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Michael Weinreb

@michaelweinreb.com

380 followers 95 following 190 posts

Bay Area-based journalist/historian/screenwriter. One Party Town podcast on Wondery Plus. The Ringer, The Atlantic, Grantland, ESPN, The Athletic, and many other places. https://linktr.ee/mweinreb Read my newsletter for free: throwbacks.substack.com

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Jun 25

Latest newsletter: In an increasingly homogenous culture, we need the knuckleball more than ever. throwbacks.substack.com/p/why-we-nee...

Why We Need the Knuckleball (1985)

As culture grows stale, the most artistic pitch in baseball feels more important than ever.

throwbacks.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 13h

Of the great games that I will completely forget about two days from now this is the greatest

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 14h

It’s a very baseball thing to have a rule that exists all season and then vanishes when it matters most

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 2d

Guess it was a good day to write about whether coaches actually make a meaningful difference and why we obsess over firing them. throwbacks.substack.com/p/lets-trade...

"Let's Trade Managers" (1960)

How purely transactional do we want sports to be?

throwbacks.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 6d

I will gladly buy you a beer to punch me in the face

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 10d

Latest newsletter: Paul Finebaum as a voice of…reason…in politics? Maybe it's wishful thinking, but who knows. throwbacks.substack.com/p/the-five-r...

The Five: Run, Paul, Run?

Paul Finebaum as a voice of reason in politics? Maybe so.

throwbacks.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 13d

America, where you can either embrace imperfection or completely sacrifice any semblance of dignity or self-respect

Nicole Auerbach @nauerbach.com · 13d

Arkansas AD Hunter Yurachek: “We will begin a national search for our next head coach immediately and that search will include Coach (Bobby) Petrino, who has expressed his desire to be a candidate for the full-time job.”

Reposted by Michael Weinreb

Jason Kirk @jasonkirk.fyi · 13d

This says a lot about society

Chris Vannini @chrisvannini.com · 13d

NEWS: Arkansas has fired head coach Sam Pittman after the 56-13 loss to Notre Dame.

Your interim head coach is Bobby Petrino.

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 13d

So now can we blame them

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 13d

Let’s do this

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 15d

Latest newsletter: We could all use a Big Game right about now. open.substack.com/pub/throwbac...

The Big Game (2004)

...and why we need them now as much as we ever have.

open.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 15d

Latest newsletter: We could all use a Big Game right about now. open.substack.com/pub/throwbac...

The Big Game (2004)

...and why we need them now as much as we ever have.

open.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 22d

Latest newsletter: Redford, All the President’s Men, and the sum of a quietly rebellious life. throwbacks.substack.com/p/robert-red...

Robert Redford (1936-2025)

The quietly rebellious life of an American icon.

throwbacks.substack.com

Reposted by Michael Weinreb

Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 23d

LE BATARD, on Kimmel:

“.. you can’t look at what’s happening here and NOT say that this is a kind of threat that you have not seen before in the United States ..”

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 24d

This guy is unironically delivering a romantic lament about a highway that literally got turned into a park

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · 29d

“I didn’t want to demonstrate that a way to handle a situation like this,” Rosey Grier said, “was to get even.” Latest newsletter, on America once again at a crossroads. throwbacks.substack.com/p/rosey-grie...

Rosey Grier, RFK, and What Happens Next (1968)

America at a crossroads, again.

throwbacks.substack.com

Reposted by Michael Weinreb

Sean Howe @seanhowe.bsky.social · Sep 11

"Is he a left-winger, right-winger?" Nixon asked soon after the shooting.

Colson responded, "Well, he's going to be a left-winger by the time we get through, I think."

Nixon laughed, saying, "Good. Keep at that, keep at that."

—American Spy, by Howard Hunt

I would later learn that he was so adamant because while Nixon was commenting publicly on the shooting as something "senseless and tragic," he was also leaning on Colson to assign a break-in at Bremer's apartment. "Is he a left-winger, (or a) right-winger?" Nixon asked soon after the shooting.
Colson responded, "Well, he's going to be a left-winger by the time we get through, I think."
Nixon laughed, saying, "Good. Keep at that, keep at that."
Nixon also wanted to find out if Bremer had any ties to the Republican Party, and he was concerned that the perpetrator might even have ties to his own reelection committee.
But nevertheless, Colson considered this a good opportunity to squeeze the Democrats. "Yeah, I just wish that, God, that I'd thought sooner about planting a little literature out there. It may be a little late, although I've got one source that maybe . . . ," Colson said on tape. That source, I presume, was me.
"Good," Nixon responded.
"You could think about that," Colson replied. "I mean, if they found it near his apartment, that would be helpful."
The White House then went into spin mode, conducting interviews that suggested Bremer might have ties to leftist causes and the McGovern campaign.

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Sep 11

I'd like to know if the governor has any sort of history of riding public transportation in and around the Bay Area. I could be wrong, but I get the feeling that, despite growing up here, he has absolutely no idea of its importance to the region.

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Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Sep 10

Among other things, it is so unbelievably and infuriatingly stupid that we have come to rely on platforms that repeatedly reduce us to our worst selves, including this one.

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Sep 5

Latest newsletter: Fifty years ago, the NFL buried one of its last true challengers. Is it now too big to fail? open.substack.com/pub/throwbac...

Is the NFL Too Big To Fail? (1975)

Fifty years ago, professional football buried one of its last true challengers. How long can it last like this?

open.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Sep 5

There are many reasons to ban the Tush Push but let us not underrate the argument that it is unbelievably boring

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Aug 28

I have literally zero idea if Boise State-South Florida is a conference game or not and/or what conference it could even be, so here we are

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Aug 27

Even the meme makes me feel old

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Aug 26

What in the fuck are we doing here @washingtonpost.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Aug 22

Oh good lord don't do this man

Pat Forde @bypatforde.bsky.social · Aug 22

Column: Are we really doing this? Yes, we are. Sports Illustrated is picking Penn State to win the national championship. bit.ly/4mUSHHO

Our Most Dangerous Prediction: Penn State Will Win the CFP Title

Pull the ripcord, jump out of the airplane and put your trust in James Franklin and the Nittany Lions to finally—finally!—“get over that hump.”

bit.ly

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Aug 22

Latest newsletter: America makes no sense right now, but college football has ALWAYS made no sense. Maybe that’s a reason for hope. throwbacks.substack.com/p/college-fo...

College Football Makes No Sense. But what Does Right Now?

America is in a weird place. But college football is a reminder that we've always been weird.

throwbacks.substack.com

Michael Weinreb @michaelweinreb.com · Aug 19

Latest newsletter, in which Michigan wraps its arms around its own cynicism. open.substack.com/pub/throwbac...

Michigan Embraces the Big Lie (2012)

So much for being "too smart for college football."

open.substack.com