On calling for Pat Summitt to step aside during her struggles with Alzheimer's Disease; on covering the 1996 Olympic bombing from feet away; on his time as a young white kid in the South handed the Tennessee State football beat; on a newspaper's decline.
On the blood on John Mugabi's shorts; on writing with a hangover; on what the great columnists look for and why interviewing is an art.
On having a player invite you to his hotel room to seduce you with candles and Drake songs; on the (non) excitement of baseball's winter meetings; on missing the World Series to power lift.
On what has to happen at a restaurant to result in a scathing review; on the wild food scene in Fort Wayne; on being an anonymous critic in a world that wants to know.
On his riveting piece about a high school baseball coach sued by a player he told to slide; on tracking down the long-ago youth umpire he flipped off as a boy; on the not-so-riveting world of Eli Manning; on being confronted by an angry hockey player nicknamed "The Grim Reaper."
On finding sexiness in random words; on whether an ugly word (like, c*nt) can be beautiful in the right context; on why writing about sex is healthy for the soul.
On finding bliss in covering two awful NFL teams squaring off; on what the greatest sports scribes have in common; on a story of a young girl's life and death that changed his life.
On writing a book when all of the characters are long dead; on growing up with a legendary journalist for a father; on wild nights and crazy days with Quinton McCracken, Bubba Trammell and the 1998 Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
On whether readers care more about the games—or talking about the games; on a memorable eight-year experience covering a legendary Bronco; on young days watching Tim Tebow and why it's OK to spend Sundays at home.
On his closeness with Brett Favre and riding across America with John Madden; on no longer being treated quite as uniquely—but loving the need to dig and hustle; on why he saw SI's struggles approaching and whether he's mad at Jalen Ramsey.
On the blissfully gritty days of the Big Apple sports columnist; on highs and lows with Mike Lupica; on writing "Namath" sans Joe Namath and on insulting Billy Crystal and feeling guilty about it in hindsight.
On what it is to write episodes of shows like "2 Broke Girls" and "The King of Queens"; on the highs and lows of the writers' room; on taking a break from TV to write her first book, "Don't Wait Up: Confessions of a Stay At Work Mom"; on calling out relatives in print and hoping they're not overly upset.
On the end of her time at the legendary magazine; on the future of SI and the future of magazines as a whole; on what one does after her dream job is taken away; on the decision to skip business writing for a career in sports chronicling.
On looking at yourself in the mirror and realizing, "I don't like the writer I've become." On the nonsense of "hot takes." On why readers ultimately prefer love and kindness to anger; on finding happiness in a mid-western city.
On the anguish and difficulty of writing a comprehensive oral history on the 9.11 terrorist attacks; on getting people to open up about tragedy; on a long-ago life running Howard Dean's website.
On finding something interesting in limited time with Baker Mayfield; on morphing from writer to all-around media professional; on whether it's OK to cheer for a sport; on perceptions of women in sports journalism; on the complexities of profiling Tyreek Hill.
In 1994 and 1995, as a fresh-out-of-college journalist, I couldn't get out of my own way. I was arrogant, dismissive, smug, juvenile, error-prone and painfully dumb. This is my story.
On how a soon-to-be 80-year-old scribe transitions from typewriter to computer; on seeing the real Roger Clemens; on having the subject of your profile call your wife to say you're cheating on her; on a bond with Tom Seaver; on flip phone life.
On covering high schools while simultaneously taking photographs while simultaneously keeping stats while simultaneously putting a section together; on existence at his 8,000-circulation daily newspaper; on how to treat young athletes.
On jumping onto a huge beat at a huge newspaper at a young age; on the awkwardness of the clubhouse approach; on life without Bryce Harper and life with Juan Soto; on surviving an eternal season of Major League Baseball.
On whether family drama is fair game in poetry; on the incredible power of the word "meat"; on the chance meeting with a long-ago girlfriend on a Brooklyn street and a sprig of lavender.
On her past life as a heroine addict and dealer who spent two years in prison; on witnessing executions; on seeking to improve life for people behind bars—and having the empathy and experience to do so.
On proposing, then writing a political book in a year of 800 other political books; on arranging an interview with the president of the United States, then sitting across from him for 40 minutes; on catching political figures off guard and having them open up; on the never-to-be Super Bowl champion Detroit Lions.
On the details and complexities behind his marvelous Boston Globe Magazine profile of Red Sox broadcaster Dennis Eckersley; on trying to convince a subject to allow you to drive along for a ride; on his time as a 24-year-old editor.
On how one turns his words into hip-hop; on mixing and matching sounds; on what it is to stroll a Kentucky stage naked while holding a stuffed penis; on whether it's OK to rap about shooting the president; on finding meaning in music and the overrated non-joy of appearing on MTV.
On leaving the magazine after 25 years; on interviewing people as they face death; on the gun store hostilities of a late Yankee relief pitcher; on the legacy of SI and learning how to write while working for America's best sports magazine.
On his past career as a singer/songwriter, and the parallels between two genres; on the Texas Rangers' pitcher whose story needed to be told—via notebook paper; on looking for small, overlooked stories and making them great.
On the aging scribe; on writing 22,000 words and having it cut down; on adjusting to a Netflix writers' room and looking back at Roger Ebert and "The Things That Carried Him."
On approaching Glenn Burke as he was dying of AIDS and writing his autobiography; on a final interview with Bill Buckner and craziness with Len Dykstra.
On covering Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential run; on writing an amazing profile on the woman who (famously) chopped off her husband's penis; on rising from the University of Texas to a fantastic career in journalism.
