What Hockey Gives and What Hockey Takes Away By Krista Stevens Highlight Hockey is good for the heart and soul, but treacherous for the brain.
Lumbersexuality, a Sport and a Pastime By Jonny Diamond Feature Why do people — mostly men — want to throw axes and dress like lumberjacks?
I Entered the World’s Longest, Loneliest Horse Race on a Whim, and I Won By Longreads Feature Somehow, implausibly, against all the odds, I became the youngest person and first woman ever to win the Mongol Derby. What made me so sure I was ready, when I was totally unprepared?
Busting Broncos and the Patriarchy By Aaron Gilbreath Highlight After nearly a century of being denied the opportunity, women are riding bucking broncos in American rodeo once again, and regaining the respect they deserve.
The Need for Distance: Jaclyn Gilbert on Writing and Running By Jacqueline Alnes Feature For author Jaclyn Gilbert, revising her writing is much like doing the same running loops over and over, to the point where she doesn’t have to think about where she’s going anymore.
Home Field Disadvantage By Kelsey McKinney Feature What will it take to get women’s baseball the recognition it deserves?
From the Sidelines: A Reading List on the Need for Female Coaches By Jacqueline Alnes Reading List Nine stories examining the lack of and dire need for more women coaches in sport.
There’s No Discrimination in Baseball! By Katie Kosma Highlight Historically pushed toward softball, Baseball for All keeps young girls in the game.
Why Do Men Fight?: An Interview with Thomas Page McBee By Cooper Lee Bombardier Feature “When I started asking myself questions about my own notions of masculinity. I just felt so limited, so suddenly afraid of becoming the kind of man I’d grown up in fear of.”
Every Mission is a Suicide Mission By Nicholas Mainieri Feature Accompanying a contestant to a pro-level Galaga tournament to discover how many digital space bugs you have to destroy to find renown, community, and a modicum of inner peace.
The Wheel, the Woman, and the Human Body By Aaron Gilbreath Feature How the newly evolved bicycle helped liberate women and modernize America’s concept of fitness.
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.
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 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.”
Can a Sports-Crazed City Turn a Theater Person into a Baseball Person? By Shannon Reed Feature Shannon Reed thought she knew what kind of fan she was, until she moved back home to Pittsburgh.
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.
Remembering Nelson Mandela’s Contribution to Sports By Matt Giles Commentary Nelson Mandela long realized that sports was a great unifier.
There’s No Equality In Baseball By Michelle Weber Highlight The young women of Girls Travel Baseball are mocked by opposing players, but they keep on playing.
The Silent Prayer That Derailed Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf’s NBA Career By Matt Giles Commentary After converting to Islam in the ’90s, the point guard began to pray during the national anthem. He was soon traded.
The Re-Kazakhification of Kazakhstan, On Horseback By Michelle Weber Highlight After years of Soviet control, the country looks to the cultural foundations of its nomadic past.
Unsportsmanlike Conduct! The Cathartic (and Expensive) Act of Racket Abuse By Mike Dang Highlight In tennis, smashing a racket can be an easy way to vent your frustrations, but it also comes with consequences.
The Fading Relevance of the NBA Draft By Matt Giles Commentary Building a contender the old-fashioned way takes a patience few teams are willing to endure.
The Swan (Mascot) that Would Not Be Tamed By Ben Huberman Highlight The story of a football team’s mascot, the man inside the costume, and the town that rallied around its local hero.
24-Hour Competitive Rock Climbing: Finger Tips as Rough as Rhino Skin By Krista Stevens Highlight Why would anyone want to find out how many rock climbs they can do in a 24-hour period? For fun, of course.
Roger Federer is Brilliant, But Don’t Ever Forget About Serena Williams By Mike Dang Highlight It’s always polarizing when you’re trying to designate a single athlete as the “Greatest of All Time.”
“Modern Life Is Not Violent Enough,” Said Nobody — But They Thought It By Michelle Weber Highlight This excerpt from Chuck Klosterman’s book “But What If We’re Wrong?” is nominally about football, and violence, but is also a prescient analysis of U.S. politics.
How Family Tragedy Shaped Steve Kerr’s Worldview By Mark Armstrong Highlight “His job gives him a platform. You will excuse him if he has a few things to say.”
Concussion Chronology: One High School Football Player’s Secret Struggle with CTE By Krista Stevens Highlight At GQ, Reid Forgrave profiles Zac Easter, a former “smashmouth” high school football player who took his own life in the aftermath of suffering five diagnosed concussions during his football career.
