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Great articles, every Saturday.

Publications

Sports Illustrated

Sports

"I'm 70 in Basketball Years"

Kobe Bryant in twilight.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Aug 2014 Permalink

Best Article Sports

Rapture of the Deep

Carried away by love—for risk and for each other—two of the world’s best freedivers went to the limits of their sport. Only one came back.

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Gary Smith on the Longform Podcast

Gary Smith Sports Illustrated Jun 2003 35min Permalink

Crime Sports

The Promise and Tragedy of Aamir Griffin

One year after a 14-year-old basketball player was killed by a stray bullet on a playground court in Queens, his friends and family still don’t have answers—only enduring anguish and a familiar feeling of grief.

Kevin Armstrong Sports Illustrated Dec 2020 25min Permalink

Sports

USC and Its Dying Linebackers

In 1989, USC had a depth chart of a dozen linebackers. Five have died, each before age 50.

Michael Rosenberg Sports Illustrated Oct 2020 30min Permalink

Sports

The Importance of Being LeBron

Just before his first NBA game, an 18-year-old LeBron James was asked about the pressure of controlling the combined fortunes of a city, major corporations, and the league. “I can handle it,” he said.

Jack McCallum Sports Illustrated Oct 2003 15min Permalink

Sports

'This Guy’s Been Watching the Wrong Type of News Channel or Something'

When a Black lineman from Colorado State went knocking on doors in a white neighborhood, he found himself at the dangerous intersection of a national racial reckoning and a world of internet-conspiracy fanaticism.

Alex Prewitt Sports Illustrated Aug 2020 20min Permalink

History Sports Health

Running in the Age of Coronavirus

More than 40 years ago, pioneering author Jim Fixx’s best-selling book brought jogging to the masses, espousing its physical and emotional benefits. Now, those themes resonate more than ever with a homebound society.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated May 2020 25min Permalink

Crime Sports

What to Make of Murph the Surf?

His savvy on a longboard earned him trophies. His burglary of the Natural History museum in New York earned him headlines. And his brutality on a Florida boat 50-odd years ago earned him a lifetime in prison. Now: What does penance get you?

Brian Burnsed Sports Illustrated Apr 2020 Permalink

Sports

The World's Team

How Barcelona became the most successful—and most beloved—club in soccer.

Grant Wahl Sports Illustrated Oct 2012 25min Permalink

Sports

Love and Lhotse

Skiing in the shadow of Mount Everest.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Feb 2020 30min Permalink

Crime Sports

Jeff Hatch Was Dealing Fentanyl. And Helping Addicts. Then a Planned Visit from the VP Blew It All Up

Ex-Ivy Leaguer and NFL-er Jeff Hatch spent years telling audiences of his triumph over opioid addiction, to great acclaim. Then as the rehab center he worked at drew national attention, a tortuous backstory of cops, dealers and deception came to light.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Oct 2019 25min Permalink

Business Sports

League on Fire

The curious rise and spectacular crash of the Alliance of American Football, a new league that went under in just eight weeks.

Conor Orr Sports Illustrated May 2019 15min Permalink

Sports

Jerrod Mustaf Is a Community Hero. Has Anyone Ever Googled Him?

The former NBA player is forever linked to the murder of his girlfriend.

Jon Wertheim Sports Illustrated Apr 2019 25min Permalink

Best Article Sports

The Power of One

At age 17, Bonnie Richardson won the Texas state track team championship all by herself. Then she did it again.

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Gary Smith on the Longform Podcast

Gary Smith Sports Illustrated Sep 2009 25min Permalink

Best Article Sports Religion

The Curious Case of Sidd Finch

A profile of a previously unknown rookie pitcher for the Mets who dropped out of Harvard, made a spiritual quest to Tibet, and somewhere along the line figured out how to throw a baseball much, much faster than anyone else on Earth.

George Plimpton Sports Illustrated Apr 1985 25min Permalink

Best Article Reprints Sports

Friday Night Lights

On the start of the high school football season in Odessa, Texas. An adaptation published alongside the release of Bissinger’s 1990 book of the same name, which led to the movie and the show.

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Previously: Buzz Bissinger on the Longform Podcast

Buzz Bissinger Sports Illustrated Sep 1990 25min Permalink

Crime Sports Travel

Lost Soul

The inspiring life and mysterious death of NBA player Bison Dele.

Chris Ballard Sports Illustrated Oct 2013 40min Permalink

Best Article Crime Sports

The Boy They Couldn't Kill

Eighteen years ago, NFL wide receiver Rae Carruth conspired to kill the woman carrying his child. The woman, Cherica Adams, died. The child, Chancellor Lee Adams, did not.

Thomas Lake Sports Illustrated Sep 2012 25min Permalink

Crime Sports

What Happened to the Houston Astros' Hacker?

How prison changed the former pro scout.

Ben Reiter Sports Illustrated Oct 2018 20min Permalink

Best Article Sports

Pure Heart

The life and death of the racehorse Secretariat.

William Nack Sports Illustrated Jun 1990 30min Permalink

Business Sports

How and (Why) Athletes Go Broke

Five years after they leave the league, 60 percent of NBA players have nothing left. In the NFL, it’s closer to 80 percent after just two years. On the economics of professional sports.

Pablo S. Torre Sports Illustrated Mar 2009 25min Permalink

Best Article

Gareth Thomas...the Only Openly Gay Male Athlete

How a rugby legend came out.

Gary Smith Sports Illustrated May 2010 30min Permalink

Sports

The Seeker

The complicated life and death of Hideki Irabu, a pitcher who was supposed to become a Yankee legend and found heartache instead.

Ben Reiter Sports Illustrated Aug 2017 15min Permalink

Politics Sports

First Golfer

Donald Trump’s relationship with golf has never been more complicated.

Alan Shipnuck Sports Illustrated Aug 2017 20min Permalink

Crime Sports

Highway to Hell

The prison life of O.J. Simpson.

Greg Bishop, Thayer Evans Sports Illustrated Jun 2014 20min Permalink

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