stories Page 1 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
MLB gets something right for a change with Clemente’s No. 21 jersey policy
Every year when Roberto Clemente Day rolls around, the refrain comes back around that the legend’s No. 21 should be retired by Major League Baseball, the same honor given to Jackie Robinson and No. 42....
Chicago's Strike Is For The Children
CHICAGO, Ill. — By Monday, you could tell it was coming. It had been building for months, of course, but by 2:00 Monday afternoon, at the big rally downtown at the Chicago Temple, you could see that the momentum had grown into a force that was ready to explode, like a race horse inside a starting ga...
The Lost Legend And Secret Legacy Of Table Tennis Master Rong Guotuan
This is an excerpt from Eric Nusbaum’s new weekly Substack newsletter Sports Stories, where he’ll be writing about sports, history, and sports history. He hopes you will subscribe here, and share these stories with your friends, families, and table tennis practice partners. The version of this in t...
The Story Behind The Biggest Brawl In WNBA History
Last month, Brittney Griner of the Phoenix Mercury and Kristine Anigwe of the Dallas Wings got into a fight, which resulted in six ejections and five suspensions. It was the largest WNBA fight since 2008, when the Detroit Shock (now the Dallas Wings) and the Los Angeles Sparks were part of brawl tha...
Gory Days: Tell Us Your Most Embarrassing Sports Moment
Good day, readers. It’s the Friday before Labor Day, and if you haven’t yet completely checked out from work for the long weekend, you have my permission to do so as soon as you finish reading this blog. I’ve already cleared it with your boss, so no worries. Also, this blog needs your help....
Wilkin Castillo's First MLB Hit In Over A Decade Was A Go-Ahead RBI Double
For the first time in over 10 years, 35-year-old Wilkin Castillo got a hit in the majors, and it was a pretty sweet one at that. In the top of seventh with two outs against the Phillies, Castillo smoked an RBI double into right field that sent two runners home and gave the Marlins a lead they wouldn...
Rough-Touch Football Gave Me More Than Just Money And Bruises
Bear called around seven and told me to wake up Moe....
An Interview With A Man Who Eats Leftover Food From Strangers' Plates In Restaurants
Alex is a 43-year-old San Franciscan who works in the financial sector. He also eagerly eats uneaten and untouched leftover food off of plates if he spots it out in the open at a public dining establishment, even if it’s off a stranger’s plate. He forages in an urban setting, you might say. I called...
Not Even A Baseball Strike Could Stop Cleveland From Hosting The All-Star Game. Sort Of.
When Cleveland was awarded the 1981 MLB All-Star Game, it was a city in dire need of a boost....
James Worthy Played Bass And The Minutemen's Mike Watt Has The Story To Prove It<em></em>
“Have you always been a basketball fan?” This is me, asking Mike Watt, one of my heroes, a pretty basic question. It is, if we’re being honest, a feeble softball, lobbed with all the force of an Andy Borowitz gag. This happened around noon, an hour earlier than we were supposed to begin our two-man ...
You Can't Escape The Peterman
Gather round, if you dare, and enjoy this very scary story on Devil’s Night....
The Horror Of Tony Saunders's Arm Break
Welcome back to Sports Horror stories, a video series where we remember that The Texas Chainsaw Massacre is, in a way, constantly happening all around us....
When Gordon Hayward's Ankle Bent The Extreme Wrong Way
Welcome back to Sports Horror Stories, a video series where we remember that sports can mess bodies up as much as the Final Destination film franchise....
The Horrifying Tale Of Clint Malarchuk's Brush With Death
Welcome to Sports Horror Stories, a video series in which we will recount, in gruesome detail, some of the most terrifying moments in sports. ...
Things I Lost In The Fire
My parents lost their house during the Northern California wildfires that ignited exactly a year ago. I was visiting when it happened. Mere minutes elapsed from the time a panicked sheriff’s deputy banged on our front door telling us to leave right now to the moment we drove away from my childhood h...
Sex, Steroids, And Arnold: The Story Of The Gym That Shaped America
When did the modern-day fitness movement really begin in the U.S.? ...
Three Men Crossed Frozen Lake Baikal, And Chased More Than A World Record
The eighth day he was out on the ice, Scott Gilmour’s eyes started to feel like jelly. They wobbled around in his sockets, and when he looked out, the world seemed like it was smeared with goo. Gilmour and his two companions had been facing headwinds for hours, walking on ice as hard as steel. They ...
Ichiro: “Who The Fuck Is Tom Brady?”
Ichiro retired (or whatever) last week. Appropriately, Peter Gammons has an Ichiro tribute (behind the paywall) at The Athletic today. It’s about how dedicated Ichiro is to the craft of baseball, and opens with an anecdote from Barry Bonds....
One Sketchy Photo Shoot Landed This Woman's Face On Everything From Bottled Water To Vaginal Cream
Katy Gaines made her world debut on a billboard ad for a health food store in Portugal. Shortly afterwards, she popped up hawking cell phone data on the side of a bus in Oslo. Even in Orange County, where Gaines grew up, a friend recognized her on the pamphlet for a teeth whitening treatment. She’s ...
How UNH Turned A Quiet Benefactor Into A Football-Marketing Prop
The internet abounds in cheerful content, and last fall one of its most cheerful stories started like this: In a press release, the University of New Hampshire announced that an elderly librarian had died—and left the school a shocking donation of $4 million....