Thirty years ago, two former heavyweight champions, Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier, fought for the third and final time.

The loveable Little Engine that couldn’t is the defending world champion.

Oakland is the longest shot to snatch a playoff spot
By climbing past New York and Cleveland…something they will not…

The Amazing Cleveland Indians; The Harsh Glare at the Golden Dome; Man Vs. Beast; Dan Jansen; NASCAR and More with Charlie Pierce; Croquet 101

WNBA Finals; Tim Kurkjian; Parlimentary Dress Code; Viva Baseball; The LPGA Grind; Letters; Farewell Mark Messier and More with Charlie Pierce; Lineman’s Rodeo

To suggest that the Saints — or the Yankees, or the Patriots — have suddenly become America’s team, designated demonstrators of indomitable will in the face of adversity, feels at worst like cynical marketing, at best silly.

NFL Preview with Paul Attner; Doubles Trouble; Watch Out for That Tree!; Wrecking Crew; Charlie Pierce; Grass Skiing; Mudbowl Mudstalgia

The French are wrong or you are clean or you can find the groove that will provide another shot of glory and acclaim,
a drug perhaps as strong as any anyone can name.

John Albert invokes the concept of redemption in connection with the Griffith Park Pirates, the team about which he writes in “Wrecking Crew”

College Football with Dan Wetzel; Fantasy Football; Dancing with the Quarterbacks; The Comeback of James Blake; Raceway Ministries; Letters; NFL and more with Charlie Pierce; Irish Hurling