Longreads Best of 2020: Sports and Games
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## Twelve Minutes and a Life (Mitchell S.
## 十二分钟和一生(米切尔·S.
Jackson, Runner’s World)
杰克逊,《跑步者的世界》)
Ahmaud “Maud” Arbery was a passionate young football fan and player, whose only crime was to attempt to jog while being Black in Brunswick, Georgia.
艾哈迈德·“莫德”·阿伯里是一位充满激情的年轻足球迷和球员,他唯一的罪行是在佐治亚州不伦瑞克身为黑人时试图慢跑。
At Runner’s World, Mitchell S.
在《跑步者世界》中,Mitchell S.
Jackson recounts Arbery’s murder in cold blood and interrogates a sport where participation is really only sanctioned and safe for privileged white people.
杰克逊冷血地讲述了阿伯里的谋杀案,并质疑了一项只有特权白人才能参与的运动。
And though the demographics of runners have become more diverse over the last 50 years, jogging, by and large, remains a sport and pastime pitched to privileged whites.
尽管过去 50 年来跑步者的人口结构变得更加多样化,但总体而言,慢跑仍然是一项面向特权白人的运动和消遣。
Peoples, I invite you to ask yourself, just what is a runner’s world?
朋友们,我邀请你们问问自己,跑步者的世界到底是什么?
Ask yourself who deserves to run?
问问自己谁值得参选?
Who has the right?
谁有权利?
Ask who’s a runner?
问谁是跑步者?
What’s their so-called race?
他们所谓的种族是什么?
Their gender?
他们的性别?
Their class?
他们的班级?
Ask yourself where do they live, where do they run?
问问自己他们住在哪里,跑到哪里?
Where can’t they live and run?
他们不能在哪里生活和奔跑?
Ask what are the sanctions for asserting their right to live and run—shit—to exist in the world.
问问他们维护生存权和生存权(狗屎)在世界上生存的权利有哪些制裁。
Ask why?
问为什么?
Ask why?
问为什么?
Ask why?Ahmaud Arbery, by all accounts, loved to run but didn’t call himself a runner.
问为什么?据大家所知,艾哈迈德·阿伯里(Ahmaud Arbery)喜欢跑步,但并不称自己为跑步者。
That is a shortcoming of the culture of running.
这是跑步文化的一个缺点。
That Maud’s jogging made him the target of hegemonic white forces is a certain failure of America.
莫德的慢跑使他成为白人霸权势力的目标,这无疑是美国的失败。
Check the books—slave passes, vagrancy laws, Harvard’s Skip Gates arrested outside his own crib—Blacks ain’t never owned the same freedom of movement as whites.
检查一下书籍——奴隶通行证、流浪法、哈佛的斯基普·盖茨在自己的婴儿床外被捕——黑人从来没有拥有与白人相同的行动自由。
Peoples, I invite you to ask yourself, just what is a runner’s world?
朋友们,我邀请你们问问自己,跑步者的世界到底是什么?
Ask yourself who deserves to run?
问问自己谁值得参选?
Who has the right?
谁有权利?
Ask who’s a runner?
问谁是跑步者?
What’s their so-called race?
他们所谓的种族是什么?
Their gender?
他们的性别?
Their class?
他们的班级?
Ask yourself where do they live, where do they run?
问问自己他们住在哪里,跑到哪里?
Where can’t they live and run?
他们不能在哪里生活和奔跑?
Ask what are the sanctions for asserting their right to live and run—shit—to exist in the world.
问问他们维护生存权和生存权(狗屎)在世界上生存的权利有哪些制裁。
Ask why?
问为什么?
Ask why?
问为什么?
Ask why?
问为什么?
Ahmaud Arbery, by all accounts, loved to run but didn’t call himself a runner.
据大家所知,艾哈迈德·阿伯里(Ahmaud Arbery)热爱跑步,但并不称自己为跑步者。
That is a shortcoming of the culture of running.
这是跑步文化的一个缺点。
That Maud’s jogging made him the target of hegemonic white forces is a certain failure of America.
莫德的慢跑使他成为白人霸权势力的目标,这无疑是美国的失败。
Check the books—slave passes, vagrancy laws, Harvard’s Skip Gates arrested outside his own crib—Blacks ain’t never owned the same freedom of movement as whites.
检查一下书籍——奴隶通行证、流浪法、哈佛的斯基普·盖茨在自己的婴儿床外被捕——黑人从来没有拥有与白人相同的行动自由。
The buckshot blast hits Maud in the chest, puncturing his right lung, ribs, and sternum.
铅弹击中了莫德的胸部,刺穿了他的右肺、肋骨和胸骨。
And yet somehow, he wrestles with Travis McMichael for the shotgun, and yet somehow, he manages to punch at him.
然而不知何故,他与特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔争夺猎枪,但不知何故,他设法向他拳打脚踢。
Gregory watches for a moment from his roost.
格雷戈里在他的栖息处观察了一会儿。
Meanwhile, Bryan continues to film.
与此同时,布莱恩继续拍摄。
Travis fires his shotgun again, a blast that occurs outside the view of Bryan’s phone, but sends a spray of dust billowing into the frame.
特拉维斯再次开枪,爆炸发生在布莱恩手机视野之外,但飞溅的灰尘飞溅到画面中。
Maud, an island of blood now staining his white t-shirt, continues to tussle with Travis McMichael, fighting now for what he must know is his life.
