Book Club
Fun, fury, and family on skates in “Minnesota Mean”
It’s a movie about commitment to a bit, and the rewards/hardships of doing so.
Summer ‘24 Baseball Book Club
A reading list
The 2012 documentary you may have missed: Knuckleball!
99% spoiler-free. (Hint: throwing a knuckler successfully is a really, really difficult thing to do.)
The different versions of "Fever Pitch"
We look at the better sports movie that was remade into a OK-but-shallower sports movie.
A book about the things wrong in kids’ sports, and how to fix them
I found this interesting, and I’m not a parent myself. (Mrs. James is a teacher, though, so I get ALL the diseases schoolkids pass around.)
Two new baseball movies
One’s about people who fought prejudice, the other is not — but they both changed the game.
That time the 2000 Twins almost played in a MOA parking lot
And other things you can pick up in Stew Thornley books.
Book review: “Loving Sports When They Don’t Love You Back”
Two sports journalists cover the dumb, corrupt, dark and controversial sides of the games we love.
Better living through (team) chemistry
The right mix may mean more than you think
13 essays look for the meaning of “42 Today”
It feels like, every year, Jackie Robinson Day has a new relevance. Does to me, anyways.
A recent book goes in search of “How Baseball Happened”
Thomas W. Gilbert explores how amateur baseball created the sport we enjoy today. (Or will until Rob Manfred kills it.)
How to swindle a stadium deal: “Throw A Billion Dollars From The Helicopter” film explains
A recent documentary shows how the sausage gets made, Globe Life Field style.
“Spanking the Yankees” book review: 280 pages of schadenfreude
Start spreading the boos...
Despite its Hollywood ending, Rod Carew did not write a happy book. Its still worth reading.
One Tough Out is ultimately a redemption story.
A baseball-themed quarantine reading list
Other than sims and films, this is all we have at the moment
Joy, Pain, Failure, Acceptance: Brad Balukjian’s “The Wax Pack”
In which a writer’s rubber hits the road to discover his heroes are human.
Part Twins history, part biography, all fascinating; Dick Bremer’s new book is a worthwhile journey for any Twins fan
The long-time broadcaster brings to life the team in 108 quick stitches
The book for saber-haters: Bill Ripken’s “State Of Play”
In which an author closer to my age than I am to yours argues that what’s newest isn’t always best.
Your present for you: Paul Goldberger’s “Ballpark”
In which I recommend the heck out of a book, not because I owe the author money.