You’ve Got to Lose to Learn How to Win: Diego Luke’s Story

05/03/20 • 20 min

Diego Luke was a promising youth hockey player in Minnesota—"The State of Hockey"—until kidney disease forced him to step away from the game. His comeback was interrupted by a bout with cancer. Yet he returned to the ice again. Interviewing his mom and a teammate along the way, Luke recounts his traumatic journey back to hockey, which included a bench-clearing brawl in the hospital that brought the cops. "Every game I'm playing," he says now, "I'm winning." Plus: King Kaufman introduces a new song by his former band The Smokejumpers: "If My Heart Was an Elbow, I'd Need Tommy John." Originally published Dec. 2, 2017.

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Killer Weight Loss Secrets: Fighters Cutting Weight

Weight cutting. It's hard. It's painful. It doesn't really give fighters a competitive advantage. And it can be deadly. Andrew Stelzer on some fighters' toughest battle, the one fans never see. Plus: King Kaufman on Billy Conn, "The Pittsburgh Kid," who gave Joe Louis all he wanted — and then gave him a little too much. Featuring the Bible Code Sundays. Originally published Nov. 25, 2017.

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Anthony Hembrick: Godfather of “Showboating Fighters KTFO”

"Showboating Fighters Get KTFO" — that's knocked the F out — is a popular, and delicious, YouTube genre. But even before the internet, Anthony "Hollywood" Hembrick practically invented the form. An undefeated light-heavyweight contender, Hembrick danced up a choreographed storm with his cornermen before getting KO'd in the first round of a fight on national TV. The former U.S. Olympic captain did eventually challenge for the world title twice, but he'll always be best remembered for that one humbling night. Originally published Dec. 9, 2017.