SPITBALLS & PAPERCUTS

A blog about sports and the written word. My name is Loyd McIntosh and I'm a freelance sports writer. Recently I discovered how much I love reading books about sports, almost as much as I like watching or playing sports. This blog is all about books about sports, as well as an occasional post about articles I'm working on or recently published.

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There ain’t nothing better than to stand over a man and see him down on the canvas. Nothing.

- Ray Boom Boom Mancini, from the book The Good Son: The Life of Ray ',Boom Boom', Mancini by Mark Kriegel

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"When an athlete, no matter what color jersey he wears, finally realizes that opponents and teammates alike are his adversaries, and he must deal and dispense with them all, he is on his way to understanding the spirit that underlies the business of competitive sport. There is no team, no loyalty, no camaraderie; there is only him, alone."

North Dallas Forty by Peter Gent

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“Have you noticed that whatever sport you're trying to learn, some earnest person is always telling you to keep your knees bent? ”

Dave Barry

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Better Than Road Rash

Getting back to the subject that Sports Illustrated list of Top 100 Sports Books, I'd like to show off my latest Amazon purchase: Road Swing, by Steve Rushin.

Number 90 on the list, my copy just arrived in the mail yesterday and I can't wait to dive into it. Essentially the documentation of Rushin's ultimate sports road trip shortly before his 30th birthday, the author visits some of the most famous, infamous, and, apparently, hilarious sports landmarks around the country.

This is right up my alley, being a sucker for road trip movies, books, and stories. I've even written a road story or two for some magazines in my day. Anyway, here's what SI said about the book:

SI's Rushin logged 23,658 miles in a rented Nissan Pathfinder for this hilarious travelogue of sports destinations high (the Masters) and low (the Las Vegas restaurant that displays Andre Agassi's ponytail). A ball-sy Kerouac-ian journey, minus the mind-altering drugs.

Sounds good to me. If you have a favorite line or two from the book, feel free to post them here.

[loydmcintosh]

Futbol in ‘Bama?

For my newest piece in Birmingham Magazine, I caught up with John Killian and Julian Copes, a couple of young, civic-minded soccer fans in my hometown of Birmingham, Alabama. Along with a few other friends, 2013 they founded an organization called The Birmingham Hammers with one simple goal - to bring professional soccer to Birmingham.

If someone had mentioned this idea 20 years ago, they would have been laughed out of town. Birmingham is mostly thought of as an American football town, but that may be changing. While the Hammers may not by on the verge of getting MLS to come Birmingham, they have serious nibbles from other leagues. If I had to pony up a little moolah, I’d say these guys will land a team within the year. 

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From my primary, personal blog, a short post about my newest piece in Birmingham Magazine.

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The Sweet Science

A few days ago I was flipping the library of books on my Kindle as well as the titles on my bookshelves at home and I realized - I have a bunch of books about sports. Fiction books, non-fiction books, humorous quick-reads, dramatic page-turners, all about sports. It got me thinking. What are the books out there generally considered the best about sports?

With that in mind, I did a quick Google search and rediscovered this 22-year-old piece from Sports Illustrated, The Top 100 Sports Books of All Time. Compiled by SI's staff in 1992, the list contains some really interesting picks, but their number 1 choice was this title.

The Sweet Science, by A.j. Liebling. Here is a sample of what the SI staff wrote about this ultimate book about boxing.

Pound-for-pound the top boxing writer of all time, Liebling is at his bare-knuckled best here, bobbing and weaving between superb reporting and evocative prose. Liebling's writing is efficient yet stylish, acerbic yet soft and sympathetic.

Sounds fantastic, but I have to admit - in fact, I'm almost ashamed to admit - I haven't read this one yet. The Sweet Science is definitely going on my to-read list, immediately!

If have read it, please feel free to post some of your favorite quotes from the book.

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“The pleasure of sport was so often the chance to indulge the cessation of time itself--the pitcher dawdling on the mound, the skier poised at the top of a mountain trail, the basketball player with the rough skin of the ball against his palm preparing for a foul shot, the tennis player at set point over his opponent--all of them savoring a moment before committing themselves to action.”

 George Plimpton, Paper Lion: Confessions of a Last-String Quarterback.