Cobblestone Classics 2012: Cancellara’s Collarbone is Boonen’s Boon in Flanders

They are two men with disparate goals. One is a time-trial legend, the only man ever to don the rainbow stripes of the world TT champion four times. The other is a tortured sprinter, as infamous for his past cocaine issues as his ability to streak past rivals at the finish line of a long day of racing. One has seven Tour de France stage victories, the other six; one has earned them in the race against the clock, the other in bunch sprints against... Read More

NTSF 130: Flying with the Underdogs…

We’re into the rum rations now, and I’ve got this nagging feeling that I’m coming down with Stanley Cup fever. I’m fiending for yet another crack at the Bruins after Montreal played their cardiac role to perfection in getting all the way to the Eastern Conference Finals against the Flyers. But there’s more to it than just the rivalry at stake. Every year we get the joy of watching underdogs rise up and hold their own... Read More

NTSF 129: Fighting Through Adversity…

Boy, do I really need a new pair of glasses. Constructed as much out of electrical tape and Gorilla Glue as they are the original frames these days, my literal worldview just keeps getting more and more askew as they warp and wind around. Yet despite the fact that I seem to be harder on spectacles than Djokovic on his rackets, I keep on persevering. Perhaps that’s why I always see things a little differently… and that’s not necessarily... Read More

NTSF 127: A Fresh Start for Spring…

So I finally followed through on a promise I’ve been making for some time. After several years of watching my hair slowly grow out from buzzed beginnings, blossoming outward like one of those Chia Heads before flopping earthward in a mane around my shoulders and down my back, I’ve done something altruistic for a change. For years my wife has suggested, given my ability to grow one prodigious head of hair, that I should donate the tresses... Read More