莫德(Maud),一座血岛,现在沾满了他的白色 T 恤,继续与特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔(Travis McMichael)争斗,现在他必须知道的是他的生命。
In the midst of the scuffle, Travis McMichael blasts Maud again point blank, piercing him in his upper chest.
在混战中,特拉维斯·麦克迈克尔再次近距离射击莫德,刺穿了他的上胸部。
Maud whiffs a weak swing, staggers a couple of steps, and falls face down near the traffic stripes.
莫德轻轻一挥,踉踉跄跄了几步,面朝下跌倒在交通红线附近。
Travis, shotgun in hand, backs away, watches Maud collapse, and makes not the slightest effort to tend him.
特拉维斯手里拿着猎枪,向后退了一步,看着莫德倒下,却没有做出丝毫的努力来照顾他。
His father, still clutching his revolver, runs to where Maud lies facedown, blood leaking out of his wounds.
他的父亲仍然抓着左轮手枪,跑向莫德,脸朝下躺着,鲜血从他的伤口中渗出。
Ahmaud Marquez Arbery was more than a viral video.
Ahmaud Marquez Arbery 不仅仅是一个病毒视频。
He was more than a hashtag or a name on a list of tragic victims.
他不仅仅是一个标签或悲剧受害者名单上的一个名字。
He was more than an article or an essay or posthumous profile.
他不仅仅是一篇文章、一篇文章或死后的简介。
He was more than a headline or an op-ed or a news package or the news cycle.
他不仅仅是一个头条新闻、一篇专栏文章、一个新闻包或新闻周期。
He was more than a retweet or shared post.
他不仅仅是转发或分享帖子。
He, doubtless, was more than our likes or emoji tears or hearts or praying hands.
毫无疑问,他不仅仅是我们的喜欢、表情符号的眼泪、爱心或祈祷的手。
He was more than an R.I.P.
他不仅仅是一个R.I.P.
t-shirt or placard.
T 恤或标语牌。
He was more than an autopsy or a transcript or a police report or a live-streamed hearing.
他不仅仅是尸检、笔录、警方报告或直播听证会。
He, for damn sure, was more than the latest reason for your liberal white friend’s ephemeral outrage.
可以肯定的是,他不仅仅是你的自由派白人朋友短暂愤怒的最新原因。
He was more than a rally or a march.
他不仅仅是一次集会或游行。
He was more than a symbol, more than a movement, more than a cause.
他不仅仅是一个象征,不仅仅是一场运动,不仅仅是一项事业。
He.
他。
Was.
曾是。
Loved.
很喜欢。
## USC’s Dying Linebackers (Michael Rosenberg, Sports Illustrated)
## 南加州大学垂死的线卫(迈克尔·罗森伯格,体育画报)
There is no question that American football is a punishing physical sport, one in which players can sustain permanent injury.
毫无疑问,美式橄榄球是一项惩罚性的体育运动,球员可能会遭受永久性伤害。
Science is just beginning to understand the damage that occurs to the brain after repeated blows to the head on the field.
科学刚刚开始了解在球场上头部反复受到打击后大脑会受到的损害。
A study mentioned in the New York Times in 2017 found that in a single game, one lineman took 62 hits, with G-forces similar to crashing a car into a wall at 30 miles per hour.
《纽约时报》2017 年提到的一项研究发现,在一场比赛中,一名边线队员受到了 62 次撞击,其重力类似于一辆汽车以 30 英里每小时的速度撞向墙壁。
At Sports Illustrated, Michael Rosenberg brings the consequences into sharp focus, starting his story on May 12, 2012, the day that famed linebacker Junior Seau committed suicide, ostensibly after suffering long-term brain damage playing football for the USC Trojans and over 19 NFL seasons.
在《体育画报》中,迈克尔·罗森博格以 2012 年 5 月 12 日为开篇,将其后果作为焦点,即著名线卫朱尼尔·肖 (Junior Seau) 自杀的那一天,表面上是在为南加州大学特洛伊队 (USC Trojans) 踢球并在 NFL 踢了超过 19 个赛季而遭受长期脑损伤后自杀。
Rosenberg reports on a horrific pattern that has emerged among former members of the 1989 USC Trojans football team, where five of 12 linebackers have died before the age of 50.
罗森伯格报道了 1989 年南加州大学特洛伊橄榄球队前队员中出现的可怕情况,该队 12 名线卫中有 5 人在 50 岁之前去世。
May 2, 2012Matt Gee always says that “Junior does what Junior wants,” and what Junior Seau wants on this day is to die.
2012年5月2日Matt Gee总是说“Junior做Junior想做的事”,而Junior Seau在这一天想要的就是死。
Matt is out for breakfast when he gets the news, in the staccato notes of a breaking national story: Junior Seau .
当马特(Matt)出去吃早餐时,他得到了这个消息,断断续续地讲述了一个重大的全国性故事:少年西乌(Junior Seau)。
.
。
.
。
dead .
死的 。
.
。
.
。
gunshot wound to the chest .
胸部受枪伤。
.
。
.
。
possible suicide.Matt is shocked.
可能是自杀。马特很震惊。
At 42, he is not yet used to watching his teammates die.
42岁的他还不习惯看着队友死去。
May 2, 2012Matt Gee always says that “Junior does what Junior wants,” and what Junior Seau wants on this day is to die.
