Longreads Best of 2016: Sports Writing
We asked a few writers and editors to choose some of their favorite stories of the year in various categories.
我们请几位作家和编辑在不同类别中选择一些他们今年最喜欢的故事。
Here, the best in sports writing.
这里是最好的体育写作。
* * *
** **
Erik Malinowski
埃里克·马林诺夫斯基
NBA/features writer at Bleacher Report.
NBA/《Bleacher Report》专题撰稿人。
## The Art of Letting Go (Mina Kimes, ESPN The Magazine)
## 放手的艺术（Mina Kimes，ESPN 杂志）
Whereas another writer might’ve taken this story’s central question—how (and why) Koreans have elevated bat flips in baseball to an art form that deserves celebration—and answered it with condescension or (at best) superficiality, Kimes goes above and beyond, taking readers on a swirling journey across South Korea, through stadium dugouts and Seoul’s inner-city neighborhoods, to produce a compelling narrative that is part sports, part travelogue, and as illuminating a culture piece as you’ve read all year.
另一位作家可能会回答这个故事的核心问题——韩国人如何（以及为什么）将棒球中的蝙蝠翻转提升为一种值得庆祝的艺术形式——并以居高临下或（充其量）肤浅的态度回答这个问题，而基姆斯则超越了这一点，带领读者踏上穿越韩国的旋转之旅，穿过体育场休息区和首尔的市中心社区，创作出一个引人入胜的叙述，它一半是体育，一半是游记，并且像你读过的那样照亮了文化作品全年。
Between Kimes’ words (which are a masterclass in scene-setting) and the wondrous illustrations of Mickey Duzyj (who was along for the reporting), this was a story I kept seeing in my head all year long.
在 Kimes 的文字（场景设置大师级的）和 Mickey Duzyj（参与报道）的精彩插图之间，这是一个我一整年都在脑海中浮现的故事。
## The Official Coming-Out Party (Kevin Arnovitz, ESPN The Magazine)
## 官方出柜派对（Kevin Arnovitz，ESPN 杂志）
Bill Kennedy was living his childhood dream of being an NBA referee when his world was upended last December: A star player yelled two anti-gay slurs at him during a televised game.
去年 12 月，比尔·肯尼迪 (Bill Kennedy) 正在实现儿时成为 NBA 裁判的梦想，但他的世界却被颠覆了：一名明星球员在一场电视转播的比赛中对他大喊两句反同性恋的脏话。
Kennedy’s open secret—that he was, in fact, gay—was now quite public and on its way to becoming a national story.
肯尼迪的公开秘密——他实际上是同性恋——现在已相当公开，并正在成为全国性的故事。
With empathy and a deft touch, Arnovitz details what happened that night, what preceded it, and (perhaps most importantly) what followed in the months ahead, as Kennedy’s coming out became a national story and sent the veteran referee on a personal journey that was decades in the making.
阿诺维茨带着同理心和灵巧的笔触，详细描述了那天晚上发生的事情、之前发生的事情，以及（也许最重要的是）接下来几个月发生的事情，肯尼迪的出柜成为了全国性的故事，并让这位经验丰富的裁判踏上了酝酿数十年的个人旅程。
(The kicker, which takes place at New York’s LGBT Pride March, is stirring and sensational.) When this new season tipped off, Kennedy became the first openly gay player or referee to appear in an NBA game.
（这场比赛发生在纽约的 LGBT Pride March 上，激动人心且轰动一时。） 当新赛季开始时，肯尼迪成为第一个出现在 NBA 比赛中的公开同性恋球员或裁判。
What Arnovitz so brilliantly conveys is the scope of all that had to happen for that moment to finally become real.
阿诺维茨如此出色地传达了那一刻最终成为现实所必须发生的一切的范围。
Jason Diamond
贾森·戴蒙德
Sports editor for Rolling Stone; author of the memoir Searching For John Hughes.
滚石杂志体育编辑；回忆录《寻找约翰·休斯》的作者。
I’ve been talking with a lot of students this year about sportswriting and how great it can be when examined through a more literary lens.
今年我一直在和很多学生谈论体育写作，以及从更文学的角度审视它的伟大之处。
I brought up John Updike on Ted Williams and Claudia Rankine on Serena Williams, but also made sure they read these as well.
