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“A Life After Wide Right” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day 24)
I’ve always felt in awe of field goal kickers at any level, when the game comes down to a final kick, the hopes of both teams hanging on the outcome of the swing of their leg. It’s hard to imagine the pressure they face, knowing that a thousands of fans are watching in the stadium,…
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The Hard Life of an N.F.L. Long Shot (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day 17)
For most of us, NFL preseason games in August are meaningless. Few of the starters play, the games are sloppy, and nothing much seems to be at stake. The Hard Life of an N.F.L. Long Shot by Charles Seibert for the New York Times Magazine shows us that for a handful of college stars hoping…
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“Todd Marinovich: The Man Who Never Was” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day Nine)
Mike Sager’s 9800-word profile of Todd Marinovich for the May 2009 edition of Esquire is an impressive work. It details the rise and fall of Marinovich from prep star, to USC standout, to NFL washout, to drug addict and convict. The quarterback’s story has so many plot twists, so many highs and lows, it almost…
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“Urban Meyer Will be Home for Dinner” (31 Longreads in 31 Days, Day Three)
Sportswriting is often overlooked as a source of serious journalism, including long form narrative nonfiction. Yet many of my favorite nonfiction writers — Gary Smith, Gay Talese, Buzz Bissinger — have focused much of their talents on the world of sports. Wright Thompson’s “Urban Meyer Will Be Home for Dinner,” from the August 6 edition of…
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20 years later, I still miss The National
Bud Shaw has a great story over at Mental Floss on the rise and fall of The National, a short-lived national daily sports newspaper. I read it regularly and loved it, before it died a year after it sprang into existence. It was supposed to be the USA Today of sports, covering both national and…