Sports

Manny Ramirez is a deeply frustrating employee, the kind whose talents are so prodigious that he gets away with skipping meetings, falling asleep on the job, and fraternizing with the competition.

The inner workings of a high school basketball team stacked with international talent.

A profile of the Cincinnati Ben-Gal cheerleaders.

An ode to the fastball and the pitchers who throw it best.

After the 1919 Black Sox scandal, Ring Lardner, America’s first great sportswriter, walked away from the game.

The story of the 2010 NCAA championship game between Duke and Butler, and what would have been greatest shot in college basketball history.

On Baylor’s freshman basketball star Perry Jones and how the new era of one-season careers has changed the landscape of college basketball.

A profile of the highest paid coach in college basketball. A pioneer of one-and-done recruiting, Calipari is also the only coach in NCAA history to have two runs to the Final Four removed from the record books for rules violations.

The pecking order of All-Star Weekend sex-with-basketball-player-or-rapper hopefuls.

A profile of Jake Plummer, the NFL quarterback who turned down a $5M offer and left the game while still in his prime.

The story of a small town just outside Pittsburgh that has suffered through a half-century of economic decline, racial tension, and endless crime. Despite that trajectory, or perhaps because of it, Aliquippa has also produced an astounding number of NFL players.