MetaFilter posts tagged with sportsillustrated

The hottest prospect in Mets history is a lifelong Cubs fan

zarq — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 20:51:07 -0800

"I called Joe," Stewart remembers, "and asked if he wanted to come to spring training with me. I said, 'The Mets have this pitcher they picked up. They got him pitching in secret, under a big tarp. He has a 168 mile an hour fastball and he plays the French horn and went to Harvard and he was raised in Tibet by Buddhist monks and he pitches with one foot bare and one foot in a boot. And guess what? You're going to be him.'" 28 years ago today: "Sports Illustrated ran one of its most celebrated articles, "The Curious Case of Sidd Finch" - in which George Plimpton crafted a 14-page exposé on a bizarre, out-of-nowhere Mets phenom who fired baseballs at a stupefying 168 miles an hour. It instantly became its generation's "War of the Worlds," leaving thousands of frenzied fans either delighted at the April Fools' prank or furious at being duped.
The Museum of Hoaxes lists the Sidd Finch prank second on their Top 100 April Fool's Day Hoaxes of All Time. (As judged by notoriety, creativity, and number of people duped.) The Backstory Reportedly, the magazine received over 20,000(!) letters about the article. "You lousy, rotten, good-for-nothing blankety-blanks. You got me hook, line and sinker—and I loved it. — MIKE LIDLE, Halifax, Pa." The photos that accompanied the story, (and a couple that didn't.) Wikipedia: Mets fans were overjoyed at their luck in finding such a player, and flooded Sports Illustrated with requests for more information. The sports editor of one of New York's newspapers complained to Jay Horwitz, the public relations director of the Mets, for allowing Sports Illustrated to have the scoop. Two general managers called Commissioner of Baseball Peter Ueberroth to ask how their batters could face Finch safely. Meanwhile, the St. Petersburg Times sent a reporter to find Finch, and a radio talk show host claimed he saw Finch pitch. The Mets gave Finch a locker between George Foster and Darryl Strawberry. The three major networks, CBS, NBC, and ABC, and the local St. Petersburg, Florida newspapers sent reporters to Al Lang Stadium for a press conference about Finch. At the April 2 press conference, Berton announced his retirement. Via: The Longform Guide to Hoaxes, Pranks and Outright Fabrications.

Great sports photos

Chrysostom — Wed, 02 Jan 2013 14:52:26 -0800

Sports Illustrated's 100 greatest sports photos of all time.

The Physics of physicality

the man of twists and turns — Mon, 13 Aug 2012 01:07:59 -0800

WIRED has been running a fascinating series: Olympic Physics: Can Runners Benefit From Drafting?, Scoring the Decathlon, New [Swimming] Platform Is No Chip Off The Old Block Air Density And Bob Beamon's Crazy-Awesome Long Jump, How The Hammer Throw Is Like A Particle Accelerator and is also Exciting and Artisitc The Social Psychology of Relay Racing

Both the 4×100-meter relay and the 4×400-meter relay require speed, endurance and great depth of talent on the team. But the relays also are a fascinating laboratory for social science, bringing to two of the field’s most interesting observations to the fore: the Köhler effect, and the social-loafing effect.

Modern penthathlon gets 'more modern' with frikkin' lasers. With the end of the Games, The US Team won 46 gold medals,' the most in a non-boycotted game since 1904.' With so many golds, What if US female Olympians were their own country? There are also 30 other questions remaining.There is: The Olympics most painful moments, in GIFs(Mashable, slideshow). And for the distance, a detailed analysis of the Women's Marathon. And a look at The Ancient Roots of Iran's Wrestling and Weightlifting Olympic Dominance. Usian Bolt adds to his legend with straight 100m and 200m wins. Finally, an Olympics Cartoon review(slideshow) The Olympics wasn't always about sport, in fact, 'In the modern Olympics’ early days, painters, sculptors, writers and musicians battled for gold, silver and bronze'

"The Legacy Of Wes Leonard"

mudpuppie — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 11:09:20 -0800

You may have heard about the Michigan high schooler who made a game-winning basket and then died. Here's the rest of the story. [Alternative link]

The Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue

Joe Beese — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:21:55 -0800

The 2010 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue (all links may be NSFW) was published today with cover model Brooklyn Decker. 82% of readers agree that the issue is presented in a classy and elegant manner. An intellectual history. The value of the models' autographs. And hegemonic masculinity. (previously)

A Long Story Short

jwakawaka — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 09:37:08 -0800

Denise Long, the first woman to be drafted by the NBA. Recently named Iowa's best woman athlete by Sports Illustrated, the 5'11" basketball player averaged 62.8 pts during one season and was drafted by the San Francisco Warriors straight out of high school. She briefly played in team owner Franklin Mieuli's professional women's league, but soon gave up on basketball as a career. The transition from six-on-six basketball to five-on-five must not have gone over too well (she only averaged 35 points).

