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The Best American Sports Writing 2009: The Year's Finest Collection―25 Stories from Over 350 Publications
Well established as the premier sports anthology, The Best American Sports Writing brings together the year's finest writing on sports. Chosen from more than 350 national, regional and specialty publications, the twenty five pieces here embrace the world of sports in all its drama, humanity, and excitement.
400 pages, Paperback
First published October 8, 2009
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About the author
Leigh Montville
20 books27 followersLeigh Montville is a highly respected sportswriter, columnist and author. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.Montville is married to Diane Foster and has two children. He lives in Massachusetts and is an ardent supporter of the Boston Red Sox.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
August 21, 2014
I enjoy these collections of yearly sports writing, this collection from 2009 is one of the lesser of those which I have read. That said while the overall collection is one of the weaker ones their are a couple of stories that are among the best I have ever read in these sportswriting packages.
Legendary SI writer Gary Smith story "Alive and Kicking " tells the story of Luma a young Jordanian woman who becomes the coach of a youth soccer team. The team is special however, it is a ragtag collection of immigrant children, most who have nothing, many are ostracized, who with her love and structure and guidance become a team that wins but not only on the field. Along the way Luma, an immigrant herself discovers her own path and self worth.
The piece Michael Lewis wrote for Vanity Fair titled Commie ball is an in depth look at the immigration of Cuban baseball players and the United States governments seemingly over the top prosecution of an American named Gus Dominguez the go to agent for these players when they reach the states. The article is much more than his story however, it describes Cuban baseball, it's culture and impact from all sides. Lewis is one of the the best at his craft and this article is more proof.
A couple more worthwhile conventional stories include a yearly recap by Chris Jones and Wright Thompson's " Father Bear" which focuses on Jack Nicklaus in retirement, a man perhaps more driven and busier than ever before.
Legendary SI writer Gary Smith story "Alive and Kicking " tells the story of Luma a young Jordanian woman who becomes the coach of a youth soccer team. The team is special however, it is a ragtag collection of immigrant children, most who have nothing, many are ostracized, who with her love and structure and guidance become a team that wins but not only on the field. Along the way Luma, an immigrant herself discovers her own path and self worth.
The piece Michael Lewis wrote for Vanity Fair titled Commie ball is an in depth look at the immigration of Cuban baseball players and the United States governments seemingly over the top prosecution of an American named Gus Dominguez the go to agent for these players when they reach the states. The article is much more than his story however, it describes Cuban baseball, it's culture and impact from all sides. Lewis is one of the the best at his craft and this article is more proof.
A couple more worthwhile conventional stories include a yearly recap by Chris Jones and Wright Thompson's " Father Bear" which focuses on Jack Nicklaus in retirement, a man perhaps more driven and busier than ever before.
November 18, 2009
Poor compared to this series standards- some bad choices by Montville with a few having nothing to do with sports. I don't expect to see a story about a dad molesting his daughter with the only sporty part being that it has to do with camping. That's not what I'm looking for when reading this collection.
September 28, 2014
I certainly hope that it wasn't.
June 17, 2010
good collection of mostly magazine (a few newspaper) features. Especially liked Amby Burfoot's piece on winning 1968 Boston Marathon, plus a feature on quarterback school that ambitious parents send young QB's too to work on throwing mechanics, a mountain climbing tragedy, an age-group star swimmer, and several others.
One strange (IMO) choice for inclusion was a lengthy story from Backpacker magazine about a woman's coming to terms with aftereffects of having been molested by her stepfather when she was young. As a general magazine article it was compelling, incl. how she talks with him about it now, decisions about what sort of relationship he can have with grandkids, and more, but the only hook I could see for it as a sports story was that they used to go camping a lot, a thin connection to rest of book.
One strange (IMO) choice for inclusion was a lengthy story from Backpacker magazine about a woman's coming to terms with aftereffects of having been molested by her stepfather when she was young. As a general magazine article it was compelling, incl. how she talks with him about it now, decisions about what sort of relationship he can have with grandkids, and more, but the only hook I could see for it as a sports story was that they used to go camping a lot, a thin connection to rest of book.
December 30, 2009
Bought for the plane. I was curious how good the best of a year could be here. For quality, a race in which Michael Lewis runs a good time and then you can go get a sandwich before the rest of the pack streams by. Second place to Untitled Mike Flynn Project, about the old guy playing college linebacker.
Also, the snootier Best American publications would be scandalized to note, after the end of each piece in this book, one of the editors adds a small italicized blurb of his own thoughts. Sample: "Is this a sport? Must be. I see it on ESPN and actually watch when there is nothing else on television...The flop has a deeper poker meaning than three cards laid across green felt. Or so it seems." Wut?
Also, the snootier Best American publications would be scandalized to note, after the end of each piece in this book, one of the editors adds a small italicized blurb of his own thoughts. Sample: "Is this a sport? Must be. I see it on ESPN and actually watch when there is nothing else on television...The flop has a deeper poker meaning than three cards laid across green felt. Or so it seems." Wut?
May 16, 2010
An excellent collection of articles about all kinds of sports; this series will definitely become a staple of my reading each year. I particularly liked the articles about Charlie Manual, Jack Nicklaus, and Cuban ballplayers. (The history of the medicine ball was interesting, too.)
(I see some other readers/reviewers found this a bad collection; I understand their point about a couple of the articles not really being about "sports", but I did find myself interested in pretty much every piece in the book.)
(I see some other readers/reviewers found this a bad collection; I understand their point about a couple of the articles not really being about "sports", but I did find myself interested in pretty much every piece in the book.)
July 26, 2012
A big fan of this series, but the 2009 edition was a bit weak.
Of course it still had some must-reads...1) Life and Limb by Bruce Barcott; 2) Alive and Kicking by Gary Smith and 3) Dropped by Alan Prendergast.
But also some that I scratched my head at being included ... most notably Spartan Warriors in the YouTube Age by Stephen Rodrick...didn't deserve to make it to print much less to a Best of...also Lisa Taddeo's profile on LeBron James was weak in my humble opinion.
Of course it still had some must-reads...1) Life and Limb by Bruce Barcott; 2) Alive and Kicking by Gary Smith and 3) Dropped by Alan Prendergast.
But also some that I scratched my head at being included ... most notably Spartan Warriors in the YouTube Age by Stephen Rodrick...didn't deserve to make it to print much less to a Best of...also Lisa Taddeo's profile on LeBron James was weak in my humble opinion.
June 1, 2011
I'm not sure why I love sports stories so much, especially when I can take or leave most sports...but I do. Whether it's a story about how sports can conquer a disability, or poverty, or racism, or sexism--they all make me very, very happy. I didn't love all of these stories, but overall it was a great collection of articles about all kinds of sports and athletes.
December 17, 2012
Faves:
Alan Prendergast: "Dropped"
Patrick Hruby: "Men Who Love Goons"
John Spong: "Untitled Mike Flynt Project"
Stephen Rodrick: "Spartan Warriors in the YouTube Age, or, The Legend of Legend, Spider, and Science"
Alan Prendergast: "Dropped"
Patrick Hruby: "Men Who Love Goons"
John Spong: "Untitled Mike Flynt Project"
Stephen Rodrick: "Spartan Warriors in the YouTube Age, or, The Legend of Legend, Spider, and Science"
November 10, 2014
Another winning entry in an enjoyable series of books.
September 9, 2015
Another good collection of sports writing. Much more balanced than previous years' versions.
Currently reading
December 18, 2015I think I will enjoy this book because I like sports.
April 28, 2015
Only worth picking up for Michael Lewis' Commie Ball - that alone is a ten-star read
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews