On the changing landscape of basketball media. On what life was like covering Kobe Bryant. On the highs and higher highs of USA Today. On whether there's a future for this industry.

On how the decline of media has impacted political messaging and general news. On whether people should still have faith in America. On Speaker Mike Johnson and his steady diet of bullshit.

On the wild, wacky, weird joy of working with the 1984 Padres. On how he was plucked to help write Tony Gwynn's autobiography. On the highs and lows of life in baseball.

On the highs and lows of watching boxers live and die in the ring. On lessons learned from television. On the craziest boxer he's covered. On the old USFL.

On how she managed to track down Brenda's baby—and Brenda. On whether Ancestry is reliable. On how technology impacts family digging.

On why a sports writer would think himself worthy of chronicling Tupac Shakur. On the highs and lows and hardships of book reporting. On Tupac's amazing journey.

On whether the publication payoff is worth the grind of book reporting. On Warren Moon and Tom Brady and the dudes who throw balls very far. On deciding which superstars to cover.

On what it was like to cover the Bronx Zoo Yankees of the 1970s. On Reggie and Billy and George. On what he learned from the legends of the business. On why baseball stopped being so fun.

On the pleasure/pain of the bookstore event. On why baseball seems so dull and listless; on meeting with the greats of the game; on living in book hell.

On making the jump from Yahoo to ESPN after decades in one spot. On surviving as a top-shelf sports journalist in a hellish age. On the highs and lows and lows and highs of the gig. On early pizza-making days.