Read The Best American Sports Writing 2011 Online
Authors: Jane Leavy
The Best American Sports Writing 2011
 
School of Fight: Learning to Brawl with the Hockey Goons of Tomorrow
ABC News Investigation: USA Swimming Coaches Molested, Secretly Taped Dozens of Teen Swimmers
Culture of Silence Gives Free Rein to Male Athletes
If You Think It, They Will Win
Dusty Baker a Symbol of Perseverance
Danny Way and the Gift of Fear
Notable Sports Writing of 2010
Copyright © 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company
Introduction copyright © 2011 by Jane Leavy
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
The Best American Series® is a registered trademark of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publishing Company.
The Best American Sports Writing
⢠is a trademark of Houghton
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right owner unless such copying is expressly permitted by federal copyright law.
With the exception of nonprofit transcription in Braille, Houghton Mifflin Har-
court is not authorized to grant permission for further uses of copyrighted selec-
tions reprinted in this book without the permission of their owners. Permission
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ISSN
1056-8034
ISBN
978-0-547-33696-1
Printed in the United States of America
DOC
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
"Risks, Danger Always in Play" by John Powers. First published in the
Boston Globe,
February
14, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by Globe Newspaper Company-MA. Reproduced with permission
of Globe Newspaper Company-MA in the format Tradebook via Copyright Clearance Center.
"Breathless" by Chris Jones. First published in
ESPN The Magazine,
October 2010. Copyright
© 2011 by ESPN, Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of
ESPN The Magazine.
"The Surfing Savant" by Paul Solotaroff. First published in
Rolling Stone,
April 2010. Copy-
right © 2010 by Paul Solotaroff. Reprinted by permission of Paul Solotaroff.
"School of Fight: Learning to Brawl with the Hockey Goons of Tomorrow" by Jake Bogoch.
First published in
Deadspin.com
, June 2, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by Jake Bogoch. Reprinted
by permission of Jake Bogoch.
"The Franchise" by Patrick Hruby. First published in
ESPN.com
, July 22, 2010. Copyright ©
2010 by ESPN Internet Ventures. Reprinted by permission of ESPN Digital Media.
"Eight Seconds" by Michael Farber. First published in
Sports Illustrated,
December 6,
2010. Copyright © 2010 by Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted courtesy of
Sports Illus
-
trated
.
"ABC News Brian Ross Investigation: Swimming Coaches Molested, Secretly Taped Dozens of
Teen Swimmers" by Megan Chuchmach and Avni Patel. First published by
ABC NEWS.com
/
The Blotter, April 9, 2010. Edited by Mark Schone.
"USA Swimming Votes 'Yes' to Athlete Protection Measures after Sex Abuse Scandal" by Me-
gan Chuchmach. First published by
ABC NEWS.com
/The Blotter, September 20, 2010. Edited
by Mark Schone.
"Own Goal: How Homeless Soccer Explains the World" by Wells Tower. First published in
Harper's Magazine.
Copyright © 2010 by Harper's Magazine. All rights reserved. Reproduced
from the June issue by special permission.
"Culture of Silence Gives Free Rein to Male Athletes" by Sally Jenkins. First published in the
Washington Post,
May 28, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by The Washington Post. All rights reserved.
Used by permission and protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States. The printing,
copying, redistribution, or retransmission of the Material without express written permission is
prohibited.
"High School Dissonance" by Selena Roberts. First published in
Sports Illustrated,
November
8, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted courtesy of
Sports Illus
-
trated.
"Gentling Cheatgrass" by Sterry Butcher. First published in
Texas Monthly,
December 2010.
Copyright © 2011 by Emmis Publishing L.P. d/b/a
Texas Monthly.
Reprinted by permission of
Cathy S. Casey.
"Pride of a Nation" by S. L. Price. First published in
Sports Illustrated,
July 19, 2010. Copyright
© 2010 by Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted courtesy of
Sports Illustrated.
"The Crash" by Robert Sanchez. First published in
5280,
October 2010. Copyright © 2010 by
5280 Publishing, Inc. Reprinted by permission of 5280 Publishing Inc.
"The Patch" by John McPhee. First published in
The New Yorker,
February 8, 2010. Copyright
© 2010 by John McPhee. Reprinted by permission of John McPhee.
"Fetch Daddy a Drink" by P.J. O'Rourke. First published in
Garden and Gun,
February/March 2010.
Copyright © 2010 by P. J. O'Rourke. Reprinted by permission of P. J. O'Rourke.
"Trick Plays" by Yoni Brenner. First published in
The New Yorker,
October 4, 2010. Copyright
© 2010 by Yoni Brenner. Reprinted by permission of
The New Yorker.
"The Short History of an Ear" by Mark Pearson. First published in
Sport Literate
2010. Copy-
right © 2010 by Mark Pearson. Reprinted by permission of Mark Pearson.
"If You Think It, They Will Win" by Bill Shaikin. First published in the
Los Angeles Times,
June
10, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by the Los Angeles Times. Reprinted with permission.
"The Dirtiest Player" by Jason Fagone. First published in
GQ,
February 2010. Copyright ©
2010 by Conde Nast Publications. Reprinted with permission.