我在特德·威廉姆斯上提到了约翰·厄普代克，在塞雷娜·威廉姆斯上提到了克劳迪娅·兰金，但也确保他们也阅读了这些内容。
## Money in the Bank: The Story of Pro Wrestling in the Twentieth Century is the story of American Capitalism.
## 银行里的钱：二十世纪职业摔跤的故事是美国资本主义的故事。
(Dan O’Sullivan, Jacobin Magazine)
（丹·奥沙利文，雅各宾杂志）
This one came out two years ago.
这个是两年前出来的。
The thing is that I couldn’t stop thinking about politics in 2016 and how much it resembled professional wrestling.
问题是，我无法停止思考 2016 年的政治，以及它与职业摔跤有多么相似。
So when Trump won, then a few weeks later said he was going to appoint Linda McMahon to a position in his administration, I had to read this again.
因此，当特朗普获胜，几周后表示他将任命琳达·麦克马洪在他的政府中担任职务时，我不得不再次阅读这篇文章。
## What the World got Wrong About Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (Jay Caspian Kang, The New York Times Magazine)
## 世界对卡里姆·阿卜杜勒·贾巴尔的误解（Jay Caspian Kang，《纽约时报杂志》）
I’ve always been obsessed with Kareem, so when I saw that NYT Mag had a piece on him I expected some deep profile with him saying a bunch of things, sharing secrets learned over his life and career, and stuff of nature.
我一直很迷恋卡里姆，所以当我看到《纽约时报》杂志上有一篇关于他的文章时，我期待他能发表一些深入的个人资料，分享他在生活和职业生涯中学到的秘密，以及一些自然的东西。
What Jay Caspian Kang gave us was sort of the “Frank Sinatra has a Cold” of 21st century sports reporting.
杰伊·凯斯皮安·康 (Jay Caspian Kang) 给我们带来的有点像 21 世纪体育报道中的“弗兰克·辛纳屈感冒了”。
Abdul-Jabbar didn’t really say much, but the piece was really deep and profound.
阿卜杜勒-贾巴尔并没有说太多，但这篇文章确实很深刻。
I get students asking me from time to time about pieces that I really like or think that they should study and I’ve been pointing them to this one for the last year now.
我的学生时不时地问我哪些作品是我真正喜欢的，或者是我认为他们应该学习的，去年我一直在向他们推荐这首作品。
## Michael Jordan has not left the building (Wright Thompson, ESPN The Magazine)
## 迈克尔·乔丹尚未离开大楼（赖特·汤普森，ESPN 杂志）
As somebody who grew up in the Chicago burbs in the 1990s, I thought I’d read everything good about Michael Jordan until I read this piece.
作为 20 世纪 90 年代在芝加哥郊区长大的人，我以为我读过有关迈克尔·乔丹的所有好文章，直到我读到这篇文章。
It really sums up Jordan the man, long past his playing days, still the insanely competitive prick he’s always been, but I’d describe this as a deep look at what god does after he’s retired.
这确实概括了乔丹这个人，尽管他的职业生涯早已过去，但他仍然是一个疯狂的好胜者，但我将这描述为对上帝在他退役后所做的事情的深入观察。
It’s great all the way through, but that last paragraph still gives me chills.
从头到尾都很棒，但最后一段仍然让我感到不寒而栗。
## I postponed open-heart surgery for the Cubs (Wayne Drehs, ESPN)
## 我推迟了小熊队的心脏直视手术（Wayne Drehs，ESPN）
Personally, however, my whole year from spring training and onward was focused on the Chicago Cubs.
然而，就我个人而言，我从春季训练开始的一整年都专注于芝加哥小熊队。
This piece by Wayne Drehs on postponing a surgery that could ave his life so he could see the Cubs finally win a World Series really summed up everything about the team I love, but also sports obsession in general.
韦恩·德雷斯 (Wayne Drehs) 的这篇文章讲述了推迟一场可能挽救他生命的手术，这样他就可以看到小熊队最终赢得世界大赛，这确实概括了我所爱的球队的一切，也概括了对体育的痴迷。
So for my favorite one piece from 2016, I’m going with this.
所以对于 2016 年我最喜欢的一件作品，我选择这个。
Kate Fagan
凯特·费根
Columnist at espnW and author of the forthcoming book from Little Brown, What Made Maddy Run.
espnW 的专栏作家，也是 Little Brown 即将出版的新书《What Made Maddy Run》的作者。
## After The Process: Meet Sam Hinkie 2.0 (Chris Ballard, Sports Illustrated)
## 流程结束后：认识萨姆·辛基 2.0（克里斯·巴拉德，体育画报）
I love the insight, and ideas, in this catch-up with former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie.
