This week two exceptional champions announced their retirements — a circumstance that provoked commentator Bill Littlefield to think about what it must be like to quit while you are way ahead, and then have to figure out what to do next.

In baseball there is beauty. There is also pathos, and there is withering disappointment. There is stupidity, too, and sex, and even death. Sarah Freligh, who used to be a sportswriter, explores many of these elements of the game in her new collection titled Sort of Gone.

 Ken Shulman visited a sumo match in Japan to find out about the tradition and pageantry that goes along with the ancient form of martial arts.  Check out some of Ken’s photos from his time spent taking in the sport.

Rivalries make sports what they are.  They bring fans in and light fires under competitors, bringing out the best in the world’s most superior athletes.  Ian O’Connor’s new book, Arnie & Jack, chronicles the rivalry between Arnold Palmer and Jack Nicklaus.  The book revels in the accomplishments of two of golf’s most prolific figures, and as Bill Littlefield says, it provides even die-hard fans with some insights on the legends that they may not be familiar with.

Competitive sports are inherently dangerous, be it due to massive man-on-man collisions, or because they push bodies to extreme lengths the normal human, or animal would be hard pressed to handle.  Following the tragic fall of Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby, there has been an outcry against horse racing as particularly dangerous and inhumane.  However, as Bill Littlefield comments, as unfortunate as it is, risk and danger are a steadfast piece of sports.