Grantland no longer is, it was. ESPN announced a week ago that they were shutting down the sports and pop culture site, disappointing many in the process. Whether it was a longread, podcast, or short film, the site always took a smart approach to whatever they were covering, and certainly inspired us in terms of how we’d like to approach Sports coverage on our site. Although it didn’t happen enough, when Grantland delved into Latinidad, they did so excellently.
Here are eight pieces you should check out from Grantland:
1
"A Culmination in Cooperstown: Pedro Martinez Enters the Hall of Fame"
By: Jonah Keri
With founder/editor-in-chief Bill Simmons’ love for the Red Sox and a baseball writer who literally wrote the book on the Montreal Expos, it’s no surprise Grantland loved Pedro Martinez. He appeared on a podcast with Jonah Keri, and the writer later recapped his best moments in this piece.
Read it here.
2
'Compton Cricket Club'
Bill Simmons was the driving force behind the excellent 30 for 30 series of sports documentaries, which included the excellent The Two Escobars, and Grantland also showcased short films that told excellent stories. While Compton Cricket Club is no longer on YouTube, you can still watch it above.
3
"Polishing the Apple: What ‘Dangerous Minds’ and Other Movies Get Right and Wrong About Teachers"
By: Shea Serrano
This whole list could have easily been populated with just work from New York Times best-selling author Shea Serrano, but I held off.
Since Serrano contributed to the site while maintaining his day job as a teacher (don’t ever let them tell you Latinos are lazy), he was the perfect person to write about what movies get right and wrong about teachers.
The piece includes some funny anecdotes, but also a heartbreaking one about a kid he called Vincente.
Read it here.
4
"Happy Selena Day: Everything You Need to Know About the All-Time Most Beloved Woman in Latino History"
By: Shea Serrano
“The closest I have ever come to divorcing my wife was when she told me she didn’t really like Selena.” Yeah, you should read his thoughts on Selena.
Read it here.
5
"Doeman and the Evolution of the Latino Rap Star"
By: Shea Serrano
Unsurprisingly, due to his deep knowledge of the Houston rap scene, Serrano profiled an on-the-rise Latino rapper named Doeman. The article touches on several issues that children of immigrants can relate to.
Read it here.
6
"Jenny With the Schlock: ‘The Boy Next Door’ and the Depowering of J.Lo"
By: Alex Pappademas
Along with Wesley Morris (RIP Do You Like Prince Movies podcast), Alex Pappademas wrote great things about movies for Grantland. Here, he breaks down the appeal of Jennifer Lopez and why her latest movie role wasn’t great for her. Hint: J-Lo isn’t a victim.
Read it here.
7
"‘The Andy Greenwald Podcast’: Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief Axel Alonso"
It’s always fascinating to listen to successful people talk about their career path and how they reached their current positions. Axel Alonso, the editor-in-chief of Marvel Comics, touches on the fortuitous route he took to get into comics way back in the day, and also discusses diversity in comic books in this episode of The Andy Greenwald Podcast.
Listen to it here.
8
"Genius: A Conversation With ‘Hamilton’ Maestro Lin-Manuel Miranda"
By: Rembert Browne
After winning a MacArthur Genius Grant this year, the Internets were flooded with Lin-Manuel Miranda pieces. Here, Rembert Browne chats with Miranda about how he went from barely inserting minorities into his scripts to creating Hamilton.
Read it here.