Two Writers Slinging Yang

On what draws him to chronicling the highs and lows of 1990s New York baseball. On why the 2000s Mets are more interesting than the 2000s Yankees. On the blissful joy of Dave Mlicki. On how he survives these awful times in America.

On how one wins a Pulitzer Prize. On the moment he learned of the victory. On the impact the Pulitzer has on a career.

On what he misses (and doesn't miss) from life in sports television. On Chris Berman and Stuart Scott and Rich Eisen. On how media has changed and what he thinks of 2025 journalism. On the highs of the World Cup and lows of a terrifying flight.

On the rise of Houston as a hip-hop powerhouse. On the impact of a rapper writing about his home turf. On whether students in 2025 feel the music they listen to. On teaching ... folklore.

On being based in Dublin and digging into American hip-hop. On how Tupac's world view was impacted by the Black Panthers. On the value of "Juice" and "Poetic Justice." On the greatness of Tupac's music.

On the glory days of Sports Illustrated. On the rise and legacy of Grant Wahl. On when he began to see the magazine business change for the worse. On running a college media program and giving students hope.

On fighting back even after the heartbreak of 2024. On why local politicians fear him. On the highs and lows of being confrontational. On running a long-shot campaign for congress.

On enduring a full season of unfathomably bad basketball played by an organization aspiring to lose. On the nightmarish hell of covering Ben Simmons, the sadness of watching a young Markelle Fultz and the joy of speaking with Lauri Markkanen. On never cowering from confrontation.

On how to know what works on stage vs. what might bomb. On writing a full stand-up routine and having it flow. On the process of creating material and feeling confident in the content. On bombing.

On discovering his voice via the beauty of poetry. On how the end of a football career brought him to a splendid turning point. On how the words enter his mind, then land on paper. On looking back at the sports machine.

On hanging out far, far away with Rick Pitino; on coming up as a print guy and watching the paper and ink fade away; on life at a union-antagonistic The Ringer and a not-what-was-promised Sports Illustrated; on being part of a two-sports-journalist marriage.

On trying to make it in the music biz in 2025. On driving 2 1/2 hours to play a gig in front of 10 people. On how a song goes from idea to reality. On the difference between good songwriting and epic songwriting.

On the glorious days and nights of old-school Philadelphia basketball. On whether money has killed the joy of covering the game. On Villanova and Georgetown and Temple and St. John's and ... Delaware.

On the audacious attempt by a group of female adventurers to climb Denali. On why the topic moved an author. On why ones covers those who climb, dive, scale, crawl, attack the elements.

On throwing yourself into a subject and refusing to let go. On whether living biblically resulted in biblical living. On the high of a TV show made from your book and the low of it sucking. On surviving the magazine apocalypse.

On last week's arrest at a Huntington Beach City Council meeting. On standing up for democracy and being unafraid of the word "Nazi." On taking a stand for LGBTQ rights while playing in the NFL. On how we survive this hellscape.

On receiving the dreaded Elon Musk notice that his job might no longer be his job. On the importance of helping veterans tell their stories. On interviewing men and women who went through hell—and giving them to space to speak freely. On the highs and lows of the written word.

On covering the tragic death of Blue Jackets star Johnny Gaudreau; on receiving a kidney from a team employee; on witnessing decades upon decades of mediocre hockey; on the good ol' days of Jeff Juden and minor league baseball.

On why she left the Wall Street Journal and why journalism is testing her patience. On the need and use of beat writers in 2025. On life at Deadspin. On surviving.

On what it was like covering Donald Trump's recent inauguration. On why fools continue to believe Trump cares about them. On whether American democracy can survive. On his early journalism days at Gawker.

On the jerkiness of Reggie Jackson and the trash talk of Michael Jordan. On rising from Tennessee Vols walk-on wide receiver to ESPN superstar. On joining ESPN The Magazine. On teaching journalism in 2025.

On the leap from sports journalism to soap operas. On the importance of soaps in American pop culture. On bringing characters back from the dead.

On why one spends 27 years on an NBA beat—and why one retires from the gig. On the joys of Hakeem Olajuwon and Yao Ming and Steve Francis and Tracy McGrady. On the worst uniforms in NBA history. On a small Delaware gym and Ralph Sampson.

On what we, America's journalism professors, should be teaching in 2024. On how to respond to the anti-media onslaught. On the power of surprise classroom guests. On watching a classmate pee in a urinal and receiving an A for the experience.

On what it is to do a Barnes & Noble signing and have no one attend. On what it feels like to follow that up with a viral video shot by a store employee. On the highs and lows of self publishing.

