Two Writers Slinging Yang

On what went into reporting and writing, "Just Give Me a Chance to Fail: The Life of NFL Hall of Fame Linebacker Sam Mills." On the golden days of bad Texas Rangers baseball. On how one would cover the Philadelphia Eagles when players were accessible.

On the perils and highs of modern college sports. On life with the Iowa State sports landscape. On coming up with fresh ideas and new material. On getting to know athletes.

On writing a biography of a reluctant and reclusive legend. On where Nolan Ryan ranks on the all-time lists. On having a subject agree to speak at the last minute. On the love-hate of the biography pursuit.

On finding a different way to explain Fernando Medoza. On covering Kobe during his second championship spree. On tracking down players from LeBron's draft class. On media survival and the power of the elite name, "Jeff."

On the recent Awful Announcing article, ""Jeff Pearlman apologizes after YouTuber catches him plagiarizing video on former Yankees phenom." On what is YouTube plagiarism. On a career covering media.

On losing interest in the bullshit of it all. On red carpet work and Sally Field rudeness. On a love for basketball and an indifference toward celebrity.

On the joys of covering Phil Garner and the perils of covering Davey Lopes. On Bud Selig as a good guy and Milwaukee as a great baseball town. On working your way up through the newspaper ranks.

On feeling like you're not as good a writer as you once were. On the magic of college football at LSU. On Tommy Hearns and Andre Rison and Emmitt Smith. On three unpublished books sitting in a Walmart crate.

On Chris Johnson, ALS and what football does to the brain. On whether the NFL should exist. On what people don't understand about their own bodies and health. On leaving journalism for more noble pursuits.

On writing about your lowest life moments in an effort to help others. On why writing still matters. On the impact of words. On Grant Wahl and the 2026 World Cup.

On funny v. not funny; on how addiction impacts performing; on tragedy's role in finding a voice; on the late Jerry Rocha

On the state of journalism education in 2026. On how to teach writing and reporting. On great students, good students, bad students. On life as a newspaper columnist back in the day.

On her life at everywhere from Cosmo to Seventeen to Shape to Marie Claire. On the difference between a print byline and a digital byline. On the glory days of magazines. On Seventeen during its golden run.

On starting her own website to cover the WNBA's golden franchise. On what she's learned about life in independent media. On past existence as a hockey writer. On journalism 2026.

On overcoming addiction in a public spotlight. On why his father would have beaten Trump again. On cruelty spreading like poison oak. On finding joy in life. On TikTok.

On the WNBA and limited locker room access. On reporters refusing to back on another. On covering democracy as it crumbles. On the definitions of 2026 media ...

On the pressures of writing a toast for your sister's wedding. On whether it's OK to call her a "bitch." On working her ass off to make it in Hollywood. On the joy of "The Paper."

On surviving for decades in a brutal business. On what modern reporters lack in interviewing skills. On Eric Dickerson's shoes and Chipper Jones memories. On retirement.

On how to teach writing in 2026. On whether bad scribes can become good scribes. On the legend of Biscuits O'Bryan. On why Waco should be your next vacation destination.

On writing a biography without the help of the protagonist. On living life in a tight sport with many bruised feelings. On whether people still understand reporting. On golf.

On how influencers are corrupting reviews. On the joy of a delicious meal. On whether her city is corrupted by a celebrity restaurant. On Substack life.

On how the stupidity of this administration might save America. On the continued joy of the written word. On life at The National. On the awfulness of J.D. Vance.

On digging deep into the mythology of the Steinbrenners and the Yankee dynasty. On whether George knew whereof he spoke. On the joys of newspaper writing in 2026.

On covering one of sport's least-significant franchises. On why baseball still excites him. On the joys of spring training. On a furious Memphis State men's basketball coach.

On the impact gambling has on modern sports—and modern sports coverage; on rising from Walmart to ESPN to USA Today; on the wild nights and crazy days of Bristol, Conn.

