Rick Brown

Once consumed by making sense of 26 letters in the alphabet.

[Matt Norlander @MattNorlander]

More on McCollum: He had contact w/ UNC last week as the search played out, per sources. UNC was hoping to meet with him in person Sunday for a proper interview but he passed on that invitation to stay at Iowa. Malone's candidacy picked up speed as others removed their names.

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

The pride of Keokuk, the great Bill Logan.

[FOX Sports @FOXSports]

These players have tallied the highest scoring performances in the history of NCAA Men’s Tournament Semifinals 🔥

[Audi Crooks @AudiCrooks]

love always♥️

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

If you love the written word, you'll love this interview with the great Wright Thompson.

[David Perell @david_perell]

"One great detail will do the work of 50 crappy sentences."

Wright Thompson is one of the last great magazine writers in America. He's long been a writer at ESPN, and if you love sports, you've almost definitely read his work. Maybe his profile of Tiger Woods. Or maybe the one about Michael Jordan.

Some highlights:

- "When somebody says something is overwritten, it really just means that the story is underreported."

- Profiles are about figuring out what is a central complication of somebody's life and how, on a daily basis, they go about solving it.

- "All of these stories, the few good ones I've written... I think these stories are like a prayer for empathy, to try to understand each other, to understand another human being a little bit at a time. Then slowly, thread by thread, you understand yourself."

- On writing well: "One of the things that's missing is that nobody wants to hear what I have to say, which is just reps. Zen is a butt in a seat. There's no mystery. It's just reps."

- "I wish someone had told me years ago that if you're going to be a professional writer for decades, writing is not going to be about words, but it's going to be about architecture. Only when you really understand how things fit together and move can you then actually be thinking about the words."

- "All writing is trying to say something new that is true and is both specific and universal and that helps the reader understand something they didn't understand before, preferably about themselves."

And here are the timestamps:

1:50 Writer's vomit vs. writer's block
8:33 The architecture of writing
11:30 What makes for a good story?
15:57 Bringing characters to life
21:11 "The hammer"
26:26 Writing a vivid scene
33:41 How to bring places to life
39:57 Dialogue vs. quotes
45:49 The role of secondary characters
51:44 The problem with "brainstorming"
1:02:13 What makes for a great ending?

I've shared the full conversation with Wright Thompson below.

If you'd rather watch on YouTube, or listen to the full thing on Apple / Spotify, check out the reply tweets.

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

This is awesome.

[University of Iowa @uiowa]

76 Trombones… finished the Hawkeye way. @HawkeyeBand at Hancher with The Music Man National Tour 🖤💛

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

Remember Mar. 9, 1996, @JessSettlesHoop? No. 19 Iowa led No. 4 Purdue, 54-52, at CHA. Settles ties up Porter Roberts, :10.9 left. Iowa possession. Coach Keady calls TO. Just four Boilers return to floor. A fifth runs onto court after in-bds pass to see Kenyon Murray dunk. 56-52.

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

A legendary coach at a legendary restaurant, right @johnbohnenkamp?

[Purdue Men's Basketball @BoilerBall]

Coach Keady celebrates at the Beefhouse.

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

@han5hwk was on hand for both of them.

[DraftKings Sports @DKSports]

Iowa’s only other win over a No. 1 seed:

1980 vs. Syracuse (88–77)
Lute Olson was the head coach.

[PGA TOUR Champions @ChampionsTour]

New kid on the block 👋

@ZachJohnsonPGA makes his PGA TOUR Champions debut this week @JamesHardieInv!

[Penn Men's Basketball @PennMBB]

TFW you're headed to Ivy Madness

#FightOnPenn🔴🔵🏀

[Seth Davis @SethDavisHoops]

This is your periodic reminder that the year before T.J. Otzelberger took over Iowa State won two games.

Two.

As good a coach as there is in this sport.

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

@BigTenPlus Are you going to post last night's Iowa-Nebraska men's basketball game anytime soon?

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

@Aaron_White30 Beautiful family, AW. Very happy for your success. Your son looks pretty good in No. 30. Always enjoyed our visits.

[Mark Calcavecchia @MarkCalc]

Drake Maye at this point looks like me at Kiawah coming down the stretch against Monty. 🤮

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

Get ready, @Beener1435.

[George Karl @CoachKarl22]

Here’s the Trailer for our new ABA film. Hope you like it!!

[Adam Schefter @AdamSchefter]

ESPN sources: the Baltimore Ravens are hiring Bears offensive coordinator Declan Doyle as their offensive coordinator. Doyle can leave because, in Baltimore, he will have play-calling responsibility. But new Ravens HC Jesse Minter now has someone to run Baltimore’s offense.

[Nick Perkins @NickyPerkss]

Heard Giannis wants out of Milwaukee

Now, yall just hear me out…

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

This country has lost it's way. This has to stop.

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

Aren't college sports wonderful?

[Rick Brown @ByRickBrown]

Couldn't agree more, Dolph. Don is first class.

[Gary Dolphin @GaryDolphin]

So happy for my good friend Don Fischer.

On the call for Indiana’s undefeated national championship basketball season in 1976 — and again for an undefeated national championship football season in 2026.

Two perfect seasons. Fifty years apart. That’s special. Congrats, Fisch!