John Ed Bradley

John Ed Bradley is the author of seven novels and a memoir, It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium. He's been a special contributor at Sports Illustrated since 1993. The son of a high school coach, he was a four-year letterman on the football team at LSU in the late 1970s. He lives today in Mandeville, La., with his wife, Kimberly, and his daughter, Hannah.

John Ed Bradley

Articles From This Author

A Glimpse of The Future

AN ACCIDENTAL HERO BERYL SHIPLEY, 1926--2011

Hang 'Em High

THE PLACE TO BE

Rocking Old Rocky Top

All Dressed Up And No Place to Go

Army Salvation

IT WAS AN UGLY DAY,

Ride Of His Life Though he fell short in the Super Bowl, the Panthers' Jake Delhomme played with a passion that captivated fellow Cajuns

Cooper On Eli You've come a long way, baby brother, and can go a lot further

Cooper On Peyton The Colts star sized up by his favorite high school receiver

The Other Brother Like his famous father, Archie, and younger siblings, Peyton and Eli, Cooper Manning had NFL-caliber talent. Then his body betrayed him

Body Blow Southern Mississippi running back Derrick Nix was bound for the NFL until he was blindsided by a life-threatening disease

The Best Years of His Life Nothing would ever match his days playing college football. So why did the author hide from the team, and the teammates, who meant everything to him?

Eagle Scout Philadelphia's fun-loving, straight-arrow quarterback, Donovan McNabb, has fans eating out of his hand

Play Mates Ronde and Tiki Barber went their separate ways to make it in the NFL, but the bond between these identical twins is as strong as ever

Sitting Pretty Giants cornerback Jason Sehorn is back in action--and ready to tackle marriage with TV star Angie Harmon

Swinging for the Fences The Vikings' Daunte Culpepper is the biggest, strongest, fastest quarterback the NFL has ever seen, but he's using a different set of chains to measure his forward progress: He wants to be the best ever

Virginia Tech's Michael Vick is a marvel without an ego

Lone Star: Ricky Williams' heart's still in Texas (SI Vault)

She's Not There Over almost two decades as an assistant coach, Kansas State's Phil Bennett would scan the crowd before the opening kickoff to find his wife, Nancy. Now, because of a freak act of nature, he never will again

Unaltered State Despite constant prodding from advisers to go corporate, rookie running back Edgerrin James stubbornly refused to change his appearance. Now he looks like a perfect fit for the Colts' backfield

Almost Perfect ARKANSAS LINEMAN BRANDON BURLSWORTH DEDICATED HIMSELF TO DOING EVERYTHING FLAWLESSLY. WHEN SOMETHING FINALLY WENT WRONG, IT COST HIM A BRIGHT NFL FUTURE--AND HIS LIFE

Heavy Freight CECIL COLLINS comes with lots of baggage and little college experience but enough talent to be one of the first running backs taken in the NFL draft

Buffalo Soldier In his quest to become an NBA coach, former superstar Kareem Abdul-Jabbar will go anywhere to gain experience-even an Apache reservation in Arizona

Tim Terrific Louisiana Tech, the school that produced Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Badshaw, has a hot new slinger in Tim Rattay, the most productive passer in the country

Da Saint The new Mike Ditka wants everyone to stop cussing, boozing, loitering, tattooing and thinking negatively about his Saints. A little gambling is still O.K.

The Life Of Brian The Pistons' Brian Williams wants to say that, no, he doesn't eat dirt; no, he isn't depressed; and no, he's not...well, a lot of things you might have heard

A SPORTING CHANCE THE VIOLENT OFFENDERS AT A STATE SCHOOL IN GIDDINGS, TEXAS, CAN EARN THE RIGHT TO PLAY FOOTBALL--BUT NOT EVERYONE IS HAPPY WHEN THEY DO

DESCENT INTO THE MAELSTROM LAST SPRING, WHEN UNIVERSITY OF HAWAII KICKER SHANNON SMITH TOOK SOME FRIENDS TO SLIDE DOWN HIS FAVORITE WATERFALL, AN IDYLLIC DAY ENDED IN A TRAGEDY THAT STILL HAUNTS MANY OF THOSE WHO KNEW HIM

HONOR THY FATHER PETE ROSE JR. HAS STRUGGLED THROUGH NINE YEARS IN THE MINOR LEAGUES, DRIVEN PARTLY BY A DREAM OF DRAWING CLOSER TO HIS DISTANT FATHER

BLUE PLATE SPECIAL CONTRARY TO SNIDE ASSERTIONS IN A TEAMMATE'S NEW BOOK, NEW YORK JETS RECEIVER WAYNE CHREBET HAS A SIMPLE RECIPE FOR SUCCESS: HARD WORK

6 SHOOTERS A HALF-DOZEN PLAYERS TO A SIDE IS THE RULE IN THE WILD AND WOOLLY BRAND OF FOOTBALL PLAYED AT TINY HIGH SCHOOLS IN THE RURAL WEST

SO YOUNG, SO OLD JAYSON WILLIAMS, THE NETS' RUGGED REBOUNDER, IS A 28-YEAR-OLD GRANDFATHER STILL HAUNTED BY THE DEATH OF TWO SISTERS FROM AIDS

Emmitt Smith can't be bothered while rushing after his goals

SWM, Tall, Handsome, 29, Professional Football Player

BROKEN PROMISE THREE DEVASTATING INJURIES IN THREE NFL SEASONS HAVE KEPT MIAMI'S STEVE EMTMAN FROM FULFILLING HIS HUGE POTENTIAL--SO FAR

ONCE UPON A TIME... ...PRAIRIE VIEW HAD A DOMINANT FOOTBALL PROGRAM. NOW, AFTER 46 STRAIGHT LOSSES, THE PITIFUL PANTHERS ARE ON THE VERGE OF SMASHING THE ALL TIME RECORD FOR CONSECUTIVE DEFEATS

BABYING HIMSELF STAR RUNNER MARSHALL FAULK OF THE COLTS HAS RUSHED TO THE PLACE WHERE HE'S MOST COMFORTABLE-- THE LAP OF LUXURY

Pryor restraint

The Rap

Hello, Anybody Home?

A Block At Tackle

JUSTICE PREVAILS

Sugar Shaq

Like Father, Like Son: Peyton and Archie Manning

WHO IS THIS CLOWN?

Get a LOAD of Me!

THE HEADLINER