2012年5月2日Matt Gee总是说“Junior做Junior想做的事”,而Junior Seau在这一天想要的就是死。
Matt is out for breakfast when he gets the news, in the staccato notes of a breaking national story: Junior Seau .
当马特(Matt)出去吃早餐时,他得到了这个消息,断断续续地讲述了一个重大的全国性故事:少年西乌(Junior Seau)。
.
。
.
。
dead .
死的 。
.
。
.
。
gunshot wound to the chest .
胸部受枪伤。
.
。
.
。
possible suicide.
可能自杀。
Matt is shocked.
马特很震惊。
At 42, he is not yet used to watching his teammates die.
42岁的他还不习惯看着队友死去。
Twelve names.
十二个名字。
Twelve dreams.Twelve linebackers on the Trojans’ depth chart in the fall of 1989, each with the strength of a man and the exuberance of a boy, swimming in everything USC has to offer: joy and higher education and adulation, endless adrenaline surges, alcohol, cocaine if they want it, steroids if they need them.
十二个梦想。 1989 年秋天,特洛伊队的深度图上有 12 名线卫,每个人都拥有男人的力量和男孩的活力,在南加州大学提供的一切中畅游:快乐、高等教育和奉承、无尽的肾上腺素激增、酒精、可卡因(如果他们想要)、类固醇(如果需要)。
Anything to feel fearless and reckless, wild and free.
任何能让人感到无所畏惧、鲁莽、狂野和自由的事物。
Twelve names.
十二个名字。
Twelve dreams.
十二个梦想。
Twelve linebackers on the Trojans’ depth chart in the fall of 1989, each with the strength of a man and the exuberance of a boy, swimming in everything USC has to offer: joy and higher education and adulation, endless adrenaline surges, alcohol, cocaine if they want it, steroids if they need them.
1989 年秋天,特洛伊队的深度图上有 12 名线卫,每个人都拥有男人的力量和男孩的活力,享受着南加州大学所提供的一切:快乐、高等教育和奉承、无尽的肾上腺素激增、酒精、可卡因(如果他们想要)、类固醇(如果需要)。
Anything to feel fearless and reckless, wild and free.
任何能让人感到无所畏惧、鲁莽、狂野和自由的事物。
In 1989, tacklers are taught to lead with their heads.
1989 年,铲球手被教导如何用头脑引导。
Drug tests are easy to beat.
药物测试很容易被击败。
Pain is for the weak.
痛苦是弱者的专利。
Complaints are for the weaker.
抱怨是针对弱者的。
This is how the game is played.The linebackers form a team within a team, each player with his own role.
比赛就是这样进行的。线卫组成一个队中的一个队,每个球员都有自己的角色。
Seau is the most talented.
西乌是最有才华的。
Alan Wilson is the quietest.
艾伦·威尔逊是最安静的。
Craig Hartsuyker is the heady technician.
Craig Hartsuyker 是一位令人兴奋的技术人员。
Scott Ross and Delmar Chesley serve as mentors to Matt, who will become a starter after they leave.
斯科特·罗斯和德尔马·切斯利担任马特的导师,他们离开后马特将成为首发球员。
David Webb is the team’s resident surfer dude
大卫·韦伯 (David Webb) 是该队的常驻冲浪者
In 1989, tacklers are taught to lead with their heads.
1989 年,铲球手被教导如何用头脑引导。
Drug tests are easy to beat.
药物测试很容易被击败。
Pain is for the weak.
痛苦是弱者的专利。
Complaints are for the weaker.
抱怨是针对弱者的。
This is how the game is played.
游戏就是这样玩的。
The linebackers form a team within a team, each player with his own role.
线卫组成一个团队中的一个团队,每个球员都有自己的角色。
Seau is the most talented.
西乌是最有才华的。
Alan Wilson is the quietest.
艾伦·威尔逊是最安静的。
Craig Hartsuyker is the heady technician.
Craig Hartsuyker 是一位令人兴奋的技术人员。
Scott Ross and Delmar Chesley serve as mentors to Matt, who will become a starter after they leave.
斯科特·罗斯和德尔马·切斯利担任马特的导师,他们离开后马特将成为首发球员。
David Webb is the team’s resident surfer dude
大卫·韦伯 (David Webb) 是该队的常驻冲浪者
The Trojans go 9-2-1 and then win the Rose Bowl that season, but football fools them.
特洛伊队取得了 9 胜 2 负 1 的战绩,然后赢得了那个赛季的玫瑰碗,但足球愚弄了他们。
The linebackers think they are paying the game’s price in real time.
后卫们认为他们正在实时支付比赛的费用。
Michael Williams takes a shot to the head tackling a running back in one game and he is slow to get up, but he stays on the field, even as his brain fogs up for the next few plays.
迈克尔·威廉姆斯在一场比赛中对付一名跑卫时头部中弹,他起身很慢,但他仍然留在场上,尽管他的大脑在接下来的几场比赛中变得模糊。
Chesley collides with a teammate and feels the L.A.
切斯利与队友相撞,感受洛杉矶的氛围
Coliseum spinning around him; he tries to stay in but falls to a knee and gets pulled.
竞技场在他周围旋转;他试图留在里面,但跪倒在地并被拉住。
Ross, who says he would run through a brick wall for Rogge, breaks a hand and keeps playing.
