Recent content by Ch.B

Great subject. Used to be like Versatile, gorging on one genre at a time. Now I aim to alternate between: 1) Narrative books that can be deconstructed as you go along, such as Garden of Beasts, Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, The Lost City of Z and Unbroken. Sometimes I'll read them twice -...

Adding to the chorus that this is a great hire, and that KVV is a good dude. Congrats to him and his.

Like the idea. A thought: what about rotating through different formats? Start with a gamer, then move on to a column, then a short feature, then a bonus-length piece. Could be a way to highlight the differences in approaching each, and bring in different voices on the board.

Agree that you don't need to be versed in basketball strategy to do the job. That said, it would help your cause if you found someone who was, then asked them what the keys to the game were. Not necessarily for a quote but to direct your story. Because while the boxscore will tell you a lot, it...

A little off-topic, but I've found Google Voice also works as a bare-bones transcription service, especially for dictating audio notes in the field. Sound quality has to be high, and you can expect some errors but it does the trick. I use it when I'm reporting and want to get down a bunch of...

Great call, and post. That's about as pure as narrative gets. Sager lets the details do the work for him (the image of the lawyer's mismatched socks is perfect). The lack of direct quotes keeps the reader from being pulled out of the story, a danger in a piece this long and about a subject some...

Here's the link to the Smith story OnTheRiver mentions, "Higher Education." It's fantastic. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1021912/index.htm

I'll second the advice to prepare your ass off, as then the nervousness dissipates quickly. If it's a relatively big-time athlete who's ready to unload cliches, one of the best ways to start off the conversation is to jump right in with a question pegged to your reporting - "I was talking to...

ah, now I feel foolish. Apologies

Just came across this website today and man is it good advice. I wasn't familiar with Rinzler (the site's author), but it appears he's a long-time book editor who's worked with Toni Morrison and Hunter Thompson, among others. It's as succinct a blueprint as I can imagine for trying to get a book...

I liked the piece, Dave, in large part because you let Leonsis have his say. We don't have to agree with him, or put stock in what his kid thinks or reads on his iPhone, but I think the more perspectives the better when it come to this discussion. That said, yes the Iverson thing is weird. He...

I enjoyed Ebert's takedown as well but when it comes to the evisceration of films, it's hard to top Mr. Anthony Lane. Here's an excerpt from his review of the last of those craptacular "new" Star Wars films: >>>> The general opinion of "Revenge of the Sith" seems to be that it marks a distinct...

Funny, I just went looking for that story online three days ago, as I was trying to remember how Pierce handled that scene, and was pleasantly surprised to find it at Esquire. Here's how he did it: Tiger looked at me and said, "Hey, you can't write this." "Too late," I told him, and I was...

Someone mentioned a dearth of good basketball books. I'll throw out five of my favorites, in no order: 1. The Last Shot - Darcy Frey. Gorgeously-written tale of a young Marbury in Coney Island. Still love the way Frey describes a jumpshot as "unspooling" on the first page 2. The In-Your-Face...

Mr. Ragu makes a great point. Often the interview subject will lead you to the best stuff if you let him/her. Listen to the *way* someone answers questions. Does he sigh? Is there a slight pause, the kind where someone is weighing whether to get something off his chest? Does he rattle off a...