The Confederate Flag And The NCAA Tournament

Even before I went to UCLA, I was a huge college basketball fan. After a national championship during my freshman year 1995 and covering the basketball team for the Daily Bruin, I became a diehard college hoops junkie. Every March, it's brackets, basketball, and the Bruins for me.
Some of the wildest times I've had as a fan occurred at regular season and NCAA tourney games, and every year I have the choice to attend regional tournament games somewhere nearby where I live. I've also always taken note of where the other regional games are played and watched those fans go completely ballistic as well.
I never noticed that, since 2002, none of these games, or any NCAA championship tournament or game, has been played in South Carolina. The Bi-Lo Center, with 16,000 seats, and the Colonial Center, which was built in large part to host such events with its 18,000 seat capacity, have been banned from hosting the NCAA college basketball tournament by the NCAA.
The reason behind this ban, and a similar one in Mississippi is because these states continue to fly the Confederate flag on state grounds. All that publicity and all of that revenue are off the table.
I couldn't have asked for a better issue to serve as a teaser trailer for our upcoming discussion of the Confederate flag. I'm nearly done with John Coski's book, and a good debate should be in the offing soon.

The Tipsy Historian 2008 Year In Review

The New Year is always a special time, and this time around, more than ever. A recurring personality in these posts is my wife, The Jess, and 2008 was a most challenging year for her, for me, and for us as a couple. If you look in the archives there is a writing vacuum from late January into April, and the astute observer will note in the sidebar "Why The Jess Is Cool" the one notation that's in all capital letters.
We pushed through a tough stretch together and I've never been more proud of anyone or anything in my life than I am of her. We've both worked hard to keep some balance and brightness in our lives as some dark energy pushed against us, and we've been pretty successful. I'm grateful and happy that this space was a large part of my cognitive recreation and creativity, which I'm sure is evinced by the nearly 200 posts I wrote in just over 8 months.
This blog has served as an effective relaxation and mental escape technique over the past year, and I'm sure it will remain so, but hopefully without a sense of urgency or anxiety driving the work. And what a lot of work we've done! When I started blogging, I wondered what themes would develop within the subjects that draw my interest, and over the course of 2008, there were some most engaging threads developed.
The American Civil War rose far to the front here, and I'm incredibly happy and proud of our ongoing study of The Lost Cause mythology and our collective memory of the ACW. There are some fantastic blogs out there that I discovered over the course of the year that share this focus (Cenantua's Blog being right at the top of the heap), which has made the journey that much richer.
There is no shortage of controversy and emotion in this subject matter, and we've tackled a quite a few provocative issues. When you begin challenging long-established perceptions and beloved folklore, you're gonna stir up some emotions. I believe that this is important work and I'm glad that a visceral chord is struck here from time to time.
Though my reading list is chock-a-block with Civil War material, and the majority of posts here do cover this topic, no small amount of attention has been paid to the importance of a tasty beverage. Between roasting my own coffee and inventing drinks filled with black apricot, basil, cantaloupe, and cachaca, The Jess and I have not gone thirsty this year.
We also haven't been short of drama on the tennis court, whether I'm out grinding with Simon the Great or watching and writing about the four Grand Slams. Nothing comes anywhere close to the fun that I had writing about the surging rivalry between Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal, and no sporting event I've ever seen can even approach the sheer brilliance and stunning drama of their clash in the Wimbledon final this year.
So what's been my favorite post of the year? There are a few that I'm quite pleased with, several that have attracted some attention and comment, and a few that will quench a powerful thirst. None of them has the appeal that writing about my cousin Guy's journey to a world championship held for me. I was a sportswriter before I went to grad school, and it's a pursuit that I love and missed, up until this event happened. It was also an incredibly dramatic moment amidst a year that was well-drenched in sporting achievements.
The thrill of this occasion and the sheer joy we all felt seeing my cousin pull over this amazing feat will always be special to me for these reasons and one more. That moment helped break through a pall in my life and was the jump-off point for a tremendous source of recreation and fun for me. That April 21st post was my first in several months and stands up as a powerful symbol for me.
I look forward to moving into 2009 and anticipate another rich year of subject matter to write about. Before we make that transition, I would like to give a word of thanks to those who have spent a few moments reading my prose. This is a public place and I'm grateful to anyone who should happen by and spend some time here. I hope to see you again many times in a healthy and happy 2009!

