6 sports stories we’re reading this week
From inside Robert Kraft's visits to a Day Spa in Florida to the NBA's issue with sleep deprivation.
“YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT HAPPENED”: THE WILD, DISTURBING SAGA OF ROBERT KRAFT’S VISIT TO A STRIP MALL SEX SPA
MAY JEONG, VANITY FAIR
“Among the patrons who turned up on the surveillance video at Orchids was Robert Kraft, the 78-year-old owner of the New England Patriots. Kraft, who visited the spa on the afternoon of January 19, spends part of the year in a double oceanfront apartment he owns on Breakers Row, among the most coveted addresses in Palm Beach.”
Sleep Deprivation in the NBA: ‘It’s the dirty little secret that everybody knows about’
BAXTER HOLMES, ESPN
“Some in the league, from players and coaches to training personnel, have begun to suspect that the toll extracted by the NBA grind — the combination of the sport’s physical demands, the circadian disruptions, the six to eight months of travel across time zones — is not fully appreciated. Some of those specialists have begun compiling data. And that data suggests that sleep deprivation is the NBA’s silent scourge — a pox on the bodies and minds of NBA athletes, with impacts both wide and deep.”
Sinners, Scalpers and the Search for God: One man’s descent into the underworld of sports
TRAVIS PILLING, SBNATION
“For four years I worked street corners, hotel lobbies, parking lots. I darted in and out of lines at ticket windows. I was finally going to all of the events I’d dreamt of as a kid. The danger made it all the more enticing. Every ticket I sold gave me a clearer understanding of the things people will do to fuck you over for money. There were petty tricks — blinks, fake money, bad credit cards, lying about seat locations — that could cost you thousands if you weren’t careful. Big mistakes could cost more. A busted order could cost your reputation.”
An Unseen Victim of the College Admissions Scandal: The High School Tennis Champion Aced Out by a Billionaire Family
DANIEL GOLDEN AND DORIS BURKE, PROBUBLICA
“The true victims were other, and perhaps more deserving, high school students and athletes, like Adam. For every student like Grant who benefited from Singer’s crimes, there was a student who aspired to attend premier schools and sports programs. Despite their stronger credentials, some were rejected. To students like Adam, the scandal shows that the college-admissions game offers shortcuts, but only for the wealthy and well-connected.”
THE UNBREAKABLE BOND
MINA KIMES, ESPN
“As a boy, he told himself that a catch could change his family’s luck; as a man, he has already delivered on that promise. And if his team happens to be driving toward the end zone where his mother sits, he knows that she’s waiting, and that every play brings him a little closer to her.”
WHAT MAKES PATRICK BEVERLEY TICK
MIRIN FADER, BLEACHER REPORT
“He remembers his old life: having to share a sweatshirt with a high school teammate, not always able to afford his own. Feeling lost, alone, growing up without his father, who struggled with drug abuse. He remembers the family, the friends, that gunshots stole from him. The scouts telling him he was too small, too skinny. The uncertainty he felt after being declared ineligible to play at Arkansas after two seasons for academic issues. He left school to play in Ukraine, Greece and Russia, chasing an NBA dream in countries far away where nobody knew his name.”
Shorter reads on Boston sports:
- Jaylen Brown found a gym wherever he went — including Egypt — this summer
- ‘How can we find a way to hire this person?’: Why the Celtics were so driven to add Allison Feaster
- Meet Tom Brady’s most trusted teammate: His 1995 shoulder pads
-
For Javonte Green, making Boston Celtics’ roster would be opportunity to be nearer to his daughters
