Deford's confessions in SI

[Mizzougrad96]

DeFord's best writing days may be behind him, but he's in the discussion for "The Best Ever" and he never phoned it in the way Reilly has for the last five years.

 

[Joe Williams]

DeFord's best writing days may be behind him, but he's in the discussion for "The Best Ever" and he never phoned it in the way Reilly has for the last five years.

I'm with Mizzou on this. What would we prefer from Deford at age 71 or whatever he is: Silence, as in retirement to Hilton Head or some other golf course/beach/island/gin game? Or occasional pieces like this that link to the past?

I can think of several younger, more "relevant" sports journalists from whom I would prefer silence, ideally coming from underneath some beach somewhere.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

DeFord has had a pretty cushy gig for the past decade or so. I'm assuming he still does the NPR "essays" but does a few SI pieces every year. I don't get SI anymore so I can't say how frequently the come, but I'm guessing 3-4 times a year.

 

[Lugnuts]

I think he's also done some screenwriting.

 

[Joe Williams]

I think he's also done some screenwriting.

Who hasn't?
[/everyone in California]

 

[Small Town Guy]

Some of his more memorable pieces, a couple of which he referenced in the new piece.

On Bobby Knight.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1124147/index.htm

Bill Russell - from 1999.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1015865/index.htm

The Boxer and the Blonde.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1119578/index.htm

And the one on Bryant that got Bama people upset.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1125024/index.htm

 

[Cousin Jeffrey]

Yeah he still does NPR. He writes for the web site a few times a month. Nothing groundbreaking, more like semi-retirement stuff.

The Rabbit Hunter and the Boxer and the Blonde are two of my all-time favorites. I read them again and again, hoping I catch something by osmosis.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Sirs, Madames,

To me, he'll always be the guy who once picked the Hartford Whalers to win the Cup.

The Billy Conn story and The Toughest Coach ... those endure. The Deford-Gary Smith dichotomy is an interesting one. Deford, at best, told moving stories with less of the author's hand in view, Smith, on his A game, told them in ridiculously clever/artistic ways.

As a kid, I couldn't figure out why this story was in SI but on a rainy day at the cottage I read it and loved it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082702/index.htm

o-<

 

[Huggy]

Just reread The Boxer And The Blonde over lunch. Amazing stuff.

 

[Small Town Guy]

Sirs, Madames,

To me, he'll always be the guy who once picked the Hartford Whalers to win the Cup.

The Billy Conn story and The Toughest Coach ... those endure. The Deford-Gary Smith dichotomy is an interesting one. Deford, at best, told moving stories with less of the author's hand in view, Smith, on his A game, told them in ridiculously clever/artistic ways.

As a kid, I couldn't figure out why this story was in SI but on a rainy day at the cottage I read it and loved it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082702/index.htm

o-<

Go through the SI's from the first 30 years of the magazine or so and there will be hundreds of stories where you're like, what is this doing here? Many of them were amazing. But it was also a time when they focused more on outdoors, leisure type sports instead of the big ones. But I'll even pick one up from like 1980 and there will be 10 pages on a regular indoor track meet. They're fun to look through.

 

[kimronspringle]

Let me just say, I enjoy Frank Deford.

Wasn't real crazy about "Everybody's All-American" but until I write a book, I'll defer to Mr. Deford.

My problem with Deford is as a journalist. If you did a LexisNexis for Deford and "greatest" you might find everything he ever wrote. At various times Bird, Johnson or Jordan might have been the "greatest" and today you can figure that LeBron or Kobe would be the "greatest."

Incorporating hyperbole creates an artificial relevance and questions about your credibility as a journalist.

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Let me just say, I enjoy Frank Deford.

Wasn't real crazy about "Everybody's All-American" but until I write a book, I'll defer to Mr. Deford.

My problem with Deford is as a journalist. If you did a LexisNexis for Deford and "greatest" you might find everything he ever wrote. At various times Bird, Johnson or Jordan might have been the "greatest" and today you can figure that LeBron or Kobe would be the "greatest."

Incorporating hyperbole creates an artificial relevance and questions about your credibility as a journalist.

So much for ESPN then...

 

[Joe Williams]

Let me just say, I enjoy Frank Deford.

Wasn't real crazy about "Everybody's All-American" but until I write a book, I'll defer to Mr. Deford.

My problem with Deford is as a journalist. If you did a LexisNexis for Deford and "greatest" you might find everything he ever wrote. At various times Bird, Johnson or Jordan might have been the "greatest" and today you can figure that LeBron or Kobe would be the "greatest."

