I did a Varsity Letters event with Zirin earlier this year -- he puts on an amazing show. He did his entire thing extemporaneously, and it was fascinating with high energy.
Zirin manages to do phenomenally well what few -- if any -- in sports do at all: Write about topics of gravitas. But he does it without being dour or preachy -- in the least.
In fact, part of his admirable ability is that he tackles extremely weighty subjects but makes them entirely accessible through powerful, clear-eyed analysis. I envy that tremendously.
It's a hell of a challenge to distill the past 250 years of sports into 300 pages and focus mainly on the intersection of American sports and its socio-political context. And Zirin nails it.
He plays a unique and critical role in the sports media ecosystem -- a fearless and independent critic and thinker. I would rank him on the short list of the best sportswriters in America.
If you're around the area, I highly recommend checking him out tonight -- more than that, I recommend the book highly. It made my "Put on my 'display' shelf to keep for good" list.
Here are the details and the always-amazing interviews with the participants.
It's at 8 tonight. Happy Ending. 302 Broome on the Lower East Side. And it's FREE.