On why he decided to write a book that delves into his life and career; on how a boxer knows when it's time to retire; on the strange phenomenon of people knowing about his highs and lows; on whether being an author is worth the trouble.

On working with Def Leppard and Gym Class Heroes and Ringo Starr and Carole King; on the birth—and death—of Bad Ronald; on how one fights to sustain a career in music.

On writing and deciding upon "The Basketball 100." On covering John Thompson's Hoyas and the crappy Washington Redskins. On his love of roundball and why journalism celebrity is nonsense.

On using TikTok to try and establish oneself in the writing universe. On the joy of creating Gods and breaking out metaphors. On writing through anxiety, the North Dakota winters and four children. On the efforts to try and find a literary agent.

On arriving at a newspaper in 1973 and remaining until (gasp) 2016. On the bliss of covering Marvelous Marvin Hagler. On visiting his father's grave after the Red Sox won the World Series. On arriving in the typewriter age of journalism and now being on social media.

On starting up a new sports media platform in 2024; on the reinvention of a veteran journalist; on the glory days of Sports Illustrated; on the misguided anger of a legendary Pittsburgh Penguin.

On the crazy religious cult that gobbled up NFL players. On Jerry Jones' weird tours of the Cowboys facility. On starting out as Peter King's assistant and working her way up. On the joy of dance.

On relocating 4,284 miles to take his first journalism job. On working for a weekly paper in a town of 2,000 people. On making connections with folks he doesn't know in a community he doesn't know. On the joys of salmon and shrimp.

On the importance of Doug Williams and Vince Evans in the rise of the Black quarterback. On why sports history unfairly overlooks Vince Evans. On the scores of unknown Black QBs lost to history. On why Colin Kaepernick should be a Miami Dolphin.

On what it's like to have your life story inspire a hit TV show. On how one sheds his reputation as (solely) an athlete. On the highs and lows of Hollywood. On whether it's all worth it.

On the highs and lows and mental anguish of writing a biography. On trying to convince Hakeem to sit down for a chat. On Ralph Sampson and Pete Chilcutt and basketball glory. On how one selects a subject.

On self-publishing a 794-page opus. On how a love of Tupac Shakur drove him to a monumentally ambitious task. On how to sell an Amazon-printed book. On the legacy of a legendary artist.

On how TikTok works for journalists. On how to use the platform to expand readership. On the dos and don'ts of it all. On whether wearing makeup matters.

On what makes a great sports movie v. an all-time great sports movie; On whether "Field of Dreams" is excellent or trash. On "Teen Wolf" and "Bull Durham" and Gary Coleman as the San Diego Padres manager.

On what to do when a subject agrees to talk to you after your biography is complete. On why we're fascinated by Aaron Rodgers. On whether people want to read about those they dislike. On having your flight experience a bomb threat.

On the deep, deep, deep dive into a subject. On being a small-town Oklahoma kid and making it big. On winning a James Beard Award. On surviving in a strange business.

On transitioning from self-starting blogged to Red Sox beat writer. On the wild and wayward path to this career. On the sadness of David Ortiz's departure. On earning respect in a rough field.

On thinking a book would take one year to complete—then having to go much, much longer. On having sex workers open up to you and your questions. On plopping down in a sink-stained motel. On the dreams/nightmares that come with crime reporting.

I talk all things book deadline hell and Tupac hell with special host, my wife—Dr. Catherine Pearlman

On jumping onto the Mavs beat late in their chase for a title. On life with the lowly Pistons. On his amazing LinkedIn page. On the dreams of a young scribe

On the crazy joy of covering Caitlin Clark. On the highs of an Athletic gig and the lows of losing an Athletic gig. On serving as the Indiana Fever ballboy back in the day. On what keeps him writing.

On how he went from being a hard-core Republican to the editor of an anti-Trump website. On what has to happen for Joe Biden to save his presidency. On what it is to think and write and write and think politics 24/7.

On life running Atlanta's largest (and only) Black newspaper. On the lengths political campaigns will go to woo Black voters. On the furious sheriff who wanted his daughter on a softball team. On the beauty of Waffle House.

On writing a book with Digger Phelps and projecting the greatness of Clint Hurdle; on the golden era of print magazines; on Dan Jenkins and Frank Deford and Mark Kram; on watching his beloved publication morph and change; on the legendary editor who smelled of body odor.

On the rise of the WNBA; on covering Angel Reese as she blooms into a League star; on the complications of Caitlin Clark; on where women's basketball is heading.