Sports, music, arts, pop culture writer

My report for SI.com on Manny Pacquiao’s highly controversial loss to Timothy Bradley (with a Storify of my impressions from ringside). Earlier in the day, I attended pre-fight mass with Pacquiao at the Mandalay Bay Events Center.

I collaborated with the photographer Michael M. Koehler on an multimedia photoessay for SI.com called “Day Of The Fight,” which documented middleweight boxer Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin throughout the day leading up to his June 2 bout with Winky Wright using still photography and audio interviews. The concept was loosely based on a photo feature Stanley Kubrick shot for Look magazine in 1949.

My report for SI.com on Saturday’s Floyd Mayweather-Miguel Cotto title bout, a night when the greatest fighter of his era was taken into the deepest waters of his career. I also wrote off the co-feature, which showcased a cruel tradition as old as boxing itself, as budding superstar Canelo Alvarez retired faded veteran Shane Mosley.

Jumped on The Broad Street Line podcast yesterday to discuss the retirement of Brian Dawkins, the upcoming Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Bernard Hopkins fights, the merits of the Tupac hologram and the forthcoming R. Kelly concert cruise. If you’re from Philadelphia you should have these guys in your rotation.

My essay for SI.com on Brian Dawkins, the Philadelphia icon who retired yesterday and was a perfect fit for a city where the people care a little too much about sports.

Enjoyed catching up with multi-platinum rapper Nas, who collaborated with ESPN on their coverage of this week’s NFL draft. He spoke at length about the Jeremy Lin phenomenon, his pick to win the NBA finals (Oklahoma City), and growing up a Yankee fan in Queens.

Spent five days in Atlanta covering the build-up to a high-profile mixed martial arts bout for SI.com. The most interesting moments came on fight night when I spent time backstage with Dana White, president of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, as he interacted with fans in ways his counterparts atop other major sports organizations would never even consider.

The fight itself didn’t live up to advance billing, as Jon Jones easily defended his UFC light heavyweight title against Rashad Evans.

My write-up on the new Tiger Woods video game in this week’s Sports Illustrated. Yes, that’s me in the photo.

My feature for SI.com on Stephon Marbury, once the poster boy for dysfunctional pro athletes, who over the past year has completely reinvented his image in China while leading an underdog team to the Chinese Basketball Association Finals.

A video featurette (produced in conjunction with CNN China) and these photos offer a deeper look at Marbury’s Chinese experience. And a much shorter version ran in this week’s Sports Illustrated.

Only in Philadelphia could an event like the Wing Bowl exist — a Fellini-like carnival of gluttony and political incorrectness that attracts a capacity crowd of more than 20,000 fans to the Wells Fargo Center every year. Here’s my feature for SI.com on Takeru Kobayashi, who devoured a record-shattering 337 wings in 30 minutes to collect a purse of $20,000.