Sports Poets Society

https://vault.si.com/vault/1982/05/24/this-coach-is-bleeping-good PROFANE HUBIE BROWN CAME OVER CLEAN AND SWEET ON BASKETBALL TELECASTS ALEXANDER WOLFF SPORTS ILLUSTRATED -  MAY 24, 1982 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT Hubie Brown drew a slew of technicals, rushed refs, berated players and cursed out management during his seven seasons as a pro basketball coach. He was probably the most indecent decent coach to win an ABA championship and an NBA Coach of the Year award , and he'll resume that career this week if he signs with the New York Knicks. Knowledgeable? No question. A communicator? He has added a new dimension to the word . Nevertheless, anyone who was within earshot while he coached the Kentucky Colonels or the Atlanta Hawks might be pardoned for flinching at the thought of Hubie Brown as a TV color commentator. But in a sport so fast-paced that it's hard to get an analytical word in edgewise, Brown's work for CBS and the cable USA Network this season has been s...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1990/05/21/lesson-from-a-pro-an-amateur-led-the-tour-de-whozit-until-raul-alcala-played-his-trump ALEXANDER WOLFF Sports Illustrated  MAY 21, 1990 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT One of the hoariest canons of cycling holds that when professionals and amateurs race together, the amateurs don't show up the pros. As Tour de France winner Greg LeMond says, "Pros don't take lightly amateurs winning races off them." Yet for most of the 11 days of the second Tour de Trump, which ended in Boston on Sunday, a 19-year-old from the Soviet Union —a kid who has never taken a ruble for pushing a pedal—led the field around by its handlebars. His lead didn't stand up all the way; it disappeared over a single hill on the next-to-last day. The $ 50,000 winner's check went to Raul Alcala of Mexico , a pro who was quite happy to cash it. But the youngster, Vladislav Bobrik, had been so impressive that no one begrudged him his breach of etiquette. Bobr...

https://vault.si.com/vault/1988/01/25/a-chirp-off-the-old-block ALEXANDER WOLFF JANUARY 25, 1988 TABLE OF CONTENTS ORIGINAL LAYOUT The home arena and uniform look pretty much the same , even if the former isn't as full and the latter isn't as filled out. The face and playing style are familiar , too, though the mug is more youthful and the moves are rougher . The surname, alas, is the only thing Indiana State freshman Eddie Bird gets exactly right as yet. There are easier fates than being Larry Bird's kid brother . It seems, for example, that whenever someone mentions that Eddie broke Larry's career scoring record at Springs Valley High in French Lick, Ind., someone else points out that Eddie's 1,172 points came in four full seasons, while Larry missed virtually his entire sophomore year with an injury and still scored 1,125. Consider, too, that when Larry bought his widowed mother, Georgia, a new house in 1983, he installed, in time for Eddie's sophomore year ...