WHEN Sporting News first hit the presses in 1886, there was no World Series, no National Football League, and no Cracker Jack, much less the Internet, mobile score updates or jeering sports bloggers. In its heyday — the 1950s and ’60s — it was the authoritative paper for serious sports fans, publishing comprehensive box scores [...]

“I felt like a baseball player,” Crystal said. “I really hate to leave.”Wearing No. 60 and cheered on by fellow funnyman Robin Williams, the lifelong Yankees fan was no joke at the plate against Pittsburgh.Players on both teams perched on the top step of the dugout when Crystal came up. They almost saw something special [...]