An Unbelievable Turnaround!

For those of you who have seen my profile, you'll note that alongside studying the Civil War (and I'll write about the dearth of recent ACW writings here tomorrow), inventing cocktails, and roasting coffee, I am an ardent Miami Dolphins fan. It's a tough road, being a Fins fan in California; there just aren't that many of us, and the last few years have been pretty gruesome.
Until this season. Until Sparano, the Wildcat, the Brown-Williams freight train, and (gasp) Pennington under center. Until the Miami Dolphins executed the greatest turnaround in NFL history to snatch the division title and send the hated Jets spinning into a dark offseason.
I intentionally didn't blog about the Dolphins after a post about Jason Taylor in the preseason. I wanted to see what happened and just try to be above it all. Now, after going 11-5, winning the division, and seizing a playoff berth on the last day of the season, I can let out my breath and say simply...
WOW!
I don't care what happens on Sunday against Baltimore, this is the most memorable Dolphins season for me since 1984, when I was eight years old and was a brand new football fan watching Dan The Man slinging passes all over the field and right into the Super Bowl (the result of which we won't cover here, suffice it to say it's the reason that I dislike the 49ers more than any other professional sports franchise).
This is a team playing sports the way we're taught when we're kids: selfless, focused, energetic, committed. When you can do any activity where those tenets are paramount, great things can happen. When your team applies them week in and week out, you get to watch them go from 1-15 to the playoffs.
Well done Miami! This season will join the pantheon of great Dolphins teams, and regardless of this postseason, there is great hope for the future!

Watch My Cousin Become The World Tenpin Masters Champion!

If you recall, I wrote a post about my cousin Guy winning the World Tenpin Masters Championship this past April with one of the gutsiest finishes you've ever seen. This incredible victory was a wonderful moment for Guy, and for the family as a whole. We are quite scattered from South Africa to Israel to Canada to the US, but this gave all of us a simultaneous chill and a huge thrill.
Now we've got the footage, so everyone can join in. No more grainy hand-held shots, here is the SkySports broadcast of the event. It takes about 25 minutes to watch all four, definitely go for it, it's a blast!
Part One
Part Two
Part Three
Part Four (this part obviously has the incredibly dramatic finish, but try to watch each part in sequence and tell me if your heart isn't pounding at the very end!)
I also found a wonderful interview Guy did a few months ago at a tournament in San Marino, he is just made for television, that kid is.
I'll leave you with that incredible photograph one more time.

UCLA Football Triumphant! (Nadal Too, But Barely)

Wow! Wow! Wow! What a victory for the UCLA Bruins tonight! Honestly, I'm just reeling at the size of this last-second, come from behind overtime 27-24 win over 18th ranked Tennessee. I mean, we were supposed to be terrible; no quarterback, no O-line, an overhauled coaching staff. This wasn't supposed to be close!
In true gutty Bruin spirit, this team came together under new coach Rick Neuheisel and put together an effort for the ages. How many teams could lose three starters in the first quarter and still win? How many quarterbacks could throw 4 interceptions in one half in their first start and come back with a Montana-esque second half? How many defenses could keep their much maligned offense in the game for so long without a drop in morale or confidence.
One. Your 2008 UCLA Bruins football team.
I wish I was still writing for the Daily Bruin after a game like this one, the storylines just overflow the keyboard: Neuheisel's homecoming, Kevin Craft's unbelievable second half performance, the touchdown drive followed by Tennessee's field goal at the final gun to tie, the game-winning field goal, the genius of coordinators DeWayne Walker and Norm Chow, that unreal defense!
What a boost to the team's confidence, what a shot in the arm for recruiting, what a way to start the year! Think the team doesn't feel it? Check out Coach Neuheisel celebrating with the fans after the game.
OK, I've caught my breath, so on to today's US Open action, and we'll start with the women. My pick to win, Dinara Safina, stormed into the quarters in two easy sets, as did the Williams sisters. Older sister Venus gave a serious beating to Agnieszka Radwanska and will face her sister in the quarterfinals on Wednesday.
On the men's side, I caught the last set of Mardy Fish's easy win over Gael Monfils, and I'm not sure what to make of it. Not that Fish didn't deserve to win, but Monfils had clearly thrown in the towel and was pretty much goofing off in the third set. I wish players wouldn't do that, just have the integrity to play hard regardless or get off the court.
Monfils could take a lesson from top-seeded Rafa Nadal in the effort category, and Nadal needed every ounce he could muster in a brutal 6-2, 5-7, 7-6, 6-3 win over Sam Querrey. This one I watched from beginning to end, and Querrey gave the number one player in the world all he could handle. There was a stretch from late in the second set to just before the 3rd set tiebreak where Querrey had Nadal pretty well befuddled, and his forehand was just tremendous; it's effort like today's that will push Querrey into the top 20 if he keeps it up.
Just as he can build on the positive, he needs to see where the next step in his game is, and we go back to the central dogma of tournament tennis: big players play big on big points. Querrey basically got out of Nadal's way in the 3rd set tiebreaker after brawling his way into it, and after going down a break at 4-2 in the fourth set, he had a total of seven break point chances on Nadal's serve, but couldn't convert. Still, a fantastic effort.
Tomorrow we'll see the rest of the quarterfinal brackets filled out, but in the meantime, click here for all the UCLA football coverage you need while you listen to the mighty Bruins roar!

