, the second book in the Graywolf Forum Series, gathers thirteen contemporary creative writers who offer personal reflections on our public obsession: from the pool hustler to the closet baseball fan; from late-night rodeo on cable TV to tennis games on the weathered fields of Illinois; from the aging basketball player to the anxious young girl determining whether to strike out the boy who is her friend. Through these individual narratives we begin to recognize the universal themes that galvanize both sport and literature: conflict and sacrifice, ritual and passion, humiliation and heroism.