Best American Sports Writing 2018

by Jeff Pearlman

For more than twenty-five years, The Best American Sports Writing has built a solid reputation by showcasing the greatest sports journalism of the previous year, culled from hundreds of national, regional, and specialty print and digital publications. Each year, the series editor and guest editor curate a truly exceptional collection. The only shared traits among all these diverse styles, voices, and stories are the extraordinarily high caliber of writing, and the pure passion they tap into that can only come from sports.
 

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Essays

352 pages, Paperback

Published October 2, 2018

About the author

Jeff Pearlman is an American sportswriter. He has written nine books that have appeared on The New York Times Best Seller list: four about football, three on baseball and two about basketball. He authored the 1999 John Rocker interview in Sports Illustrated.

Reviews

[Neil Farrell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book is worth reading if only only for the great story “ The Case for Lefty Driesell” by David Kindred.

[AliceC09 · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have read "Best American" collections before, though this was my first sports collection. I hope the other reviews are correct and this is an exceptionally bad collection because I was thoroughly disappointed. I like sports writing and I read a lot of sports journalism. I am hard pressed to believe this collection represents the best sports writing published in 2017.

The fundamental problem in this volume is a lack of representation. The collection is overwhelmingly white male (just like the guest editor). There are a total of 3 stories by women. None are women of color. Of the remaining 22 stories, only 2 are written by a man who isn't white. Shame on guest editor Jeff Pearlman.

To those would say "well that's because there aren't enough "good" women/BIPOC sportswriters", my response is: that is complete and utter bullshit. Furthermore, this volume is an excellent chance to elevate the voices of those who are under represented, including those who are working at smaller publications. Talented BIPOC and female voices are out there. We just need to take a moment to listen to them.

The typical way "Best American" volume is complied is that the guest editor is presented with a selection of 80 stories, curated by the series editor to consider. That list of 80 must be winnowed to 25. The guest editor can, of course, consider stories beyond the 80 selected by the series editor. In this volume, the series editor noted that, of the 25 final stories, FIFTEEN of the final 25 were selected by Pearlman outside of the group of 80 curated by the series editor. Perhaps this factor also contributed to the disappointing final product.

As others have noted, the volume is full of mostly negative and sad stories. There's also a lot of repetition (multiple CTE stories). I believe it is essential to cover these important and difficult topics. But it would also be nice to see the joyful aspects of sports highlighted.

As I said above, I believe the fundamental problem with this volume is a lack of representation. Diversity in authorship will also yield diversity in subject matter.

[K · Rating 3 out of 5]

I buy this anthology every year, and I always enjoy it. But this is not one of the stronger editions. As others have noted, there's so much negativity in it about concussions and opioid addictions and other tragedies that it's almost hard to believe the authors of the articles enjoy sports. Even some of the articles that celebrate achievement -- the ones about or by women distance runners -- make the effort seem more like drudgery than joy.

With that in mind, I'll list three stories that are, for my taste, the type of sharp writing and interesting observations that make them memorable:

1. Lefty Driesell bio. I remember Lefty's years at Maryland very well, and not always fondly, and this gave me appreciation for what he did and who he is.

2. Mikaela Shiffrin. Had never even heard of her, but the writing is so crisp and her intensity is so amazing. And you also get a sense that she and her mother are a bit crazy.

3. Rebecca Lobo. Love letter from her husband. Totally caught me by surprise.

A few stories have great themes but are marred by weak writing that is either polemical ("No Getting Away from Politics" on Trump and racism) or maudlin ("Eternal Champions" about death of soccer team, and the various stories about athletes dying young).

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wonderful as usual. A couple of standouts, among many: "The Concussion Diaries" by Reid Forgrave, "Cheers on a Soccer Field, Far from Las Vegas" by John Branch, and "There is No Escape from Politics" by Tyler Tynes.

If and when football goes the way of boxing, historians could do worse than reading this volume to see all the screwed up elements about the sport that we're just now beginning to not overlook.

[Mike Calvert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Usually love this series and while this edition was okay, I can't remember enjoying one less. Stories were often similar (and depressing) and seemed to reflect an ideological slant. Some good stuff in there, just not on the usual level.

[Geoff Walling · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not as good as previous years, but still well worth reading.

[Brent · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read - as it always is.

[Pat Perkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of good writing if you like sports. Same quality if you don't.

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

Always a great read annually. I thought this edition featured a better-than-usual mix of contributions from diverse sources