The Beautiful Game

During my UCLA experience and working as a sportswriter for the Daily Bruin, soccer in the fall and tennis in the spring were my bread and butter for two years. I watched match upon match, practice upon practice as these well-trained athletes plied their craft. The soccer in the fall was a particular blast, as those Bruin squads were packed with guys who went on to play Major League Soccer and even for the US National Team
It had been a long time, nearly 10 years to be exact, since I got to watch the most popular sport in the world played live. Not only was lack of opportunity a problem, but lack of motivation as well.
Last night, the drought was broken, and boy did the cup runneth over!
Myself, The Jess, Mr. Triathlon, and his wife Femme Futbol made a pilgrimage yesterday to Carson and the Home Depot Center to watch the Los Angeles Galaxy play right before our eyes.
What an amazing homecoming it was, having spent my undergrad years at UCLA fighting that traffic, only to find the 405 freeway wide open through Long Beach at the peak of rush hour. This was the gas crisis in specific relief, because usually this road is bumper to bumper from Mission Viejo to Westwood. We seized the opportunity; however, and plunged into Carson on a mission. First, though, we needed to quench a more primal instinct: pre-sport beer and grease.
What better place to slake this need than at Shakey's Pizza. Oily, cheap, massive quantities of pizza, potatoes, and chicken, Shakey's was a college standby and was the stuff of many post-bar snacks.
The munching commenced on our way into the parking lot for this sold out affair, then a quick tailgate, and in we went. What an atmosphere! Singing, scarves, air horns, just what you'd expect at a soccer match. We had fallen bassackwards into a rivalry match between two first place teams!
There has been much talk since the 1994 World Cup in the US about when and if soccer will ever translate into a major sport in America. I don't want to revisit the whole debate here, but the essence is and will remain television. The sports-watching public here gets its fix not from actual attendance, but watching on TV: live, replays, highlights, chat shows.
Soccer, to the detriment of our society, does not translate well on a television screen. It is not simply a game played in the direct vicinity of the ball; it is a fluid, spontaneous, kinetic ballet played out over the entire pitch, and to be able to grasp that you have to be able to see it
The TV screen, unfortunately shows us the ball and the men right around it. You can't see an attacker moving into space to receive a pass, or a fullback tearing up the sideline into wide open space. The charge of a defender, or the choices of a keeper to move up or stay in the goal mouth are all widely evident to the peripheral vision of the fan in the stands, but sadly absent on television.
The TV fan is left only with goals and shots on goal to give them joy, but the game is just so much more. There really is so much artistry and creativity as a skillful midfielder maneuvers the ball forward. The technical ability and staggering dexterity of these men only really comes through by watching live.
Of course it will never translate into American households, because the constant need for action isn't satisfied. Tragically for us, the action is endless, the tension stupendous, and the talent magnificent.
The perfect encapsulation of this, and I mean this sincerely, is David Beckham. Think what you will about the hype and ballyhoo around him; I agree it's way overdone and not a little annoying.
Be that as it may, the man is a spectacular soccer player.
Remember in your youth sports days there was always that one kid. A little bigger, a little stronger, a little sharper vision, a little more creative. And a whole lot better. That's David Beckham playing in MLS.
I don't say this to denigrate the quality of America's longest running major soccer league, I say it in appreciation for this man's ability, even in the twilight of his career. The touches this guy puts on the ball, the spin, the control, and the speed are really amazing to see in person.
The beauty of this is not that it always leads to a goal, or even an opportunity, it's that a man can pluck a ball out of the air with the outside of his foot, redirect it with a defender draped over him, and fling it to a teammate who is able to collect it without breaking stride.
Setting the daunting physical requirements it takes to pull this off aside, only a player with tremendous vision, confidence, and creativity would even attempt such bold moves and Beckham has that skill set. His risky and audacious maneuvers sometimes caught his teammates unawares, and they would relinquish possession.
To thoroughly appreciate such talent, and to get past the Beckham hype machine, you have to see it up close. Not only the move itself, but the development of the play, the sprints of the players around him, the chess board developing.
The game we saw was also the perfect encapsulation of what makes this sport so beguiling, because even though he is that much better than other players, he is unable to simply take over a game. Stauch defense, brilliant goal-keeping, and bold tackling frustrated nearly every Beckham-ignited Galaxy attack, of which there were many.
The Chivas side launched assault after assault of their own, and that's exactly how it looks live, like a military offensive. Players surging forward, sprinting through openings, defenders scrambling back looking frantically over their heads for the ball.
The first goal of the match came off the foot of Ante Razov, an old acquaintance of mine from UCLA and a brilliant striker. This effort was a sweet little bender from the top of the box that curled just past the diving keeper.
It looked like that might be the only strike of the match until the 79th minute, when we witnessed this gem... (damn, my wife is so cool!)


