Twenty-first Century Rushin Literature

Growing up with Sports Illustrated in the late '90s, I'd never begin reading an issue front to back, or for that matter, back to front. Instead I'd open it up to about a third of the way through, after Faces in the Crowd, before the features, and turn to Steve Rushin's "Air & Space" column. There, I'd encounter a weekly dose of subtle wordplay (the title of the column itself took me about two years to catch on to) and bemused insight into the world of sports that presaged the tone, if not the snark, of many sports blogs in its focus on fun and a fan's perspective.