The Year's Best Sports Writing 2023

by Richard Deitsch (Editor), Glenn Stout (Contributor)

A must-read collection featuring the best in sports journalism

Richard Deitsch, a media reporter at The Athletic and a former Sports Illustrated writer, 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.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction

434 pages, Paperback

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Sofia Abate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Still thinking about the piece about the professional stone skippers and the one about the Afghan Women’s soccer team. & TO THOSE WHO SAY “keep the politics out of sports” PLEASE JUST READ THIS IM BEGGING

[Danny · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great selection of stories that all involved sports but weren’t 100% about the actual competition themselves. The respective authors did a great job telling meaningful stories through sports.

[Globalnaslov24 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaj moramo vedeti o športnih stavah - drugi del

Predstavljamo vam drugo razpravo tega vodnika, kjer predstavljamo športne stave. Tukaj je prvi del, če ste ga zamudili!



Nad nadstropjem

Stave nad in pod so priljubljena vrsta športnih stav, kjer stavniki napovedujejo, ali bo dogodek ali indikator nad ali pod določenim rezultatom. Ta vrsta stav se uporablja v različnih športih in z različnimi parametri, kot je skupno število točk, golov ali dotikov, doseženih na določeni tekmi (na primer liga, kot je FIFA).



Na primer, v nogometu je lahko stava več/pod pričakovano število golov na tekmi. Če stavni igralec napove več kot 2,5 gola, morata biti na tej tekmi dosežena več kot 2 gola, da dobite stavo.



Ta vrsta stav daje igralcem dodatno priložnost, da se vključijo v akcijo, tako da se osredotočijo na celotno naravo igre in ne le na zmagovalca.



Stave Več in Pod stavnicam prav tako omogočajo uporabo statistike in analize za določitev verjetnosti določenega dogodka ter oblikovanje bolj prilagodljivih in spremenljivih stav.



Kombinirane stave

Kombinirane stave so oblika športnih stav, kjer igralci združujejo več posameznih stav. Ta vrsta stave vam daje možnost, da dobite več kot tradicionalne stave, vendar vključuje večje tveganje, saj mora biti vsaka stava uspešna, da dobite kombinirano stavo.



Primer tega je združevanje stav na zmagovalca več različnih nogometnih tekem. Za zmago pri kombinirani stavi morate uspešno napovedati zmagovalca izbranih tekem. Čeprav je ta vrsta stav lahko zahtevna zaradi potrebe po natančni napovedi več dogodkov, ponuja priložnost za večje dobitke, saj se kvote za vsako stavo pomnožijo.



Kombinirane stave dajejo stavnicam svobodo kombiniranja različnih vrst stav, kot so zmagovalec, točen rezultat ali več in manj, da ustvarijo edinstvene in edinstvene stave. Ta vrsta stav je primerna za tiste, ki želijo svojim športnim napovedim dodati dodatno razburljivost in strategijo.



Vedno stavite odgovorno

Športne stave so lahko odličen način za zabavo, vendar je treba vedeti, da prinašajo tudi tveganje izgube. Z odgovornim igranjem iger na srečo se lahko zaščitite pred morebitnimi negativnimi posledicami in varneje uživate v tovrstni zabavi.



Postavite omejitev stav in je ne prekoračite. Uporabite le denar, ki si ga lahko privoščite, in ne igrajte iger na srečo, ko ste pod vplivom alkohola ali katere koli druge snovi, ki bi lahko poslabšala vašo presojo.



Če izgubite stavo, izgubljenega denarja ne poskušajte nadomestiti z višjimi stavami. To pogosto povzroči dodatne izgube. Stavite pametno za zabavo, ne za zaslužek. Preden sklenete stavo, se seznanite s pravili stav in ustreznim športom.



Če menite, da imate težave z nadzorom svojih stav, poiščite pomoč pri sindikatih ali se posvetujte s strokovnim svetovalcem.

[Sam · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoy getting this book every year. It’s always quickly read by me and I usually read snippets of it throughout the year as I wait for a new one to show up on christmas morning.
Lets jump into some of my favorite articles from the year.
(one thing to note: all of these articles were written in 2022 which is a little bit disappointing.)

Alone at the edge of the world by Cassidy Randall:
This one sparked an adventuring spirit in me. I really enjoyed how Randall put yourself in Goodall’s shoes and made her story come alive. Even though I'd never heard of the Golden Globe race, this article made me want to keep an eye out for it if it ever comes back. Some of my favorite parts included: when Goodall was living off of nothing and she would wake up every morning at five am to assemble packets to send off to possible sponsors for the race. Another part was the climax of the story, when she was in the middle of the pacific ocean, a big storm hit her boat and she was forced to fend for herself in the wild ocean.
Overall, this was one of the most intriguing articles from the book and one that I would highly recommend to read for yourself.