Oh, that weird dark hole that fills the screen in the final second? That's Mr. Triathlon's nostril.
Thanks to Edson Buddle's 11th goal of the year, the Galaxy pulled even and the game ended in a 1-1 draw. Not before a phenomenal last few minutes where the teams tore up and down the field creating chance upon chance, only to be denied at the end.
If Carson was just a bit closer, then season ticket holders we would be, because this was sports-watching at its very best. Viva the Galaxy, Viva MLS, Viva Futbol. It was really special to watch the beautiful game live again, and it will not be another decade before it happens again!

Reflections On The Greatest Sporting Event Ever

Frequently in the sporting world, not to mention news in general, once a notable event has concluded and the appropriate articles written, we in our short attention-span-having splendor do what comes naturally. We move on to new issues.
By yesterday morning, ESPN and CNNSI had dropped the Nadal-Federer epic final from their respective front pages completely. The only mention of Nadal was that he had pulled out of this week's Stuttgart tourney. You had to search into the website to find the substantive summaries and editorials. Just like that, a once in a lifetime event begins to slip from our consciousness.
That, my friends, is something that I'm just not okay with; I believe this match does demand a bit more reflection, because we may never see its equal in our lifetimes. I don't; however, wish to rehash the match shot for shot (though I don't think it will ever be deleted from my DVR) or discuss player statistics.
The impact of this match was larger than any of that, and I'm not the only one who feels that way. On "Pardon The Interruption" yesterday, a show that notoriously relegates tennis to the back bench, the first 4 minutes of the program were spent discussing what transpired at the All England the day before. More than that, the discussion was not a loud bashing of Federer or elevation of Nadal. No, it was a discussion about just how huge this classic was in the sporting pantheon and whether it will bring about a tennis renaissance in America.
On ESPN Classic, the match was re-aired yesterday as an "Instant Classic". That is the billing usually reserved for Super Bowls, college sports or MLB playoff games. Again, there is a most satisfying tenor of recognition of what happened; that we need to see it again and again to believe it.
In the world of tennis writing, of course this match is still on everyone's tongues and keyboards. The good thing is we are starting to see some interesting reflection, photos, and video compilations as the size and structure of the battle is dissected. With months to go before the US Open, this will certainly continue to dominate the conversation of the tennis fan and cogniscenti alike.
The greatest and most unique recognition I've seen thus far came from the NY Times. Yesterday there were two stories about the match, coverage usually reserved for Super Bowls and World Series'. Clearly a good start, but today was the exclamation point. For the first time I can recall in the 5 years I've been getting the Times online, there was an editorial about sports. It wasn't the Giants winning the Super Bowl, or the travails of the Yankees, it was Rafa and Roger.
Certainly, this classic will be on all of the year-end "best of" lists, but I am certain that it will, over time, transcend those labels. This contest will become a magnum opus for us to reminisce about, re-watch, read and write about. This was history unfolding in front of us and the sporting public is clearly not ready to let it go.
Of course time will move on and ardor will cool, but when the 2008 Wimbledon final between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer finds its way onto bookshelves and into all-time highlight reels, it will always be our privilege to remember when we were witnesses to sporting history.

