Basketball

James Harden: When Defense Offends

James Harden

On the Sep. 27, at media day, James Harden announced that he and the coaching staff were “all on the same page” about him guarding the opposition’s best wing player. Upon reading a discussion about this on an NBA forum, I came across comments such as “And the league’s best players give a resounding cheer”, and people talking about how “Harden will never be good enough to guard the best wing players in the league”. How exactly, did he earn the bad reputation?

Other Sports

Turning the Page on Wrestling’s Freak Show

Wyatt Family

Follow the buzzards. This oddly disturbing message comes to us by way of professional wrestling’s newest stable known as the Wyatt Family; more specifically, Bray Wyatt, the maniacal – or perhaps cerebral – Wyatt leader. I know what you’re thinking – this is the year 2013 and I’m not interested in pro wrestling. Believe me, I feel you. But just hang with me for a moment or two, you won’t be disappointed

Reviews

Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey Of Pat Tillman (2009)

Pat Tillman

Sports fans certainly remember the story of Pat Tillman, an NFL safety who retired from the game following September 11th and enlisted in the army. Jon Krakauer, author of Into Thin Air and Into The Wild, brings the story to life in a 2009 release. Check out Andrew Bucholtz’ review of the book.

Basketball

Kevin Durant’s Looming Spot in History

Kevin Durant

At age 24, and after just six seasons in the NBA, the near consensus opinion of Kevin Durant is that he is the second best player in the league. He has already won the Rookie of the Year award, been selected to four All-NBA 1st teams, is a six-time NBA Player of the Month, he’s finished second in MVP voting three times, been in four All-Star Games and is a three-time scoring champion. Yeah, second best. For now. But how will the rest of his career unfold?

Football

Chip Kelly and the Reinvented Philadelphia Eagles

Chip Kelly

It seemed like every which way you turned for NFL coverage this offseason people were talking about the Philadelphia Eagles, including yours truly. Now, not all that talk was about one wide receiver’s racially charged comments. A lot of it focused on the man in charge, new head coach Chip Kelly. Coming from an Oregon […]

Hockey

House of Caps: Ovechkin Ready to Take D.C. by Storm

Alex Ovechkin

This is going to be a crucial season for Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin, the reigning Hart Trophy winner who once again held the hottest stick in the league last year and once again suffered through major playoff disappointment. Will 2013-14 be the one where he and the Caps finally live up to their former hype?

Basketball

Remembering T-Mac: What to Make of Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady

Tracy McGrady has a complicated legacy. Most nights he was a good scoring guard. Sometimes he was a liability, missing wide stretches of games with an assortment of injuries. And occasionally, T-Mac could rise to the moment and just about do the impossible. Who was T-Mac? After 15 seasons, we’re still looking for the answer.

Hockey

Blues Clues: When Everything Isn't Enough

Alex Pietrangelo

On paper, it would seem that the St. Louis Blues have all the necessary pieces to take home the Stanley Cup come June 2014. Fans and prognosticators both see plenty to like in the current incarnation of the team, with the latter becoming evidenced by publication The Hockey News’ preseason prediction of St. Louis besting […]

Baseball

Speed Thrills: How pace shapes the way we consume professional sports

Billy Hamilton

There’s a general consensus that baseball is a fascinating and deeply complicated sport, but it’s never exactly been a source of fast-paced thrills. How, then, in a world where speed and tempo make basketball, hockey and football teams stand out among their peers, are the best teams in MLB often the ones who slow the game down the most? What does it all mean?

Reviews

Babe: The Legend Comes to Life (1974)

Babe Ruth

Let’s start with the mythology of Babe Ruth the athlete. He was the first player to hit three home runs a single game of the World Series. He didn’t just set the record for home runs, but utterly destroyed it, routinely hitting fifty or more in his prime. He called his shot in the World Series, dedicated a home run to a sick child (who than miraculously recovered) and was a pretty good pitcher to boot. Mark Milner breaks down the biography.