In that prehistoric time, before the Internet, before information floated in the ozone, I was a soccer novice who had never heard of Socrates until somebody pointed him out - swarthy, shaggy, tall, slender, mysterious. George Vecsey floathearinformation share on social
Sometimes, sport is just plain pleasing to the eye, like watching La Belle France flit by on television during the Tour de France. I can do that for hours. George Vecsey belleeyeflit Change image and share on social
Television is making sports universal; for the same reason, big-time soccer is growing more popular in the United States. George Vecsey biggrowmake Change image and share on social
For years, I have been harboring memories of my first major league game at a place named Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. George Vecsey brooklynebbetsfield Change image and share on social
When Sweden's Jan-Ove Waldner travels to China to play table tennis, he is mobbed when he leaves his hotel as if he were a rock star walking around Manhattan or a soccer star walking around Europe. George Vecsey chinaeuropehotel Change image and share on social
Stanley Cup hockey comes around every year, when games start to count in multiples of best-of-seven series, and the players seem to put more attention into every pass, every check, every annoying little trick. George Vecsey annoyattentioncheck share on social
In recent generations, women's sports have been a blessing. Some of us can remember the bad old days in the '50s, when we would discover in casual schoolyard play that a girl could outrun most of us or hold her own in basketball or hit a softball - but there were no teams, no coaches, for girls. George Vecsey 50sbadbasketball share on social
Fans all have their memories of pennant races, good memories, sick memories. George Vecsey fangoodmemory Change image and share on social
The football playoffs feature one-off affairs, without bad feelings building from weekend to weekend. In addition, football uses platoons for offense and defense and kicking, so only the interior linemen have a chance to really get up close and personal with one another. George Vecsey additionaffairbad share on social
When I was working on the unauthorized biography 'Stan Musial: An American Life,' which came out in 2011, old opponents recalled how Musial knew their names after they had been in the majors only a few days. George Vecsey americanbiographyday share on social