We’ll be reading some but not all of these stories. Consider the rest inspiration, or roadmaps, or perspective. This isn’t a best-of list – either stories or writers. Rather, this is a selection, veering toward the current, to give you a sense of what’s out there. You’ll find different voices, approaches, and subjects. Some are stories that won awards. Some were controversial. Some are about the business. Some are written by upcoming class guests. You can learn from all of them.
Essays, Commentary, and Columns
About Winning, The Sun, Henley O’Brien
Written under a pseudonym, this story – nominally about rowing – was published in 2016 but the author clearly carried it with her for years. Funny, wise, searing, with a creative structure. Great model of effective first-person writing.
I Postponed Open-Heart Surgery for the Cubs, ESPN, Wayne Drehs
A personal essay about the power of fandom.
The Boxer and the Batterer, Grantland, Louisa Thomas
Thoughtful commentary, using embedded images to devastating effect.
Losing it in the Anti-Dieting Age, New York Times Magazine, Taffy Brodesser-Akner
Tonya Harding Would Like Her Apology Now, New York Times Magazine
Only one of these is about sports, and only one is essay-ish. Who cares. No one is writing better human features these days than Taffy. She’s written for ESPN (about sports) and about everything else for seemingly everywhere else. The first – the dieting story – is a masterful example of using the first-person, woven into a narrative, and doing so in a raw, self-aware way. The second came out this January, and is topical and ‘sports’ but, as usual, told from a humane perspective. The third is one of my favorite stories of the last five years and a wonderful example of voice. Don’t stop there, though: read all of Taffy’s stuff, which you can find here. She is incapable of writing a boring sentence. For another young writer who’s got a great voice, and excels at inserting the first-person, check out Caity Weaver’s profile of The Rock. What a lede.
Kobe Bryant Will Always be An All-Star of Talking, by Chuck Klosterman
This is a Q&A. Sort of. It’s also an example of what happens when you take a subject who can really talk and match them up with an interviewer who draws out the best in them.
The Meaning of Serena Williams, New York Times Magazine, by Claudia Rankine
Reported commentary. A new perspective on a familiar subject.
Letter to My Younger Self: Quentin Richardson, Players’ Tribune
From January of 2018, a powerful, raw, and at-times funny first-person essay (as-told-to, really) from a former NBA player. Note that it ran on the Players’ Tribune, a media outlet owned by pro athletes with a business model that endeavors to cut out journalists and go straight to the audience.
Fuck Off, Kobe, Deadspin, by Drew Magary,
Magary is one of the funniest writers working. He can be empathetic and blistering. This is the latter. It’s up to you to decide whether this is fair, or clickbait, or over-the-top.
Zach Lowe archive, ESPN
No one in sports media provides more thorough analysis of a professional league than Lowe, a former cops reporter.
A Very Solid Book, Chicago Tribune, by Mike Royko
Humor is tough to do well. This book review from Royko, a Cubs fan, is a classic.
The Big Hero of Littleton, Sports Illustrated, by Rick Reilly
Reilly was at his best when he relied on reporting, rather than writing tricks. This is a powerful example of using a sports hook to tell a visceral human story.
Features and Narratives
String Theory, Esquire, by David Foster Wallace
Sports writing at its most lyrical. A testament to depth, observation, and prose being more important than a star subject.
Eternal Champions, ESPN FC, Sam Borden
From 2017, an affecting, harrowing and beautifully-rendered narrative. Note where Borden begins his story, investing us in the humanity via small details, then uses chronology and characters to pull us along. Theoretically, this is about soccer, which is why it’s on ESPN, but, as we talk about so much, it’s not about soccer at all.
The Art of Letting Go, ESPN, Mina Kimes
The Unkillable Demon King, ESPN
Mina came to sports from an investigative reporting background, first covering business. In the first story, she returns to Korea – where her mother lived – to write about bat flips, and what they represent. In the second, she writes about Faker, an esports star, and does so with such style and rigor that it’s interesting even to people (like me) who neither know nor care about esports.
Her peer at ESPN, Don Van Natta Jr., provides another good look at what happens when an investigative reporter – Van Natta was on two New York Times Pulitzer teams – heads to sports.
