Neil’s Substack

Neil’s Substack

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538 Posts

The Best Damn Receiver Who Won’t Make The Hall Of Fame
Jimmy Smith racked up elite numbers despite playing in a small market and battling personal demons — yet he remains one of the best receivers most fans…
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Neil Paine
2
The 2014-15 Kansas City Royals Were One of Baseball’s Great Underdog Stories
Before they became champions, the Royals were lowly and long-suffering — but their sudden rise made them one of the greatest “Little Teams That Could…
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Neil Paine
Bobby Bonilla Was More Than The Patron Saint Of Bad Contracts
You’ve heard of “Bobby Bonilla Day” — but the full story of how he got paid (and mostly earned it!) is even more interesting.
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Neil Paine
1
Classic Post: Jackie Robinson Was An Analytics Superstar
As baseball celebrates No. 42 again, the metrics still confirm his greatness.
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Neil Paine
How LeBron James Broke An NBA Record That Was Once Considered Unbreakable
While it has been far from a banner season for the Los Angeles Lakers, one bright spot has been LeBron James’s pursuit of an NBA record that was once…
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Neil Paine
Dusty Baker's Astros Didn't Need An Asterisk
Among the many memorable moments made after the Houston Astros clinched the World Series over the Philadelphia Phillies Saturday night, perhaps the most…
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Neil Paine
The Phillies Wanted To Be The Astros. Now They’ll Have To Beat Them For A World Series.
As hard as it can be to remember now, with the Houston Astros headed for their fourth World Series in six seasons, the franchise was once notable for…
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Neil Paine
Denny Hamlin Is NASCAR's Best Driver Without A Title. That Could Change Soon.
The win would be fitting in a messy, imperfect season — for both driver and sport.
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Neil Paine
2
Forget Last Year's Finish. Formula One Is Drama-Free Again.
With Formula One returning from summer break at last weekend’s Belgian Grand Prix, there was some optimism that a resurgent Mercedes or a more competent…
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Neil Paine
Albert Pujols Is Having A Send-Off For The Ages
Perhaps a homecoming was all he needed.
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Neil Paine
NASCAR’s Playoff System Is Obsessed With Winning — To A Fault
Things were going from bad to worse for Martin Truex Jr.
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Neil Paine
Bill Russell’s Trailblazing Legacy Is Secure (Even If Stats Can’t Measure It)
(co-byline: Santul Nerkar / FiveThirtyEight)
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Neil Paine
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