Two Writers Slinging Yang

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.

On the similarities and differences between covering women's basketball and football at a major university. On life with Dawn Staley, and whether she would make a good NBA coach. On coming up in the modern era of adjusted journalistic dreams.

On how he made the transition from football to social media. On why he likes Donald Trump way, way, way more than I do. On whether it's OK to own past mistakes—and how to do so. On decency with those who disagree.

On the details and doggedness of a lengthy look at the aftermath of the 1988 New Orleans Saints. On interviewing people after a tragedy. On life on the mid-2000s Kansas City Chiefs beat.

On the challenges and joys of covering the WNBA in 2025. On what it's like to cover a painfully bad team after always covering great ones. On the differences between Dawn Staley and Geno Auriemma

On the daunting task of line editing some of the all-time great sports writers. On how to improve a piece and how to back off. On the glory days of magazines. On covering Harvard football as an alum.

On what prompted her to write a book with. former football phenom Todd Marinovich. On how to capture the voice of another person. On what she's learned about the intricacies of the game from being married to an NFL veteran.

On throwing himself into the world of motor sports without having a PhD in motor sports. On whether media can be saved—and how. On chatting up Laurence Fishburne when Laurence Fishburne has been chatted up to death. On whether this biz is worth it.

On covering an NBA team vs. a WNBA team. On the phenomenon of Angel Reese and the joy of DeMar DeRozan. On whether she knew what she was talking about back in college. On whether writing can be taught, or is strictly natural.

On how one writes a biography on a young superstar entering his prime. On the wild boredom of Las Vegas summer league. On Jimmy Butler and Karl-Anthony Towns. On working as an openly gay journalist in 2025 professional sports.

On his spectacular 5,000-word deep dive into Texas Tech football and the power (and limitations) of NIL dough. On creating content in a confusing time for content creators. On whether the writing dream still lives. On a Sri Lankan dude covering college sports in the deep south.

On covering the Los Angeles ICE raids. On the legality and morality behind masked agents arresting brown men. On going from a 1.7 GPA to dropping out of community college to a career in journalism. On the (sustained) hope of America.

On how a 23-year-old kid out of New Jersey landed on the Celtics beat for the Globe. On battles with Tom Heinsohn, tragedy with Len Bias. On his time covering the Red Sox and Don Zimmer. On today's journalism landscape.

On what it is to be a young singer/songwriter trying to make it in 2025. On writing about an ex-girlfriend without pissing her off. On whether a rocker's talent is truly no illusion.

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.