On Crying for Sports HeroesWhat’s the meaning of our grief for sports heroes — especially those, like Maradona, well known for their personal failings?...ALESSANDRO CAMONAROUND THE WORLDSPORTS
The Other Mr. MetBob Blaisdell reviews a new biography of the late, great Tom Terrific....BOB BLAISDELLSPORTSBIOGRAPHY & AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Baseball Road Trip: An Interview with Brad BalukjianJulia Scheeres talks to Brad Balukjian about his road trip to track down all the players in a 1986 package of Topps....JULIA SCHEERESSPORTSMEMOIR & ESSAY
The Jordan Rules, RecycledESPN’s documentary “The Last Dance” is an “untold story” we’ve all heard a million times....HAL SUNDTDEAR TELEVISIONTELEVISIONSPORTS
America’s Long Game: On Emily Nemens’s “The Cactus League”Mike Broida gets sent to “The Cactus League,” the debut novel from Emily Nemens....MIKE BROIDAFICTIONSPORTS
Democracy’s Concrete CourtThe ritual of pickup basketball is a pocket of democracy as close as the local park....MARK EDMUNDSONSPORTSPOLITICSPHILOSOPHY & CRITICAL THEORY
Thirteen Ways of Looking at “High Flying Bird”"High Flying Bird’s" Lukácsian dramatization of class struggle remains trapped, visually and narratively, in a neoliberal perceptual apparatus....DEREK NYSTROMSPORTSFILM
On Infinite Baseball: An Interview with Alva NoëKieran Setiya interviews philosopher Alva Noë about his book, Infinite Baseball: Notes from a Philosopher on the Ballpark....KIERAN SETIYALARB BALLSPORTS
The Improvisational Wonders of Jazz and SoccerMichael Agovino explores the formal and stylistic echoes between soccer and jazz....MICHAEL J. AGOVINOLARB BALLSPORTS
Give and Go: The Double Movement of Shut Up and DribbleSamantha N. Sheppard thinks about the back and forth between social injustice, social progress, and the institutional power of the NBA in Showtime's Shut Up and Dribble....SAMANTHA N. SHEPPARDLARB BALLSPORTS
The Modern American Dilemma: Seth Greenland’s “The Hazards of Good Fortune”Taylor Larsen praises “The Hazards of Good Fortune,” a new novel by Seth Greenland....TAYLOR LARSENFICTIONSPORTS
Sneaker MoneyConnor Goodwin on "University of Nike," Joshua Hunt's look at how companies like Nike control institutions of higher learning....CONNOR GOODWINEDUCATIONSPORTSPOLITICSHISTORY
The LARB Ball NBA RoundtableOn the inevitability of professional basketball...YAGO COLÁS, THERESA RUNSTEDTLER, BRIAN R. JACOBSONLARB BALLSPORTS
The LARB Ball NFL RoundtableOn brain trauma, Budweiser, Steamin' Willie Beamen, and the blurring of Colin Kaepernick's dissent....BRIAN R. JACOBSON, SARAH J. JACKSON, KATHLEEN BACHYNSKI, TRAVIS VOGANLARB BALLSPORTS
Workers of the World Cup: On Qatar 2022 and the Future of FIFATo kick off our new sports and culture column, LARB Ball, Brian Jacobson thinks about the labors of the World Cup....BRIAN R. JACOBSONLARB BALLSPORTS
A Literary Lineup for the World CupDan Friedman offers a list of books for those obsessed or perplexed by the World Cup....DAN FRIEDMANAROUND THE WORLDSPORTS
The Spirit of the GameJoshua W. Jackson reviews David Wanczyk's "Beep: Inside the Unseen World of Baseball for the Blind."...JOSHUA W. JACKSONSPORTSMEMOIR & ESSAY
Bookish Basketball: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s LatestSeth Greenland reviews Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's new memoir, "Coach Wooden and Me."...SETH GREENLANDSPORTSMEMOIR & ESSAY
Football Nation: The NFL Brand in the Year of KaepernickOn how the NFL achieved "corporate transcendence" and what the era of Kapernick means for it....AARON DEROSATELEVISIONSPORTSCULTURAL STUDIES
Everything But The Girl: “Pitch,” Nostalgia, and Baseball’s Way ForwardEmily Nemens on Fox's new series "Pitch" and Major League Baseball's latest attempt to stay relevant....EMILY NEMENSTELEVISIONSPORTS
How to Write a Poem About BaseballJulian Gewirtz interviews Jill Bialosky on baseball and poetry....JULIAN GEWIRTZSPORTSPOETRY
A Courageous Man: An Interview with John CarlosDavid Davis interviews John Carlos, the 1968 Summer Olympics track athlete whose Black Power salute caused much political controversy....DAVID DAVISSPORTSHISTORY
Night CycleThe chaotic and uncontrollable parts of Los Angeles that make it such a challenging city during the day fade away as the city falls asleep....MATT TINOCOSPORTSMEMOIR & ESSAY