Synopses & Reviews
In this exciting new collection, William Nack, veteran sportswriter and author of the classic Secretariat, honors the years finest sports journalism and thus upholds the tradition that began seventeen years ago, with David Halberstam at the helm. In these pages, you will find the most provocative, compelling, tragic, and triumphant moments in sports from 2007, captured by the knights of the keyboard who make sports come alive for us day after day, week after week, year after year.
Here youll find Paul Solotaroffs excellent and uncompromising take on the neglect that a growing number of crippled NFL players continually face from the NFL players union. Jeanne Marie Laskass G-L-O-R-Y!” offers a rousing inside look at the pregame rituals of the Cincinnati Bengals cheerleaders. A riveting online diary by Wright Thompson reveals a bleak and merciless landscape in China, which that countrys government would rather not have the world see during preparations for the Olympics.
Nack finds a place for the fascinating offbeat story as well as the sensational. Alongside Eli Saslows captivating article about an obscure seventeenth-century sport, similar to a giant rugby scrum, carried out in the streets of Kirkwall, Scotland, stands Franz Lidzs scoop of the year,” a controversial and rare look into the life of George Steinbrenner, baseballs largest but recently most enigmatic figure.
This years collection marks another wonderful addition to one of the most consistently satisfying titles in the Best American series” (Booklist).
Contributors include Scott Price, Rick Bragg, Gary Smith, J.R. Moehringer, and others.
Contributors include Scott Price, Rick Bragg, Gary Smith, J.R. Moehringer, and others.
Review
"The emotional richness of the pieces selected by Moehringer and Stout defines this frequently riveting collection." -- Publishers Weekly "Excellent . . . A no-brainer pickup for the sports collection." -- Booklist "An affirmation of the strong state of American sportswriting." -- Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
The Best American Sports Writing gathers the very best from sports journalists from the past year.
Synopsis
"Excellent . . . A no-brainer pickup for the sports collection." -- Booklist
"An affirmation of the strong state of American sportswriting." -- Kirkus Reviews
From more than 350 national, regional, and specialty publications and, increasingly, the top sports blogs, Christopher McDougall, best-selling author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, hand-selected the very best sports journalism of the past year.
Synopsis
“Excellent . . . A no-brainer pickup for the sports collection.” — Booklist
“An affirmation of the strong state of American sportswriting.” — Kirkus Reviews
From more than 350 national, regional, and specialty publications and, increasingly, the top sports blogs, Christopher McDougall, best-selling author of Born to Run: A Hidden Tribe, Superathletes, and the Greatest Race the World Has Never Seen, hand-selected the very best sports journalism of the past year.
Synopsis
For fans of sports and just plain great writing, this absorbing collection, featuring twenty-eight of the finest pieces from the past year, has something for everyone. Guest editor David Maraniss, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author, has assembled a fresh crop of the people and stories that dominated the sports world in 2006.
Michael Lewis gives a behind-the-scenes look at the legendary football coach Bill Parcells. Bob Hohler delves in the murky waters of modern amateur basketball, where teams blatantly dole out cash to players and shoe companies set their sights on prospects as young as twelve. William Rhoden traces the fate of an unknown filly injured on the racetrack. Jeff MacGregor describes the unforgettable Friars Club roast of boxing's provocative promoter Don King. Daniel Coyle follows a forty-year-old Slovene soldier who might be the worlds best ultra-endurance athlete. L. Jon Wertheim tells of a young pro-basketball player who found himself wrestling the shoe bomber Richard Reid to the ground during a transatlantic flight. And Derek Zumsteg provides a hilarious and utterly original in-depth account of the baseball career of Bugs Bunny, the greatest banned player ever.”
These pieces and many more go beyond the spotlight, revealing the people and issues that make sports so relevant and important to all of us.
Synopsis
The Best American Sports Writing brings together the finest writing on sports to appear in the past year. Culled from over 350 publications, this collection captures the world of sports in all its drama, humanity, and excitement.
