Editor Jane McManus 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.

I've been accused of rooting against every team in America, but I am rooting FOR Stugotz's Personal Record Book.--Joe Buck

Without Tom Brady, Bill Belichick is a worse head coach than Herm Edwards. Kevin Durant has no rings. Rafael Nadal is not on the Mount Rushmore of men's tennis.

For years, popular sports radio personality Stugotz has been telling fans that he keeps a personal record book, a kind of alternate sports universe in which Babe Ruth is not a great Yankee, Sean McVay has no rings, and Joe Namath is not in the Hall of Fame, to name just a few of his sacred proclamations.

As Stugotz hilariously renders his controversial judgments with the steely conviction of a psychopath, what might seem like broadsides meant to rattle the cages of avid sports fans are transformed into shockingly wise, well-considered arguments that, taken together, form a radical revision of sports history. Prepare to be wildly entertained as he shows where flash and hype have replaced integrity and sportsmanship. He takes rings away and gives new ones out, reframes some of history's most iconic games, and declares entire sports dead (sorry, horse racing). He even invites some of the biggest names in sports media, such as Scott Van Pelt and Mina Kimes, to offer their rebuttals. By taking on the legends of basketball, baseball, hockey, soccer, and tennis, Stugotz leaves no stone unturned--and no sport unscathed.

Meshach Browning spent decades as a professional hunter and trapper of bears, boars and deer in rural Maryland during the early 1800s - this is his story, in his own words.

Born in modest circumstances, Browning grew up at a time when the United States as a nation was in its infancy, with much of the population living in rural areas. From his youth, the author vowed to be self-sufficient, leaving his home and first love to hone his abilities as a hunter. Returning with money gained from selling pelts and meat, it is then that Meshach contemplates hunting as a career.

The equipment used by the author is much inferior to that of the modern day. Meshach's use of a musket - a gun whose reliability is demonstrated as poor in several instances - leads him to rely on his skills in close quarters combat. On multiple hunts, described with stunning vividness in these pages, Browning's ability to battle animals in melee saves his life. The dangers of his trade are balanced by its lucrativeness: bear meat and pelt for instance fetched high prices on the open market.

Though his life's work is the primary subject, Meshach Browning shows a tender side when describing his first marriage; his loving wife Mary bore him several children. In later chapters, he proudly teaches his sons the craft which sustained their family for so many years.

After Grant Wahl died of an aortic aneurysm at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, collapsing in his press seat during a quarterfinal match, tributes to Wahl poured in from around the globe. Wahl was beloved for good reason--he was kind, generous, and unflinching in the face of injustice. He was also one of the best sports journalists of his generation.

Spanning four decades of storytelling, World Class collects for the first time the finest writing of Grant Wahl, from op-eds for his college newspaper to twenty-five years of reporting at Sports Illustrated to his deeply personal work for Fútbol with Grant Wahl on Substack. Wahl was the multi-tool modern sportswriter: clear and direct; able to write long, short, or in between; cosmopolitan; socially aware.

Arranged thematically, World Class demonstrates how Wahl's career aligned with the evolution of sportswriting. Included are explorations of soccer subcultures from Buenos Aires and F.C. Barcelona to the dusty sandlots of Nacogdoches, Texas, as well as accounts of trophy lifts that have a first-draft-of-history definitiveness. Some pieces capture prodigies early in their careers, like LeBron James and Landon Donovan; others lift the voices of the women athletes to whom Wahl paid early attention--stars like Abby Wambach and Megan Rapinoe. The book showcases the daring and important positions Wahl took in Qatar in the weeks before he died, supporting migrant workers and LGBTQ+ people.

More than a collection of Grant Wahl's best work, World Class is a portrait of a journalist at the height of his powers, always evolving with the times, revealed by the stories he found and the unflinching way he told them.

Minneapolis Star Tribune senior columnist Patrick Reusse is a legendary fixture in Minnesota sports. Like his late colleague Sid Hartman, he is known by his legion of fans (and those who find him curmudgeonly) by one name: Reusse!

