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.
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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