Here are some gems from the last few months on Grantland....
* Coastal Carolina University hires a retired CEO as its football coach, by Michael Weinreb. In the wake of the Penn State tragedy, Joe Moglia's seeming total lack of qualification to adequately run a college football program doesn't really seem so bad, does it? So the guy has little experience and talks in nothing but aphorisms….better that than a coach who engages in massive coverups of horrible crimes. Good old-fashioned incompetence seems quaint, eh?
* Extolling the virtues of My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" album, by Steven Hyden. I really have no excuse for not diving headfirst into MBV's discography. My friend Kyle recommended them to me almost four years ago during our 'best albums of our lives' series and yet here I am in 2012, still a MBV newbie and even worse, always moaning about wanting to find new bands.
* Bob Nastanovich of Pavement discusses his former bands and, mostly, his love of horses, by Alex Pappademas. I knew nothing about Nastanovich, know little about his bands and know little about horse racing, yet this was an oddly interesting interview.
* Profile of neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee and her work to identify and treat sports-related (mostly football-related) brain trauma, by Jane Leavy. Fascinating look at probably the biggest issue facing not just the NFL, but all levels of football, and really all levels of all contact sports. I'm not sure if I've ever had an official concussion, but I've come close twice --- once in a high school pro-wrestling style match when I absorbed about seven DDTs in a 20-minute span, and the other during a friendly football game in university when my own teammate ran delivered a skull-to-skull hit to me while attempting to block a defender trying to tackle me. This defender, btw, wasn't exactly a Ray Lewis-esque threat so geez Dan, you could've dialled it back a few notches.
"Mark, what's the point of this story?"
I like stories.
* Oral history of WFAN radio, by Alex French and Howie Kahn. I love oral….histories! The format is irresistible, the topics are usually fascinating (I guess given the amount of work that has to go into compiling an oral history, the subject deserves to be 'worth it') and it's perfect for quick-hit anecdotes. For instance, this oral history of the WFAN all-sports talk station is boosted by links to the various shows and personalities featured. The Pete Franklin rant is what killed me….can you imagine driving down the street and hearing that on your radio? I would've been laughing so hard I would've swerved into a fire hydrant. Perhaps this is why New York traffic is so terrible.
* Coastal Carolina University hires a retired CEO as its football coach, by Michael Weinreb. In the wake of the Penn State tragedy, Joe Moglia's seeming total lack of qualification to adequately run a college football program doesn't really seem so bad, does it? So the guy has little experience and talks in nothing but aphorisms….better that than a coach who engages in massive coverups of horrible crimes. Good old-fashioned incompetence seems quaint, eh?
* Extolling the virtues of My Bloody Valentine's "Loveless" album, by Steven Hyden. I really have no excuse for not diving headfirst into MBV's discography. My friend Kyle recommended them to me almost four years ago during our 'best albums of our lives' series and yet here I am in 2012, still a MBV newbie and even worse, always moaning about wanting to find new bands.
* Bob Nastanovich of Pavement discusses his former bands and, mostly, his love of horses, by Alex Pappademas. I knew nothing about Nastanovich, know little about his bands and know little about horse racing, yet this was an oddly interesting interview.
* Profile of neuropathologist Dr. Ann McKee and her work to identify and treat sports-related (mostly football-related) brain trauma, by Jane Leavy. Fascinating look at probably the biggest issue facing not just the NFL, but all levels of football, and really all levels of all contact sports. I'm not sure if I've ever had an official concussion, but I've come close twice --- once in a high school pro-wrestling style match when I absorbed about seven DDTs in a 20-minute span, and the other during a friendly football game in university when my own teammate ran delivered a skull-to-skull hit to me while attempting to block a defender trying to tackle me. This defender, btw, wasn't exactly a Ray Lewis-esque threat so geez Dan, you could've dialled it back a few notches.
"Mark, what's the point of this story?"
I like stories.
* Oral history of WFAN radio, by Alex French and Howie Kahn. I love oral….histories! The format is irresistible, the topics are usually fascinating (I guess given the amount of work that has to go into compiling an oral history, the subject deserves to be 'worth it') and it's perfect for quick-hit anecdotes. For instance, this oral history of the WFAN all-sports talk station is boosted by links to the various shows and personalities featured. The Pete Franklin rant is what killed me….can you imagine driving down the street and hearing that on your radio? I would've been laughing so hard I would've swerved into a fire hydrant. Perhaps this is why New York traffic is so terrible.
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