Puma’s Ploy to Become Relevant in Basketball Again By Matt Giles Commentary Deandre Ayton and Marvin Bagley spurned Nike and Adidas to sign with Puma. This isn’t the first time the sneaker company has made basketball history.
A Woman’s Work: Home Economics* (*I Took Woodworking Instead) By Carolita Johnson Feature Carolita Johnson tallies the costs and benefits of love and cohabitation as a woman artist living in a patriarchy.
Endurance: It’s All in Your Head, Apparently By Krista Stevens Highlight “But what if extreme athletes are the worst sources of wisdom, and that is precisely what makes them fascinating?”
When Staying Clean Isn’t an Option By Michelle Weber Highlight Lance Armstrong ran a well-oiled cycling machine, and a well-oiled doping factory. Maybe those are the same thing.
The Olympian Who Believes He’s Always On TV By Longreads Feature An Olympic sailor suffering from Truman Show Disorder attempts to wrest control away from the Director.
A Shot at Glory By Sam Riches Feature For the first time in 24 years, there are no NHL players at the Olympics, offering a rare opportunity for a group of journeymen from a nation that claims hockey as its game.
The Return and Disappearance of Football Star Jackie Wallace By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight Football star Jackie Wallace’s life has taken him from the Super Bowl to the homeless camps of New Orleans, and he’s missing once again.
Unpacking Forty Years of Fandom For a Losing Team By Kevin Sampsell Feature Kevin Sampsell examines his love of football — and a team that’s never won a Super Bowl.
Why We Love to Hate Tom Brady By Tricia Romano Commentary The Gwyneth Paltrow of the NFL must be stopped.
Smell, Memory By Longreads Feature Perfumers evoke the elegance of an imagined tennis game, not the stench of a real one.
What It Means to Be ‘The First’ By Sari Botton Highlight Nicole Chung talks with Kristi Yamaguchi about the cultural significance of her figure skating victory at the 1992 Olympics.
The NFL Has Pimped Its Players for Too Long By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight The disturbing parallels between professional football and the business of pimping
Longreads Best of 2017: Sports Writing By Longreads Reading List We asked writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year. Here is the best in sports writing.
The Athletes Who Felt Seen by Kendrick Lamar’s “good kid, m.A.A.d city” By Danielle Jackson Commentary The modern hip-hop classic reflects growing up in Compton “one thousand percent.”
Widespread Abuse in Kids’ Sports Shows How Institutions Enable Predators By Mike Dang Highlight Institutions like to plead ignorance whenever allegations of sex abuse become public, but they’re often complicit.
Jemele Hill Was Doing Her Job By Danielle Tcholakian Commentary ESPN Sportscenter host Jemele Hill has been suspended for two weeks for simply doing what she was hired to do: provide commentary on the news.
‘This is the Most Inexplicable Story in Sports of the Last 20 Years’ By Matt Giles Feature An interview with Erik Malinowski, author of ‘Betaball,’ which details the improbable rise of the Golden State Warriors.
Should Youth Football be Banned? By Krista Stevens Highlight Esquire writer Luke O’Neil recalls playing tackle football as a kid, where “you can hit so hard that you knock yourself out.”
The Minnesota Lynx are an Ignored Basketball Dynasty By Matt Giles Commentary When will one of the greatest teams in women’s basketball get its due?
From Ghost Town to Havana: Two Teams, Two Countries, One Game By Rick Paulas Feature Two baseball teams — one from the tough streets of West Oakland and the other from Havana — decide to play each other. When they meet in Cuba, a Berkeley documentary filmmaker captures it all.
Jemele Hill Knows What You Really Want to Call Her By Danielle Tcholakian Highlight The host was brought on to help redefine the floundering ESPN brand. Now she’s under attack, and the channel is nowhere to be seen.
The NBA’s Great Positionless Shift By Matt Giles Commentary Royce White’s skillset was tailor-made for the current NBA. Why he isn’t playing in the league is a shame.
How the NBA Failed Royce White By Sam Riches Feature He was compared to basketball superstars like Charles Barkley and LeBron James. But without comprehensive mental health treatment, Royce White found himself fighting for a new cause.
What Happens When You Dope Like Maria Sharapova By Mike Dang Highlight Did taking melodonium actually do anything for Maria Sharapova? Caitlin Thompson decided to take some to find out.
Serena Williams on Returning to Tennis and Embracing ‘Power’ By Mike Dang Highlight Williams plans to defend her Australian Open title just three months after giving birth.
There’s No Overtime In This Game By Michelle Weber Highlight Georgia Cloepfil is only in her mid-twenties, but she already contemplating the end of her soccer career.
The Fallacy of the Olympics By Matt Giles Highlight Hosting the Olympics too often spells doom for the host country.
Where In the World is O.J. Mayo? By Matt Giles Highlight O.J. Mayo was set for a long NBA career, but following a two-year suspension handed down in 2017, the precociously talented guard has vanished. Why?
