ABOUT ME
I'm a nonfiction writer in New York City. I grew up in the small town of Janesville, Minnesota, and after graduating from St. John's University (Collegeville, MN), I worked at various newspapers for a decade. My first book, Keeping the Faith: In the Trenches With College Football's Worst Team (Lyons Press, 2005 ) tells the story of the Trinity Bible College Lions, out of Ellendale, North Dakota, which once lost a game 105-0. Publishers Weekly wrote of Keeping the Faith, "By refusing to caricature or sentimentalize the players, Fury delivers a heartfelt tale."
My second book, Rise and Fire: The Origins, Science, and Evolution of The Jump Shot--And How It Transformed Basketball Forever, releases February 23, 2016 (Flatiron Books/Macmillan). Rise and Fire goes back in time and documents how the jump shot first came into basketball, and chronicles how it altered basketball history. Along the way I show how the jump shot -- and the game's great shooters -- changed basketball, from the 1960s to the great gunners like Pete Maravich in the 1970s to the dominance of the three-pointer in today's game. I met and spoke with numerous great shooters, including Jerry West, Rick Mount, Bob McAdoo, Mark Price, Jimmy Rayl, Dennis Scott, and many more. It's a book I believe all basketball fans will enjoy.
My writing has also appeared in The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, the Minneapolis Star Tribune, Vice Sports, Sports on Earth, The Classical and many other places.
I live in New York with my wife, Louise.
AWARDS
Minnesota Newspaper Association: First-place prize for best sports feature for daily paper, 2003
North Dakota/South Dakota A.P. Managing Editors Association: First-place prize for sportswriting, 2003
Minnesota Associated Press: First-place prize for Division I sports feature writing in 1999 North Dakota Newspaper Association: Third-place prize for sports feature story, 2003 North Dakota Newspaper Association: Third-place prize for sports series, 2003
Minnesota Associated Press: Third-place prize for Division I sports enterprise reporting in 2000