Brian Phillips is a former staff writer at Grantland and senior writer at MTV News. He grew up in Oklahoma and now lives in Los Angeles. His work has appeared in Slate, Deadspin, The New York Times, The Awl, The New Republic, The Hudson Review, and Poetry, among other publications. His first book, Impossible Owls, an essay collection, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux in October 2018. He founded The Run of Play in 2007 and edited it until 2011. You can follow him on Twitter.
The Run of Play goes on vacation. Plus: How to build an audience on the internet.
July 16, 2010
A tiny post about New Zealand, and a final World Cup link.
July 12, 2010
A defense of Spanish style.
July 10, 2010
Pure white sparks sprayed from the smithy of the World Cup.
July 9, 2010
The World Cup quarterfinals, the most delirious two days in soccer.
July 4, 2010
The answer is not “be ruled by a dictator.”
July 1, 2010
Is it impossible to be a great soccer player?
June 29, 2010
USA-Algeria and the simple, amazing elation of the fan.
June 24, 2010
A World Cup keepsake book.
June 23, 2010
The failure of Africa and the fall of Europe: two burgeoning World Cup mysteries.
June 22, 2010
The destruction of France clears the way for the future of football.
June 20, 2010
On the first round of World Cup games, and the salvation of Spain-Switzerland.
June 17, 2010
Watching people watching the World Cup.
June 14, 2010
A World Cup golden treasury.
June 13, 2010
England-USA was a draw for America, not a win. And that’s better.
June 12, 2010
Conclusion of Beauclair’s speech. Jimmy makes his choice.
June 9, 2010
Shocking news from the New York Sentinel on the death of Dr. Edgar Eiffel.
June 8, 2010
Reading USA Today with a pair of World Cup holdouts.
June 8, 2010
World Cup links, news, notes, updates, apocrypha, miscellany, and scrapbooks.
June 7, 2010
What if they were playing Dungeons & Dragons instead?
June 1, 2010
The Champions League final as the apotheosis of Mourinho’s flair.
May 25, 2010
A few announcements regarding the Champions League and the World Cup.
May 22, 2010
The banquet continues. Beauclair begins his speech.
May 21, 2010
Sam and Cora, driving to the Faircliff.
May 20, 2010
The team conspires against Beauclair. Jimmy makes a choice.
May 18, 2010
Avram Grant, the skeleton in Chelsea’s closet.
May 15, 2010
Jimmy Reilly, the king of New York.
May 10, 2010
Sam and Cora at the loneliest speakeasy in Manhattan.
May 6, 2010
Beauclair and Odyssey driving to the banquet.
May 5, 2010
Part One: The White King of Jazz. Introducing Beauclair and Odyssey.
May 4, 2010
A confidential history of the Brooklyn Asylum itself: part 2.
April 29, 2010
A confidential history of the Brooklyn Asylum itself: part 1.
April 27, 2010
The pristine golden boy vs. the aging enfant terrible.
April 22, 2010
Do bad calls make the game better?
April 20, 2010
Fairness isn’t the only thing that matters.
April 15, 2010
Real Madrid 0 – 2 Barcelona.
April 11, 2010
Amaze the community.
April 7, 2010
Pirouettes and poses from the Champions League.
April 6, 2010
Masculine anxiety and Barcelona’s style.
April 5, 2010
It’s pleased to meet you.
April 3, 2010
Help launch the new Run of Play.
March 23, 2010
Immigration and eugenics in the early 1920s.
February 13, 2010
The adventures of Little Nemo.
January 8, 2010
America in the 1920s, the world of the Brooklyn Asylum Football Club.
December 26, 2009
Beckham and Mourinho return to their old clubs. A nice, quiet little story.
December 18, 2009
A major project announcement, an award, and some odds and ends.
December 13, 2009
Astonishingly, North Korea are not the most insular team in the World Cup.
December 5, 2009
USA-England!
December 4, 2009
Time to face facts about the U.S. Men’s National Team’s probable draw.
December 3, 2009
Little-noticed news from the fringes of the European press.
December 3, 2009