print Page 6 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
The Yankee Bullshitters: What Joe D, Yogi, And Mickey Were Really Like
Last week gave a short post on the late, great Lenny Shecter. Now, for a real taste of his no-bullshit style, here's an excerpt from "The Flower of America" chapter of his 1969 book of essays, The Jocks....
Manchild In The Promised Land: Where Darryl Dawkins Came From
Originally published in the April 30, 1980, issue of Inside Sports. Reprinted here with the author's permission....
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....
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....
What Hockey Needs Is More Violence
Originally published in Inside Sports in January 1981....
How Dr. J Blackified Pro Ball, Found Himself, And Stayed Eternally Cool
Originally published in Esquire in February 1985 and anthologized in Teenage Hipster in the Modern World, a stellar collection of Mark Jacobson's non-fiction. Reprinted here with the author's permission....
The Moving Finger Writes: Red Smith On Reggie Jackson's Historic Homers
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...
My Dinner With Ali
Adapted from the original, which was published in 1989 in the Louisville Courier-Journal Magazine. Footnotes from the author (as told to Tommy Craggs) are included throughout the story, and a postscript from Glenn Stout, editor of Houghton Mifflin’s Best American Sports Writing series, follows. The ...
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...
Justin Gatlin Just Beat Usain Bolt In The 100-Meter Dash
Justin Gatlin had been talking a lot of shit heading into his showdown in the 100 meters with the world's fastest man. "I like talking about it, I like getting into the feel of it, so I’m sorry, Usain,” Gatlin said. At tonight's Golden Gala in Rome, Gatlin backed up his words....
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...
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...
A Camera Cable Fell On Kyle Busch's Car During The Coca-Cola 600
The cable, which belonged to FOX, snapped and struck several cars at lap 124 of the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Kyle Busch was in the lead, and presumably driving upwards of 200 miles an hour when the cable snapped and struck his car and others', causing the race to be red-flagged....
Leroy's Revenge: Two Dogs, Father And Son, Fight To The Death
Originally published in the August 1975 issue of Texas Monthly. Reprinted here with permission. As the author explains in the postscript, names have been changed, and the final scene is a composite. ...
Can Dennis Rodman Survive Retirement?
Originally published as "No Rebound" on June 1, 2003, in The New York Times Magazine. Footnotes from the author are included throughout the story....
The Double Life Of A Gay Dodger
Originally published in the October 1982 issue of Inside Sports....
Thin Air: In The Mountains With Steve Carlton, Armed Conspiracist
Originally published as "Thin Mountain Air" in the April 1994 issue of Philadelphia Magazine. The story appears in The Best Sports Writing of Pat Jordan published by Persea books. A postscript with thoughts from both the author and editor follows....
The Brief Life And Complicated Death Of Tommy Lasorda's Gay Son
Originally published in the October 1992 issue of GQ, as "Tangled Up in Blue." A postscript from the author follows....