Though I agree on knights profile you cite, “ A Season on the Brink” also excellent in portraying what a complex coach and person Bobby Knight was. She could not tolerate cheating or hypocrisy, but certainly often crossed the line in his treatment of his players and others
George Plimpton was the best and “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch” was classic Plimpton. While it has been almost 40 years since I read it, I can still vividly recall the Plimpton style.
Certainly not what I would call a hit job. Tara, Pat, Geno, all Uber successful coaches and that’s what their schools want. Not one of them is a saint and neither is Kim Mulkey and like those other three she is also Uber successful. And LSU is just fine with that.
A fair and honest review of Babb’s profile of Mulkey, and I appreciate the links to well-written sports figures’ profiles. I miss Frank Deford’s writing.
I am a huge Brooklyn Nets fan, so I love Ian Eagle and the Ringer profile really captured why he's so beloved and so good at his job. I had no idea how interesting his life story was.
I'm glad you gave a shoutout to the Marge Schott piece. A truly horrible woman and it's crazy Major League Baseball kept her around for so long.
I'll have to check out the Tiger and Rickey profiles..
I linked to it on your Facebook, but love this Rick Reilly profile of Bryant Gumbel and the perils of being the smartest guy in the room while living up to impossible expectations:
A great list of profiles to read over the next few days. Thank you! Also, great call out on the Ian Eagle piece by Bryan Curtis.
Though I agree on knights profile you cite, “ A Season on the Brink” also excellent in portraying what a complex coach and person Bobby Knight was. She could not tolerate cheating or hypocrisy, but certainly often crossed the line in his treatment of his players and others
George Plimpton was the best and “The Curious Case of Sidd Finch” was classic Plimpton. While it has been almost 40 years since I read it, I can still vividly recall the Plimpton style.
I read the piece too and felt Babb’s article was very insightful. Mulkey is a very complex figure.
Certainly not what I would call a hit job. Tara, Pat, Geno, all Uber successful coaches and that’s what their schools want. Not one of them is a saint and neither is Kim Mulkey and like those other three she is also Uber successful. And LSU is just fine with that.
A fair and honest review of Babb’s profile of Mulkey, and I appreciate the links to well-written sports figures’ profiles. I miss Frank Deford’s writing.
I am a huge Brooklyn Nets fan, so I love Ian Eagle and the Ringer profile really captured why he's so beloved and so good at his job. I had no idea how interesting his life story was.
I'm glad you gave a shoutout to the Marge Schott piece. A truly horrible woman and it's crazy Major League Baseball kept her around for so long.
I'll have to check out the Tiger and Rickey profiles..
I linked to it on your Facebook, but love this Rick Reilly profile of Bryant Gumbel and the perils of being the smartest guy in the room while living up to impossible expectations:
https://www.si.com/more-sports/2014/08/26/si-60-mourning-anchor-rick-reilly-bryant-gumbel-olympics
Wright Thompson also wrote a recent profile of Iowa star Caitlin Clark that was excellent.