罗斯曾表示愿意为罗格冲破砖墙,但他的一只手受伤了,但仍继续比赛。
After several games he meets his parents outside the home locker room and can’t remember whether his team won or lost.
几场比赛结束后,他在主场更衣室外见到了父母,但他不记得自己的球队是赢了还是输了。
Hartsuyker breaks a foot and stays on the field.
哈特苏克(Hartsuyker)一只脚骨折,但仍留在场上。
Another time, he gets concussed on a kickoff, tells trainers he is fine, finishes the game and later shows up on fraternity row with no recollection of playing that day.
还有一次,他在开球时受到脑震荡,告诉训练员他很好,完成了比赛,后来出现在兄弟会的排场上,不记得那天的比赛。
Somebody sets him on the floor in front of a television, like a toddler.
有人把他放在电视机前的地板上,就像一个小孩一样。
## The Cheating Scandal That Ripped the Poker World Apart (Brendan I.
## 撕裂扑克世界的作弊丑闻 (Brendan I.
Koerner, Wired)
科纳,连线)
As Brendan I.
正如布伦丹·I.
Koerner reports in this fun story at Wired, when it comes to poker, “it’s sacrilege to accuse a peer of cheating without airtight proof.” When Texas Hold ‘Em player and “self-described analytics geek” Veronica Brill publicly aired her misgivings about Mike Postle’s unconventional yet highly successful poker play, the blowback landed on her, not him.
Koerner 在《连线》杂志的这个有趣的故事中报道说,当谈到扑克时,“在没有无懈可击的证据的情况下指责同伴作弊是一种亵渎。”当德州扑克玩家和“自称为分析极客”的维罗妮卡·布里尔 (Veronica Brill) 公开表达了她对迈克·波斯尔 (Mike Postle) 非常规但非常成功的扑克玩法的疑虑时,反弹落在了她身上,而不是他身上。
At first.
起初。
But was Brill right?
但布里尔是对的吗?
Did Postle cheat?
波斯特作弊了吗?
Read the story and decide for yourself.
阅读故事并自己决定。
LIKE MANY OTHERS who spent huge chunks of time at Stones, Brill had long considered Postle a friend.
与许多在 Stones 度过大量时间的人一样,布里尔长期以来一直将波斯尔视为朋友。
A generous soul who exuded a puckish charm, Postle was the sort who’d pay for everyone’s drinks while regaling the bar with bawdy tales.
波斯尔是一个慷慨的人,同时又散发着顽皮的魅力,他会为每个人的酒水买单,同时在酒吧里讲下流的故事。
(He was particularly fond of a story about getting banned from Caesars Palace over a misunderstanding involving a sex worker.) But up until the summer of 2018, few of the pro players at Stones thought much of his poker prowess.
(他特别喜欢关于因涉及性工作者的误会而被凯撒宫禁止进入的故事。)但直到 2018 年夏天,Stones 的职业玩家中很少有人对他的扑克实力有什么看法。
“He was playing well enough to support himself, it seemed,” says Jake Rosenstiel, a Sacramento pro.
“看起来他打得很好,足以养活自己,”萨克拉门托职业球员杰克·罗森斯蒂尔说。
“But none of us thought Mike was this great poker player.”Everyone was thus surprised when Postle began to dominate the casino’s livestreamed Texas Hold ‘Em games starting in July 2018.
“但我们没有人认为迈克是一位伟大的扑克玩家。” 因此,当 Postle 从 2018 年 7 月开始主导赌场的德州扑克直播游戏时,每个人都感到惊讶。
The once middling Postle suddenly turned formidable, even taking thousands of dollars off some big-time players during their swings through Northern California
曾经中等的波斯特突然变得令人敬畏,甚至在一些大牌球员在北加州的比赛中从他们那里拿走了数千美元
LIKE MANY OTHERS who spent huge chunks of time at Stones, Brill had long considered Postle a friend.
与许多在 Stones 度过大量时间的人一样,布里尔长期以来一直将波斯尔视为朋友。
A generous soul who exuded a puckish charm, Postle was the sort who’d pay for everyone’s drinks while regaling the bar with bawdy tales.
波斯尔是一个慷慨的人,同时又散发着顽皮的魅力,他会为每个人的酒水买单,同时在酒吧里讲下流的故事。
(He was particularly fond of a story about getting banned from Caesars Palace over a misunderstanding involving a sex worker.) But up until the summer of 2018, few of the pro players at Stones thought much of his poker prowess.
(他特别喜欢关于因涉及性工作者的误会而被凯撒宫禁止进入的故事。)但直到 2018 年夏天,Stones 的职业玩家中很少有人对他的扑克实力有什么看法。
“He was playing well enough to support himself, it seemed,” says Jake Rosenstiel, a Sacramento pro.
“看起来他打得很好,足以养活自己,”萨克拉门托职业球员杰克·罗森斯蒂尔说。
“But none of us thought Mike was this great poker player.”
“但我们没有人认为迈克是一位伟大的扑克玩家。”
Everyone was thus surprised when Postle began to dominate the casino’s livestreamed Texas Hold ‘Em games starting in July 2018.
因此,当 Postle 从 2018 年 7 月开始主导赌场的德州扑克直播游戏时,每个人都感到惊讶。
The once middling Postle suddenly turned formidable, even taking thousands of dollars off some big-time players during their swings through Northern California
曾经中等的波斯特突然变得令人敬畏,甚至在一些大牌球员在北加州的比赛中从他们那里拿走了数千美元
Brill, a self-described analytics geek whose day job is building medical software, was among those who got clobbered by Postle at the table, and she served as a livestream commentator during much of his streak too.
