Brendan Stern

Former basketball coach, current professor of American politics, future curmudgeon

Diversions

Because all work and no play makes for bad politics (and worse company), here are a few escapes.

Beloved Point Guards Of My Lifetime

  1. Avery Johnson
  2. Immanuel Quickley
  3. Jalen Brunson
  4. Jason Williams
  5. Steve Nash

Basketball Coaches Rumored To Walk On Water

  1. Brad Stevens
  2. Tom Thibodeau
  3. Red Holzman
  4. Jim Boeheim
  5. Pat Riley

Dream Presidential Team for a Pick-Up Game at the Field House  

  1. Point Guard: James Madison at a diminutive 5’4, which helps us understand why he thought that powerful men should not be trusted.
  2. Shooting Guard: Jimmy Carter at a scrappy 5’9. As my college basketball coach liked to say, if you want to be good, you have to be a little [pea]nutty.
  3. Small Forward: Barack Obama at a lanky 6’3. According to reports, if he went right once in a while, he would be a better player and president.
  4. Power Forward: Lyndon Baines Johnson at a bruising 6’3. When reporters questioned him about why we were in Vietnam, LBJ lost his patience. He unzipped his fly, whipped out his presidential member, and yelled, “This is why!” This is a classic power forward. Tough, aggressive, ballsy.
  5. Center: Abraham Lincoln at an honest 6’4 with a non-stop motor, running North-South.

Great Runs That Make Me Forget I’m Running

  1. River Seine, Paris
  2. Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco
  3. Gate River, Jacksonville
  4. Baker Park, Frederick
  5. Museum Hill, Santa Fe

Parks I Could People Watch All Day & Always

  1. Central Park, New York City
  2. Parc Monceau, Paris
  3. Hampstead Heath, London
  4. Parque del Laberinto de Horta, Barcelona
  5. Rock Creek, Washington, D.C.

Most Beautiful Games Known To Mankind

  1. Basketball
  2. Chess
  3. Golf
  4. International Football
  5. Democratic elections

Most Beautiful Teams Today & Always

  1. New York Knicks
  2. West Ham United F.C.
  3. New York Giants
  4. Gallaudet Men’s and Women’s Basketball
  5. New York Yankees

Most Beautiful Teams Of My Lifetime

  1. The 1998 Yankees
  2. The 1999 U.S. Women’s National Team
  3. The 2000-01 Kings
  4. The 2005-06 Suns
  5. The 2023-24 Knicks

Most Beautiful Systems Of My Lifetime

  1. The Syracuse 2-3 zone
  2. The checks and balances and separation of powers of the U.S. Constitution
  3. The Gregg Popovich motion
  4. Liberal democracies of the world
  5. The king’s pawn opening

Loveliest Golf Courses Where I’ve Taken Divots

  1. Torrey Pines North, La Jolla
  2. Streamsong Red, Bowling Green
  3. The Club at Lac La Belle, Oconomowoc
  4. Bay Hill, Orlando
  5. Sand Valley, Nekoosa