'FNL,' much more than most shows that preceded it, took for granted the dignity of each character in its universe. It rejected sitcomic snobbery in favor of a broader embrace of its wide array of characters. It turned empathy into an aesthetic. | | | | | "Friday Night Lights" arrived on TV 10 years ago this week. (Joselito Tagarao) | | | | | | “'FNL,' much more than most shows that preceded it, took for granted the dignity of each character in its universe. It rejected sitcomic snobbery in favor of a broader embrace of its wide array of characters. It turned empathy into an aesthetic.”
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| | rantnrave:// FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS premiered 10 years ago this week. The show lasted 76 episodes over five seasons and gave us iconic characters like COACH TAYLOR, MRS. TAYLOR, TIM RIGGINS, MATT SARACEN and the LANDRY murder plot line from season two (okay, maybe forget about that last one). SAM DONSKY at THE RINGER took an in-depth fictional look at what happened to our favorite characters in the years since the show went off the air. MEGAN GERBER of THE ATLANTIC perfectly describes what made the show so appealing. Also, a retro-read recommendation: ROBERT MAYS' oral history of the show from 2011... The MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL playoffs start tonight, if you count the wild card game as the postseason, which some don't. In my opinion, the wild card game should be marketed as Game 163 and not part of the playoffs. A team can still feel a sense of accomplishment by earning that extra game, and they can still pop champagne for clinching a spot in the play-in game, but the wild card game is, at heart, a bridge between the regular season and the playoffs. Before that, though, we bid farewell to VIN SCULLY'S broadcasting career and the end of TURNER FIELD... As DAVE CAMERON of FANGRAPHS points out, the baseball playoffs are -- as always -- both great and terrible for their unpredictability... The NFL has been the No Fun League for a while, and as detailed by ADAM STITES of SB NATION, it's reached a point where all the excessive taunting penalties are actually affecting games... Who do the DALLAS COWBOYS call when they need to quietly fix their players' off-the-field problems? Meet DAVID WELLS (no, not the pitcher who once threw a perfect game with a massive hangover), the NFL'S version of WINSTON WOLFE... Lastly, everyone should read DAVID ROTH'S thoughtful and eloquent piece on JOSE FERNANDEZ, loss and life. | | | - Alex Wong, guest curator |
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| What’s happened in Dillon since ‘FNL’ ended? We have a few ideas. | | |
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| David Wells is a ‘fixer’ who knows how to work through and around the legal system, making him an invaluable asset to an NFL franchise. | | |
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| It’s easy to assume the worst when you hear that NASCAR is getting sued for racial discrimination, given the organization’s Deep South roots and its persistent lack of diversity. | | |
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| The history of baseball is heavily written during the postseason, and our childhood fandom is cemented by iconic images of October baseball. But the postseason is also terrible at doing the thing that it’s theoretically supposed to do; determine the best team in baseball in that season. | | |
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| With the wild-card game entering its fifth year, some trends are starting to develop. | | |
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| As Browns honor the Hall of Famer with a statue, Brown speaks out on national anthem protests. | | |
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| This week, the Court of Arbitration for Sport in Lausanne, Switzerland, is expected to decide the playing fate of the biggest tennis star ever caught using a performance-enhancing drug. The saga's most surprising element is not that a professional tennis player used performance-enhancing drugs, but that tennis' anti-doping efforts actually caught a marquee player doing so. | | |
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| Vin Scully’s final game on Sunday was something close to a miracle in sportscasting -- an 88-year-old man performing a solo act, conversing with us for more than three hours, keeping track of the game while telling stories, invoking memories and reminding us that he did this single job for 67 consecutive seasons. | | |
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| It's always tough when a sports team moves into a new stadium, especially in baseball. On Sunday afternoon, the Atlanta Braves and their fans said goodbye to Turner Field, their home ballpark for the past 20 years. | | |
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| Jose Fernandez's death was a terrible loss for his game and his team. What came after was sad, but also a necessary start on a long journey. | | |
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| In this ‘very strange year,’ TV executives continue to say no. | | |
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| The New York Review of Books |
| Six books and several dozen "Sports Illustrated" articles into his journalistic career, George Plimpton still couldn’t type the words “participatory journalism” with a straight face. “‘Participatory journalism’--that ugly descriptive,” he writes in the first pages of "Shadow Box" (1977), sighing over his Underwood. | | |
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| The Red Sox have had a few better players. But no one has been more important than Big Papi. He changed the franchise. And he changed us, too. | | |
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| With the MLB postseason picture set, we take a look at one key question each team will have to answer on the field if it hopes to make a deep October run. | | |
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| Clippers owner Steve Ballmer discusses how his experience as Microsoft CEO has influenced his ideas in the NBA. | | |
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| This goes beyond simple “if the game ended after three quarters”-type stuff to encompass many types of bungling that can make a game closer than it had previously been. | | |
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| Atlanta is red-hot offensively, and it isn't a mirage. Here's why they can keep being great. | | |
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| The no. 1 draft pick broke his foot. What will happen next for the Sixers? | | |
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| There’s been a crackdown on taunting in the NFL and it’s overbearing. | | |
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| Booker Huffman--better known as WWE Hall of Famer Booker T--is still busy wrestling, but this opponent is far bigger than anyone he encountered in the ring. Huffman is combating racial inequality, and as racial tensions continue to flare across the United States, Huffman stressed that Americans, regardless of skin color, need to stand up against injustice. | | |
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| | | | | Black Star featuring Common |
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| © Copyright 2016, The REDEF Group |
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