Mykal Riley’s last-second three-pointer kept thousands of fans out of the path of tornado. Just as remarkable? That Riley was there to shoot the three in the first place.

On his journey from phenom to champion to wannabe rock star to Emmy-winning commentator, John McEnroe hasn’t changed much.

Ty Cobb, who would go on to be the greatest baseball player of his time, was a 17-year-old minor league prospect when his mother shot and killed his father at home in Georgia.

The importance of the sports metaphor in the American consciousness and why Lewis Lapham didn’t join the C.I.A.

DFW on the joys of watching the winningest tennis player of all time play live at Wimbledon.

The truth is that TV tennis is to live tennis pretty much as video porn is to the felt reality of human love.

In the 1980s, Billy Ray Bates, once dubbed “the Legend,” drank himself out of the NBA and ended up playing in the Philippines. For a few wild years, his legend grew–both on the court and in the bars.

Before embarking on dangerous rock climbs, Matt Samet would use whiskey to wash down powerful prescription tranquilizers. A first-person account of extreme addiction.

A 1998 profile of Kobe Bryant, then a 19-year-old second year player in the NBA. Bryant lived with his parents, worked out 5 hours a day, and didn’t shy away from comparisons to Michael Jordan.

A 1995 profile of Kevin Garnett, then a 19-year-old high school senior about to be picked fifth in the NBA draft. Garnett was considered emotionally soft and hoped to play for Isiah Thomas.

For weeks, we looked for a standout, Instapaper-friendly preview of the World Cup. We couldn’t find anything on a single page, so we made one ourselves. Here it is: thirty-two teams, eight groups, one page.

After one of the most decisive wins in Kentucky Derby history, Barbaro broke his leg at the Preakness, ending a promising career and beginning a herculean effort to save his life.

Argentina’s Lio Messi, the best soccer player on the planet, stands all of 5’7″ and needed growth-hormone injections to get there.