Sports

"I see great things in baseball." — Walt Whitman

The Man in the Ravine: On Andy McCullough’s “The Last of His Kind”
T. M. Brown reviews Andy McCullough’s “The Last of His Kind: Clayton Kershaw and the Burden of Greatness.”
T. M. BrownJun 20
Noise from Signal: On Matthew Coller’s “Football Is a Numbers Game”
Leif Weatherby reviews Matthew Coller’s “Football Is a Numbers Game: Pro Football Focus and How a Data-Driven Approach Shook Up the Sport.”
Leif WeatherbyFeb 4
- Nonfiction
- Sports
Carnivalesque: On the Ways We See Basketball
In a preview of LARB Quarterly no. 39: “Air,” Tosten Burks surveys the new philosophy and syntax of basketball writing.
Tosten BurksSep 29, 2023
- LARB Lit
- Sports
The Quarterback at Twilight: On Matthew Barney’s “Secondary”
Samuel Fury Childs Daly reviews artist Matthew Barney’s new film “Secondary.”
Samuel Fury Childs DalySep 27, 2023
Ball Is Cry!! On Katie Heindl’s “Basketball Feelings”
Liz Wolfson profiles Katie Heindl, author of the sports Substack “Basketball Feelings.”
Liz WolfsonJun 10, 2023
- Cultural Studies
- Sports
Permission to Meander: A Conversation with Drew Millard
Paul Thompson speaks with Drew Millard about his new book, “How Golf Can Save Your Life.”
Paul ThompsonJun 5, 2023
- Nonfiction
- Sports
Dunk Days: On Theresa Runstedtler’s “Black Ball”
Joseph Darda reviews Theresa Runstedtler’s “Black Ball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Spencer Haywood, and the Generation that Saved the Soul of the NBA.”
Joseph DardaMar 19, 2023
- Sports
Bleeding Green and Yellow: On Football in Brazil
Clarissa Fragoso Pinheiro discusses how football in Brazil is a central pillar sustaining the collective illusion of a shared national identity.
Clarissa Fragoso PinheiroFeb 25, 2023
- Sports
“Entrepreneurs in Bodily Capital”: On Lisa Uperesa’s “Gridiron Capital: How American Football Became a Samoan Game”
David Lipset reviews Lisa Uperesa’s anthropological study “Gridiron Capital: How American Football Became a Samoan Game.”
David LipsetSep 11, 2022
Flow Incarnate: On Mark Yakich’s “Football”
Pickup soccer games are the world’s true social media.
Dan FriedmanFeb 18, 2022
- Sports
On Crying for Sports Heroes
What’s the meaning of our grief for sports heroes — especially those, like Maradona, well known for their personal failings?
Alessandro CamonJan 17, 2021
- Around the World
- Sports
Baseball Road Trip: An Interview with Brad Balukjian
Julia Scheeres talks to Brad Balukjian about his road trip to track down all the players in a 1986 package of Topps.
Julia ScheeresNov 14, 2020
- Memoir & Essay
- Sports