我喜欢在与前费城 76 人队总经理萨姆·辛基 (Sam Hinkie) 的交流中获得的见解和想法。
It’s really not a sports story at all, but a story about a guy in between, trying to figure out what’s next.
这根本不是一个体育故事，而是一个关于一个介于两者之间的人试图弄清楚接下来会发生什么的故事。
## Gridiron Gangster: How a Vigilante Gambler Took Down an Alleged Crime Boss (David Amsden, Rolling Stone)
## 烤架黑帮：一名治安赌徒如何打倒一名涉嫌犯罪的老大（大卫·阿姆斯登，《滚石》）
I love any sports story that somehow dovetails with mystery.
我喜欢任何与神秘感相吻合的体育故事。
And Rolling Stone lived at that intersection with this piece by David Amsden.
《滚石》杂志与大卫·阿姆斯登的这首作品就处于那个交叉点。
## The Art of Letting Go (Mina Kimes, ESPN The Magazine)
## 放手的艺术（Mina Kimes，ESPN 杂志）
I’m trying not to be an ESPN homer, but we have an incredible stable of writers.
我不想成为 ESPN 的全垒打，但我们拥有令人难以置信的稳定的作家。
And if you’re not reading Mina Kimes, what are you doing with your life?
如果你不读米娜·基姆斯的书，你的生活又在做什么呢？
Here she produces with a quirky story about …
她在这里制作了一个关于……的离奇故事。
bat flipping in Korea.
韩国的蝙蝠翻转。
## Mamba Out (Ramona Shelburne, ESPN The Magazine)
## 曼巴出局（Ramona Shelburne，ESPN 杂志）
Ramona Shelburne had the best year of any sportswriter.
雷蒙娜谢尔本度过了所有体育记者中最好的一年。
I’m just going to pick one of her pieces from this year, but I could easily have picked half a dozen.
我只想从她今年的作品中挑选一件，但我可以轻松挑选六件。
In April, Shelburne someone managed to put out the definitive piece on an athlete, Kobe Bryant, who has been under the microscope for two decades.
今年四月，谢尔本有人设法发表了关于运动员科比·布莱恩特的权威文章，这位运动员已经在显微镜下观察了二十年。
Barry Petchesky
巴里·佩切斯基
Deputy Editor at Deadspin
《Deadspin》副主编
## The Best African American Figure Skater in History is Now Bankrupt and Living in a Trailer (Terrence McCoy, The Washington Post)
## 历史上最好的非裔美国花样滑冰运动员现在破产并住在拖车里（泰伦斯·麦考伊，《华盛顿邮报》）
A redemption story is difficult to write without slipping into cliché and trope, but a downfall story is an even greater challenge.
一个救赎故事很难写得不落入陈词滥调和比喻，但一个失败的故事则是一个更大的挑战。
This feature on Debi Thomas matter-of-factly handles her comedown from Olympic glory to poverty, professional failure, and mental illness without overplaying the pathos, because real life is dramatic enough, and without trying to crowbar in any greater meaning, because real life needs no narrative.
这部关于黛比·托马斯的专题报道实事求是地处理了她从奥运荣耀到贫困、职业失败和精神疾病的跌落，但没有过分渲染悲情，因为现实生活已经足够戏剧化了，也没有试图在任何更大的意义上撬开一切，因为现实生活不需要叙事。
Terrence McCoy lets Thomas tell her own story, supplemented and often contradicted by the factual record, and if there’s any hope to be found here, it’s that she’s allowed to appear happy.
泰伦斯·麦考伊让托马斯讲述她自己的故事，事实记录对此进行了补充，但常常与事实相矛盾，如果在这里能找到任何希望，那就是她可以表现得快乐。
This story is never mocking, but never unquestioning either: McCoy remains at an arm’s reach that doesn’t insult his subject or his readers.
这个故事绝不是嘲笑，但也绝不是不容置疑的：麦考伊始终保持在触手可及的范围内，不会侮辱他的主题或他的读者。
Because this is not the second act of a play, and there is no reason to bet on a redemption.
因为这不是戏剧的第二幕，没有理由押注救赎。
## Why Are So Many BASE Jumpers Dying?
## 为什么这么多定点跳伞运动员死去？
(Andrew Bisharat, National Geographic)
（安德鲁·比沙拉特，国家地理）
Despite an unfortunate headline, Andrew Bisharat’s story doesn’t pretend to offer a concrete answer to a question with so many variables.
