Three great recent pieces of sports writing included two from ESPN and one from Bleacher Report.
The larger of the two ESPN features is 12,000 words by J.R. Moehringer with "The Education of Alex Rodriguez" on the Yankee returning from his season-long steroid suspension. Just an amazing piece by someone who frequently produces great writing.
The other ESPN story is "The Man in the Van" by Eli Saslow on Blue Jays pitching prospect Daniel Norris, who received a $2M signing bonus and lives out of an old VW van.
The Bleacher Report story to note here is "Craig Sager's Harrowing and Emotional Journey Back to the NBA" by Lars Anderson on the TNT sideline reporter. It's a heartwarming tale that includes a cool video of Spurs Coach Gregg Popovich being interviewed by Craig Sager Jr.
Showing posts with label Lars Anderson. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lars Anderson. Show all posts
Friday, March 06, 2015
Monday, October 13, 2014
Interesting sports pieces - by Wickersham, Anderson & Holmes
A couple of great pieces of recent sports writing included work from the Boston Globe, ESPN and Bleacher Report.
Two Bay Area-centric pieces were "Bill Russell, K.C. Jones treated like ‘Rock’ stars at Alcatraz" by Baxter Holmes, who is leaving the Globe to write for ESPN, and the Seth Wickersham story "Jim Harbaugh comfortable in chaos" for ESPN on the 49ers head coach.
Sticking with the football head coach theme (just in this case college and Ole Miss) was an excellent piece by Lars Anderson with "Good Guys Finish 1st: The Hugh Freeze Story" written for Bleacher Report.
Really excellent pieces all from Holmes, Wickersham and Anderson.
Two Bay Area-centric pieces were "Bill Russell, K.C. Jones treated like ‘Rock’ stars at Alcatraz" by Baxter Holmes, who is leaving the Globe to write for ESPN, and the Seth Wickersham story "Jim Harbaugh comfortable in chaos" for ESPN on the 49ers head coach.
Sticking with the football head coach theme (just in this case college and Ole Miss) was an excellent piece by Lars Anderson with "Good Guys Finish 1st: The Hugh Freeze Story" written for Bleacher Report.
Really excellent pieces all from Holmes, Wickersham and Anderson.
Sunday, August 31, 2014
Great sports writing on college football and tragedy
Two recent pieces of great sports writing about college football included a feature story for SB Nation and book excerpt published in Sports Illustrated.
The SB Nation piece was "The right thing to do vs. the state of Florida" by Michael Kruse about the death of 18-year-old Devaughn Darling during a 2001 Florida State University off-field practice and what's occurred since. Darling's family sued the state of Florida over the circumstances of Darling's death and agreed to a $2M no-fault settlement, with $1.8M of it still not paid to them as it's up to the discretion of the Florida state legislature whether they actually pay the settlement money. It was a maddening piece to read at times due to both the money and details around and after Darling's death, but Kruse wrote the story incredibly well.
The book excerpt by Anderson for SI was from The Storm and the Tide: Tragedy, Hope and Triumph in Tuscaloosa and a riveting account of the tornado that hit in 2007. The book followed up on a feature Anderson wrote for the magazine and posted to the SI website earlier this month from Anderson was "writing The Storm and the Tide was a deeply personal experience."
The SB Nation piece was "The right thing to do vs. the state of Florida" by Michael Kruse about the death of 18-year-old Devaughn Darling during a 2001 Florida State University off-field practice and what's occurred since. Darling's family sued the state of Florida over the circumstances of Darling's death and agreed to a $2M no-fault settlement, with $1.8M of it still not paid to them as it's up to the discretion of the Florida state legislature whether they actually pay the settlement money. It was a maddening piece to read at times due to both the money and details around and after Darling's death, but Kruse wrote the story incredibly well.
The book excerpt by Anderson for SI was from The Storm and the Tide: Tragedy, Hope and Triumph in Tuscaloosa and a riveting account of the tornado that hit in 2007. The book followed up on a feature Anderson wrote for the magazine and posted to the SI website earlier this month from Anderson was "writing The Storm and the Tide was a deeply personal experience."
