Archive for June 2006
On Media and Criticism
“I have just fled my own office in horror at their fucking dimwittedness.”
I do not like Jay Mariotti. I do not like what he writes. I do not like what he says on the radio. I do not like what he says on television. I do not find his arguments compelling. I do not find […]On Wilderness and the City
I grew up in Colorado. For those of you faithful readers who have never been to Colorado, the state is a dramatic melody of regions—taken together they form a symphony of the beauty of the wild. The eastern high plains blend seamlessly into the agricultural grasslands of Kansas and Nebraska. The southern parts of the […]
Burying the Black Sox
Most fans know that gamblers and ballplayers conspired to “fix” the 1919 World Series— but “eight men out” does not begin to adequately describe the Black Sox. Gene Carney explores what else happened in the nearly year-long cover-up: How Charles Comiskey, Ban Johnson and Kenesaw Mountain Landis tried to bury the incident, control the damage […]
Sox and the City
The Chicago Sun-Times columnist Richard Roeper chronicles the astounding 2005 season— interlaced with a lifetime of thoughts, memories and anecdotes about what it means to be a fan of the White Sox.
Death Fear Tragedy
Death, fear, tragedy—these are indisputable elements of life. I know that. The rational, reasonable side of me knows that. I accept these facts. In time, I accept these facts. I wanted to believe that I had been given a reprieve after last year. A reprieve for a short while, at least.
Yesterday afternoon Whirl and I […]JPod
Douglas Coupland. Video game company. This latest novel is being described as something of an update to Microserfs for the age of Google. Are you still wondering why I’m reading it?
Fair Ball
Read more as a follow-up to Game of Shadows—a primer, actually. This selection of essays by Bob Costas is a few years old. Originally written in 2000, he clearly and eloquently discusses a number of the difficulties with professional baseball in the 90s. My opinion of Costas continues to turn around.
On Game of Shadows
I’ve just finished reading Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams’ book Game of Shadows. The book chronicles the BALCO illegal drug trade and subsequent federal investigations in sport—preeminently Olympic track and field and professional baseball. It pays particular attention to Barry Bonds, detailing compelling evidence that Bonds has used illegal drugs for years. The authors are […]
