Sports

Pro wrestlers wreck their bodies, ruin their careers, die far ahead of schedule, and David Shoemaker draws from a rich well of their stories in his new book, The Squared Circle. Here are some, however, who improbably, defiantly made it out alive.

Wayne Gretzky wasn’t the first athlete to agree to play in a warmer climate in front of less demanding fans, and he won’t be the last. That doesn’t mean his trade from Edmonton to L.A. wasn’t an affront to the gods.

For the longtime Communist leader, sports were as much a hallmark of his legacy as they were a tool to trumpet the revolution’s triumphs. As a writer, though, he wasn’t always as different from your average sports columnist as you might expect.