Monday, January 07, 2013
Best writing linked to in 2011
As I was about to embark on the process of posting on my favorite writing linked to from 2012, it occurred to me that I never looked back at the best pieces linked to in 2011, with my last "best of" post being Close to Best 2010 Writing Linked To - Business. So, skipping 2012 for now and going further back...
Best writing on writing linked to in 2011
"Yesterday's News" by J.R. Moehringer for 5280: The Denver Magazine. Written on and linked to in July 2011.
"The Most Beautiful Word" by Joe Posnanski for his personal blog. Written on and linked to in Jan 2011.
"The Loading Dock Manifesto" by John Hyduk for Esquire. Written on and linked to in May 2011.
"Four Nights at Elaine's: The Last Will and Testament of a Great Saloon" by Wright Thompson for Grantland. Written on and linked to in Aug 2011.
Best writing on sports linked to 2011
"Terror, Tragedy And Hope In Tuscaloosa" by Lars Anderson for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in May 2011.
"How To Become An American" by Charlie Pierce for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in Dec 2011.
"Born to race, Dan Wheldon found happiness in town's slower pace" by Michael Kruse for what is now the Tampa Bay Times. Written on and linked to in Dec 2011.
"The Wheels of Life" by Gary Smith for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in April 2011.
""Beat, Play, Love" by Michael Rosenberg for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in Feb 2011.
"The Heart Of Football Beats In Aliquippa" by S.L. Price for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in Jan 2011.
Best other writing linked to in 2011
"Heavenly Father!" "I love you all!" "I love everyone!" "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" "I love all of you!" by Luke Dittrich for Esquire. Written on and linked to in Oct 2011.
"The Bomb That Didn't Go Off" by Charlie Pierce for Esquire. Written on and linked to in Aug 2011.
"Torn Asunder: How the Deadliest Twister in Decades Ripped Through Joplin, Mo." by David Von Drehle for Time Magazine. Written on and linked to in June 2011.
"Nina & Kristopher: A story of great love, great loss" by Tommy Tomlinson for the Charlotte Observer. Written on and linked to in June 2011.
"Diner for Schmucks" by Alan Richman for GQ. Written on and linked to in Aug 2011.
All 15 pieces linked to here were excellent and the ones that stood out the most to me the most were the following: on the Tuscaloosa tornado by Lars Anderson, on the Joplin tornado by Luke Dittrich (with his piece winning the National Magazine Awards feature of the year), on the bomb that didn't go off by Charlie Pierce and on working for a Denver paper by J.R. Moehringer (with that piece from 2008, but I wrote on and linked to it in 2011).
Best writing on writing linked to in 2011
"Yesterday's News" by J.R. Moehringer for 5280: The Denver Magazine. Written on and linked to in July 2011.
"The Most Beautiful Word" by Joe Posnanski for his personal blog. Written on and linked to in Jan 2011.
"The Loading Dock Manifesto" by John Hyduk for Esquire. Written on and linked to in May 2011.
"Four Nights at Elaine's: The Last Will and Testament of a Great Saloon" by Wright Thompson for Grantland. Written on and linked to in Aug 2011.
Best writing on sports linked to 2011
"Terror, Tragedy And Hope In Tuscaloosa" by Lars Anderson for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in May 2011.
"How To Become An American" by Charlie Pierce for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in Dec 2011.
"Born to race, Dan Wheldon found happiness in town's slower pace" by Michael Kruse for what is now the Tampa Bay Times. Written on and linked to in Dec 2011.
"The Wheels of Life" by Gary Smith for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in April 2011.
""Beat, Play, Love" by Michael Rosenberg for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in Feb 2011.
"The Heart Of Football Beats In Aliquippa" by S.L. Price for Sports Illustrated. Written on and linked to in Jan 2011.
