For fans of sports and just plain great writing, this collection of twenty-seven of the finest pieces from the past year features "outstanding sports reporting on a wealth of different topics" (Booklist). Guest editor Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of Moneyball and Coach, has assembled a compelling look at the sports stories and issues that dominated 2005.

Pamela Colloff reports from the politically and sexually charged world of competitive cheerleading in Texas. Paul Solotaroff meets the star of the University of Georgia wrestling team, a nineteen-year-old world-record weightlifter who was born with no arms or legs. Ben Paynter travels the gay rodeo circuit. Pat Jordan profiles the world's greatest poker player, a boyish thirty-year-old whose mom still packs him a brown bag lunch. Jeff Duncan travels to Florida, where a New Orleans high school and its football program are picking up the pieces in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We also discover Linda Robertson reporting on the supersizing of NFL players. S. L. Price profiles the most famous U.S. Paraolympian. Katy Vine introduces a girl who can dunk — in eighth grade — and more.

The pieces in this outstanding volume show the true reach and impact of sports, its importance often extending far beyond the playing field. As Lewis writes in his introduction, "What's reassuring about great sports writing is what's reassuring about great sports performances: facing opposition, and often against the odds, someone, at last, did something right."

Acclaimed nonfiction writer Michael Lewis edits this latest volume of the best<BR>sports writing from the past year. Known for his insightful mix of business<BR>and sports reporting, Lewis brings a unique look at the world of sports today. <BR>Contributors include Gary Smith, Pat Jordan, Paul Solotaroff, <BR>Linda Robertson, L. Jon Wertheim, and others.

For fans of sports and just plain great writing, this collection of twenty-seven of the finest pieces from the past year features "outstanding sports reporting on a wealth of different topics" (Booklist). Guest editor Michael Lewis, the best-selling author of Moneyball and Coach, has assembled a compelling look at the sports stories and issues that dominated 2005.

Pamela Colloff reports from the politically and sexually charged world of competitive cheerleading in Texas. Paul Solotaroff meets the star of the University of Georgia wrestling team, a nineteen-year-old world-record weightlifter who was born with no arms or legs. Ben Paynter travels the gay rodeo circuit. Pat Jordan profiles the world's greatest poker player, a boyish thirty-year-old whose mom still packs him a brown bag lunch. Jeff Duncan travels to Florida, where a New Orleans high school and its football program are picking up the pieces in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. We also discover Linda Robertson reporting on the supersizing of NFL players. S. L. Price profiles the most famous U.S. Paraolympian. Katy Vine introduces a girl who can dunk — in eighth grade — and more.

The pieces in this outstanding volume show the true reach and impact of sports, its importance often extending far beyond the playing field. As Lewis writes in his introduction, "What's reassuring about great sports writing is what's reassuring about great sports performances: facing opposition, and often against the odds, someone, at last, did something right."

Glenn Stout has been the series editor of The Best American Sports Writing since its inception and has written three illustrated biographies with Richard A. Johnson: Ted Williams: A Portrait in Words and Pictures, Joe DiMaggio: An Illustrated Life, and Jackie Robinson: Between the Baselines. He is a columnist for Boston Baseball, and his work has appeared in many regional and national magazines and newspapers. He lives in Uxbridge, Massachusetts

Foreword xi Introduction by Michael Lewis xvii

Paul Solotaroff. There Is Nothing Special About Kyle Maynard . 1 from Men’s Journal

Jeff Duncan. Desire Without End 15 from The New Orleans Times-Picayune

Kurt Streeter. The Girl 26 from The Los Angeles Times

Pamela Colloff. Flipping Out 87 from Texas Monthly

James Brown. Dirty Moves 101 from The Los Angeles Times Magazine

Steve Friedman. Driving Lessons 110 from Travel and Leisure Golf

Pat Jordan. Card Stud 124 from The New York Times Magazine

Greg Garber. A Tormented Soul 132 from ESPN.com

David Grann. Stealing Time 157 from The New Yorker

Dan Koeppel. Standing Still 172 from Bicycling

Steve Oney. Fallen Angel 180 from Los Angeles

S. L. Price. The Sprinter 202 from Sports Illustrated

L. Jon Wertheim. Saved by Sports 215 from Sports Illustrated

J. R. Moehringer. The Unnatural Natural 227 from The Los Angeles Times Magazine

Neal Pollack. The Cult of the General Manager 237 from Slate.com

Jonathan Miles. What Goes Ninety-five Miles per Hour for Seventeen Days Straight Through Mud, Sand, High-Speed Smash-ups, and Marauding Bandits? 240 from Men’s Journal

Gary Smith. The Shadow Boxer 256 from Sports Illustrated

Pamela Colloff. She’s Here. She’s Queer. She’s Fired. 271 from Texas Monthly

Ben Paynter. So You Wanna Be a Cowboy? 279 from The Pitch

Jeff Pearlman. Mom’s the Word 291 from Newsday

Linda Robertson. XXL 297 from The Miami Herald

Michael Sokolove. Clang! 305 from The New York Times Magazine

Katy Vine. Brooklyn Heights 317 from Texas Monthly

Pat Jordan. The Magician 328 from The Atlantic Monthly

Kurt Streeter. Making the Time Count 337 from The Los Angeles Times

Tim Zimmermann. Raising the Dead 346 from Outside

Charlie Schroeder. A (Fishing) Hole in One 370 from The Los Angeles Times Magazine

Contributors’ Notes 379 Notable Sports Writing of 2005 383