Incorporating hyperbole creates an artificial relevance and questions about your credibility as a journalist.

So much for ESPN then...

Things that happened and people who lived before 1979 need not apply for "greatest" anything status.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Mr Guy,

Sirs, Madames,

To me, he'll always be the guy who once picked the Hartford Whalers to win the Cup.

The Billy Conn story and The Toughest Coach ... those endure. The Deford-Gary Smith dichotomy is an interesting one. Deford, at best, told moving stories with less of the author's hand in view, Smith, on his A game, told them in ridiculously clever/artistic ways.

As a kid, I couldn't figure out why this story was in SI but on a rainy day at the cottage I read it and loved it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082702/index.htm

o-<

Go through the SI's from the first 30 years of the magazine or so and there will be hundreds of stories where you're like, what is this doing here? Many of them were amazing. But it was also a time when they focused more on outdoors, leisure type sports instead of the big ones. But I'll even pick one up from like 1980 and there will be 10 pages on a regular indoor track meet. They're fun to look through.

The outdoors I get. Bridge I get. Indoor track, we could use a lot more of it.

This story was about a guy driving around pulling a dead whale in a trailer. It would be a sport only if he were racing other guys pulling dead whales in trailers.

o-<

 

[Mizzougrad96]

ESPN's credibility died when Jordan was named Athlete of the Century. They also listed the 50 best NFL teams of all-time, none of which came before the Super Bowl Era.

 

[Machine Head]

Mr Guy,

Sirs, Madames,

To me, he'll always be the guy who once picked the Hartford Whalers to win the Cup.

The Billy Conn story and The Toughest Coach ... those endure. The Deford-Gary Smith dichotomy is an interesting one. Deford, at best, told moving stories with less of the author's hand in view, Smith, on his A game, told them in ridiculously clever/artistic ways.

As a kid, I couldn't figure out why this story was in SI but on a rainy day at the cottage I read it and loved it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082702/index.htm

o-<

Go through the SI's from the first 30 years of the magazine or so and there will be hundreds of stories where you're like, what is this doing here? Many of them were amazing. But it was also a time when they focused more on outdoors, leisure type sports instead of the big ones. But I'll even pick one up from like 1980 and there will be 10 pages on a regular indoor track meet. They're fun to look through.

The outdoors I get. Bridge I get. Indoor track, we could use a lot more of it.

This story was about a guy driving around pulling a dead whale in a trailer. It would be a sport only if he were racing other guys pulling dead whales in trailers.

o-<

Little Irvy, right?

 

[friend of the friendless]

Mr Head,

Ding ding ding.

o-<

 

[Machine Head]

Mr Head,

Ding ding ding.

o-<

I can't be the only kid to have paid good money to see Little Irvy at a State Fair, can I?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082702/index.htm

Edit: Well, this is what happens when you don't read the entire thread, and just pick up pieces on the Most Recent Post function. My apologies to Mr. Friend.

 

[friend of the friendless]

Mr Head,

No malice intended in the ding ding ding.

I remember going to the English seaside when I was a kid, hearing that a side show had "the world's smallest water otter." I paid and when I got in, there was a teapot no bigger than a postage stamp. Hope you didn't think Irvy was alive.

This was another goofy is-it-sports story from back in the same vintage (not Deford).

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1084395/index.htm

The Connors piece would be up there. Ditto the original Tilden feature.

o-<

 

[MacDaddy]

Mr Guy,

Sirs, Madames,

To me, he'll always be the guy who once picked the Hartford Whalers to win the Cup.

The Billy Conn story and The Toughest Coach ... those endure. The Deford-Gary Smith dichotomy is an interesting one. Deford, at best, told moving stories with less of the author's hand in view, Smith, on his A game, told them in ridiculously clever/artistic ways.

As a kid, I couldn't figure out why this story was in SI but on a rainy day at the cottage I read it and loved it.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1082702/index.htm

o-<

Go through the SI's from the first 30 years of the magazine or so and there will be hundreds of stories where you're like, what is this doing here? Many of them were amazing. But it was also a time when they focused more on outdoors, leisure type sports instead of the big ones. But I'll even pick one up from like 1980 and there will be 10 pages on a regular indoor track meet. They're fun to look through.

The outdoors I get. Bridge I get. Indoor track, we could use a lot more of it.

This story was about a guy driving around pulling a dead whale in a trailer. It would be a sport only if he were racing other guys pulling dead whales in trailers.

o-<

I'd watch.