Chuck Klosterman analyzed late career Led Zeppelin, and Michael Weinreb caught up with Renée Richards almost 35 years after her controversial U.S. Open debut. Louisa Thomas discussed the changing traditions at Wimbledon while Katie Baker looked at Wimbledon’s Monday action, and Jonah Lehrer asked if sabermetrics leave us cold.
Carles asked when American soccer will find its own Chicharito, and Bill Barnwell explained why the U.S.’s real goal should be bringing home the World Cup. Brian Phillips looked back at the first week at Wimbledon, and Molly Lambert welcomed the return of True Blood. Shane Ryan looked back on the weekend that was in sports, and Patrice Evans gave Oprah five ideas the new world all her OWN.
Bill Simmons presented the 15th annual NBA Draft Diary, and Jay Caspian Kang gave the draft’s star a few pointers for next year’s dunk contest. Chris Ryan hung out backstage in Newark with Derrick Williams, and Wesley Morris recapped the night in draft fashion. Michael Weinreb broke down the week in sports and culture in the Grantland Top Five while David Jacoby tallied up the week in debauchery with the Reality TV Fantasy League Scorecard, and Molly Lambert looked at Cameron Diaz and the raunchy female comedy.
Rafe Bartholomew, Jay Caspian Kang and Robert Mays ranked this year’s class of YouTube draft prospects while Chad Ford looked back on his 15 years actually covering the draft, and Eric Freeman wondered if this year's class was the worst draft yet. Carles broke down the buzzworthiness of this year’s draft names, and Robert Mays spent Game 6 of the NBA Finals with draft prospect Jordan Hamilton. Louisa Thomas considered the elegant declines taking place at Wimbledon while Brian Phillips reported on Roger Federer’s first round in London, and The Masked Man recapped the night at Capitol Punishment.
The Grantland staff broke down the sad and depleted 2011 draft lottery and the players involved, and the Picasso of the Trade Machine, Bill Simmons, figured out the dollars and sense of this year’s possible dealings. Bryan Curtis wrote about what a fiberglass backboard can mean, and Nicholas Kulish visited Germany’s basketball championships after Dirk Nowitzki won his own. Rafe Bartholomew reviewed the (surprisingly) not-so-depressing “Classic Cavs,” while Wesley Morris looked at Bruin beards and Andy Greenwald tried to figure out who’s next in line to replace Tom Cruise.
Chuck Klosterman explored the value of advanced metrics in music, and Harris Wittels ran down the greatest Humblebraggers of all-time. Brian Phillips looked at the ‘still’ life of Roger Federer while Katie Baker gave her thoughts on the first day of Wimbledon. Ben Cohen explained what GMs still don’t know about the NBA Draft, and Davy Rothbart trying to figure out what the deal is with Bismack Biyombo.
Bill Simmons hate-watched the epically bad ending of “The Killing”, and Andy Greenwald gave us a rundown of the other, not-terrible cable finale. Shane Ryan wrapped up the weekend in sports, and Bill Barnwell gave some historical perspective on Rory McIlroy’s U.S. Open win. Patrice Evans dove into the 9 Circles of Tracy Morgan while Dan Klores explored the recent explosion of bad PR advice. Chris Jones revisited his terrible memories of the worst clubhouse in baseball history while Louisa Thomas looked at Ana Ivanoic and the state of women’s tennis.
Jimmy Kimmel shared a story about the day his father realized he’d raised a monster, and Wright Thompson searched for the best bourbon you’ll never find. The Masked Man previewed all the Father’s Day fun of “Capitol Punishment," and Wesley Morris looked at how the steroid era has affected baseball style. Michael Weinreb remembered Len Bias in his “Top Five”, and Jane Leavy remembered the only round of golf her father ever played.
Bill Simmons celebrated a day more than 30 years in the making for Bruins fans while Chris Jones told Boston where it could stick its latest title and Kent Russell told the story of Boston’s ultimate prize. Brian Koppelman detailed the death of online poker, and Jason Horowitz revealed some of the dealings that have gone down at Congressional. Molly Lambert examined the short-story quality of one Kanye West.
Michael Weinreb looked at how the Fox Box has spoiled us all, and Michael Schur and Nate DiMeo gave us a 13,000-word, (generic) Vicodin-filled crash course in cricket. David Jacoby broke down the classiness of the Reality TV Fantasy League’s first week, and Katie Baker explained to all the hockey idiots why Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals was a must watch. Chuck Klosterman asked how spoiler culture is affecting the way that screenwriters work.
Ten years after Ichiro's arrival, Jay Caspian Kang explored the importance he still holds, and eight years after Moneyball, Bill Barnwell explained the newest ways that baseball teams are getting assets on the cheap. Chris Ryan asked if Steve Nash is really worse off than his newly championed German buddy, while Katie Baker broke down the Bruins' move to within one win of their own title, and Robert Mays took a look at how players that went undrafted are dealing with the NFL lockout.
Bill Simmons took a look back at what happened to LeBron (again), and Jay Caspian Kang asked if we really care to know anymore. Chuck Klosterman considered the absurdity of the NBA’s half-court rule while Bill Barnwell analyzed other ridiculous thing about the league—how J.J. Barea has made a career in it. Katie Baker tried to figure out those other Finals, where choking and little men have been replaced with biting and green men, and Chris Jones looked at a less happy time in Boston sports with his take on John Lackey. For your pop culture fix, Dan Kois gave a preliminary look at the Razzie Race, and Andy Greenwald recapped what the hell happened on Game of Thrones.
Presented with only the slightest hint of irony, Howie Kahn and Alex French gave us an oral history of the rise and fall of The National, and Charles P. Pierce took a look back at his National days as the best job he ever had. (Yes, over 15,000 words on a defunct newspaper. That's how we roll.) Molly Lambert examined Alec Baldwin’s arrival to (and mastering of) Twitter, and Carles made us all aware of the self-awareness in today’s NBA. Wright Thompson visited the most important (closed) bar for writers in New York City over four nights at Elaine’s. Fitting, as Bill Simmons’ reminder that the NBA’s new heights have poised it for a greater fall was enough to put us in the mood for a drink.
Chuck Klosterman thought long and hard about why time-shifting sports ruins everything, no matter how warm the bonhomie outside a place like Wembley Stadium might be. Dave Eggers was as enthusiastic about his love for Wrigley Field as Tom Bissell was confused about how to receive Rockstar's latest "game-changing" release, L.A. Noire. Elsewhere in culture, Andy Greenwald asked whether there was anything creepily Hogwartsy about The Super 8 Director Mentorship Academy. (The answer? Yes.) And finally, Bill Barnwell and Jay Caspian Kang sung the ballad of Dirk in poetry and numbers, and world-class homer -- and, um, our editor-in-chief -- Bill Simmons rediscovered his love of hockey just in time for a Bruins Stanley Cup Finals win.
Bill Simmons may not know much, but he does know that he was proud to welcome you to Grantland, which launched just in time to catch the now-annual LeBron James postseason meltdown. As far as one could possibly have gotten from the NBA Finals (and the present day), Chuck Klosterman recalled the greatest game he'd ever seen. A decade after his first run at dodging tubular meats, Chris Jones is back on the baseball beat, and in his debut with "Gruntland," Jonathan Abrams discussed the brief moment of sanity that came to the Knicks under Donnie Walsh. In real sports, reality czar David Jacoby, presented the ultrascientific rules of the inaugural Grantland Reality TV Fantasy League. And for your scripted TV fix, Andy Greenwald discussed how Omar, Carcetti and others are stuck in Premium Cable Purgatory.
