The Year's Best Sports Writing 2022

by J.A. Adande (Editor), Glenn Stout (Editor)

Overview

J.A. Adande, ESPN personality and Director of Sports Journalism at Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism, has curated an essential anthology showcasing incredible feats and diverse perspectives across the world of sports.

Selected from a wide range of newspapers, magazines, and digital publications during the previous year, these stories capture enduring moments while celebrating the craft of writing at its most sublime.

This extraordinary collection reveals the fascinating stories behind the sports we love, the competitors who push their boundaries, and the cultures they are ultimately embedded in. 

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781637270905
Publisher:	Triumph Books
Publication date:	10/04/2022
Pages:	384
Product dimensions:	5.40(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)

About the Author

J.A. Adande is the director of sports journalism at Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications. He is also the graduate journalism Sports Media Specialization leader. Adande has worked in sports media for over two and a half decades, including multiple roles at ESPN and 10 years as a sports columnist at the Los Angeles Times, in addition to jobs at The Washington Post and Chicago Sun-Times. He has covered a broad array of sports and events, including 20 NBA Finals, Super Bowls, the World Series, the Stanley Cup finals, the Olympics, the World Cup, Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Masters. He continues to appear on ESPN’s Around The Horn, where he has been a panelist since the show’s beginning in 2002.

Glenn Stout served as an editor for the Best American Sports Writing series for 30 years. He is the author of several books including The Young Woman and the Sea, Fenway 1912, and Tiger Girl and the Candy Kid. 

Table of Contents

Introduction ix

The Kentucky Derby of My Childhood Was a Fantasy. Now It Feels Raw, and Real Jerry Brewer from The Washington Post 1

Stephen Curry Is Not the MVP-He's Something Much More Marcus Thompson II from The Athletic 5

Badwater Ultramarathon: What I Lost and Found During 135 Miles of the World's Most Impossible Run Kelaine Conochan from ESPN 11

I Flew to Texas to Watch Bull Riding on an Aircraft Carrier During COVID Matt Crossman from Experience 33

Simone Biles Chose Herself Camonghne Felix from The Cut 41

The Depths She'll Reach Xan Rice from Long Lead 53

Let Us Appreciate the Grace and Uncommon Decency of Henry Aaron Howard Bryant from ESPN 73

Felipe Ruiz Took the Ride of His Life Working as Tommy Lasorda's Assistant Bill Plaschke from the Los Angeles Times 79

Living Nonbinary in a Binary Sports World Frankie De La Cretaz from Sports Illustrated 85

Say You Wandered into Kansas vs. Texas Not Long After Halftime. Man, Did You Luck Out. Chuck Culpepper from The Washington Post 101

Super League Rage, Ronaldo Mania and the Fight for the Soul of Manchester United Wright Thompson from ESPN 107

'Got Back to My Roots': Nia Dennis and the Groundbreaking Genius of #BlackExcellence Thuc Nhi Nguyen from the Los Angeles Times 131

Paspalum Shadows Andrew Lawrence from The Golfer's Journal 139

Rosalie Fish Wants to Be the Face of Change Mirin Fader from The Ringer 147

Courtney's Story Diana Moskovitz from Defector 159

What It Was Like to Watch Naomi Osaka Up Close During Her Vexing 2021 US Open Kevin Van Valkenburg from ESPN 199

Beneath 9/11's Terrible Smoke, a Flash of Gold Sally Jenkins from The Washington Post 207

'Things Are Going to Be Different Now' Shaker Samman from Sports Illustrated 215

In Mavericks' Dream Surf Season, 51-Year-Old Peter Mel Making Big-Wave History Bruce Jenkins from the San Francisco Chronicle 227

Canelo Álvarez and the Mystical Man Behind His Quest for Immortality Roberto José Andrade Franco from ESPN 233

The Luckiest Two Women in the WNBA Mike Piellucci from D Magazine 249

How a Gymnast Who Lost a Friend in the Parkland Mass School Shooting Came to Iowa and Found Ways to Heal Mark Emmert from The Des Moines Register and Iowa City Press-Citizen 257

Charlotte's First and Forgotten Sports Star: Life, Death and His Season in the Sun Scott Fowler from the Charlotte Observer 271

The Resurgent Appeal of Guinness World Records Tove K. Danovich from The Ringer 287

Can a Boxer Return to the Ring After Killing? Jacob Stern from The Atlantic 299

I've Covered Nine Olympics. Nothing Prepared Me for Seeing My Daughter Win a Medal Pat Forde from Sports Illustrated 319

'His Name Is Sang. He Is a Pitcher.' A Family's American Dream, Their Unbearable Loss Stephen J. Nesbitt from The Athletic 327

Why Giannis Antetokounmpo Chose the Path of Most Resistance Zach Baron from GQ 343

Advisory Board 357

Notable Sports Writing of 2021 359