布里尔(Brill)自称是一位分析极客,她的日常工作是构建医疗软件,她也是在餐桌上被波斯尔痛击的人之一,在他连续的大部分时间里,她也担任了直播评论员。
By early 2019, she had seen enough to surmise that Postle’s success didn’t make mathematical sense.
到 2019 年初,她已经看到足够多的情况,推测 Postle 的成功在数学上没有意义。
She thought he was winning far too often, particularly for a player whose strategy didn’t jibe with game theory optimal, or GTO, the prevailing strategy in Texas Hold ‘Em today.Tremendous effort is required to develop the ability to know which single move to make in the millions of possible betting situations.
她认为他赢的次数太多了,特别是对于一个策略与最优博弈论(GTO)(当今德州扑克中流行的策略)不相符的玩家来说。需要付出巨大的努力来培养在数百万种可能的下注情况下知道采取哪一步的能力。
There are 2,598,960 possible hands in five-card poker, a figure that vastly understates the game’s intricacy.
五张牌扑克中有 2,598,960 种可能的手牌,这个数字大大低估了游戏的复杂性。
Players must also have a feel for how their opponents are likely to react to each gambit.
玩家还必须了解对手对每种策略可能做出的反应。
Brill, a self-described analytics geek whose day job is building medical software, was among those who got clobbered by Postle at the table, and she served as a livestream commentator during much of his streak too.
布里尔(Brill)自称是一位分析极客,她的日常工作是构建医疗软件,她也是在餐桌上被波斯尔痛击的人之一,在他连续的大部分时间里,她也担任了直播评论员。
By early 2019, she had seen enough to surmise that Postle’s success didn’t make mathematical sense.
到 2019 年初,她已经看到足够多的情况,推测 Postle 的成功在数学上没有意义。
She thought he was winning far too often, particularly for a player whose strategy didn’t jibe with game theory optimal, or GTO, the prevailing strategy in Texas Hold ‘Em today.
她认为他赢的次数太多了,特别是对于一个策略与博弈论最优(GTO)(当今德州扑克中流行的策略)不相符的玩家来说。
Tremendous effort is required to develop the ability to know which single move to make in the millions of possible betting situations.
需要付出巨大的努力才能培养出在数百万种可能的投注情况下知道该采取哪一步的能力。
There are 2,598,960 possible hands in five-card poker, a figure that vastly understates the game’s intricacy.
五张牌扑克中有 2,598,960 种可能的手牌,这个数字大大低估了游戏的复杂性。
Players must also have a feel for how their opponents are likely to react to each gambit.
玩家还必须了解对手对每种策略可能做出的反应。
## Shades of Grey (Ashley Stimpson, Longreads)
## 灰色阴影(Ashley Stimpson,长读)
In 2018, the state of Florida voted to ban greyhound racing because it was considered “archaic and inhumane.” But, what if they got it wrong?
2018年,佛罗里达州投票禁止赛狗,因为它被认为“过时且不人道”。但是,如果他们弄错了怎么办?
In this deeply reported Longreads feature, Ashley Stimpson introduces us to the sport of kings through Vesper, her retired racing greyhound.
在这篇深度报道的 Longreads 专题中,阿什利·斯廷普森 (Ashley Stimpson) 通过她退役的赛狗维斯珀 (Vesper) 向我们介绍了国王的运动。
Tracing Vesper’s life from its start in liquid nitrogen, Stimpson learns that her beloved pet was conceived when “pellets of semen the size of a lentil” were collected from her brindle dad Lonesome Cry and implanted in her mom, a dam named Jossalyn.
史汀普森从液氮中追溯维斯珀的一生,得知她心爱的宠物是从她的斑纹父亲孤独哭泣处收集“扁豆大小的精液颗粒”并植入她母亲乔萨林体内时孕育出来的。
Stimpson discovers a world of breeders, veterinarians, and trainers dedicated not only to the sport but to the health and well-being of the dogs in their care.
斯廷普森发现了一个由饲养员、兽医和训练师组成的世界,他们不仅致力于这项运动,还致力于他们所照顾的狗的健康和福祉。
It’s been nearly a decade since the numbers were tattooed in her ears, but they remain remarkably legible.
这些数字被纹在她的耳朵上已有近十年了,但它们仍然非常清晰。
In the right one, dots of green ink spell out 129B: Vesper was born in the twelfth month of the decade’s ninth year and was the second in her litter.
在右边的一张图中,绿色墨水点拼出了 129B:Vesper 出生于该十年第九年的第十二个月,是她一窝孩子中的第二个。
The National Greyhound Association (NGA) gave that litter a unique registration number (52507), which was stamped into her moss-soft left ear.
国家灰狗协会 (NGA) 为这窝幼崽提供了一个独特的注册号 (52507),该号码被印在她长满苔藓的柔软左耳上。
If I type these figures into the online database for retired racing greyhounds, I can learn about her life before she was ours, before she was even Vesper.Smokin’ Josy was born to a breeder in Texas, trained in West Virginia, and raced in Florida.
