Grantland is the latest exercise in literary courage from the good folks at McSweeney's — this time, their weather eye turns to sportswriting. A collaboration between ESPN, McSweeney's and sports writer/former Jimmy Kimmel Live scribe Bill Simmons, at first blush the reaction of such a marriage might be as impressively bizarre as Dennis Miller being hired to do color commentary on Monday Night Football. And yet with the recent passing of people like legendary boxing writer Bert Sugar, the voices of sports writers entering a new arena are as evolutionarily necessary as ever. The latest issue — from which contributors to Grantland Issue 2 will read — of 200 full-color pages of sporty goodness features Simmons writing about the sprawling career of comedian Eddie Murphy; an interview with Don DeLillo about his book Underworld and the 60th anniversary of the Giants-Dodgers pennant-inspired “Shot Heard 'Round the World”; and Charles Pierce and Michael Weinreb's take on the satanic culture of “winning” and the sexual abuse scandal at Penn State. Now if only someone would write about Huey Lewis' classic album Sports…. Skylight Books, 1818 N. Vermont Ave., Los Feliz; Mon., April 9, 7:30 p.m.; free. (323) 660-1175; skylightbooks.com.

Mon., April 9, 7:30 p.m., 2012

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