尽管标题令人遗憾，安德鲁·比沙拉特的故事并没有假装为一个充满变数的问题提供了具体答案。
Instead, by coming it at from every conceivable angle, he provides readers a double service: He gives a thorough overview of the world of the increasingly less obscure sport of wingsuiting, and he sheds light on the internal and external pressures that are pushing jumpers further than many of them are prepared to go.
相反，通过从各个可以想象的角度来阐述，他为读者提供了双重服务：他对翼装这项日益不那么晦涩难懂的运动的世界进行了全面的概述，并揭示了内部和外部的压力，这些压力正在推动跳伞运动员比他们中的许多人准备的更进一步。
Explanatory enough for an uninitated reader yet wonky enough for an enthusiast, this is less an investigation into a recent spike in deaths than it is a comprehensive portrait of a niche sport trying to figure out where it’s going next.
对于不熟悉的读者来说，这已经足够解释，但对于爱好者来说，这也足够奇怪，这与其说是对最近死亡人数激增的调查，不如说是对一项小众运动的全面描述，试图弄清楚它的下一步发展方向。
Stephen Tignor
史蒂芬·蒂格诺
A senior writer at Tennis Magazine and Tennis.com, and the author of High Strung: Bjorn Borg, John McEnroe, and the Untold Story of Tennis’s Fiercest Rivalry.
网球杂志和 Tennis.com 的资深撰稿人，也是《高度紧张：比约恩·博格、约翰·麦肯罗和网球最激烈竞争的不为人知的故事》一书的作者。
## Too Fast to Be Female (Ruth Padawer, The New York Times Magazine)
## 太快成为女性（Ruth Padawer，纽约时报杂志）
Padawer’s piece, which was written during the lead-up to the Summer Olympics in Rio, lucidly recounts the ever-confusing and less-than-glorious history of sex testing in athletics.
帕达维尔的文章是在里约夏季奥运会筹备期间写的，清晰地讲述了田径运动中性别测试一直令人困惑且不光彩的历史。
While I write about sports for a living, this was a subject that I knew little about.
虽然我以撰写体育文章为生，但我对这个主题知之甚少。
At the same time, it spoke to larger current issues surrpunding the complexity of gender differences, and our evolving attitudes toward them.
与此同时，它还谈到了超越性别差异复杂性的更大的当前问题，以及我们对性别差异不断变化的态度。
What exactly divides men from women?
男人和女人到底有什么区别？
What, if anything is essential, to either?
如果有什么是必要的，那对其中任何一个来说又是什么呢？
Why is male excellence in athletics celebrated while female excellence is suspect?
为什么男性在体育运动中的卓越表现受到赞扬，而女性的卓越表现却受到怀疑？
I came away from the article with a new perspective on all of these topics, and I’m guessing most readers would as well.
读完这篇文章后，我对所有这些主题有了新的看法，我猜大多数读者也会如此。
Don Van Natta, Jr.
小唐·范纳塔
Senior writer at ESPN.
ESPN 资深撰稿人。
## The Secret Life of Tiger Woods (Wright Thompson, ESPN The Magazine)
## 泰格·伍兹的秘密生活（赖特·汤普森，ESPN 杂志）
Tiger Woods’ spectacular professional and personal crack-up remains one of American sports’ most confounding mysteries.
泰格·伍兹令人震惊的职业和个人崩溃仍然是美国体育界最令人困惑的谜团之一。
In this ambitious investigation of its myriad causes, ESPN’s Wright Thompson begins with the May 3, 2006 death of Earl Woods, Tiger’s best friend, life coach, mentor and father.
ESPN 的赖特·汤普森 (Wright Thompson) 对老虎的众多原因进行了雄心勃勃的调查，从 2006 年 5 月 3 日厄尔·伍兹 (Earl Woods) 的去世开始，他是老虎最好的朋友、生活教练、导师和父亲。
Without giving too much away, I can tell you that Tiger has carried his Dad’s death with him every day across a deeply disappointing decade.
在不透露太多的情况下，我可以告诉你，在这令人深感失望的十年里，泰格每天都伴随着他父亲的去世。
What most impresses me about this magnificent portrait is that Tiger declined to speak with Thompson, a colleague and friend, or cooperate in any way with this project.