Starting as a sportswriter in 1965 and still going strong in 2021, Reusse has covered every major sporting event imaginable and met scores of unforgettable characters during his long career in newspapers, radio, and television. Reusse's unique writing style and eye for human-interest angles have made him a master storyteller. He has collected a trove of stories along the way: from growing up in tiny Fulda as the son of an undertaker, to landing a columnist gig at a big-city newspaper; from covering Tom Kelly's Twins championship teams, to handing out fictional turkeys every Thanksgiving; from Olympic triumphs and failures, to countless major moments from Twins Cities sports teams.

Reusse has seen a lot in his more than half a century reporting on sports in Minnesota and around the country. With his coauthor and fellow Star Tribune sports journalist Chip Scoggins, he brings together here his favorite stories, characters, and memories in that distinctive Reusse voice.

From one of America's most beloved sportswriters and the bestselling author of Pappyland, a collection of true stories about the dream of greatness and its cost in the world of sports.

Wright Thompson's stories are so full of rich characters, bad actors, heroes, drama, suffering, courage, conflict, and vivid detail that I sometimes thinks he's working my side of the street - the world of fiction. - John Grisham

There is only one Wright Thompson. He is, as they say, famous if you know who he is: his work includes the most read articles in the history of ESPN (and it's not even close) and has been anthologized in the Best American Sports Writing series ten times, and he counts John Grisham and Richard Ford among his ardent admirers (see back of book). But to say his pieces are about sports, while true as far as it goes, is like saying Larry McMurtry's Lonesome Dove is a book about a cattle drive. Wright Thompson figures people out. He jimmies the lock to the furnaces inside the people he profiles and does an analysis of the fuel that fires their ambition. Whether it be Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods or Pat Riley or Urban Meyer, he strips the away the self-serving myths and fantasies to reveal his characters in full. There are fascinating common denominators: it may not be the case that every single great performer or coach had a complex relationship with his father, but it can sure seem that way. And there is much marvelous local knowledge: about specific sports, and times and places, and people. Ludicrously entertaining and often powerfully moving, The Cost of These Dreams is an ode to the reporter's art, and a celebration of true greatness and the high price that it exacts.

The popularity of rock climbing is burgeoning across the globe, with dedicated communities practicing everything from bouldering to sport climbing, top roping to free soloing, in awe-inspiring locations. The Art of Climbing showcases Simon Carter's dramatic and often graphic photography, providing inspiration for aspirational outdoor climbers-- anyone keen to graduate from inside climbing walls--and seasoned climbers alike.

The main chapters evoke powerful themes--from Formations to Environment, Intensity to Flow--that exist at the intersection of sport and art. Thoughtful chapter texts, written by Carter and major names on the international climbing scene, narrate experiences on the rock face, exploring both the athletic and aesthetic value of climbing. A reference section includes practical details such as a glossary, grading table, and descriptions of ten selected routes.

Sports and numbers go hand in hand.
Sports and loud, assertive debate? Even better.

Cheering on, agonizing over, and being in plain awe of your favorite players has left you with a deep and intricate memory of their greatness, not to mention well-honed arguments as to why your favorites are really the best. In arenas, in front of your TV, and in bars, you've debated friends and strangers alike. You've joyfully mocked your friends' (sometimes laughable) favorites. You've spouted accomplishments, statistics: Yours won six titles, batted .350 in the clutch, or generated 82% of their team's scoring.

But not all numbers are created equal. Some are accomplishments. Others are identity.

Looming large over any image you have of an athlete: the number on their jersey. Numbers often provide the most visceral parts of any sports legend's identity. They are what people remember--worldwide. Jordan, Jeter, Brady--to fans, they are as much their number as they are anything else.

Sure, 1 through 100 might seem like a large range, but fierce competition across the ages has blessed only a lucky few to claim one of these as their own. For some, the victors may not be so obvious. That's why Greeny's here to help.

Ascend into discussion, fans of all stripes. Come away enlightened. Or maybe a little enraged. Either way, you are sure to be occasionally surprised--and endlessly entertained. Whatever your sport, welcome to the place where all the arguments are finally decided, once and for all.