On the golden days of covering the Dallas Cowboys. On the highs and lows of ESPN TV glory. On surviving in an unforgiving profession and showing up unannounced at Jimmy Johnson's home. On the demise of Skip Bayless.

On rising from covering horses in Florida to the Major Leagues for SI; on starting up ESPN The Magazine; on Michael Jordan and the issue that killed his relationship with a magazine; on writing a letter to a friend.

On the joys of covering an NHL team and the difficulty of not traveling on the beat. On the transition from college to a major newspaper. On what type of access hockey offers reporters in 2026.

On the joys and complications of writing a book on a reclusive dead man and a highly exposed living one. On finally landing an interview with Julius Erving. On life inside a publishing house.

On landing at The Athletic at age 22. On learning to be edited when it's not particularly fun. On avoiding career jealousy. On the benefits of Arizona State. On the saga of a young basketball phenom fighting back.

On what America misunderstands about Jackie Robinson and needs to understand about Paul Robeson. On what history can teach us about 2026 madness. On why the mythology of Branch Rickey is a departure from reality. On the modern approach to book PR.

On working with many of the greatest writers of the past century. On coming to Sports Illustrated with no ties and lots of questions. On how he views a lifetime in print. On the joys of the written word.

On the responsibilities that come with life as a trans author trying to impact trans readers. On what her life experience brought to the page. On how she landed her first book deal.

On attempting to take his own life with a gun—and living to tell. On the tragic loss of a son. On why Rodney Peete is cooler than Andre Ware and whether he could still throw NFL passes. On finding meaning in life.

On the step-by-step process of writing her new single, "For The Record." On what it means to make it in country music in 2025. On the impact of Eminem on her writing process. On writing for the Walmart shopper.

On the glory days of hip-hop media—and the decline. On what drew a young Rob to the genre. On writing about music when the creators aren't so happy. On the brutally honest CD review. On Tupac.

On the keys to capturing your own life via memoir. On why this multi-city book tour will likely be her last. On how it feels to have a book become a major motion picture. On turning 70 as a scribe.

On the terrifying AI path humanity has opted to stroll. On creating characters and giving them depth and voice. On how one comes up with an ending to a novel. On a career covering musical artists.

On why he thrashed me on TikTok for months and months. On the highs and lows of athlete representation. On why certain baseball execs make him sick. On the joys and pains of social media.

On voicing "Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur." On the changing nature of audio book recordings. On transition from acting to news television.

On the changing landscape of basketball media. On what life was like covering Kobe Bryant. On the highs and higher highs of USA Today. On whether there's a future for this industry.

On how the decline of media has impacted political messaging and general news. On whether people should still have faith in America. On Speaker Mike Johnson and his steady diet of bullshit.

On the wild, wacky, weird joy of working with the 1984 Padres. On how he was plucked to help write Tony Gwynn's autobiography. On the highs and lows of life in baseball.

On the highs and lows of watching boxers live and die in the ring. On lessons learned from television. On the craziest boxer he's covered. On the old USFL.

On how she managed to track down Brenda's baby—and Brenda. On whether Ancestry is reliable. On how technology impacts family digging.

On why a sports writer would think himself worthy of chronicling Tupac Shakur. On the highs and lows and hardships of book reporting. On Tupac's amazing journey.

On whether the publication payoff is worth the grind of book reporting. On Warren Moon and Tom Brady and the dudes who throw balls very far. On deciding which superstars to cover.

On what it was like to cover the Bronx Zoo Yankees of the 1970s. On Reggie and Billy and George. On what he learned from the legends of the business. On why baseball stopped being so fun.

On the pleasure/pain of the bookstore event. On why baseball seems so dull and listless; on meeting with the greats of the game; on living in book hell.

On making the jump from Yahoo to ESPN after decades in one spot. On surviving as a top-shelf sports journalist in a hellish age. On the highs and lows and lows and highs of the gig. On early pizza-making days.