Articles

Being VCU

Chris Sampson

Virginia Commonwealth left the NCAA Tournament earlier than usual, but has emerged as a miniature dynasty of sorts in recent years, and remains one of the foremost examples of mid-major excellence. But this ascent is both more complicated and more exciting for VCU diehards than you might expect.

Sportsflicks: The Kadeem Team, or The 6th Man

Tom Keiser

In the long list of films about college basketball, only one dares to cast Kadeem Hardison as a ghostly version of J.R. Rider, and it happens to be the only one that understands how wise it is to cast David Paymer as a hard-driving basketball coach. The 6th Man is that film.

God Is Not Dead

Tim Casey

The vastness of God Shammgod's legend always outpaced his on-court performance. But after a long career on the court, the streetball legend seems ready to make his next move.

Our Giant: Yakkin' About Sim Bhullar, Doleful March Madness Galoot

David Roth

 et al.

Sim Bhullar is 20 years old, 7-5, 355 pounds and plays with a unique and persistent sleepiness. He is maybe the weirdest and certainly one of the most bizarrely watchable players in the NCAA Tournament. In short, he's someone worth talking about.

My Father's Teams

Alan Hanson

For all the things that can divide a father and son, from different personalities to a father's obligations to a military at war, there is something in sports that brings, if not quite understanding, a certain unity. It's a good thing.

Caught Off-Guard

Michael Pina

We will always have Steve Nash. Not the Nash that was on the floor at the beginning and end of his career, the first hamstrung by strange use, the latter diminished by age and wear. But the Nash that was Nash—the one that won those two MVP's, the one that powered the most entertaining non-championship teams in recent memory—belongs to history.

The Wages of Win: On Ideas, Numbers and People at the Sloan Sports and Analytics Conference

Robert Silverman

The general mood at the Sloan Sports and Analytics Conference was that of a happy revolution, and a celebration of good, new ideas overtaking and replacing bad, old ones. But how bloodless is this coup, really, and what would the post-revolution landscape look like?

At the World Baseball Classic, Who Cares Wins

W.M. Akers

Team USA was bounced from the World Baseball Classic before the semifinals, again. But given the exuberance and joy of the teams that remain, this doesn't seem like a bad thing. National pride aside, a WBC without Team USA is a happier and more interesting place.

A Talent For Winning

Jack Moore

For as long as Bo Ryan has been coaching at Wisconsin, questions have been raised about his teams' persistent lack of NBA-grade talent. He and the Badgers keep answering those questions by winning. Perhaps a better question is how Ryan and Wisconsin keep beating all these star-studded opponents, one year after another.

Driving To Utopia, Arizona

Holly Wendt

Spring Training baseball, in Arizona and in general, is a long way from the game fans are used to, for better and worse. But if Spring Training isn't quite like regular baseball, neither is it quite like anything else.