Brian Doyle himself explains it best: A few years ago I was moaning to my wry gentle dad that basketball, which seems to me inarguably the most graceful and generous and swift and fluid and ferociously-competitive-without-being-sociopathic of sports, has not produced rafts of good books, like baseball and golf and cricket and surfing have . . . Where are the great basketball novels to rival The Natural and the glorious Mark Harris baseball quartet and the great Bernard Darwin's golf stories? Where are the annual anthologies of terrific basketball essays? How can a game full of such wit and creativity and magic not spark more great books?

'Why don't you write one?' said my dad, who is great at cutting politely to the chase.

And so he has. In this collection of short essays, Brian Doyle presents a compelling account of a life lived playing, watching, loving, and coaching basketball. He recounts his passion for the gyms, the playgrounds, the sounds and scents, the camaraderie, the fierce competition, the anticipation and exhaustion, and even some of the injuries.

In the 1980s, the world of sports was undergoing phenomenal change. No longer confined to the back pages of newspapers, sports were turning into a mega-business, an industry as much as a past-time that soon came to dominate American culture.

Award-winning author and Providence Journal columnist, Bill Reynolds, saw it all.

Story Days, a collection of Bill's columns spanning the last 40 years, documents this evolution in sports. With an eye for the offbeat, unusual access to some of the biggest names in sports and a willingness to travel to out-of-the-way places to get his story, Bill captured the changing times with depth, humor and verve.

No topic was off-limits for Bill, who wrote about the tragedies and social issues that arose under the umbrella of sports, as well as its successes and joy.

Story Days includes famous sports figures, but the less well known also appear, either because their stories were so poignant or because they reveal a side of sports seldom seen. This is the side where athletes don't always win, they don't always get rich and they don't always achieve their dreams.

What happens when the dream dies or is thwarted? What happens to the athlete then? These were the sort of questions that drove Bill's singular outlook on the people he talked to over the years, people justly remembered in Story Days.

IN DEEP by surf journalist Matt George is a soul-stirring compilation that spans nearly four decades of surf writing, offering readers an immersive journey into the heart of surfing culture through the lens of a master storyteller.

George's collection includes personality profiles, perspective essays, and travel accounts that transcend mere sport reporting, delivering a level of candid articulation reminiscent of literary greats like Theroux, Krakauer, and Finnegan.The book invites readers to ride the waves of George's experiences, exploring peak transcendence and moments of quiet reflection. Through his vivid narratives, readers are transported to famous beaches and lost islands, reliving competitive triumphs and navigating personal tragedies. IN DEEP is not just a surf anthology; it's a compelling montage assembled by a seasoned observer and an ardent participant in the sublime pursuit of a passion that comes in waves.

For over thirty-five years, Matt George has been a prominent figure in surfing journalism. Starting as Senior Contributing Editor for SURFER Magazine in 1985, he embarked on a global journey covering every facet of the sport. His feature articles and photographs have earned him numerous awards and accolades, solidifying his reputation as an influential voice in the surfing community. Beyond his journalistic achievements, George is recognized for his role in writing and co-producing the Columbia Tri-Star Feature film In Gods Hands, a captivating big wave surfing drama.

IN DEEP is not just a surf anthology; it's a testament to a life shaped by the rhythm of the ocean, inviting readers to catch a wave and immerse themselves in the profound beauty of the surfing world.

2023 Women Writing the West WILLA Literary Award Finalist in Scholarly Nonfiction
2023 Independent Publisher Book Award Silver Winner in Anthologies
2022 Banff Mountain Book Competition Climbing Literature Winner
2022 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist in Women's Studies

• Contributors include Lynn Hill, Steph Davis, Liz Robbins, Beth Rodden, Kate Rutherford, Katie Brown and more
• Introduction by Mari Gingery
• Author is deeply connected with the Valley community through her work with Yosemite Search and Rescue (YOSAR)

This first-ever collection of both famed and untold stories from women at the heart of Yosemite climbing gathers almost 40 contributors, from Bea Vogel who forged her own pitons to Molly Higgins who participated in the first all-female ascent of the Nose on El Capitan to Liz Robbins who established routes in Yosemite Valley during the Golden Age. Astonishing Stonemasters like Lynn Hill, as well as many other notable climbers, including Steph Davis, Kate Rutherford, Beth Rodden, Chelsea Griffie, Libby Sauter, and more share their recollections of the exhilaration they felt up on the wall and the determination it took to get there. As Mari Gingery, one of the first women to climb the Shield on El Cap, writes in the foreword, the stories feature a medley of intrepid female characters who offer fresh perspectives.

