Richmond, have won the last four, but Republicans have a new weapon in freshman Rep. Ron DeSantis. Both played serious college ball...
S'Long Suckers
Lucky for us, the Baseball Almanac has reprinted John Updikes' celebrated 1960 New Yorker story on Ted Williams' last game, "Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu": ...
Mets Approached Cougar Site About Stuffing Ballot Box For David Wright
When the first vote totals for the MLB All-Star Game were released last week, David Wright was in second. A desperate Mets marketing department didn't want Wright to lose to Pablo Sandoval for the second year in a row, especially not with the game being held at Citi Field. So one employee decided t...
Why'd It Have To Be Snakes?
Gordon Wright, another lover of classic sports writing, suggested this fun piece of work by Jeff MacGregor. From Sports Illustrated back in 1998, dig "Snakes Alive!"...
The Invisible Man
Peace to reader A.J. Travis for suggesting Wright Thompson's ESPN story, "Shadow Boxing":...
Jason Kidd Hired As The Brooklyn Nets Head Coach
Jason Kidd has just been selected to take over as the next Brooklyn Nets head coach. According to Yahoo! Sports, he'll have a three-year, guaranteed deal with a fourth-year team option. Kidd, 40, announced his retirement shortly after the New York Knicks were eliminated in this year's playoffs. Toda...
What Hockey Needs Is More Violence
Originally published in Inside Sports in January 1981....