04/20/24
November 29, 2004
The highs and lows of sports writing: We had a thread a few months back on US sports writing, this is the short list for the William Hill award, the prize celebrating the best in British sports writing. I'm not a fan of sports books myself, for every one good one, there are a hundred ghost-written hack jobs just written for a quick buck. Of course, there are good sports books - the best ones are good books not just good books about sport and would be interesting whether or not you follow that particular game. American sports writing is usually held up to be the best - in terms of quality and range so what do our American listeners think of this list? What would a comparable US shortlist look like?
Yeah, I don't know that I'd ever heard that either squealy. Is it really a claim that someone made? Maybe writing should become an Olympic Sport and we can let the gymnast/figure skating folks judge it. I imagine if there was a list like this for American writers it would be far too reflective those on TV. We see Mike Lupica, Tony Kornheiser, Michael Wilbon, etc on ESPN everyday and I'm scared people would reason that they are the best writers because of that exposure. The truth is Mike Lupica hasn't put out something worth reading in years... Oh, and he sucks on televsion. I certainly don't read a wide range of writers, but I rarely miss Thomas Boswell. I especially liked his latest. After reading a sports section filled with NBA fights, Redskins news, and other crap that would make you cry... It hit the spot.
posted by 86 at 03:03 PM on November 29, 2004
American sports writing is usually held up to be the best Please, all you have to do is read what passes for sports writing here (mix and match cliches!) and compare that with the Guardian (snarky), London Times (poetic, often puffy but still highly enjoyable), Soccernet (detail-oriented), etc. to see that the above statement is not true. I'm talking soccer writing, of course, but I haven't been overly impressed with pigskin or baseball writing either -- it seems really run-of-the-mill cliche regurgitation. It may pay better over here, but that doesn't mean it is better.
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:05 PM on November 29, 2004
but if we're talking about sports BOOKS (which I think we are) then there may actually be something worth arguing there. My earlier statement doesn't apply. Sorry.
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:09 PM on November 29, 2004
You know, I'm really not sure how much it means that all of my fave sports books were written by Americans. Since I live in the US, I've certainly read more of the former. I'm fond of anthologies, such as the Best American Sports Writing series; I've discovered some authors I really love through those. For full-length books, my short list is very short, and includes In These Girls, Hope is a Muscle by Madeleine Blais, Friday Night Lights by H. G. Bissinger, The Doing of the Thing by Buzz Holmstrom and The Last River by Todd Balf. The subjects of the first two, I think, would have been very difficult for a non-American to write about well. ...the bad rapid -- Lava Cliff -- that I had been looking for, nearly a thousand miles, with dread -- I thought: once past there my reward will begin, but now everything ahead seems kind of empty and I find I have already had my reward, in the doing of the thing. The stars, the cliffs and canyons, the roar of the rapids, the moon, the uncertainty and worry, the relief when through each one -- the campfires at night, the real respect of the rivermen I met and others...
posted by lil_brown_bat at 05:14 PM on November 29, 2004
The Observer did a best sports related fiction round up on Sunday: 8 Yanks, 1 Englishman, a Spaniard and a Russian. Browns Requiem: James Ellroy Train: Pete Dexter This Sporting Life: David Storey The Agent: George V Higgins Casino Moon: Peter Blauner Offside Manuel: Vazquez Montalban The Harder They Fall: Budd Schulberg The Natural: Bernard Malamud The Sportswriter: Richard Ford Dynamo: Tariq Goddard
posted by Fat Buddha at 05:54 PM on November 29, 2004
The Observer is so UScentric. You gotta link to that FB?
posted by squealy at 05:59 PM on November 29, 2004
Train. You've got to read Train. (thanks Fat Buddha!)
posted by dusted at 08:10 PM on November 29, 2004
Browns Requiem: James Ellroy I read that and don't remember the sport angle (then again, I don't remember it-- not one of Ellroy's best). Was one of the characters a boxer? That seems like a strech for any list.
posted by yerfatma at 08:29 PM on November 29, 2004
I thought The Sportswriter was a little overrated.
posted by smithers at 07:50 AM on November 30, 2004
Okay, here's one more that ought to inspire some discussion: Hunter S. Thompson. I haven't read any of his sports writing since The Curse of Lono (which, I know, only very marginally qualified as sports writing), but his recent stuff is all getting panned. So here's the q: was he ever a good sports writer? The best thing I ever read by him was his piece on Jean-Claude Killy, and that was really about sports culture. Were there any others?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 09:38 AM on November 30, 2004
For sports fiction, I'm partial to WP Kinsella and Ring Lardner. Non fiction, I've mostly stuck to John Feinstein's college basketball books.
posted by mbd1 at 09:51 AM on November 30, 2004
Feinstein is at worst readable, and at best brilliant. I'm personally partial to 'A March to Madness', but you probably have to be a hard-core ACC fan to really truly appreciate that one. Still need to read Friday Night Lights.
posted by tieguy at 10:02 AM on November 30, 2004
Squealy, I can't find a link old, boy, sorry. I agree wholeheartedly with Dusted re Train, it's brilliant. I also agree with Smithers about the Sportswriter. Hunter Davies wrote a book called Striker sometime in the seventies I think, I loved it at the time, don't know how much scrutiny it would stand today though.
posted by Fat Buddha at 10:05 AM on November 30, 2004
So here's the q: was he ever a good sports writer? The only sportswriting stuff I ever read by him was his ESPN Page 2 column. I really liked that, but it had fuck-all to do with sports a lot of the time.
posted by yerfatma at 10:46 AM on November 30, 2004
March is definitely the best, followed by Season on the Brink and The Last Amateurs in that order. I haven't read The Punch, and probably won't.
posted by mbd1 at 10:57 AM on November 30, 2004
some other good ones: 'the glory game', by hunter davies about spurs in the 70s, one of the first warts an' all books about football. 'football in sun and shadow', stories by the uruguayan poet eduardo galleano, 'dark trade - lost in boxing' by donald macrae and for humour 'road swing' by SI journalist steve rushin. this last one, mostly travelogue, is funnier than anything by bill bryson.
posted by owlhouse at 06:10 PM on November 30, 2004
Although a pretty light read, I very much enjoyed Rick Telander's Heaven is a Playground.
posted by smithers at 11:12 PM on November 30, 2004
American sports writing is usually held up to be the best I was going to say only in America mate and then possibly make a few snide comments about your UScentricity. However, from your profile I note you come from Rugby and support Coventry so you've suffered enough. Seriously though, I don't think I've ever heard/read that US sports writing is the best. Can you give me a source for this?