Bill Simmons got one right

 

First, let me be clear: I don't read Bill Simmons. I understand why other people do (sort of), but I can't do it. That's important to say because I don't want a post about Simmons to create the impression that I'm the sort of person who reads Simmons. 

That all said, credit where it's due. I was reading kottke.org the other day and I came across Simmons' list of the best pieces of sports journalism ever written, which have been rounded up and linked here, by The Millions. It's an amazing body of work, to say the least.

This is the kind of list that could easily suck up an entire day, but if you don't have that much time I recommend heading straight for "The Silent Season of a Hero", Gay Talese's magnificent portrait of Joe DiMaggio's post-baseball years. It closes with these lines, which by themselves say more than many sportswriters manage in an entire piece:

"Ohhh," DiMaggio yelled, dropping his bat, his fingers stung. "I was waiting for that one." He left the batting cage, rubbing his hands together. The reporters watched him. Nobody said anything. Then DiMaggio said to one of them, not in anger or in sadness, but merely as a simply stated fact, "There was a time when you couldn't get me out of there."

The rest of the list is worth checking out, as well, particularly Hunter Thompson's legendary piece on the Kentucky Derby.

(photo of Gay Talese from his official bio)