Great sports writing - by Rosenberg, Drehs, Tomlinson & O'Neil

Four great recent pieces of sports writing included a feature for Sports Illustrated and three for ESPN.

The story for SI was "A woman fell from a stadium, a man saved her; here's what happened next" by Michael Rosenberg. It tells the story of Brittany Bryan, who fell 45 feet from the top of the O.co Coliseum after a Raiders game and Donnie Navidad who attempting to catch her. It's a great piece by Rosenberg about a stranger saving someone's life and the situations an excess of alcohol can potentially lead to.

The first ESPN story to note here was for ESPN The Magazine with "From the Grounds Up" by Wayne Drehs. About the New Zealand city of Christchurch and rebuilding from a 2011 earthquake that killed 185 and caused widespread damage, it's a compelling story of how sports (in this case, hosting matches from the Cricket World Cup 2015) can help bring people together.

The other two great pieces of writing for ESPN had related Sportscenter video segments and the first story was "And He Shall Lead Them" by Tommy Tomlinson. So many of Tomlinson's features seem to have such heart to them and in this piece he tells the story of Lester Cotton, current Central High School football player and future lineman for his hometown University of Alabama. It was a really cool look at someone doing well out of a difficult environment and a 14-minute video segment provided a view into the poverty level that many Central students are raised in and efforts from head football coach Dennis Conner.

The other excellent piece of writing for ESPN was by Dana O'Neil with "Austin Hatch is an Uncommon Man" on the University of Michigan freshman basketball player who survived two small plane crashes, each of which killed members of his family. Hatch's is an amazing story that's well told in writing by O'Neil and for Sportscenter in a 16-minute video segment.

Also, there's not a written piece to note here, but the 12-minute ESPN video "Catching Kayla" on high school distance runner Kayla Montgomery competing while afflicted with multiple sclerosis is really really good.

Great Sports Writing - by Michael Rosenberg, Jane Lee & Jeff Pearlman

Three recent sports stories I particularly liked included a short MLB player profile, a feature on the players from an NCAA men's basketball Final Four 25 years ago and piece about writing a huge sports story 15 years ago.

The one about writing a story was "A Reporter's Tale: The John Rocker Story 15 Years Later" for Bleacher Report by Jeff Pearlman on putting together the story he's perhaps best known for.

The Sports Illustrated feature on the 1989 NCAA Final Four participants was by Michael Rosenberg and title "A memorable title game twenty-five years ago brought joy, heartbreak." Really some fascinating stories about the people involved, including: referee John Cloughtery, coaches P.J. Carlesimo, Mike Krzyzewski and Steve Fisher and players Rumeal Robinson and Ramon Ramos.

The baseball piece was a short one by Jane Lee for MLB.com titled "Thanks to his dad, Gray was built for success" about Oakland A's starting pitcher Sonny Gray and his late father Jesse Gray.

Sports Illustrated Writing: from Chris Ballard & Michael Rosenberg

Two excellent feature stories from the last two issues of Sports Illustrated.

From the Jan 6 edition was Tom Brady As You Forgot Him by Michael Rosenberg. It's been widely reported that Brady was a 6th round NFL draft pick out of Michigan, but Rosenberg provides a lot of interesting back story to his time there. Conventional wisdom seems to be that he was always great and nobody noticed, but Rosenberg does a really good job detailing Brady's college experience and how that helped shaped him. Additionally, Rosenberg writes some pretty interesting content on fellow Michigan QB Drew Henson, his career and relationship with Brady.

In the Dec 26 Pictures of the Year issue Chris Ballard wrote The Kiss on the Vancouver riots after the Canucks Game 7 defeat. His story really stood out as solid writing that examined multiple characters associated with the riots (a policeman, a rioter, the couple photographed kissing on the street, person who took the picture) and walked though their experiences chronologically. Was a compelling read that felt like it had been reported on very well.

Sports Illustrated Profiles: Jake Plummer & the Brothers Harbaugh

Two really good Sports Illustrated profiles that bear posting on together.

From the most recent issue, Chris Ballard wrote "What Was He Thinking?" about former NFL quarterback Jake Plummer and an October 2010 SI piece was "Beat, Play, Love" by Michael Rosenberg on now NFL coaches Jim & John Harbaugh.

Both were detailed and well written looks at the respective men, but what struck me as the common thread was how the three of them appear to be doing what they want in life.

The Harbaughs were raised in a football family, but the path each followed really points to the goal of being a head football coach. There's a fair amount of interesting back story from Rosenberg as to what brought John to the head job in Baltimore and Jim more recently to that with San Francisco, but it's impressive reading about someone knowing what they want and working over time to get there.

Ballard's story on Jake Plummer differs from that on the Harbaughs as rather than being about people in marquee NFL roles, it's about someone who walked away from a position in the spotlight. After starring in college and then earning accolades and wealth with first the Cardinals and then Broncos, Plummer left his role as an NFL quarterback (and $5M upcoming season salary) and retired to his home in Sand Point, ID. Instead of pining away for the past, Plummer comes across as completely at ease with his life... including his passion for competitive handball (and associated comradeship).

Excellent stories both with solid writing from Rosenberg and Ballard respectively, but what really struck me was the subjects themselves. Yea, maybe not everyone has made the type of money Plummer has to be able to walk away from a profession, but he still left a lot behind to follow his desires. The Harbaughs path may be more traditional in that theirs doesn't so blatantly diverge from the traditional, but it's nonetheless impressive to read about the work they've put in to now have their aspired to positions.