Two Writers Slinging Yang

On why rhyming can be a songwriter's nightmare; on the difference between writing a good song and a great song; on whether he still owns a song once someone else records it; on his new memoir, "Stores to Tell."

On compiling a lengthy (and fantastic) book in the era of short reads; on how his obsessive mind works when it comes to reporting; on Joe Paterno strife and Robin Yount's older brother.

On how one starts a song with a killer line—then waits months for line No. 2; on writing through all the social media distractions of 2021; on why she should have worn KISS makeup while opening for Joe Cocker.

On arriving in a clubhouse, sitting on a player's chair and waiting for the confrontation; on standing up to (asshole) Kenny Lofton; on never being afraid of an athlete or manager.

On capturing Billie Jean King's voice via the written word; on weird times in the Detroit Pistons locker room with Mark Aguirre; on sexism in journalism and sustaining a long career

On her amazing, important piece on Kentucky hospitals and the awful impact of COVID; on interviewing people experiencing the worst days of their lives; on the Kentucky mistrust of the vaccine; on the amazing rabid raccoon and his tragic/non-tragic drowning.

On the blissful art of great food writing; on techniques to have people open up; on the oft-exhausting New York Times editing.

On the weird world of covering the Donald Trump White House; on why members of the administration were so willing to talk; on the pure hell of being an author during a pandemic.

On the nerves and anxiety of a first book release; of the greatest timing in the history of sports biographies; of what to do when an NBA team locks you out.

On the nerves and excitement of covering his first-ever Major League Baseball game; on deciding how to approach Joe Maddon; on laughing at the jokes of nearby writers; on failing to eat before languishing inside the Angels press box; on tie or no tie.

On making an in-his-prime Larry Bird quite angry; on the changing nature of the newspaper sports columnist; on David Oritz and PED; on covering the 1986 World Series and not caring who won.

On overhearing Barry Bonds' grand jury testimony—and debating whether he could report on it; on the wonderland of Bobby Valentine and the early-2000s New York Mets; on calling it quits at 10 pm because (yawn) we're old.

On his explosive Sunday piece exposing a football scandal at KU; on calling people who r-e-a-l-l-y don't want to hear from you; on covering year after year of brutally bad football. 

On chronicling her late father's ALS—and the accompanying emotions; on leaving behind the world of ESPN and discovering some inner zen; on the craziness of the last-gasp Iverson 76ers.

How how his Nicaraguan culture impacts his journalism; on how to make clubhouse time useful; on the general manager who wasn't so happy to see him; on the awfulness of writing short pieces.

On how every cliche about aging is painfully true; on the brilliance of David Stern and the joy of the 1984 men's U.S. Olympic basketball trials; on the bliss of book PR

On going from anonymity to one of America's biggest authors; on finding a literary agent via Twitter; on writing in the voice of others and uncovering inspiration via real-life experiences.

On writing and reporting the saga of Drew Robinson, the Giants outfielder who attempted suicide—and lived; on knowing when to include details and when to leave details out; on having the world's sweetest first name.

On spending days and days in Schenectady, N.Y. to follow around a frustrated landlord and a frustrated tenant; on the keys to embedding and observing; on having reluctant subjects open up; on the trials of writing a screenplay based upon an article.

On taking someone else's thoughts and converting them into his written voice; on submitting (yikes) 229,000 words to a publisher; on 1970s ballplayers and the desire to be remembered.

On running a student newspaper via Zoom during a yearlong pandemic; on leaving the house to cover a white lives matter protest; on the Trump-beholden professor who made life weird.

On convincing people to talk when they have no desire to talk; on the ethical dilemma of feeling sorry for those who committed terrible acts; on how to investigate a podcast

On leaving his true love, journalism; on reporting during a pandemic; on the mystifying saga of the stranded donkey.

On whether it's OK to savage a restaurant; on discovering the best pizza crust and steak; on feuding (and making peace) with Anthony Bourdain and on the great baseball hepatitis scare.

On what it's like to have Tucker Carlson and his douche legions attack; on why we keep writing mean things about neighbors; on the rare journalist who actually (gasp) loves Twitter