Basketball

'The Breaks of the Game' (Bill Simmons’ favorite sports book) and 'Playing for Keeps: Michael Jordan and the World He Made' are the only two basketball books written by what journalist? This man also wrote books about the 1949 American League pennant race and Patriots head coach Bill Belichick, but cut his teeth in politics, winning the 1964 Pulitzer Prize in International Reporting for his coverage of the Vietnam War.

David Halberstam

Baseball

PRE-QUESTION NOTE: Today is a Theme Day. Theme days can be overt, or they can be subtle and connected, in such a way that figuring out the theme may help you answer the questions. Good luck.

Give the nickname of the infamous Red Sox pitcher—the franchise’s all-time leader in games thrown by a lefty—who spoke out on topics like school busing and population control, who once threatened to bite off an umpire’s ear, and who, when asked for his opinion on mandatory drug testing, said, “I’ve tried just about all of them, but I wouldn’t want to make it mandatory.”

Spaceman

Soccer

Soccer

Years played: 1999-2023

Teams played for: Malmö FF, Ajax, Juventus, Inter Milan, Barcelona, AC Milan, Paris Saint-Germain, Manchester United, LA Galaxy, AC Milan

Notable info: 12-time Guldbollen winner, all-time leading scorer for the Swedish national team, known to speak of himself in the third person

Zlatan Ibrahimovic