"Every now and then a postseason comes along that defies the trend and is loaded with playoff pugilism."

A sage from the year 2022 tells us what went wrong

“Four young Napoli fans festooned in a crazy-quilt mixture of Brazil and Argentina garb serenaded the sleeper cars, singing "Un Maradona, c'è solo un Maradona!' to the tune of 'Guan­tanamera'; 'One Maradona, there's only one Maradona.'”

The drawings become anti-targets, a record of pitchers striving to avoid the bull's-eye that any major leaguer could park in the bleachers.

“Around 10 o’clock Muhammad Ali entered the ring. The audience in the the theatre rose to its feet and cheered. Actually, they said, 'Ali bomaye.' ['Ali, kill him.'] The tribal spirit is very contagious”

“Basketball still is the most democratic of all sports — it belongs to the streets and the poor. The only essentials are a hoop, a ball, a pair of sneakers, and another kid who can go 'one on one' with you. And it was these kids that made the evening so beautiful.”

“You’ve gotta understand, top skaters were like rock stars, traveling all over the world, living the life … and Gator was the wildest of them all”

“The essential hallmark of the Yankees has changed in the decade since George Steinbrenner purchased the club in 1973. By now, at every level in the organization — from the guard at the gate to the principal owner in his private box —the Yankees are marked by a broad streak of paranoia”

“He's the best player the Mets have ever had — the best ballplayer New York has had since Mickey Mantle. But, like the Mets, he seems to have jumped from a confident future to a disappointing past without ever basking in the present. He's not having fun, and neither are we.”

Randolph smacked the pink projectile way up in the air, over the asphalt infield, over the fence that was an automatic double, over the alley that was a triple, and —crash!­ — right up against the fence over the 16th floor.