FLINDER BOYD

He was one of the best ultra runners in the world. When the war came he had to fight for what he loved and make heartbreaking choices.

(A Sunday Long Read selection; Longform Profiles selection)

Runner’s World

Curtis Breitweiser lost his son to suicide in 2017. A year later, in his hometown of Ogden, Utah, he decides to coach a group of 9 and 10- year old baseball misfits who teach him how to live again.

Southwest Magazine

In 2014, Michael Sam was the first openly gay player drafted into the NFL. He was cut twice without playing an official game. In the five years since he’s tried to pick up the pieces.

(A Sunday Long Read selection)

Yahoo Sports

Joe McKnight, a New Orleans legend and former All-Pro, was killed in a road rage dispute in his hometown. What resulted split a community along racial and geographic lines. But the real question remains: Who is Joe McKnight?

(Best American Sports Writing notable selection; A Sunday Long Read selection; Best Journalism of the Year, SI.com)

B/R Mag

Eleven years after Palmeiro tested positive for steroids he can’t let it go. An intimate profile of his, and his family’s, struggles.

(Best American Sports Writing notable selection; Longform.org selection)

FoxSports.com

In 2011, three college-aged buddies in Corpus Christi, Texas came up with a get rich scheme. They were going to start an immigrant smuggling operation. Simple enough, right?

(Longform.org selection)

Rolling Stone

Kellie Maloney is the world’s only transgender woman boxing promoter. Years earlier, she was Frank, Lennox Lewis’ manager and the most celebrated promoter in Britain. Now she’s trying to get back to the top.

(Best Journalism of the Year, SI.com)

Rolling Stone

Javaris Crittenton was the son of Atlanta. Basketball star, class president and honor roll student in high school. But shortly after he was drafted by the Lakers in the first round he joined the Mansfield Crips — a local street gang. From there his career slowly spiraled downward until he was in too deep.

(Best American Sports Writing selection; Longform.org selection; Best Journalism of the Year, SI.com)

FoxSports.com

The day of an important playoff game for the Denver Nuggets, Chris “Birdman” Andersen was questioned by police, and his house searched for possible child pornography charges. He was shamed by NBA fans, but the truth is crazier than you can imagine. It involves an elaborate set-up and multiple celebrities.

(Longform.org selection)

Newsweek

A down-on-his-luck kid working at the Greyhound station in Sacramento decides to take a bus three days across country for a shot at basketball glory at famed Rucker Park. His dreams and hopes ride on one 20 minute try-out… if he can make it that far.

(Best American Sports Writing selection; USA Today best articles of the year; Lonform.org selection; ThinkProgress top articles of the year selection)

SBNation.com

When Lisa Ann retired from adult films she was the most searched porn star on the internet. To reinvent herself she became a fantasy sports guru with unusual insider knowledge. But what she really wants seems out of her reach.

FoxSports.com

Copeland was cut by two second division teams in Spain within two months. HIs short pro career seemed over. 5 years later he was starting for the Knicks. An improbable, real-life, against-all-odds story.

(Longreads.com top 10 of the year; Longreads.com best article of the week)

SBNation.com

Rico Harris was once one of the most promising high school basketball players in the country, but he lost his way. Years later with his life seemingly back on track, he drove from LA to Seattle to see start a new job. Along the way he disappeared. After an exhaustive search, everyone had the same question: How can a 6’10” 300-pound man just simply vanish.

(USA Today best-of the year list)

FoxSports.com

From Gelsenkirchen to London, a deep dive into Arsenal’s record signing. A social media darling, he’s one of the most famous Muslim athletes on the planet, but he spilts opinion among soccer’s fanbase.

B/R Mag

When Katrina struck, the mighty Carver High Rams were scattered all over New Orleans. They were supposed to be the best team in the state, and the best team the impoverished Desire neighborhood had ever seen. What happened over the next week was both miraculous and tragic. This is their story.

(Best American Sports Writing notable selection)

FoxSports.com

Weeks before the 2016 Olympics Guor Marial, South Sudan’s only hope of having an Olympic participant, lined up for the most important race of his life. But it wouldn’t be easy, he’d be racing against his own demons, as much as he was competing against the field.

FoxSports.com

The true story of when former Laker Smush Parker saved the European Union from collapse by playing shitty basketball.

(Deadspin’s best sports articles of the year selection; Anthologized in ReMix: Reading and Composing Culture)

The Classical

In the days leading up to the biggest fight of Gennady Golovkin’s life, he’s holed up in a training camp in Big Bear. He reflects on the twisty road he took to make it to the top.

B/R Mag

Kimani Ffriend was a journeyman basketball player finishing up his career in Serbia, then one night everything changed. A rain-slick road, some alcohol, and a broken light. One person left dead, another life shattered and Ffriend standing in front of a Serbian judge.

(SBNation.com top picks of the year)

SBNation.com

The author’s personal account of his wild season playing in Slovakia. Where rules seem to only be suggestions.

SBNation.com

With days before her fight in Australia against Holly Holm, all seems great at Rousey’s camp. But beneath the surface there are bubbling issues.

FoxSports.com

Melvin Upton was once baseball’s most promising young star, then after a big money move to Atlanta he went through a life-altering slump. Can he recover or was he always overrated?

FoxSports

A short lyrical fiction piece about a WWI soldier who falls in love and has a decision to make.

The Flip Collective

A follow-up to When Smush Parker Saved the World.

The Flip Collective

What’s it like to play against Ricky Rubio? It’s Salieri watching Mozart dance circles around him.

(Best American Sports Writing notable selection)

The Classical

A semi-autobiographical piece about celebrity impressionists and the LA public bus.

The Flip Collective

A playful profile about one of the best point guards in the NBA.

B/R Mag

A trip to San Francisco to speak to politicians, community leaders and locals before his first protest.

FoxSports