The team history must not forget: Ukrainian Soccer’s fight to carry on by Wright Thompson:
As a budding soccer fan in the United States, I'm always on the lookout for good articles describing soccer overseas. This one really put sport and society together, describing the mental state of the players as they could not play a true home game during the war. I loved how Thompson set the scene for the trauma and heartbreak that all the players and the entire country was feeling.
The coach was one of the people that, reading the article, I could see how much he cared about his country and how much he loved his home that he had worked tirelessly to build and maintain before Russian bombs destroyed it.
This was a great and heartbreaking article.

[Thomas · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great anthology of the best sports writing from 2022. While it is a very US-centric compilation, this does not make it inaccessible to non-US sports fans. Most of the stories are actually about global sports, or are ones that touch on the intersection of sports and wider political or social issues.
Highlights were:
- Long-form piece on a champion stone skimmer.
- Story about a British woman competing in sole around the world sailing race.
- Two heart rendering articles about school athletes caught up in school shootings.
- A profile of the Ukrainian football team, playing against the back drop of the Russian invasion.
- A profile of a rider in what must surely be North America's wildest horse racing event.

But regardless of the topic, the quality of the writing stands out: these articles are not just good examples of sports writing; it is excellent writing, regardless of the genre.

[Ethan Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had to extend it to seven favs and that still leaves some great ones out, so much good storytelling in this one:

- Stone Skipping is a lost art. Kurt Steiner wants the world to find it., Sean Williams/Outside
- Alone at the edge of the world, Cassidy Randall/Atavist Magazine (this is GOAT tier for me)
- Does my son know you? Jonathan Tjarks/The Ringer
- 'She made us happy': The All-Star dreams of Uvalde's biggest Jose Altuve fan (tw//shooting), Roberto Jose Andrade Franco/ESPN
- The Keeper, Juliet Macur/New York Times
- King of the Hill, Jana Meisenholder/Atavist Magazine
- After surviving a high school shooting, he was 'an empty shell. No emotion.' Now what? (tw//detail of this shooting) Michael Rosenberg/Sports Illustrated

[Tony Mistretta · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the kind of book you could read selectively by chapter because all of the excerpts were unrelated. My favorite was about the young woman who attempts to sail solo around the world as part of a contest in which she is the only female and would be the first female to accomplish such a feat. Some of the chapters were about politics and other things that surrounded the sporting events. The first chapter was about rock-skipping, something that I never thought of as a serious sport, but that's part of what made it interesting. All of the chapters were well written by different sports-writers. I didn't read all of the chapters but much enjoyed the ones that I did read.

[Roger Smitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many of the people who read a newspaper often turn away from the sorts section.

The Year’s Best Sports Writing 23 has a reason to look for the newspapers and magazines that sections about “sports.” The book gives a long list of sports in many countries. Yes, sometimes it has a chapter for a team or person who has won the game. But there is much more.

Each piece of the book is taken from newspapers, magazine, and ESPN, The New Worker, and more. While the book goes through the sports that most of us know, we get many kinds of sports that we don’t know.

It’s a challenge to get through the pages but it’s good.

[Brian Ayres · Rating 4 out of 5]

Here are the pieces that are worth reading for style, subject matter or reporting. The rest were just meh:

1) Sean Williams on stone skipping
2) Cassidy Randal on the Golden Globe Race
3) Ryan Hockensmith on portable toilets.
4) Wright Thompson on the Ukrainian soccer team
5) Lex Pryor on Serena Williams

[Adam Schlesinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hit or miss like all anthology series. I loved the essay about the woman who did the solo sailing race and the rock skipping guy. The topical stuff about sexual assault/school shootings was good but heavy as you might imagine. I realized i didn't care a ton about human interest stuff if i wasn't as interested in the sports angle.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Standouts include stories by Cassidy Randall, Roberto Jose Andrade Franco, Hamilton Nolan, and a heartbreaking tale from Jonathan Tjarks.

[Doug Stotland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A little less sports-anchored than the others but still great writing and story telling. For me, this collection was not in the top half and of the series but even the least enjoyable volume in this series is a very good read.

[Mike Notrica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not the usual sports stories. These are adventure stories, off the beaten path sports. Obscure some, others mainstream. If you like sports, the outdoors and well written short stories I highly recommend.