F

Flavorwire

Sports

Daily Dose

Daily Dose Pick: Willie Mays

By Chris Kompanek on

James Hirsch’s comprehensive bio of Willie Mays charts the fascinating life of the intensely private baseball legend during the turbulent civil-rights era.

Commentary by Mays himself offers insight into some of his greatest plays — including the 1954 World Series “catch” — as well as his role in defusing a riot during the Marichal/Roseboro fight in 1965. Among other interesting facts revealed in the first authorized biography of the sports great: baseball was only Mays’ third best sport in high school, behind basketball and football. … Read More

Art

Museums Take Pro Sports Gambling to the Next Level

By Kelsey Keith on

A tale in 13 tweets: the head honchos of the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Museum of Art have reached an agreement in a high stakes art exchange based on the outcome of the Superbowl. Both museums responded to a dare by art writer Tyler Green of Modern Art Notes, who suggested that the losing city loan out a work of art from its permanent collection to the victor. IMA director Max Anderson (on behalf of the Colts) and NOMA director E. John Bullard (wagering for the Saints) shaped the terms of the bet over email, blog posts, and Twitter, which makes for an entertaining — see also: transparent, accessible — dialogue between two higher institutions of art. The paintings in question, after the… Read More

Books

Trend Watch: Muggle Quidditch Goes Collegiate

By Lauren Hubbard on

Despite the fact that the seven book series ended over two years ago and the latest film took a 60 percent tumble at the box office last weekend, it looks like Harry Potter’s grip on the muggle world may not be over yet. Quidditch, yes quidditch, is sweeping the nation’s colleges (ha, broom pun!) with over 200 schools interested in the sport, and 150 — from Princeton to LSU — already participating in the International Quidditch Association.… Read More

Sports

Who to Boo: The Week in Sports

By Eli Dvorkin on

The way we figure it, there are exactly two reasons to follow sports.

1. The Big Game. You might have skipped the other 162, but who’s counting? When it’s win or go home time, dust off that oversized foam finger and bust out the cooler. It’s amazing how quickly you can find yourself caring about a city you’ve never even seen when there are two outs in the bottom of the ninth and you’ve been drinking High Life since noon.

2. The Soap Opera. You don’t have to read the box scores to stay on top of each season’s major story lines. The world of sports is so rife with scandal, corruption, and animosity— not to mention Cinderellas, Scrooges, and Big Bad Wolves — that you can easily have an opinion without even caring who wins.

So, with the above motivations in mind, we bring you Who to Boo: a weekly rundown of the best plots in sports. … Read More