Why Him? Why Me?, ESPN, Eli Saslow
Anyone interested in feature writing should read everything Saslow writes (most of which isn’t about sports). His story about Newtown, for The Washington Post, will rip you apart. He uses embedded reporting, empathy, and a barrage of telling details to humanize, tackling everything from addiction to white supremacists. A second example in the sports realm: this charming story, about a baseball player living out of a van.
Colin Kaepernick Has a Job, Bleacher Report, Rembert Browne
A sprawling, pointed story about the Kaepernick situation through the prism of race relations
Hooked for Life, Huffington Post, George Dohrmann
An investigation by the Pulitzer-winner, and friend of the J-school, into the creepy ways the NFL is targeting kids. Joe Camel for the modern era.
The Greatest Bowling Story Ever Told, D Magazine, by Michael Mooney,
Simple narrative, told very well, on a topic any of you could report. It lives up to the title. If you’re looking to model a story, from reporting to structure, this would be an excellent choice.
The Blind Faith of Juan Jose Padilla, the One-Eyed Matador, GQ, Karen Russell
Is this a sports story? Who cares. Like so many others, it’s an excuse to use the hook to tell us about a fascinating person, and culture. Written by a novelist, the prose shines.
Why Former 49ers Chris Borland is the Most Dangerous Man in Football, ESPN, by Steve Fainaru and Mark Fainaru-Wada
The Fainaru brothers have been hammering the NFL for the past half-decade. This one’s local, and important (Steve, a Pulitzer winner when he was a war reporter with The Washington Post, visited class last year and may do so again)
Let Us Now Raze Famous Men, Sports Illustrated, by Jeff MacGregor
“This is America?” The German is perplexed.
So starts this remarkable meditation/feature on Don King. Few can observe and write like Jeff. The lede – long, looping, cutting – is remarkable. I spent some time trying to imitate Jeff, then realized it was better just to appreciate him. But we can learn from his eye for detail and ability to take accepted concepts and hold them up to the light and examine them from a new angle.
Michael Jordan Has Not Left the Building, ESPN, by Wright Thompson
The holy grail of sports profiles: a full portrait of Michael Jordan. Thompson not only gets intimate access but provides a revealing glimpse of a tortured soul. Thompson is as good as it gets in sports features today. Last year, he wrote on Tiger Woods and Theo Epstein. Both are worth reading, as is most anything Wright produces. Here he is outside mainstream sports, on Dan Gable, the wrestling coach.
American Hustle, Harper’s, Alexandra Starr
A look at how African athletes are exploited by the youth basketball machine.
Outcasts United, New York Times, Warren St. John
A story about a refugee soccer team that became a book and then a movie. Another one that didn’t require access.
A Team of Their Own, Bleacher Report Mag, Jessica Luther
About the players on an all-girls travel team and the structural and societal obstacles in their way.
The Tragic Extent of Monique and Milton Bradley’s Violent Relationship, Sports Illustrated, by Jon Wertheim and Michael McKnight
A powerful, disturbing feature told entirely through public records.
Still Life, Texas Monthly, by Skip Hollandsworth
Sometimes the most powerful stories are about what happens after the crowd moves on. Another off-the-beaten-path story idea.
Split Image, ESPNW, by Kate Fagan
Fagan uses sports to get at a myriad of topics: depression, suicide, and our obsession with our online image.
Higher Education, Sports Illustrated, Gary Smith
Walking His Life Away, Sports Illustrated
Running for Their Lives, Sports Illustrated
Three of more than two dozen Smith stories I could put on here. Whether or not you like his use of second-person in his features, Smith reported like few others and possessed an eerie ability to get in a subject’s head. He was considered the best feature writer in sports (and perhaps magazines) over a 20-year span. Try reading the second story above and not feeling something. It includes one of the best kickers I’ve ever read. The third story is the basis for the movie McFarland, USA which we’ll be discussing in class, when its screenwriter, Grant Thompson, visits.
