All year
long I’ve been reading great sports journalism online to recommend to the
followers of my podcast’s (Basement Sports) Facebook fanpage. I’m a writer and
a huge sports fan, so the two mingling together to form great journalism has
always mesmerized me. The year has truly seen some great sports writing, and I
wanted to share the best of the best that I’ve read from 2013.
Over the
next few days I will be unveiling the ‘25 Best Sports Writing Articles of 2013’
from the many that I have read. While I’ve read more than 100 fine pieces this
year I’m sure that some truly fantastic online sports writing has slipped
through my grasps, so I do apologize if an obvious piece of great sports
writing has been omitted.
In part two
of this five-part list are fine writings on a Major League Baseball player who
must make sacrifices to care for his beloved dog, a baseball player who
realized the game was no longer for him, the perfect response to performance
enhancing drug allegations, capturing the horror of the Boston Marathon
bombings and the tale of how women must first defeat their own breasts before
setting their sights on their opponent.
20. "Playing Defense: What's the smartest PED response strategy?" by SportsonEarth's Will Leitch (August 13)
In August, the NFL’s best running
back Adrian Peterson, of the Minnesota Vikings, kind of surprised the sports
media/world when asked if he used performance enhancing drugs. His response: "... it makes me feel good. When you know you don't do it, and someone's saying you do, you're like, 'Wow. They think I'm on HGH? I'm doing that good? It's a compliment. I don't get mad about it at all." It was a reaction unlike any other athlete who'd ever answered the question and according to Sports on Earth's Will Leitch is the smartest strategy to responding to PED questioning.
Jerry Crasnick’s piece on newly acquired Toronto
Blue Jays pitcher Mark Buehrle and his love of his dogs was intriguing because
it shows the sacrifices, sometimes ones you wouldn’t even think of, that
professional athletes sometimes have to make during their season. Buehrle and
his family own a 2-year old American Staffordshire terrier and bulldog
mix, part of the pitbull family, which happens to be
outlawed in the entirety of Toronto’s province Ontario. Because of their bond
with their pup, Buehrle’s family chose to stay at home in St. Louis and take
care of the dog, meaning that they would be away from each other for most of
the season. Buehrle’s sacrifice and the love and care he has for dogs makes for
a supremely touching story.
Becoming a
Major League Baseball player (or a professional athlete of another kind) is a
dream shared by millions throughout the world. One would think that making it
to the highest level in your sport would be the ultimate goal, but Adrian
Cardenas, a former Chicago Cubs player, realized once he finally made it to
“the show” that it really wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t his American dream.
His telling of why in The New Yorker is an interesting tale of how one can
seemingly have what millions desire, but not really want for himself.
Sometimes great articles are the ones that make you
think of things that you never would have imagined. For instance, as a man I
had never thought about how uncomfortable it must be for female athletes to
compete because of their breasts until I read Amanda Hess’ “You Can Only Hope
to Contain Them” for ESPN the Magazine. Hess’ piece made me realize that for
women sometimes you have to battle your own breasts before even thinking about
defeating your opponent.
16. "You Are Not Safe Here": The Remains of a Horrible Day in Boston" by Esquire's Charles P. Pierce (April 15)
The day of the Boston
bombing at the Boston Marathon on April 15 was a day that most Americans will
probably always remember, but for the people who were actually there will be
engrained in their memories – the horror, the blood, the gruesomely maimed and
the panic that permeated throughout the area. Esquire’s Charles P. Pierce in
just five short paragraphs was able to perfectly capture the panic of the
moments directly after the bomb blasts, including the unnerving quote from an
officer stating to passer-bys, “you are not safe here.” However, it’s his final
sentence that truly lets the horror of that afternoon sink in: "And you can smell the blood two blocks away."
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