Is it Dunk and Done for Perry Jones?

You might assume that if Jones left Baylor after just one season for the N.B.A., it would be a terrible disappointment to the coaches who recruited him when he was in his early teens — then had to keep in constant contact to make sure no one poached him. (Such vigilance is known as baby-sitting.) But that is not the case. If Jones leaves, it will further validate Baylor’s program and show everyone — the media, potential recruits, influential summer-league coaches who control players and sometimes broker them to colleges — that Baylor is a place that attracts top talent and produces N.B.A. millionaires. It will make it easier for coach Scott Drew to recruit more players like Jones, who then, of course, also might also leave after one season.

Published: Mar 9, 2011
Length: 27 minutes (6,801 words)

How a Soccer Star Is Made

Like other professional clubs in Europe and around the world, Ajax operates something similar to a big-league baseball team’s minor-league system — but one that reaches into early childhood.

Published: Jun 6, 2010
Length: 31 minutes (7,990 words)

Dick Armey Is Back on the Attack

Since retiring from the House in 2003, Armey, like legions of other former elected officials, has burrowed into Washington’s establishment, never fully returning home to his 89 acres north of Dallas, his “ranchette,” as he calls it.

Published: Nov 4, 2009
Length: 26 minutes (6,573 words)

What’s a Big City Without a Newspaper?

Now down to a besieged two, Philadelphia is a particularly good place to observe what appears to be big-city journalism’s last stand, when many of America’s metropolitan newspapers must quickly figure out how to become profitable again or face likely extinction.

Published: Aug 6, 2009
Length: 23 minutes (5,824 words)