The Best American Sports Writing (Best American Sports Writing)

Michael Lewis gives a behind-the-scenes look at the legendary football coach Bill Parcells. Bob Hohler delves in the murky waters of modern amateur basketball, where teams blatantly dole out cash to players and shoe companies set their sights on prospects as young as twelve. William Rhoden traces the fate of an unknown filly injured on the racetrack. Jeff MacGregor describes the unforgettable Friars Club roast of boxing's provocative promoter Don King. Daniel Coyle follows a forty-year-old Slovene soldier who might be the worlds best ultra-endurance athlete. L. Jon Wertheim tells of a young pro-basketball player who found himself wrestling the shoe bomber Richard Reid to the ground during a transatlantic flight. And Derek Zumsteg provides a hilarious and utterly original in-depth account of the baseball career of Bugs Bunny, “the greatest banned player ever.”

These pieces and many more go beyond the spotlight, revealing the people and issues that make sports so relevant and important to all of us.

Foreword xi Introduction by David Maraniss xvii

Larry Brown. The White Coon 1 from Field & Stream

Derek Zumsteg. Bugs Bunny, Greatest Banned Player Ever 7 from USS Mariner.com

Oscar Casares. Ready for Some Fútbol? 22 from Texas Monthly

Chris Ballard. The Game of the Year 28 from Sports Illustrated

Dave Hyde. Filling in the Pieces of Jake Scott 42 from The South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Wright Thompson. Fading Away 54 from ESPN.com

John Klima. Deal of the Century 63 from The (Torrance, California) Daily Breeze

William C. Rhoden. An Unknown Filly Dies, and the Crowd Just Shrugs 81 from The New York Times

Jeff MacGregor. Let Us Now Raze Famous Men 84 from Sports Illustrated

Sally Jenkins. Only Medal for Bode Is Fools Gold 104 from The Washington Post

Daniel Coyle. That Which Does Not Kill Me Makes Me Stranger 107 from The New York Times Play Magazine

Mimi Swartz. Polite When in Neutral 120 from The New York Times Play Magazine

Ian Frazier. Snook 131 from The New Yorker

William Finnegan. Blank Monday 144 from The New Yorker Michael Lewis. What Keeps Bill Parcells Awake at Night 159 from The New York Times Play Magazine

Robert Huber. The Madness of John Chaney 181 from Philadelphia Magazine

Michael Wilbon. The Real Deal in So Many Ways 192 from The Washington Post

Bob Hohler. $neaker War 196 from The Boston Globe

Sara Corbett. Baseball for Life 225 from The New York Times Play Magazine

Eli Saslow. A New Game Plan 240 from The Washington Post Magazine

Eric Neel. The Saturday Game 261 from ESPN.com

Bryan Smith. Playing 4 Keeps 282 from Chicago Magazine

L. Jon Wertheim. The Ultimate Assist 293 from SI.com

Bruce Wallace. In Iraq, Soccer Field Is No Longer a Refuge 304 from The Los Angeles Times

Steve Friedman. A Moment of Silence 309 from Runners World

John Brant. Team Hoyt Starts Again 322 from Runners World

Paul Cullum. The Big Show by Little People 337 from The Los Angeles Times Magazine

Bill Buford. Talking Turkey 346 from The New Yorker

Contributors Notes 359 Notable Sports Writing of 2006 365