Best other writing linked to in 2011
"Heavenly Father!" "I love you all!" "I love everyone!" "Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus! Jesus!" "I love all of you!" by Luke Dittrich for Esquire. Written on and linked to in Oct 2011.
"The Bomb That Didn't Go Off" by Charlie Pierce for Esquire. Written on and linked to in Aug 2011.
"Torn Asunder: How the Deadliest Twister in Decades Ripped Through Joplin, Mo." by David Von Drehle for Time Magazine. Written on and linked to in June 2011.
"Nina & Kristopher: A story of great love, great loss" by Tommy Tomlinson for the Charlotte Observer. Written on and linked to in June 2011.
"Diner for Schmucks" by Alan Richman for GQ. Written on and linked to in Aug 2011.
All 15 pieces linked to here were excellent and the ones that stood out the most to me the most were the following: on the Tuscaloosa tornado by Lars Anderson, on the Joplin tornado by Luke Dittrich (with his piece winning the National Magazine Awards feature of the year), on the bomb that didn't go off by Charlie Pierce and on working for a Denver paper by J.R. Moehringer (with that piece from 2008, but I wrote on and linked to it in 2011).
Saturday, June 04, 2011
David Von Drehle on the Joplin Tornado
Great writing by David Von Drehle for Time Magazine with Torn Asunder: How the Deadliest Twister in Decades Ripped Through Joplin, Mo.
Von Drehle has an ability to convey detailed reporting on a story in conjunction with the personal tales of the people involved. This piece on Joplin is no exception with it's thorough research and big picture reporting on disaster that also delves heavily into the stories of individuals and their experiences with the storm. Additionally, the two paragraph intro is just riveting... and a call to keep reading.
In terms of this personal look at the people impacted by the tornado, Von Drehle's piece brought to mind this story by Lars Anderson for Sports Illustrated. I posted on it less than two weeks ago, and both Von Drele's look at Joplin, MO and Anderson's at Tuscaloosa, AL stand out as excellent writing on people touched by the carnage of a large tornado.
Von Drehle has an ability to convey detailed reporting on a story in conjunction with the personal tales of the people involved. This piece on Joplin is no exception with it's thorough research and big picture reporting on disaster that also delves heavily into the stories of individuals and their experiences with the storm. Additionally, the two paragraph intro is just riveting... and a call to keep reading.
In terms of this personal look at the people impacted by the tornado, Von Drehle's piece brought to mind this story by Lars Anderson for Sports Illustrated. I posted on it less than two weeks ago, and both Von Drele's look at Joplin, MO and Anderson's at Tuscaloosa, AL stand out as excellent writing on people touched by the carnage of a large tornado.
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Alabama Tornado Story for SI by Lars Anderson
Really compelling and well written cover story in the May 23 issue of Sports Illustrated.
Written by Lars Anderson, Terror, Tragedy And Hope In Tuscaloosa is about the devastating tornado of April 27 and delves into the storm's impact on the University of Alabama and it's community... with 6 UA students among the 41 dead in town.
The writing comes across as very personal and contributing to that is Anderson's mention of living in neighboring Birmingham. While this inclusion violates the widely held writing rule of not injecting oneself into a story, it seems appropriate here.
It's profound stuff and does an excellent job of looking at the role of sports (particularly Alabama football) in a community. There's solid linkage of what sports means to people, but not to the point of overreaching in describing it's importance.
Written by Lars Anderson, Terror, Tragedy And Hope In Tuscaloosa is about the devastating tornado of April 27 and delves into the storm's impact on the University of Alabama and it's community... with 6 UA students among the 41 dead in town.
The writing comes across as very personal and contributing to that is Anderson's mention of living in neighboring Birmingham. While this inclusion violates the widely held writing rule of not injecting oneself into a story, it seems appropriate here.
It's profound stuff and does an excellent job of looking at the role of sports (particularly Alabama football) in a community. There's solid linkage of what sports means to people, but not to the point of overreaching in describing it's importance.
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