Book Review: "A Champion's Mind"

In typical understated Pete Sampras fashion, an autobiography about one of the all-time greats hit the shelves on June 10th, and I just finished reading it. I must say, it is a perfect mirror of the man's career; unclear and skeletal at first, then more robust and engaging, then a deep frankness and revealing honesty towards the end.
The way that I even found out about this book was quintessentially Sampras: low profile, minimal publicity, then BOOM, there it was on my Amazon recommended list. Anyway, this was a wonderful find, as I was 14 years old when Sampras became a household name after winning the 1990 US Open, and I actively followed his career from then on. Going back through those tennis events and memories through his eyes was a wonderful and illuminating adventure.
The book actually starts off slowly insofar as the events are laid out along a discrete timeline, but there is little commentary or analysis about them, including his US Open breakthrough in 1990. He admits that early on in his career he was immature about, and lacked insight into what was going on around him, and the paucity of insight in the first few chapters of the book really reflects that. As he matures as a person, along an arc clearly delayed by his devotion to and sacrifices for tennis, his analysis about his career ripens and sharpens.
The first glimmers of this are in his wonderful insight into his relationship with Tim Gullikson, and the way his death affected him. This carries into the famous match against Jim Courier when Sampras began to weep on court. Without spoiling the surprise, I was stunned at Sampras' reaction to Courier's comments on the court during the match.
His commitment to the game, his competitive drive, and what he terms "the Gift" really come forth in the chapter about his famous 1996 match against Alex Corretja at the US Open. His discussion about that gripping 5th set, which I remember watching live, is totally engrossing. I went straight to my computer to find a youtube clip to relive it (for your ease, here is a link. It's in two parts, and the commentary's in French, but who cares?)
Sampras' growing sense of self and his awareness of the size and import of his career really launch the final 1/3 of the book into a special place. He dissects his pursuit of the all-time Grand Slam record as well as his quest to finish number one in the world for a record 6 straight years. Sadly, this last feat is one that fell on deaf ears in the US, for as he describes being doggedly pursued by the world press, no American beat writer followed him on his epic chase around the world (thanks a bunch, Sports Illustrated!). He also devotes a great deal of attention to his biggest rivals, primarily Boris Becker, Goran Ivanisovic, and of course, Andre Agassi. His insights into their matches and relationship are just gripping, and left me wanting so much more. Thankfully Agassi's autobiography isn't far away.
We see more than just his tennis; however, as Sampras takes us into his emotions and values in a way he consciously chose not to do during his career. He voices fear, happiness, frustration, and anger in ways that have humanized him for me in a wonderful way. He candidly discussed Sally Jenkins' writing about him sleeping alone in a dark room, the imprisonment for child molestation of Pete Fischer, one of his first advisors, and the clumsy and ultimately reversed firing of his second coach Paul Annacone. He also gives an upfront analysis of his decision to retire and his final US Open in 2002.
Paired nicely with this insight are lots of wonderful vignettes, moments, and anecdotes that were entirely new to me and very entertaining. I choose not to divulge them here, and you can thank me later once you've enjoyed them for yourself.
Along with his growth as player and man, another theme that is evident throughout the book is Sampras' slavish devotion to his craft. Honestly the man puts the "ace" in ascetic (terrible pun, I know, but just too tasty to pass up!) From minimizing his high school exposures (he was known as "the tennis guy"), to rigorously following a dietary regimen, even when his body was calling out for something else, to moving to Tampa to be away from the "distraction" of family, the man was an absolute monk. He even slept in a separate bed from his new wife at Wimbledon when she was pregnant because it was a queen size, not a king!
(Interesting sidenote about his body craving different foods than what he usually ate: Sampras suffers from a condition called Beta-thalassemia, which is commonly found in people of Mediterranean descent and, because it affects a person's ability to form normal hemoglobin molecules, causes a mild anemia. When people become anemic, most frequently in anemias due to nutritional deficiencies (ie iron deficiency) they can manifest a symptom called "pica" wherein they crave large quantities of non-nutritive substances or food ingredients. When I read about Sampras' cravings for fatty foods at the 1996 French Open, this phenomenon came to mind. Anyway, now that we've finished Hematology Grand Rounds, we'll conclude this sidenote.)
His sacrifices are a perfect illustration of what it takes to get to and stay at the top, and he speaks on film about this same process in the movie "Unstrung". There is a clear acknowledgment that he missed out on a great deal, but he derives that much more satisfaction from his achievements. He also clearly seems to be relishing the more normal life that he leads now.
It is easy to see how such a career path is not for anyone but a chosen few, and then even those few still have to make a choice of their own. An interesting juxtaposition to the road Sampras walked is Mark Philippoussis, who was widely regarded as having the biggest and best all-around tennis game in the world, but focused more on the trappings of tennis fame than tennis itself (who will soon forget his turn on NBC's "Age of Love" reality show).
Pete Sampras had an amazing career, not just for the sheer magnitude of his achievements, but also for the removed and sometimes obfuscating personality he showed us during his time in the limelight. This book closes the gap between Sampras the tennis player and Sampras the person for us, his fans. By doing this with as much candor and frankness as are in these pages, we meet an entirely new person. By pouring in so many magical tennis adventures and anecdotes, we get to relive an unbelievable career all over again.