Organized into five distinct eras in Yosemite climbing history, this groundbreaking anthology captures a range of stories from heartbreaking losses to soaring joys, trip reports of significant ascents to moments that convey the larger essence of the Valley--and what it means to call this iconic place home.

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.

New York Times reporter John Branch's riveting, humane pieces about ordinary people doing extraordinary things at the edges of the sporting world have won nearly every major journalism prize. Sidecountry gathers the best of Branch's work for the first time, featuring 20 of his favorites from the more than 2,000 pieces he has published in the paper.

Branch is renowned for covering the offbeat in the sporting world, from alligator hunting to wingsuit flying. Sidecountry features such classic Branch pieces, including Snow Fall, about downhill skiers caught in an avalanche in Washington state, and Dawn Wall, about rock climbers trying to scale Yosemite's famed El Capitan. In other articles, Branch introduces people whose dedication and decency transcend their sporting lives, including a revered football coach rebuilding his tornado-devastated town in Iowa and a girls' basketball team in Tennessee that plays on despite never winning a game. The book culminates with his moving personal pieces, including Children of the Cube, about the surprising drama of Rubik's Cube competitions as seen through the eyes of Branch's own sports-hating son, and The Girl in the No. 8 Jersey, about a mother killed in the 2017 Las Vegas shooting whose daughter happens to play on Branch's daughter's soccer team.

John Branch has been hailed for writing American portraiture at its best (Susan Orlean) and for covering sports the way Lyle Lovett writes country music--a fresh turn on a time-honored pleasure (Nicholas Dawidoff). Sidecountry is the work of a master reporter at the top of his game.

In a series of hilarious and insightful essays, Alvarez shows that you don't need to shred sick lines to find adventure--you just have to embrace the blank spots beyond your comfort zone. That way lies self-knowledge, soul-quieting confidence, and the soul of wilderness. More than most, Alvarez knows outsiders belong outside--and he wants to welcome them into the tribe.

The Wilderness Idiot airlifts readers to the world's most remote places (in reality and in the mind) and make them feel so at home they'll start dreaming about adventures of their own.

John Updike wrote about the lure of golf for five decades, from the first time he teed off at the age of twenty-five until his final rounds at the age of seventy-six. Golf Dreams collects the most memorable of his golf pieces, high-spirited evidence of his learning, playing, and living for the game. The camaraderie of golf, the perils of its present boom, how to relate to caddies, and how to manage short putts are among the topics he addresses, sometimes in lyrical essays, sometimes in light verse, sometimes in wickedly comic fiction. All thirty pieces have the lilt of a love song, and the crispness of a firm chip stiff to the pin.

Here's a question for any Browns fan: Why?

Why, more than four long decades after your team's last championship . . . despite a relentless pattern of heartbreak, teasing, and more heartbreak . . . capped with a decade of utter futility . . . do you still stick with the Cleveland Browns?

Veteran sportswriter Terry Pluto gets a daily barrage of email from fans letting their hearts bleed out orange and brown. So he decided to ask his readers: Just what is it about this team that makes you love them, hate them, and still keep coming back for more?

A thousand fans responded--in detail. Their stories--along with interviews with former players and Pluto's own expert analysis--deliver the answer. Answers, actually. Because like any intense relationship, it's a little complicated . . .

Covering the Browns from 1964 through present day, this book does for Cleveland football what Pluto's classic about the Indians, The Curse of Rocky Colavito, did for Cleveland baseball: It won't make the pain go away, but it might help you remember why it's worth enduring.