"Old College Try" by Tom Friend. First published in
ESPN.com
, February 9, 2010. Copyright
© 2010 by ESPN Internet Ventures. Reprinted by permission of ESPN Digital Media.
"Dusty Baker a Symbol of Perseverance" by Howard Bryant. First published in
ESPN.com
,
October 4, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by ESPN Internet Ventures. Reprinted by permission of
ESPN Digital Media.
"Icarus 2010" by Craig Vetter. First published in
Playboy,
September 2010. Copyright © 2011
by Craig Vetter. Reprinted by permission of
Playboy.
"Danny Way and the Gift of Fear" by Bret Anthony Johnston. First published in
Men's Journal,
August 2010. Copyright ©
Men's Journal
LLC. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of
Men's Journal
LLC.
"The Tight Collar" by David Dobbs. First published by
Wired.com
, September 2010. Copy-
right © 2010 by David Dobbs. Reprinted by permission of David Dobbs.
"Life Goes On" by Mark Kram Jr. First published in the
Philadelphia Daily News,
November 30,
2010. Copyright © 2010 by the Philadelphia Daily News. Reprinted by permission of Philadel-
phia Media Network.
"The Courage of Jill Costello" by Chris Ballard. First published in
Sports Illustrated,
November
29, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by Time Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted courtesy of
Sports Illus
-
trated.
"Above and Beyond" by Wright Thompson. First published in
ESPN.com
, October 5, 2010.
Copyright © 2010 by ESPN Internet Ventures. Reprinted by permission of ESPN Digital Media.
"A Gift That Opens Him Up" by Bill Plaschke. First published in the
Los Angeles Times,
Decem-
ber 24, 2010. Copyright © 2010 by the
Los Angeles Times.
Reprinted with permission.
"New Mike, Old Christine" by Nancy Hass. First published in
GQ,
June 2010. Copyright ©
2010 by Conde Nast Publications. Reprinted with permission.
I
T'S YOUR BOOK,
and by "you" I mean the readers who view these pages and the writers who labor to produce them.
Every once in a while I have to correct the misconception that this book is "mine" or that I have undue influence over its contents. Over the more than two decades that I have sat in this chair, I have developed a metaphor that I think best explains the process.
My grandfather Earl was a trainer of horses, and I've always viewed my role as something akin to his. Over the course of each year I spend most of my time either in the barn or standing along the rail in the dewy mornings, using what I have learned from a lifetime of writing and reading to take care of the horse and help it prepare for the only race it will ever run.
This book, of course, is the horse. During that year, as I take story suggestions from readers, writers, and editors and add my own accumulated knowledge and insight to the process, it is my privilege to watch the horse grow and develop until it is finally ready to run.
But the horse is not mine. It belongs to the publisher, who nevertheless entrusts me to make sure that when race day comes, the horse is ready to run. Our guest editor each year is the jockey who shows up a couple weeks before the race and gets the mount. The publisher trusts that the jockey has been around the track before, respects the traditions of the process, knows what he or she is doing in the saddle, and can get the horse not only to the gate but, when the bell sounds, around the track safely without falling off. At that point all I can do is tell the jockey what I know about the horse in the form of about 75 stories I have selected for his or her consideration, turn over the reins, and send horse and jockey off together. At that instant it is out of my hands. The jockey is free either to make use of my suggestions or, as in this year's edition, to add some of his or her own. Yet as soon as this book breaks from the gate each year and the first page is opened and read, the book becomes the property of those who are the reason for its existence and the only figures in this metaphor who really matterâthe writers and their readers.
I liken the readers to the fans in the grandstand, all of whom have a stake in the race and the full right either to cheer or to jeer our cumulative effort. I view the writers as my fellow workers in the barnâthe other trainers, grooms, riders, apprentice jocks, and blacksmiths who have helped out over the course of the year as I've tried to nurture the colt through to adulthood and all of whom appreciate the work that entails. On the day of the raceâwhen the book appearsâthey all gather at the rail to watch the big horse run, hoping to applaud at the end and praying that it takes no false steps on the journey.
By the time that happens and you read this, however, I'm back in the barn. My work is done and I am already looking over the new year's prospects, always hoping that no matter how well the last horse ran, next year's candidate will be even better.
Â
Every season I read every issue of hundreds of sports and general interest magazines in search of writing that might merit inclusion in
The Best American Sports Writing.
I also contact the editors of hundreds of newspapers and magazines and request their submissions, and I send email notices to hundred of readers and writers whose addresses I have culled over the years. I survey writing on the Internet and make regular stops at online sources like
sportsdesk.org
,
gangrey.com
,
longform.org
,
sportsjournalist.com
, ladyjournos.
tumblr.com
, and other websites where notable sports writing is valued and discussed. Yet not even these efforts are enough to ensure that I see all of the best writing, so I still encourage everyone reading thisâreaders and writersâto send me stories they would like to see reprinted in this volume. Writers should not feel shy about sending me either their own work or the work of others for consid
eration for
The Best American Sports Writing 2012.
All submissions, however, must be made according to the following criteria. Each story