How To Write A Feature Article

Sportswriting, like any other writing form, has its basic articles, each with something of a set-piece format. There's the event summary piece (what it sounds like), the sidebar (commentary on the event/person), the column (opinion), notes/quick hits, and the feature article about someone or something.
I was lucky enough to spend nearly 4 years as a sportswriter for the Daily Bruin as a UCLA undergrad, and cut my teeth as a sportswriter by finding my way through these varying motifs. All allow for tremendous creativity and flexibility, and can be really fun to put together. The summary, sidebar, and notes items provided a bit less of this, but are still a blast because they are usually done during or directly after an event (usually on deadline). The opinion piece is also rewarding, because you can let your personality out a bit (and get your pic in the paper)
The feature article; however, is the one that is far and away the most challenging for a sportswriter, and therefore, the most rewarding and revealing for readers. In a feature, the idea is to take a focal point, most commonly an athlete, and dissect it along a specific theme. This allows the reader to get a unique and clear picture about a particular facet of something or someone otherwise unreachable.
Just like any other part of sportswriting, features can, and most often do, come across as rote and formulaic. It goes like this: meet athlete in context of event, quote athlete/teammates/coaches, discuss event, go back in time to childhood and upbringing, more quotes, usually from family, back to event or issue in question, wrap-up.
Next time you're reading a feature in the paper, online, or in the pages of Sports Illustrated, put this formula to the test, usually it's pretty accurate. There's nothing wrong with using this approach, because the article should give the reader some insight into the subject, and if it's a wide scope, no problem.
Example #1: this week's Sports Illustrated, with Josh Hamilton on the cover. The inside feature of this athlete by Albert Chen takes us into his current baseball heroics, then his past drug addiction, then back to his youth as a phenom, then into his spiral, then what he's doing now. A solid biographical sketch, but nothing that merits a re-read, that's for sure.
The features that truly transcend, that win awards, that demand to be reread; however, are those that don't just give the broad strokes. No, they are the pieces that take a specific, tantalizing part of an athlete and really break it down. In doing this, the reader can discover something about the athlete, good or bad, and have it presented in specific relief.
Not only does this more focused approach give a more intriguing and interesting story, but teases out much better quotes. When you ask someone the standard stuff, you get the standard platitudes, but when you're going down a certain theme, you get the true personality.
Put this in the hands of a capable writer, and you get example #2: same issue of SI, Chris Ballard's feature of Kobe Bryant. This article doesn't take a wide approach, covering the big points in his career (growing up in Italy, NBA out of high school, NBA championships, rivalry with Shaq, sexual assault charges, trade demands, etc). What this article does is, it examines his competitive nature. It takes us into what make this sports megastar click. Each piece of his life is examined, but to tell this specific story. High school teammates, scouts, rivals, coaches, they all get to tell their stories about Kobe's incredible competitive drive.
You finish the story not with the biography of Kobe Bryant, but with a new insight into what drives him and how he stays at such a high level. Most importantly, the article has such refreshing information, quotes, and perspective that it leaves you wanting more, thus the need to re-read the piece.
Pick up this week's SI, and read the articles back to back, first Hamilton, then Bryant. I think you'll see what I mean. I know Bryant better than ever, but Hamilton feels like a wikipedia entry. I wanted to know the nitty gritty about his recovery, what worked, what didn't, the lessons, the tattoos, the things he says when he speaks to recovering addicts.
I want him to be personalized, to become someone anyone can identify with, at least on some level. Ballard's Bryant piece does that with this megastar, and that's what pulls readers back for more.
Our athletes are at such a high plane in all respects that we often feel quite detached. The truly excellent feature will close that gap, and help us feel like we know the person we're rooting for (or against for that matter), and not just the larger-than-life athlete.

