Foreword

p. ix

Introduction

p. xiv

Life and Limb from Runner's World

p. 1

The Things We Forget from ESPN: The Magazine

p. 24

Alive and Kicking from Sports Illustrated

p. 49

Inside the Mind of a . . . Genius? from Philadelphia Magazine

p. 69

Father Bear from ESPN.com

p. 81

The Free Agent Adjusts His Truss from Play Magazine

p. 96

Running Scared from Runner's World

p. 107

2 on 5 from Sports Illustrated

p. 116

The Ball That Just Won't Die from ESPN: The Magazine

p. 129

Commie Ball from Vanity Fair

p. 136

Breaking the Bank from Sports Illustrated

p. 175

Dropped from Outside

p. 186

Searching for Answers to a Painful Question from the Washington Post

p. 198

The Source of All Things from Backpacker

p. 208

Quarterbacks Built Here from Men's Journal

p. 230

Spartan Warriors in the YouTube Age, or, The Legend of Legend, Spider, and Science from New York Magazine

p. 243

Men Who Love Goons from ESPN.com

p. 255

Royal Flushed from Miami New Times

p. 277

Untitled Mike Flynt Project from Texas Monthly

p. 290

Russian Revolution from Sports Illustrated

p. 311

LeBron James's Magnum-Sized, Ultrashiny, Nike-Powered Lawn Mower to the Next Century from Esquire

p. 319

Where There's Smoke from Rolling Stone

p. 333

Rough Water from Meridian

p. 344

Memories Are Forever from Alex Belth's Bronx Banter

p. 366

Contributors' Notes

p. 369

Notable Sports Writing of 2008

p. 374

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country's finest short fiction and nonfiction. Each volume's series editor selects notable works from hundreds of periodicals. A special guest editor, a leading writer in the field, then chooses the best twenty or so pieces to publish. This unique system has made the Best American series the most respected - and most popular - of its kind. Book jacket.

A senior writer for Sports Illustrated, Leigh Montville also served for twenty-one years as a sports columnist for The Boston Glove. He lives in Winthrop, Massachusetts.