Reviews

National Public Radio Weekend Edition March 14, 2026 SCOTT SIMON, HOST: You know, these days, if there's a talented high school basketball player in Croatia or Congo, recruiters'll find them and may sign them to a college career that lasts just a year - one and done - on their way to the pros, along with a multimillion dollar NIL, or Name, Image and Likeness deal - every moment passed along on social media. Then there's the story of Larry Bird, one of the greatest players in

From The Wall Street Journal Skillful writers like Mr. O'Brien know how to find the tributaries where rich, untold material lies waiting to be excavated. Larry Bird playing for the Indiana State Sycamores against the Michigan State Spartans in the NCAA basketball championship on March 26, 1979. Sports Illustrated via Getty Images. More than three decades after his final game—a pain-wracked cameo in the United States’s gold-medal win over Croatia in the 1992 Olympics—Larry Bir