A World Champion in Dramatic Fashion

Something really wonderful happened over the weekend in the world of sports, one of those magical moments that helps us remember why sports are so much fun, how we can explode with delight at the efforts of an athlete at the top of his game, and cheer when something truly remarkable happens. Football has its Hail Mary touchdowns, baseball its game-winning homeruns, basketball its buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Now the sport of bowling has this...
It happened at the Barnsley Metrodome near London, England, where the 16 best bowlers in the world faced off for the title of World Tenpin Masters champion. American Chris Barnes, who took the title in 2006 and has been a phenom on the PBA Tour, winning $1 million in prize money faster than anyone in history, was the favorite in the final round as he faced off against an unsung South African named Guy Caminsky, who was making his first trip to the final.
Friends of the Tipsy Historian may recognize that Cinderella story as my cousin, who has long been touted (by me) as "the best Jewish bowler in the world" but had yet to break out on the biggest stages. To jog your memory, he was the tall, good looking blonde dude with the fantastic accent at my wedding last September.
With the eyes of a packed house and the lens of Sky Sports (the English equivalent of ESPN) upon them, Barnes and Caminsky tested their mettle in a two-match battle for the championship and $30000. I'm no expert at how to score a bowling match, but I can tell a close score when I see it, and, coming into the final frame, Guy was ahead by 11 pins. Barnes, showing the heart of a champion, strikes out (a good thing in bowling) to take a seemingly insurmountable lead.
The only way Guy could deny Barnes his 2nd title in 3 years would be to throw back to back strikes with his final two attempts. If his first effort was anything short of a strike, then 2nd place would be his lot. A strike and a 9-1 spare, and he could force a tie.
If this isn't a tall enough order, Guy had to pull off this miracle at what is arguably the biggest bowling event worldwide!
To be reminded about what makes sports so wonderful, and why those we call "Champion" are those who play their best in the very biggest moments, click here.

Guy is airborne as I write this, both literally and figuratively, and I couldn't be more proud. I've been watching sports for many years and have seen the great moments from Kirk Gibson's homer to Tyus Edney's desperation shot at the buzzer. I've seen the looks on their faces at that moment of achievement and have only been able to imagine how it must feel.
It's very special to see my own flesh and blood have a moment like that all to himself, Guy is a champion in every respect, and to watch the unbridled joy on his face when he became World Champion is something wonderful for all of us.
There is a picture on the Associated Press wire today that captures not just the essence of sports, but the very instant of great joy that we've all felt at one time or another. Take a look at this picture to remember what it means to be overwhelmed with happiness, because there it is.
Interesting sidenote: the photographer came up to Guy at the press conference after and said "this is the best photograph I've ever taken"
The best photograph for the best moment, perfect! Well done Guy!