The President-To-B-Baller

Poolio — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:43:37 -0800

The Audacity of Hoops Alexander Wolff (Sports Illustrated) examines the importance of basketball in Barack Obama's life.

"It wasn't that he made or missed that shot," Robinson says of Obama's three-pointer in front of the troops in Kuwait. "It's that he took it."

The Best Game I've Ever Seen

Slap*Happy — Wed, 25 Jul 2007 20:00:45 -0800

Sports Illustrated's website is running a feature where all of their regular columnists, for all the sports the site covers, writes an essay on "The Best Game I've Ever Seen." Some fine examples of modern sports writing.

Look at the mekons on that one!

jonson — Wed, 15 Feb 2006 16:58:25 -0800

Sports Illustrated's infamous swimsuit issue has taken to featuring naked models with the swimsuits painted directly on their shameful nakedness in recent years; for this year's entry they feature Heidi Klum in a tribute to the bathing suits of the 1940's. Full gallery online here.

Ernie Barnes - Artiste

ashbury — Wed, 05 May 2004 08:18:41 -0800

You might know Ernie Barnes from Sports Illustrated, or from a Marvin Gaye album cover. He has a powerful 9/11 painting. This past February he was named “America’s Best Painter of Sports” by the Board of Trustees of the American Sport Art Museum.

College Tradition Pulls at Heart Strings

ajr — Wed, 12 Mar 2003 17:13:02 -0800

Picking Up Butch at Middlebury (Vt.) College - Rick Reilly pulls on the heart strings with a story about a dedicated sports fan.

Even as the fans chanted "Let Them Play"

herc — Tue, 09 Jul 2002 22:22:32 -0800

Even as the fans chanted "Let Them Play" MLB's powers-that-be decided to call the All-Star game after 11 innings. It's only the second time the game has ended in a tie (the other time it was called for rain). Given the game's current environment, could there have been a more symbolic ending to this game? Between the steroid questions, contraction,and the threat of a work stoppage, can baseball fix itself, or is (North) America's national pastime rounding third and heading towards self-inflicted obscurity?

(Note to young sportswriters: Always make your steroid question your last question.)

Holden — Wed, 03 Jul 2002 06:50:37 -0800

(Note to young sportswriters: Always make your steroid question your last question.)
Sports Illustrated Übercolumnist Rick Reilly asks Cubs slugger Sammy Sosa if he would be willing to undergo a test for steroids. After all, Sosa has said he would be "first in line" if baseball required tests for steroids. Reilly asks, "Well, why wait? Why not step up right now and be tested? You show everybody you're clean."
Sosa chuckles ruefully, pats Reilly on the back, and replies, "No, sir, that would weaken the player's union, and besides, your question is quite inappropriate."
Just kidding. Actually, Sosa yells and screams. His answer includes the word "motherfucker." "You're not my father," he tells Reilly. Journalists writing to the letters page of Jim Romenesko's Media News disagree on the appropriateness of Reilly's request.

How creepy is this?

sillygit — Sat, 29 Jun 2002 22:28:36 -0800

How creepy is this? Man poses as sportswriter for USAToday and/or SI For Kids who wants to interview female collegiate athletes. Some he only gets as far as the phone, one met up with him with her family acting as Scooby Gang. Police say he hasn't done anything to merit charges. Harmless person with mental disorder or person perfecting routine before he escalates?

White men can't jump...or do much of anything else.

Werd7 — Fri, 08 Feb 2002 06:33:50 -0800

White men can't jump...or do much of anything else. "Look how white I am. Am I lame or what? Can't jump. Can't dance. Can't run. Can't dress. Can't hang. It's O.K. I know I'm a pathetic White Guy. I'm at peace with it. In fact I laugh about it all the time. I have to. Black athletes today love to make fun of us White Guys." Does the White Guy have feelings?