Two Writers Slinging Yang

On covering more than three decades of (generally awful) Jets football; on life with Adam Gase; on Keyshawn-Chrebet joy and Sam Darnold struggles and chronicling games from home in a COVID world

On the stoppage of travel for a journalist who lives to travel; on understanding COVID's impact on Houston—and writing about it; on thriving as a journalist with zero journalistic training.

On selling your soul to pimp a book; on doing 150 interviews; on $3,000 for a shitty website; on never turning down an interview; on endless bookplates

On finding herself temporarily unemployed at the start of a pandemic; on adjusting to a new beat when nothing is going on; on trying to meet Penny Hardaway and trying to cover Rick Pitino.

On the absolute pleasure-pain experience of writing a book; on eight hours in Montana with Phil Jackson and feeling the love of Shaq; on promoting a book in the aftermath of Kobe Bryant's death.

On a 10-year journey to write a single book; on developing the story of a battered, broken hockey goon; on whether people can learn to be good writers.

On making the jump from The New York Times to NFL.com; on whether we are kinder to friendlier sources; on Herm Edwards and Wayne Chrebet and covering the old New York Jets; on the awfulness of the locker room.

On the story of a midwestern kid whose love of football ruined his life; on how to interview subjects suffering from the loss of a loved one; on the power of empathy and the sorta-joy of a book launch.

On the gloriously rich days of 1990s magazine journalism; on finding a deep understanding of Whitney Houston; of her meh opinion of "The Chronic" and her love of the written word.

On covering the grand ol' game during a pandemic; on receiving a $50 tip at the piano from Dusty Baker; on introducing Washington to Bryce Harper and spending a season tracking RGIII/

On how the writing of Shel Silverstein influenced a lifelong love of words; on using the COVID pandemic to be productive without being productive; on the magic behind the song "Amazing" and teaching lessons via verses.

On having your heart broken and turning that hurt into a scathing, kick-ass memoir; on writing a first book and having it blow up; on the need to curse and the joy of self publishing.

On how one maintains sanity while going 24/7 American politics; on the jerkiness of an in-his-prime Roger Clemens; on the life and death of The National

On whether team chemistry is a legitimate thing—or just a phantom idea; on how Barry Bonds and Jeff Kent co-existed and how Aubrey Huff is a thing; on helping the young ballplayer understand the media.

On stepping up and speaking out when the head of Black Sports Online made unwanted sexual advances; one how women in media should respond in such moments; on the fear of placing a career on the line to do what's right.

On traveling 102 years back in time to construct a remarkable piece of sports journalism; on entering a clubhouse and seeking out the best sources; on covering Don Shula and the early-1980s Miami Dolphins; on sitting alongside a drunk Billy Martin and a potted plant.

On the nightmare of the noose/Bubba Wallace coverage; on nonstop Twitter hate; on how a kid who knew nothing about racing became a NASCAR authority; on bullying via Tony Stewart.

On becoming the youngest Sports Illustrated staff writer in magazine history; on negotiating for time with Ken Griffey, Jr.; on avoiding a fight with Phil Mickelson; on $400-per-night hotel rooms.

On how aging impacts a writer; on his comprehensive chronicling of KISS; on why being the Ethicist wasn't all he hoped; on sitting down for chats with Taylor Swift and Kobe Bryant.

On how one writes funny material; on staring down a half-empty room and having to perform; on the 100,649th person to scream, "Hey, Bob Sugar!"

On whether the United States of America survives the Trump Nightmare; on why courage in politics is so hard to find; on hope when there's little to hope for.

On winning the best mid-pandemic writing contest; on bad sushi in middle America; on tough times during an awful period in America

On writing "The Bronx Zoo" with Sparky Lyle; on finding the voice of baseball players; on the hell of a Lenny Dykstra collaboration. 

On the highs and lows of that first book; on whether a novel based on the author's life is actually fiction; on pandemic book PR and the signings that aren't.

On the 800 layers of rejection that he fought through to land a book deal; on traveling America to track down a random fleet of faded Major Leaguers; on living the dream of collaborating with the Iron Sheik—and uncovering a nightmare.