Times Have Changed
Alex Rodriguez's steroid use opened the door for a misreading of his decline. People now think A-Rod stopped being A-Rod because he stopped using performance-enhancing drugs. But years of baseball...
View ArticleThe Second Life of Sheff
Gary Sheffield is a professional negotiator. He always has been, whether in Little League or the major leagues, on the field or off. He understands the game in a way that few do, and he's putting it to...
View ArticleThe Good Guy
Why did Jeff Kent want to go on 'Survivor?' He doesn't need money, and he has nothing to sell us. He wasn't playing for charity, either. He was in it for the love of the game. So what was it that Kent...
View ArticleTurkey Day Football
For all my blessings, Thanksgiving has never worked out just right for me -- we've never had football on. That changed this year, and I finally got to watch not just any old football, but my own New...
View ArticleGM For A Day: Washington Nationals
The Nationals suffered a heartbreaking exit in the 2012 NLDS, but they're already helping to ensure that won't happen again. By acquiring Denard Span and Dan Haren, Washington has positioned itself as...
View ArticleLong Live The Kings
The NHL lockout is a great disappointment, and not just for the usual sports-lockout reasons, but also because the 2011-12 season ended with a Los Angeles Kings playoff triumph that testified so well...
View ArticleFrozen In Place
The NHL lockout is over and regular-season play is on its way, yet it's hard to be excited. It's difficult to discern why the sport needed a lockout, and it's essentially impossible to determine that...
View ArticleClear Vision
Marc Staal's injured eye, suffered Tuesday when the Rangers defenseman took a puck to the eye, could easily have been prevented by a visor. So why aren't we getting rapid implementation of a...
View ArticleNo Guarantees
Darrell Revis's new wholly unguaranteed deal with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers makes the best of a bad system. But it also showcases just how bad that system is. And even the smartest NFL fans don't know...
View ArticleGood Riddance?
When John Tortorella was fired by the New York Rangers, old newspaper scribes danced on his grave, but other hockey observers weren't so sure it was a good move. This debate inadvertently highlighted a...
View ArticleBreakdown of the Breakdowns
This was the Platonic ideal of a Final, satisfying for all hockey fans. But Game 6's roller coaster was also maddening, with all of the third period goals coming on defensive-zone lapses and other...
View ArticleThe Brain Games
Rehiring Keith Olbermann was ESPN's way of signaling that it had its own horse to enter in a growing genre of sports television programming: the talk show for the thinking sports fan. But why bother?...
View Article
