Hello and welcome to the forty-fifth edition of the Weekly Review! Bob Gibson may be the best #45 and MJ did wear it briefly, but #45 to me will always be AC Green. I’m pretty sure this is because I was given #45 on my first basketball team and he wore it for the Lakers during that era (this was well before he was famous for his long-running virginity). AC also always had great hair, whether it was the high-fade flattop or the jheri curl. Always the good guy, the last I heard, he was working with a company focused on COVID testing in Southern California. He’s also front and center in the greatest basketball photo ever taken, holding what I believe to be a Larry Bird Cabbage Patch doll. Or a doll that looks like Larry Bird, close enough. Shoutout to CJ’s Pantry in Redondo Beach, where I first saw this and always made an effort to get the table that it hung over.
On to the content!
Inside the Lines: My Favorite Sports Reads of The Week
From American Pharoah to Wool Sandals, the All-Time Best and Worst Kentucky Derby Names, by Pat Forde, via SI. This is fun and easy for Derby day. Horse racing is a bit of an anachronism at this point and this column reads much the same way; lots of "old guy in the sport section” energy from Forde: Soup and Sandwich is trained by Mark Casse. In a coincidence that can leave you both shaking your head and feeling hungry, he has another 3-year-old in his stable named Chips and Salsa. (That one is a filly with different ownership.) What’s next, Burger and Fries?
How Much Can You Really Develop a Quarterback in the NFL? by Danny Heifetz, via the Ringer. Relevant on draft weekend, Heifetz takes a crack at answering by looking at the Bills’ Josh Allen. Nice piece.
The Casino That Time Forgot, by David Hill, via the Ringer. Sports-adjacent, from last year. Great piece of history on Hot Springs, Arkansas, the gambling mecca that once was.
How Seattle’s Richard Sherman Pick in 2011 Changed The Next 10 Years of the NFL, by Dominique Foxworth, via the Undefeated. More draft-related content. Not sure I totally agree with all of the analysis here, but a good read nonetheless.
Blood in the Water, by Eric Nusbaum and Adam Villacin, via Sports Stories. Another great installment of your favorite newsletter’s favorite newsletter. On what is arguably the greatest—or at least most infamous—water polo match in history. Violence, politics, history: what’s not to love?
Keeping Up With The Sports Page
Marcelo Can’t Play For Real Madrid Because of…Polling Duty?
Weird Stuff in Florida’s NIL Process
Tweet of the Week
A clinical touchdown catch from Dawn Staley. Good energy here.
Non-Sports Reads
I found this article on the latest arguments surrounding free will fascinating and challenging. Don’t read it if you’re in the midst of an existential crisis, seriously. Also enjoyed this cool bit of history on the life of Roget, he of the eponymous thesaurus.
Newsletter Soundtrack
This week’s writing tunes. Play this all weekend long for top vibes.
As always, thank you for reading. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re having trouble accessing any articles, happy to send them directly your way. And, if you’re enjoying the newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone else who might like it.
See you next week,
Tolga