The 2015 Women’s World Cup in Canada begins on Saturday, and it is shaping up to be even more exciting than the thrilling 2011 edition in Germany. The field of contenders is larger than ever before, and there are a number of teams just below this level that could plausibly make runs deep into theContinue reading “2015 Women’s World Cup Predictions”
Tag Archives: sports
Books Acquired Recently: Sports History Edition
Katz, Jeff. Split Season: 1981: Fernandomania, the Bronx Zoo, and the Strike That Saved Baseball. New York: Dunne, 2015. 1981 was one of the weirdest seasons in Major League history because it was bisected by a players’ strike. Apparently no one has ever written a book on it, though, and I was too young toContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently: Sports History Edition”
Clinching Safety
I took the above photograph at the end of Sunderland’s 0-0 draw at Arsenal yesterday afternoon, which ensured that the Black Cats are safe from relegation this season. The caption, “Clinch safety,” is a simple statement within the context of the match, but it also struck me as a profound statement about life. Isn’t thatContinue reading “Clinching Safety”
Book Acquired Recently: Jill Bialosky’s The Players
Bialosky, Jill. The Players. New York: Knopf, 2015. I recently read a review of this poetry collection and decided to buy it because it includes a section about baseball. Baseball and poetry are a perfect match for each other because they both invite contemplation. The empty spaces between pitches (which really only seem to beContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Jill Bialosky’s The Players”
Books Acquired Recently
Hertz, Sue. Write Choices: Elements of Nonfiction Storytelling. Los Angeles: Sage, 2015. I have been wanting to write more creative nonfiction, and while I’ve had a bit of success getting published in the genre in the past I still don’t feel like I have a good sense of how to write compelling pieces of itContinue reading “Books Acquired Recently”
Book Acquired Recently: David Peace’s The Damned Utd
Peace, David. The Damned Utd. 2006. Brooklyn: Melville, 2014. I recently read Peace’s novel about Bill Shankly, Red or Dead, and enjoyed it enough that I decided to explore more of his work. The Damned Utd is about Brian Clough’s short tenure as manager of Leeds United. Clough is a figure who has long fascinatedContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: David Peace’s The Damned Utd”
Thoughts on the Mets 2014 Season
The New York Mets finished their season today with an 8-3 win over the Houston Astros. It was a good team win, with solid pitching and timely hitting, something that the Mets had a difficult time with throughout the year. The team finished 79-83, and while finishing under .500 again was a disappointment, there areContinue reading “Thoughts on the Mets 2014 Season”
Book Acquired Recently: Motion: American Sports Poems
Blaustein, Noah, ed. Motion: American Sports Poems. Iowa City: U of Iowa P, 2001. One of my colleagues is teaching a course on sports and literature this semester, and was telling me about this anthology, which is one of the course texts. It sounded interesting enough that I decided to buy a copy from theContinue reading “Book Acquired Recently: Motion: American Sports Poems”
The Baseball Hall of Fame’s New Ballot Eligibility Rule
The Baseball Hall of Fame announced today that candidates for election will only be allowed to stay on the ballot for ten years rather than fifteen. Three players who have already been on the ballot for more than ten years (Here they are, along with my opinion on whether or not they should be elected:Continue reading “The Baseball Hall of Fame’s New Ballot Eligibility Rule”
Magazine Acquired Recently: Baseball Cards, April 1990
My favorite hobby as a boy was collecting baseball cards, and in my infinite nerdiness–present even then–my first-ever magazine subscription was in 1990 to the now-defunct Baseball Cards magazine. I have been unable to ascertain when Baseball Cards stopped publication, though a safe guess is that the major mid-1990s sports card market crash caused itsContinue reading “Magazine Acquired Recently: Baseball Cards, April 1990”
Daniel Shank Cruz 