如果我将这些数据输入到退役赛狗的在线数据库中,我就可以了解她在成为我们之前的生活,甚至在她成为 Vesper 之前的生活。 斯莫金乔西出生于德克萨斯州的一位饲养员,在西弗吉尼亚州接受训练,并在佛罗里达州参加比赛。
Over three years, she ran 70 races.
三年来,她参加了 70 场比赛。
She won four of them.
她赢了其中四场。
In Naples on May 12, 2012, she “resisted late challenge inside,” to clinch victory, according to her stat sheet.
根据她的统计表,2012 年 5 月 12 日在那不勒斯,她“顶住了内线后期的挑战”,赢得了胜利。
In Daytona Beach on April 17, 2013, she “stumbled, fell early.” Five days later, after a fourth-place showing, she was retired.
2013年4月17日,在代托纳海滩,她“绊倒了,早早摔倒了”。五天后,在获得第四名后,她退役了。
It’s been nearly a decade since the numbers were tattooed in her ears, but they remain remarkably legible.
这些数字被纹在她的耳朵上已有近十年了,但它们仍然非常清晰。
In the right one, dots of green ink spell out 129B: Vesper was born in the twelfth month of the decade’s ninth year and was the second in her litter.
在右边的一张图中,绿色墨水点拼出了 129B:Vesper 出生于该十年第九年的第十二个月,是她一窝孩子中的第二个。
The National Greyhound Association (NGA) gave that litter a unique registration number (52507), which was stamped into her moss-soft left ear.
国家灰狗协会 (NGA) 为这窝幼崽提供了一个独特的注册号 (52507),该号码被印在她长满苔藓的柔软左耳上。
If I type these figures into the online database for retired racing greyhounds, I can learn about her life before she was ours, before she was even Vesper.
如果我将这些数据输入到退休赛狗的在线数据库中,我就可以了解她在成为我们之前的生活,甚至在她成为 Vesper 之前的生活。
Smokin’ Josy was born to a breeder in Texas, trained in West Virginia, and raced in Florida.
斯莫金·乔西出生于德克萨斯州的一位饲养员,在西弗吉尼亚州接受训练,并在佛罗里达州参加比赛。
Over three years, she ran 70 races.
三年来,她参加了 70 场比赛。
She won four of them.
她赢了其中四场。
In Naples on May 12, 2012, she “resisted late challenge inside,” to clinch victory, according to her stat sheet.
根据她的统计表,2012 年 5 月 12 日在那不勒斯,她“顶住了内线后期的挑战”,赢得了胜利。
In Daytona Beach on April 17, 2013, she “stumbled, fell early.” Five days later, after a fourth-place showing, she was retired.
2013年4月17日,在代托纳海滩,她“绊倒了,早早摔倒了”。五天后,在获得第四名后,她退役了。
I don’t mourn for greyhound racing and its long-delayed reckoning.
我不会为赛狗比赛及其迟来的清算而哀悼。
I do sympathize with working-class people who genuinely love their dogs and who feel overlooked and overpowered by the currents of political change.
我确实同情那些真正热爱自己的狗的工人阶级,他们感到自己被政治变革的潮流所忽视和压倒。
And selfishly I feel sad that I’ll probably never have another dog like Vesper; I so love the bony ridge of her spine, the way her teeth chatter when she gets excited, the skin that clings to the cartilage between her eyes, softened by so many hands like an ancient piece of pottery.
出于自私,我感到难过,因为我可能再也不会拥有像 Vesper 这样的狗了;我非常喜欢她脊椎骨的脊椎,她兴奋时牙齿打颤的方式,以及紧贴在她眼睛之间软骨上的皮肤,被这么多手软化,就像一块古老的陶器。
I don’t know if she was happier in the starting block at the track or tucked into her monogrammed bed here with me, but I’m open to the possibility that it was the former.
我不知道她是在赛道的起跑台上更快乐,还是和我一起躺在她那张印有字母的床上更快乐,但我愿意接受前者的可能性。
## The Casino That Time Forgot (David Hill, The Ringer)
## 那个时间忘记的赌场(大卫·希尔,《林格》)
When you think of gambling in America, you don’t immediately think of Hot Springs, Arkansas, but at one time, “when Las Vegas was still a dusty smudge on the horizon,” Hot Springs was the place to be, where musicians, sports stars, and mobsters gathered to soothe their ills in the healing bubbly waters that emerged from deep inside the earth.
当你想到美国的赌博时,你不会立即想到阿肯色州的温泉城,但曾经,“当拉斯维加斯还只是地平线上的一团尘土飞扬的污迹时”,温泉城是音乐家、体育明星和黑帮聚集的地方,在从地下深处涌出的具有治疗作用的气泡水中舒缓他们的疾病。
In fact, “Some of the more popular ailments that patients came to treat were venereal diseases.
事实上,“患者来治疗的一些更常见的疾病是性病。
Al Capone would ‘take the waters’ in the 1920s to treat his syphilis.”
阿尔·卡彭 (Al Capone) 在 20 年代‘取水’来治疗梅毒。”
An excerpt from David Hill’s book The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America’s Forgotten Capital of Vice, the piece is a rich profile of a sting operation at the Vapors Casino in the 1960s.
这篇文章摘自大卫·希尔 (David Hill) 的著作《The Vapors: A Southern Family, the New York Mob, and the Rise and Fall of Hot Springs, America’s Forgotten Capital of Vice》,详细介绍了 20 世纪 60 年代 Vapors 赌场的一次诱骗行动。
What’s super fun about this story, one that is told in rich detail, is that one of the casino workers running the sting is the author’s grandmother.