The Courage of Jill Costello and Out From the Darkness, Sports Illustrated, by your prof
Two stories we may discuss in class. One was reported in your backyard. The other involved court/police records and a reticent subject. Both are examples of narratives that include a larger issue (lung cancer and heroin addiction).
Unclimbable, SB Nation, Eva Holland
This could also fit into first-person. A quest story, well-told. Eva also wrote this look at why athletes – especially those given to risky sports – do it.
Snow Fall, New York Times, John Branch
Groundbreaking visual presentation. Deep reporting and fluid writing.Pulitzer-winner.
Pure Heart, Sports Illustrated, Bill Nack
Nack famously wrote this in one 36-hour sleepless binge. Powerful, beautiful story about a horse.
DeAndre Jordan’s Round Trip, ESPN, Ramona Shelburne
A classic tick-tock story that gives you a sense of the connections Ramona (and co-author Tim McMahon) have built. This is what happens when access meets good writing. This is not Ramona’s best-known story – she’s produced excellent work on disgraced Clippers owner Donald Sterling, Ronda Rousey, Kobe Bryant, and many more subjects – but I include this one for the structure. People love a good, well-sourced explainer.
You Won’t Believe How Nike Lost Steph to Under Armour, ESPN, Ethan Strauss
Fascinating, deeply-reported look at the Steph Curry and the big-money shoe business by Strauss, a Cal grad-turned-blogger-turned-ESPN-staffer.
The No-Stats All-Star, New York Times Magazine, Michael Lewis
One of his lesser-known stories – in other words, there’s no movie. Essentially a trend/analytics story, attached to a great character.
The Official Coming-Out Party, ESPN, Kevin Arnovitz
A perfect match between writer and subject. On Bill Kennedy, an NBA ref who came out. Yet another example of how you can get the sports masses to read about just about any topic if you stick it on ESPN.
Historical
Bullfighting is not a Sport – It is a tragedy, by Ernest Hemingway
The original ‘hot take’, from the author’s first career.
Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu, The New Yorker, John Updike
A great writer, Updike, on a great hitter, Ted Williams
The Last American Hero is Junior Johnson. Yes!”, Esquire, by Tom Wolfe,
Wolfe, at his Wolfe-iest.
A Sense of Where You Are, New Yorker, John McPhee
The article that became a classic book, about Bill Bradley.
Levels of the Game, New Yorker, John McPhee
You can never have too much McPhee. This is about Arthur Ashe and tennis, but also about race.
Great Beginnings
Life and Limb, Runner’s World, Bruce Barcott
Try not to keep reading after that first sentence.
The King of the Ferret Leggers, Outside, by Donald Katz
From a couple decades ago. Remains one of the most compelling (disturbing?) ledes you’ll ever read. Katz uses detail, dialogue, and tone to suck us in. The whole story is fascinating.
On the Business
Deep Six: Jemele Hill and the Fight for the Future of ESPN, The Ringer, Bryan Curtis
Curtis, a former New York Times Magazine writer, covers the business of sports better than anyone else, drawing out the social and cultural aspects. Here he covers Jemele Hill during her recent showdown with ESPN about Trump and politics as acceptable as sports topics.
The Kaepernick Whisperer, The Ringer, by Brian Curtis
On the blurring line between social activism and sports coverage, and Dave Zirin’s quest to further social activism via this realm
The Sports Cable Bubble, Sports on Earth, by Patrick Hruby
An entertaining screed-slash-business story.
My Life in the Locker Room, Deadspin (reprint), Jennifer Briggs
On being a woman covering pro sports in 1992.
I’m Coming Home, Sports Illustrated, LeBron James (as told to Lee Jenkins)
Mr. President: You Represent All of Us. Don’t Divide Us. Bring Us Together, Sports Illustrated, by Steve Kerr (as told to Chris Ballard)
An example of how the industry is changing: Publication as a conduit. In the case of LeBron, he uses SI as a vehicle for his message. With Kerr, it’s a way for him to voice his displeasure with Trump (a displeasure that, in this case, the reporter happened to agree with).
Distant Thunder, Grantland, by Bryan Curtis
A look at how players and teams try to control the message. If you want to read about sports media, Curtis is excellent.
Storytelling Through Sports 