Articles to read when you need to be distracted: sports edition

From bowling to walking (yes, walking), check out these eight stories about sports that may serve as much-needed distractions for wherever you’re at in life right now.

Did you know that there was a time when crowds would gather to watch people race – in walking? You can learn about what it was and why it rose – and fell – here. 

Have you ever thought about the Olympics as an illegal monopoly? Read more about the story of swimming and the Olympics (a story that includes gangs, mobs, and Vladimir Putin) here.

What would it be like to learn to do a wheelie? This story is equal parts impressive and heartwarming.

The title of this article says it all: The Most Amazing Bowling Story Ever.

Heads up that this story involves a lot of crime and grief, so don’t read it if that’s not going to be helpful to you right now. But if you want to immerse yourself in a story of many griefs and the baseball field that exposed them all, here it is.

Bat flipping is taboo in American baseball, but it’s a celebrated norm in Korean baseball. Find out why in this story.

If you weren’t craving a PB&J before reading this story, you will after learning about how basketball runs off of the sandwiches. (brief mention of drugs and sex)

Elitism and croquet might go together like peanut butter and jelly, but here’s an interesting story of perhaps the first widely known challenger of that pairing.

If you’re looking for more things to read as you reset, check out the other posts in this series, “Articles to read when you need to be distracted”:
animal edition
food and restaurant edition