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So, in anticipation of the Oct. 4 release of Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, I’ve decided to start doing a series of web logs, titled “Sweet Spots,” detailing the process and intricacies behind the book.

Here’s No. 2—how I decided upon Walter Jerry Payton as an ideal biographical topic …

So, in anticipation of the Oct. 4 release of Sweetness: The Enigmatic Life of Walter Payton, I’ve decided to start doing a series of web logs, titled “Sweet Spots,” detailing the process and intricacies behind the book.

Here’s No. 1—the reporting of a biography. Hope it doesn’t suck […]

Running for the presidency and being the president are awfully different things. When one runs for president, he is a superhero, galloping from town to town atop a white horse, promising hope and fortune and something called The American Dream. He can say whatever he pleases; guarantee whatever he wishes to guarantee; talk of better [...]

Woke at at 5:30 this morning to take a run with my friend Caroline. Was about 85 degrees, with humidity as thick as a slice of double cheesecake. I was miserable—tired from four hours of sleep, hot, sweating like a pig (technically, I don’t believe pigs sweat. But you get the idea).

Midway through our 6.5-mile trek, we…

So Luke Fickell, age 37, was introduced as Ohio State’s interim (for how long?) football coach today. I watched a few seconds of the press conference, and was immediately turned off. Not by the university or the man himself, but by the machismo; the bluster; the mind-melting cliche (the big advice he received from Jim Tressel: “Be yourself.” Wow.)…

Anthony Weiner insists he will not resign. No way. No how. He’ll fight. He’ll battle. He’ll …

Gimme a fucking break.

The egos of politicians amaze me. Outside of, oh, 200 New Yorkers, nobody gives a shit whether Anthony Weiner stays or goes…

A couple of weeks ago I returned to a major league clubhouse for the first time in, oh, a year. It was nice being back, the comfortable rhythms of a life I once knew very well. Players dodge the press. The press congregates. A star goes to his locker. The press follows. Ah, like home.

Yet whenever I long for a true comeback to covering baseball, [...]

Just learned that Robert Traylor, aka The Tractor, is dead.

He was found in his apartment in Puerto Rico (he was a player for Vaqueros de Bayamon). The presumed cause is heart attack—he’s long had problems with his ticker. Traylor was just 34. Heartbreaking.

We tend to remember mediocre professional athletes by the highest moments of…

So I was intrigued by the backlash directed toward Rashard Mendenhall, the Steelers running back, after his Tweets of a few days ago. Specifically, he wrote:

What kind of person celebrates death? It’s amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. We’ve only heard one side…
To begin with, I was thrown…

I love Princeton 6, Kentucky 2.

I love Bucknell 10, UConn 3.

I love the first few minutes of the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, when teams with seemingly no chance believe they have a chance. It’s the most magical part of the magic. That singular moment, when you slip a backdoor layup past a guy you’ve seen…