The SportsThink Weekly Review #11
The SportsThink Weekly Review #11
August 21, 2020
Hello and welcome to the 11th edition of the Weekly Review! Some recent issues have included decidedly heavy articles, but this week I found myself coming across things that are a bit lighter, which is nice. Sports are supposed to be fun, after all! Happy reading.
Inside The Lines: The Best Writing on Sports I Read This Week
The Mystery of LaMelo Ball by Tim Keown, via ESPN. Great profile of the potential #1 pick in this year’s NBA Draft (in October during this most weird year). LaMelo is the biggest baller of the often ridiculous (and oft-ridiculed) Ball family, all celebrities since high school under the vision and management of father LaVar Ball. Let’s not forgot the time LaVar and President Trump exchanged media barbs over who really got those boys out of China. As a side-note, I so dearly wanted to buy some Big Baller Brand merch to wear to class and provoke my students, but their offerings are simply too ugly.
Baseball's Unwritten Rules Are The Vestiges Of A Drunk And Violent Sport by Steven Goldman, via Deadspin. Nice piece of history. Dusting this off to lend some context to all the hand wringing and debate about Fernando Tatís Jr.’s grand slam on a 3-0 count earlier this week. My verdict: swing away, young man; ignore the old farts. Like all rules, the unwritten ones are also meant to be broken.
The Preposterous Sportswriting Life of Robin Miller, Racing’s Legendary Hellion by Zak Keefer, via the Athletic. I struggle with sharing articles from the Athletic, which is definitely the home of the best sportswriting on the web, but also a subscription site. Thus, I try to limit myself, but this one is simply too good not to share. Great chronicle of a writer I wasn’t too familiar with. If you’re not an Athletic subscriber, send me a note if you’d like me to pass along a copy (same goes for any articles I share that you can’t access).
An 80-year-old cycling grandma set a world record. Then she was accused of doping. by Rick Maese, via the Washington Post. The world of anti-doping remains maddening and weird.
Who is Dressing the Great Football Managers of Europe? by Ryan Hunn, via the Ringer. Asking the important question! A look at the fashion on soccer’s sidelines, where nary a pair of ill-fitting pleated khakis is to be found. I guess it helps that the majority of these coaches are ex-players who have maintained their trim physiques, meaning most things look good on them.
The Week on Sportsthink
A few quick pieces this week, the most interesting being this recent research on the relationship between pro sports attendance and flu deaths. Keeping up with the news, home field advantage without fans and more progress on Native American symbols.
Non-Sports Reads
‘The mystery is over’: Researchers say they know what happened to ‘Lost Colony’ by Jeff Hampton, via the Virginian-Pilot. The story of Roanoke has captivated me since I was a kid. Were the colonists murdered? Did they perish from lack of supplies and preparation? Was it space aliens? None of the above, says the article.
The Musk Ox and Me by Jon Lee Anderson, via the New Yorker. There are great writers and then there are Great Writers. Anderson is a Great Writer. Read this, even if you don’t have much interest in the musk ox.
Is Jay J. Armes For Real? by Gary Cartwright, via the Texas Monthly. A throwback to 1976, profiling the self-proclaimed “ world’s greatest private detective.” Wild stuff. A massive read that moves fast.
As always, thanks for reading and spending some time with me each week. If you’ve been enjoying the newsletter, it would mean a lot to me if you shared it with someone who might like it.
See you next week,
Tolga