这个故事的超级有趣之处在于,其中一名进行诱骗的赌场工作人员是作者的祖母,这个故事讲述得非常详细。
Hazel Hill was another good country person who loved to gamble.
黑泽尔·希尔是另一位热爱赌博的好乡下人。
She was 42, an attractive brunette, and looking like high society that night in her party dress and shawl.
她 42 岁,黑发美女,穿着派对礼服,披着披肩,看上去就像上流社会的人。
Only she wasn’t high society, not by a long shot.
只是她不是上流社会,绝对不是。
On her own dime, Hazel wouldn’t ordinarily be in a place like the Vapors.
如果黑兹尔自己出钱的话,她通常不会去蒸汽队这样的地方。
She’d likely be at the Tower Club, with the other down-on-their-luck locals.
她很可能和其他倒霉的当地人一起在塔楼俱乐部。
Or, if it were a special occasion, she might be at the Pines Supper Club, or any number of the more proletarian establishments around town, where the low rollers and hustlers could gamble cheap and drink even cheaper.
或者,如果这是一个特殊的场合,她可能会去松树晚餐俱乐部,或者镇上任何一些更无产阶级的场所,那里的低赌客和骗子可以便宜地赌博,喝酒甚至更便宜。
Hazel worked for the Vapors as a shill player, gambling with house money to keep the tourists interested and the games going.
黑泽尔在蒸汽队担任托儿,用赌场的钱赌博,以保持游客的兴趣和比赛的进行。
It wasn’t a great job as far as the money went, but it was the best job Hazel had ever had, playing with the house’s money and blowing on doctors’ dice for them.
就钱而言,这不是一份好工作,但这是黑兹尔做过的最好的工作,用房子的钱玩,为他们赌医生的骰子。
Whatever the pay, it was worth something to her to just be in the Vapors.
无论付出多少代价,只要是在蒸汽队,对她来说都是值得的。
It put Hazel right at the center of the whole world.
它将 Hazel 置于整个世界的中心。
Hazel was a street-smart high school dropout.
黑兹尔是一名街头聪明的高中辍学生。
She had become a wife and a mother in Hot Springs, earning her living on her wits and the skills she had picked up in the casinos—how to calculate odds, how to place and take bets, how to deal cards.
她在温泉城成为了妻子和母亲,靠自己的智慧和在赌场学到的技能谋生——如何计算赔率、如何下注和下注、如何发牌。
Now, though, it was Dr. Rowe who was pocketing chips.
但现在,将筹码装进口袋的是罗博士。
The shills had their eyes on him.
托儿们的目光都集中在他身上。
One of Hazel’s fellow shill players, a buddy of the club owner named Richard Dooley, watched Rowe like a hawk.
哈兹尔的一名骗子同伴,俱乐部老板理查德·杜利的好友,像鹰一样注视着罗。
One of the craps dealers was paying Dr. Rowe more money on each of his winning bets than he actually won.
一位掷骰子庄家在罗博士每次获胜的赌注上付给他的钱比他实际赢得的钱还要多。
It could have been a simple error, but the fact that Rowe was putting the extra chips in his pocket, rather than in his stack of chips along the rail of the table, told Dooley all he needed to know.
这可能是一个简单的错误,但事实上,罗将多余的筹码放在了口袋里,而不是放在桌子栏杆上的筹码堆中,这一事实告诉了杜利他需要知道的一切。
## Out There: On Not Finishing (Devin Kelly, Longreads)
## 在那里:论未完成(德文·凯利,长读)
So much of sport involves accomplishment.
很多运动都涉及成就。
It involves besting someone or something — be it an opponent, a distance, a time, or even yourself.
它涉及击败某人或某事——无论是对手、距离、时间,甚至是你自己。
Sometimes, people create and nurture their own identities based on their athletic achievements.
有时,人们根据自己的运动成就来创造和培养自己的身份。
But what happens — as Devin Kelly asks so thoughtfully in his Longreads essay — when the stories we tell ourselves about what achievement is turn out to be false?
但是,正如德文·凯利(Devin Kelly)在他的长读文章中深思熟虑地提出的那样,当我们告诉自己的关于成就的故事被证明是错误的时候,会发生什么?
That the true reward is simply in the doing?
真正的回报就在于行动吗?
For a long time, I thought I ran, and competed in sport, as a way to use the metaphor of sport to understand life.
很长一段时间,我以为我跑步、参加体育比赛,是用体育的比喻来理解生活的一种方式。
Life is a marathon, I was often told.
人们经常告诉我,人生是一场马拉松。
I remember watching and re-watching Chariots of Fire, particularly that moment in the rain when Eric Liddell, just minutes after winning a race, states: “I want to compare faith to running in a race.
我记得一遍又一遍地观看《烈火战车》,尤其是在雨中的那一刻,埃里克·利德尔(Eric Liddell)在赢得比赛几分钟后说道:“我想将信仰与赛跑中的跑步进行比较。
It’s hard.
这很难。
It requires energy of will.” I loved that moment as a child, especially as someone who had, at one point, a deep amount of faith.
这需要意志力。”我小时候很喜欢那一刻,尤其是作为一个曾经拥有深厚信仰的人。
But I always paused the clip before he stated what later became to me more obvious: “So who am I to say believe, have faith, in the face of life’s realities…I have no formula for winning a race.