这幅宏伟的肖像给我印象最深的是，泰格拒绝与同事兼朋友汤普森交谈，也拒绝以任何方式与这个项目合作。
But that didn’t matter.
但这并不重要。
Thompson reveals the costs of Tiger’s obsession with the Navy SEALS, his pursuit, often awkwardly, of affairs with women and his profound feelings of loss and longing at the age of 40.
汤普森揭示了泰格对海豹突击队的痴迷、他常常尴尬地追求与女性的风流韵事以及他在 40 岁时深深的失落和渴望所付出的代价。
And then there’s Michael Jordan’s assessment of Tiger’s chances for future greatness and happiness that’s so harsh you’ll likely need to read it twice.
然后是迈克尔·乔丹对老虎未来取得伟大和幸福的机会的评估，这种评估是如此严厉，你可能需要读两遍。
Most of all, this is a master class in how we writers, with revelatory insights borne from relentless reporting, can still figure out a subject who wants nothing to do with us.
最重要的是，这是一堂大师课，讲述了我们作家如何凭借从不懈的报道中获得的启示性见解，仍然能够弄清楚一个不想与我们有任何关系的主题。
## After the Process: Meet Sam Hinkie 2.0 (Chris Ballard, Sports Illustrated)
## 流程结束后：认识萨姆·辛基 2.0（克里斯·巴拉德，体育画报）
“This story is about what happens after,” writes Chris Ballard of Sports Illustrated.
“这个故事是关于之后发生的事情，”《体育画报》的克里斯·巴拉德写道。
“What happens when you’re 38 years old and have already blown up a franchise and become both cult hero and cautionary tale.
“当你 38 岁时，已经炸毁了一个特许经营权，成为受崇拜的英雄和警示故事时，会发生什么？
What do you do next?”
接下来你要做什么？
Good question.
好问题。
And Ballard manages to answer it, despite former Philadelphia 76ers general manager Sam Hinkie’s reluctance, initially, to meet with him, followed by Hinkie’s stubborn attempt to reveal only what he wants to reveal.
巴拉德设法回答了这个问题，尽管前费城 76 人队总经理萨姆·辛基一开始不愿意与他会面，随后辛基顽固地试图只透露他想透露的内容。
This story isn’t just a compulsively readable portrait of Hinkie’s bid to become someone else; it’s also a fascinating narrative of a man who declares his own hatred for narratives while resisting a writer’s attempt to build one about him.
这个故事不仅是辛基努力成为另一个人的写照，也是令人着迷的一读。这也是一个引人入胜的故事，讲述了一个男人宣称自己对叙事的仇恨，同时抵制作家试图围绕他建立一个故事。
Thanks to Ballard’s exquisite story-telling, Hinkie, who was fired from his dream job eight months ago, helps us better appreciate the tricky process of reinvention.
感谢巴拉德精美的故事讲述，八个月前被他梦想的工作解雇的辛基帮助我们更好地理解了重塑的棘手过程。
From beginning to end, it’s a story to marvel at—and, man, what a kicker.
从头到尾，这都是一个令人惊叹的故事——而且，天哪，真是太精彩了。
Sari Botton
纱丽波顿
Writer, contributing editor to Longreads, editorial director of the non-profit TMI Project, and owner of Kingston Writers’ Studio.
作家、Longreads 的特约编辑、非营利组织 TMI 项目的编辑总监以及 Kingston Writers’ Studio 的所有者。
## Vertical Descent: Adventures in Synchronized Swimming (Elisabeth Donnelly, Virginia Quarterly Review)
## 垂直下降：花样游泳历险记（伊丽莎白·唐纳利，弗吉尼亚季刊评论）
Elisabeth Donnelly takes a look at the unique world of synchronized swimming.
伊丽莎白·唐纳利带您了解花样游泳的独特世界。
It’s an interesting time for the sport, as it’s just beginning to recognize men, like Bill May, one of the best in the world.
对于这项运动来说，这是一个有趣的时刻，因为它刚刚开始认识到像比尔·梅这样的世界上最好的男人之一。
Men aren’t allowed to compete in the sport at the Olympics–something many are hoping will change now that the Fédération Internationale de Natation, the official governing body for water sports throughout the world, has allowed for mixed duet competitions.
奥运会不允许男子参加这项运动——许多人希望这一情况能够改变，因为世界各地水上运动的官方管理机构国际国家联合会已经允许混合双人比赛。
See more from our Best of 2016 series
查看我们的 2016 年最佳系列的更多内容