Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, July 10, 1994 TAG: 9406260151
SECTION: HORIZON PAGE: E-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Reviewed by Bob Willis
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Some of the best writing in American journalism, along with much of the worst, appears on sports pages. Those sections, which once groaned under their daily burden of cliches, now probably travel as lightly as the rest of your newspaper - which is to say that often their writing is simply sluggish and uninspired. The chore of reporting, day after day, the outcome of games that differ little o ne from the other makes it especially difficult to lift description out of the ordinary.
Still, the inherent drama of sports fascinates readers. Games are a metaphor for life, and Americans are not necessarily the most ardent of fans: Witness the soccer riots abroad. The passions that many people feel about sporting events are reflected, in a more controlled fashion, in the writing of those who understand why these mere games matter so much, to those who watch and to those who play and coach.
The 1993 edition of this series, whose editor is Glenn Stout, contains stories not only about the major spectator sports such as baseball, football and basketball, but also about boxing, running, auto racing, golf, fishing, mountain climbing, skateboarding. Only a few carry well-known bylines; several were written for local or regional publications. There's a piece on surviving an attack by a mother brown bear, and one on being a woman writer in a men's locker room. There's a rather admiring article about Tonya Harding, written before the assault on Nancy Kerrigan. And if you're one who believes that no modern anthology should omit Dave Barry, you'll be satisfied.
By far the longest story in this collection, and to my mind by far the best, is "A Simple Game," by Ben Joravsky, first published in The Chicago Reader. It follows the season of a high-school basketball team, a perennial loser; you come to know, generally like and sometimes admire these young men of the streets and their devoted if often explosive coach. These stories are reminders that - pardon the lapse into cliche - the thrill of victory and agony of defeat are not restricted to professionals or to the famous.
Bob Willis recently retired from the editorial staff of this newspaper.
by CNB