但我总是在他说出后来对我来说更加明显的话之前暂停剪辑:“那么,面对生活的现实,我有什么资格说相信、有信心……我没有赢得比赛的公式。
Everyone runs in their own way.” It’s true, that everyone runs in their own way, which is a fact I’ve come to appreciate as I’ve grown older.
每个人都以自己的方式奔跑。”确实,每个人都以自己的方式跑步,随着年龄的增长,我逐渐意识到这一点。
Patience, both with my own peculiar movements through life and with those of others, is a skill I actively try to cultivate and maintain.
耐心,无论是对我自己生活中的特殊行为还是对其他人的行为,都是我积极努力培养和保持的一项技能。
And yet, even Liddell’s quote has to do with winning.
然而,即使是利德尔的这句话也与胜利有关。
And that — the idea of winning, or finishing, or accomplishing — has become its own universal signifier.
而这一点——获胜、完成或完成的想法——已经成为它自己的普遍标志。
It’s not about what you do.
这与你做了什么无关。
It’s about what you have done.
这是关于你所做的事情。
What happens if what you once used to make sense of things no longer helps you make sense of things?
如果你曾经用来理解事物的东西不再能帮助你理解事物,会发生什么?
What happens if the patterns and habits and metaphors we lean on do not serve us in the moments we need them?
如果我们所依赖的模式、习惯和隐喻在我们需要的时候不能为我们服务,会发生什么?
What happens if the stories we tell ourselves about our lives leave us lonely, wrestling with meaning?
如果我们告诉自己的生活故事让我们感到孤独,并与意义作斗争,会发生什么?
What then?I grappled with these questions for hours on that farm in Georgia.
然后呢?我在佐治亚州的那个农场里花了几个小时来思考这些问题。
Under the stars and all alone, I did not know what I was doing.
星空下,独自一人,我不知道自己在做什么。
Each lap, I shuffled past the bonfire, past my friends singing karaoke, past the laughter of strangers, and each lap I shuffled away from them, until they became the soft patchwork of voices traversing a distance, the kind of sound that hollows you to your core and fills you with a deep sense of missingness, a longing to be there and not wherever you are.
每一圈,我都拖着脚步走过篝火,走过唱卡拉 OK 的朋友,走过陌生人的笑声,每一圈我都拖着脚步离开他们,直到它们变成远方声音的轻柔拼凑,那种声音让你心掏空,让你充满深深的思念感,渴望在那里,而不是无论你身在何处。
At that point, the race had ceased to be a race for so many people, but it hadn’t for me.
到那时,这场比赛就不再是很多人的比赛了,但对我来说却不是。
What happens if what you once used to make sense of things no longer helps you make sense of things?
如果你曾经用来理解事物的东西不再能帮助你理解事物,会发生什么?
What happens if the patterns and habits and metaphors we lean on do not serve us in the moments we need them?
如果我们所依赖的模式、习惯和隐喻在我们需要的时候不能为我们服务,会发生什么?
What happens if the stories we tell ourselves about our lives leave us lonely, wrestling with meaning?
如果我们告诉自己的生活故事让我们感到孤独,并与意义作斗争,会发生什么?
What then?
然后呢?
I grappled with these questions for hours on that farm in Georgia.
我在佐治亚州的那个农场花了几个小时来思考这些问题。
Under the stars and all alone, I did not know what I was doing.
星空下,独自一人,我不知道自己在做什么。
Each lap, I shuffled past the bonfire, past my friends singing karaoke, past the laughter of strangers, and each lap I shuffled away from them, until they became the soft patchwork of voices traversing a distance, the kind of sound that hollows you to your core and fills you with a deep sense of missingness, a longing to be there and not wherever you are.
每一圈,我都拖着脚步走过篝火,走过唱卡拉 OK 的朋友,走过陌生人的笑声,每一圈我都拖着脚步离开他们,直到它们变成远方声音的轻柔拼凑,那种声音让你心掏空,让你充满深深的思念感,渴望在那里,而不是无论你身在何处。
At that point, the race had ceased to be a race for so many people, but it hadn’t for me.
到那时,这场比赛就不再是很多人的比赛了,但对我来说却不是。
The thing about horizons is that, upon reaching one, you always encounter another.
关于地平线的事情是,到达一个地平线后,你总会遇到另一个地平线。
It’s the in-between where life lives.
这是生命存在的中间。
In another poem, “On Duration,” the poet Suzanne Buffam writes: “To cross an ocean / You must love the ocean / Before you love the far shore.” This is a beautiful explanation of what it means, as so many endurance runners say, to be “out there.” Out there is a place, but it is also a feeling.
在另一首诗《论持续时间》中,诗人苏珊娜·布法姆写道:“要跨越海洋/你必须热爱海洋/在你热爱遥远的海岸之前。”正如许多耐力跑者所说,这很好地解释了“在场”的含义。外面有一个地方,但也是一种感觉。
It is a series of moments stretched out across hours, or even days, that feel like one long moment.
这是一系列跨越几个小时甚至几天的时刻,感觉就像一个漫长的时刻。
It is the act of building the bridge between two points and being the bridge at the same time.
这是在两点之间搭建桥梁并同时成为桥梁的行为。
Out there is distance turned into feeling.
外面的距离变成了感觉。
It is metaphor actualized.
这是隐喻的实现。
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