Matador Featured Articles - Sport

When Maximo was our Captain: Surfing Bocas

Spencer Klein — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 23:10:46 -0800

We skipped Colon because it was high season. Too many hucksters peddling all their myriad (non)necessities, and the crowd was hyper and amped to get one last night, and one last wave, and one last exotic fling under their belt before they migrated north. At least that’s how we saw it. On the...

Wingsuit Pioneers: Making Human Flight a Reality

malin — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 11:56:22 -0800

In this profile of wingsuit flying, Sandra Konta speaks with Birdmen Jari Kuosma, Nick Rugai, and Robert Pecnik. "What is old news to the skydiving community," she writes, "the mainstream public is just beginning to digest: safe human flight is now a reality."

Golden Trout

Tim Patterson — Thu, 20 Dec 2007 13:54:17 -0800

"He doesn’t answer our question right away, sizing us up for a time before asking the receptionist to dig out some maps of the Popo Agie Wilderness. The map he chooses is hand-drawn, carefully creased and slightly yellow with age," writes Tim Patterson in this soulful and sharp-eyed traverse of the Wyoming highcountry.

Up and Paddling

clo — Tue, 09 Oct 2007 18:01:50 -0700

The fast-growing sport of stand up paddling gives people new ways to explore oceans, rivers, and everything in between. And yet, as waterman and stand-up paddling innovator Todd Bradley notes, "Stand-up paddling, it’s a tradition for us. All we’re doing is practicing what our culture has already given us, because it is people we looked up to like Duke Kahanamoku who did that in the past."

Backcountry Fly-Fishing in Yellowstone National Park

Tim Patterson — Wed, 12 Sep 2007 15:46:51 -0700

"The Lamar valley is one of the wildest areas of the region, home to herds of buffalo, the Druid wolf pack and several grizzly bears, including one notorious silver-tip known as the Tent Smasher," writes Tim Patterson. With his unique style blending lyrical prose and comprehensive practical information, Tim takes us through one of the last truly wild places in the lower 48.

One in 4,000: High School Baseball in Japan

railroamer — Sat, 07 Jul 2007 12:50:03 -0700

An American teaching High School in Japan discovers that baseball, with all its similarities on the field, holds an entirely different place in the lives of young athletes in Japan.

Scratching the Surface in Borneo

Peter Fong — Sat, 28 Apr 2007 23:54:21 -0700

Peter Fong takes us fishing in Borneo, where he notes, "every household owns at least one boat, and the resident cats and chickens might pass their whole lives without ever touching topsoil."

Shaken & Stirred

wending — Sat, 17 Mar 2007 10:42:39 -0700

From Wend Magazine's inaugural issue, Melissa Bearns goes riverboarding down the North Santiam at flood stage.

Paradise Found: World Class Climbing on the Island of Kalymnos

aramzy — Fri, 26 Jan 2007 22:00:00 -0800

The tall thin man at the end of the ferry eyed us up and down as we shoved our luggage onto the holding rack. “You guys climbers?” he said. I looked at him quizzically, and then did a quick mental check. Yes, I was wearing my North Face down jacket, but there were no remnants of chalk or...

The Ringer: An American girl playing the field in Kenya

Jenny Williams — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:00:00 -0800

At low tide, the white sands of Mombasa’s northern beaches stretch nearly half a mile out to sea. The shore is framed by palm trees, run-down hotel buildings, and wooden stalls selling fried cassava chips and cold Coca-Cola; in the distance, the vivid blue of the Indian Ocean is painted with the faded...

The Gibbon Experience: An adventure into and above the heart of the jungle

Sfnola — Tue, 21 Nov 2006 23:45:08 -0800

For many travelers, northern Thailand is the gateway to Laos. After exploring the northern capital of Chiang Mai, and then delving deeper into the countryside in towns like Pai and Chiang Rai, many will make their way to the border town of Chiang Kong, perched on the Mekong River. Upon crossing the...

Learning to Flip: Rafting the Source of the Nile in Uganda

Jenny Williams — Wed, 15 Nov 2006 22:00:00 -0800

“If you haven’t flipped the boat, you haven’t really rafted the Nile,” said our guide, Phillip, as we floated leisurely downstream. The eight of us in the inflatable blue paddleboat exchanged glances that suggested perhaps we didn’t want to raft the Nile after all. But here we were in...

A travelers look into the world of Muay Thai Boxing in Thailand

tijax — Tue, 14 Nov 2006 22:00:00 -0800

“No fight tonight”

An unusual and disappointing greeting for visitors to a boxing stadium on fight night, but this is Thailand. There is a solution around every corner. Despite the obvious absence of fans, lights, food stalls or any other indicators of an event, I stick around. Noticing that I...

The Motorcycle Diaries: North India

NicholasGill — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 22:00:00 -0700

Imagine drifting through the Himalayas on a motorcycle with no worry of time. Riding with the wind in your face and the world’s tallest mountains at your side and not stopping until you feel like it. You float by buses and enter to small sleepy towns that haven’t seen a tourist in months, maybe years....

A common language: Discovering Baseball in Iran

Jason Rezaian — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 14:04:40 -0700

Southern Tehran, and more specifically the Azadi (Freedom) Stadium complex isn’t the kind of place where you would expect to find twenty young men playing baseball, but on the dusty soccer practice field, far from the city’s choking traffic jams, that is exactly what I found on one very hot, recent...

No day at the beach: Surfing San Francisco's Ocean Beach

Tony Fantano — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:48:43 -0700

On the California Coast up towards the point where it jets inward and virtually leans into the curvature of the globe, there is a three mile stretch of beach where the only thing that rolls in harder than the fog are the thunderous swells. The murky green Pacific water reflects what is left of an aero...

The Magic of Club Parque: Buenos Aires’ legendary soccer club

Christian Denes — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:44:05 -0700

In many ways, Club Social y Deportivo Villa del Parque is indistinguishable from any other recreational club in any other neighborhood in Argentina: It’s a place to meet with friends and family, get a bite to eat and, of course, play soccer.

The club’s white façade at Marcos Sastre 3260 faces...

Death, Taxes and Gravity: Bungy Jumping in New Zealand

zxcv — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:28:41 -0700

I fell exactly 43 meters from Kawarau Bridge, outside of Queenstown, New Zealand, attached to a glorified rubber band. I know because it is written on my certificate next to my nationality and a persuasive, chest-swelling blurb about my courage. Even after you have already jumped off the bridge, the...

Riding the Andes: Backcountry snowboarding in South America

Josh Kamler — Mon, 28 Aug 2006 17:22:39 -0700

Josh Kamler pushes his limits in Termas de Chillan on a backcountry snowboarding tour with Chilean Andean Snow Adventures.