Synopsis
The Best American Series®
First, Best, and Best-Selling
The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the countrys finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volumes series editor selects notable works from hundreds of magazines, journals, and websites. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected—and most popular—of its kind.
The Best American Sports Writing 2011 includes
Paul Solotaroff, Sally Jenkins, Wells Tower, John McPhee, David Dobbs, Wright Thompson, P. J. ORourke, Selena Roberts, and others
Synopsis
A collection of the year's best sportswriting
Synopsis
Peter Gammons selects the year's best in sports writing.
Synopsis
Well established as the premier sports anthology, The Best American Sports Writing brings together the finest writing on sports to appear in the past year. Edited by the award-winning Peter Gammons, the pieces in this volume embrace the world of sports in all its drama, humanity, and excitement.
Synopsis
J. R. Moehringer, a Pulitzer Prize-winning feature writer and the author of The Tender Bar, has selected the best in sports writing from the past year. Chosen from more than 350 national, regional, and specialty publications and, increasingly, the top sports blogs, this collection showcases those journalists who are at the top of their game.
About the Author
PETER GAMMONS is currently an analyst and writer for the MLB network and makes regular appearances on MLB Tonight. Gammons began his career at the Boston Globe and also worked for Sports Illustrated. He was a long-time analyst for ESPN and regularly contributed to Baseball Tonight, SportsCenter, and ESPN, the Magazine. He was voted National Sportswriter of the Year for 1989, 1990, and 1993, and in 2004, he was awarded the J. G. Taylor Spink Award at the Baseball Hall of Fame for outstanding baseball writing.GLENN STOUT is the author of Young Woman and the Sea and Fenway 1912.
Table of Contents
Foreword xi Introduction by David Maraniss xvii
Larry Brown. The White Coon 1 from Field & Stream
Derek Zumsteg. Bugs Bunny, Greatest Banned Player Ever 7 from USS Mariner.com
Oscar Casares. Ready for Some Fútbol? 22 from Texas Monthly
Chris Ballard. The Game of the Year 28 from Sports Illustrated
Dave Hyde. Filling in the Pieces of Jake Scott 42 from The South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Wright Thompson. Fading Away 54 from ESPN.com
John Klima. Deal of the Century 63 from The (Torrance, California) Daily Breeze
William C. Rhoden. An Unknown Filly Dies, and the Crowd Just Shrugs 81 from The New York Times
Jeff MacGregor. Let Us Now Raze Famous Men 84 from Sports Illustrated
Sally Jenkins. Only Medal for Bode Is Fools Gold 104 from The Washington Post
Daniel Coyle. That Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stranger 107 from The New York Times Play Magazine
Mimi Swartz. Polite When in Neutral 120 from The New York Times Play Magazine
Ian Frazier. Snook 131 from The New Yorker
William Finnegan. Blank Monday 144 from The New Yorker Michael Lewis. What Keeps Bill Parcells Awake at Night 159 from The New York Times Play Magazine
Robert Huber. The Madness of John Chaney 181 from Philadelphia Magazine
Michael Wilbon. The Real Deal in So Many Ways 192 from The Washington Post
Bob Hohler. $neaker War 196 from The Boston Globe
Sara Corbett. Baseball for Life 225 from The New York Times Play Magazine
Eli Saslow. A New Game Plan 240 from The Washington Post Magazine
Eric Neel. The Saturday Game 261 from ESPN.com
Bryan Smith. Playing 4 Keeps 282 from Chicago Magazine
L. Jon Wertheim. The Ultimate Assist 293 from SI.com
Bruce Wallace. In Iraq, Soccer Field Is No Longer a Refuge 304 from The Los Angeles Times
Steve Friedman. A Moment of Silence 309 from Runners World
John Brant. Team Hoyt Starts Again 322 from Runners World
Paul Cullum. The Big Show by Little People 337 from The Los Angeles Times Magazine
Bill Buford. Talking Turkey 346 from The New Yorker
Contributors Notes 359 Notable Sports Writing of 2006 365