Muscle Beach; Methane Meadows; Skydiving Santa is Grounded; Rammer Jammer Yellow Hammer; NFLCHINA.COM; NFLChina.com; Commentary: More Nice than Naughty; Pudding Protest; Pudding Protest; Maracana

On the night before Christmas, there doubtless were games,
And on Christmas, as well, we behold all the names
Not of Dasher and Dancer and Rudolph and Blitzen,
But of each guy who scores and of each guy who sits in
A whirlpool to undo the knots in his back…

The Cold War Continues; NBA Goes Global; The Papal Sports Hour; Nationals Disaster; Middlebury College; Letters; D.C. Baseball on the Edge and More with Charlie Pierce; The Soul of a Butterfly

There is no lack of great and memorable names in baseball and basketball, of course, but only boxing gives us “Mysterious Billy Smith,” who, was so named because he was always doing something mysterious,

There are moments in this book that will help people who only know Ali as a former champion understand some of his other sides.

It’s a lot easier and less risky for politicians to come out loudly for purity in baseball rather than, say, an honest, sane, and responsible foreign policy or a cooperative, international energy plan.

The BCS Does it Again; Jonesing in Nashville; One Potato, Two Potato; Women’s College Basketball; “This is a Game, Ladies”; Heisman Trophy and More with Charlie Pierce; The Holiday Gift Guide

Baseball Doping Scandal; Tim Kurkjian; Conte Talks; I Won!… No, Really!; Harry Statham; Pepperdine University; Letters; BALCO and More with Charlie Pierce; The Caddie was a Reindeer

In the introduction to “The Caddie Was a Reindeer: And Other Tales of Extreme Recreation,” Steve Rushin acknowledges that “there are more dignified occupations than mine.” Right, although Rushin writes as if there are few professions that are more fun. This is an illusion, of course.

Wade Boggs was Ichiro before Ichiro. He won five batting titles between 1983 and 1988. He led the American League in number of times reaching base eight years in a row. He had over 200 hits for seven consecutive seasons.