Travis Lazarczyk
@tlazarczyk.bsky.social
Sports columnist at the Portland Press Herald. I read a lot.
Sound advice from Batman on this Independence Day.
July 4, 2025 at 9:17 AM
Sound advice from Batman on this Independence Day.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 14. “Ghost Rider” by Neil Peart. After losing his daughter and wife in the span of 10 tragic months in 1997-98, Peart took a break from Rush and went on a motorcycle journey across North America. This is his memoir of that time, and his discovering how he’ll move on.
May 15, 2025 at 11:59 AM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 14. “Ghost Rider” by Neil Peart. After losing his daughter and wife in the span of 10 tragic months in 1997-98, Peart took a break from Rush and went on a motorcycle journey across North America. This is his memoir of that time, and his discovering how he’ll move on.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 13. “Homestand” by Will Bardenwerper. A look at how MLB’s contraction of the minors a few years ago affected towns that lost their teams, through the eyes of the 2023 Batavia Muckdogs. Once a minor league team, the Muckdogs are now a collegiate summer league club.
May 7, 2025 at 5:03 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 13. “Homestand” by Will Bardenwerper. A look at how MLB’s contraction of the minors a few years ago affected towns that lost their teams, through the eyes of the 2023 Batavia Muckdogs. Once a minor league team, the Muckdogs are now a collegiate summer league club.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 11. “Towing Jehovah” by James Morrow. This had been on my to-read list for a while. Top shelf satire of modern religion, but in a hopeful way.
April 24, 2025 at 11:40 AM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 11. “Towing Jehovah” by James Morrow. This had been on my to-read list for a while. Top shelf satire of modern religion, but in a hopeful way.
Repost this with the first album you bought with your own money.
This cassette is probably still in a shoebox in my parents’ house.
This cassette is probably still in a shoebox in my parents’ house.
April 16, 2025 at 8:10 PM
Repost this with the first album you bought with your own money.
This cassette is probably still in a shoebox in my parents’ house.
This cassette is probably still in a shoebox in my parents’ house.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 10. “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones. This is another brilliant example of @sgj.bsky.social ability to turn a horror trope into something new and fantastic. This might be his best work to date.
April 12, 2025 at 7:25 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 10. “The Buffalo Hunter Hunter” by Stephen Graham Jones. This is another brilliant example of @sgj.bsky.social ability to turn a horror trope into something new and fantastic. This might be his best work to date.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 9. “The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne” by Ron Currie. An early front runner for my favorite book of the year. A crime thriller set in Waterville, Maine, this novel hits all the right notes. Currie’s best work so far.
April 4, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 9. “The Savage, Noble Death of Babs Dionne” by Ron Currie. An early front runner for my favorite book of the year. A crime thriller set in Waterville, Maine, this novel hits all the right notes. Currie’s best work so far.
The Portland Sea Dogs held their annual season kickoff Fan Fest Wednesday. The Sea Dogs open the season on the road in Reading, PA Friday. The home opener is set for next Tuesday vs the NH Fisher Cats. #mesports #RedSoxNation
April 2, 2025 at 10:22 PM
The Portland Sea Dogs held their annual season kickoff Fan Fest Wednesday. The Sea Dogs open the season on the road in Reading, PA Friday. The home opener is set for next Tuesday vs the NH Fisher Cats. #mesports #RedSoxNation
Trav reads in ‘25. No. 8 “Lorne” by Susan Morrison. A comprehensive biography of Lorne Michaels, the creator of one of my television touchstones.
April 1, 2025 at 12:13 AM
Trav reads in ‘25. No. 8 “Lorne” by Susan Morrison. A comprehensive biography of Lorne Michaels, the creator of one of my television touchstones.
I’m at TD Garden tonight for the Hockey East semifinals. In game 1, UConn leads BU 3-1 in the 2nd period. Maine and Northeastern drop the puck at 7:30. #mesports #collegehockey
March 20, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I’m at TD Garden tonight for the Hockey East semifinals. In game 1, UConn leads BU 3-1 in the 2nd period. Maine and Northeastern drop the puck at 7:30. #mesports #collegehockey
The @portlandseadogs.bsky.social will play on Aug. 2 as the Maine Candlepins.
March 19, 2025 at 11:04 AM
The @portlandseadogs.bsky.social will play on Aug. 2 as the Maine Candlepins.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 7. “Why We Love Football” by @joeposnanski.bsky.social. This is a wonderful tour through football history. And thank you, Joe, for ranking Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl saving pick higher than David Tyree’s ludicrous catch.
March 8, 2025 at 5:30 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 7. “Why We Love Football” by @joeposnanski.bsky.social. This is a wonderful tour through football history. And thank you, Joe, for ranking Malcolm Butler’s Super Bowl saving pick higher than David Tyree’s ludicrous catch.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 6. “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” by Mordecai Richler. This was on the reading list of a Canadian Lit class I took at UMaine, but we never got to it. This is Richler’s masterpiece.
March 2, 2025 at 1:48 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 6. “The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz” by Mordecai Richler. This was on the reading list of a Canadian Lit class I took at UMaine, but we never got to it. This is Richler’s masterpiece.
Greeting from Alfond Arena, where the Maine men’s hockey team will host Vermont. Puck drops at 7. #USCHO #HockeyEast #mesports
February 28, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Greeting from Alfond Arena, where the Maine men’s hockey team will host Vermont. Puck drops at 7. #USCHO #HockeyEast #mesports
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 5. “A Town Built by Ski Bums” by Virginia M. Wright. I read this for work, and will have a review in the Portland Press Herald soon.
February 25, 2025 at 12:24 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 5. “A Town Built by Ski Bums” by Virginia M. Wright. I read this for work, and will have a review in the Portland Press Herald soon.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 4. “The Last Dangerous Visions” edited by Harlan Ellison, with an assist from J. Michael Straczynski. Originally set to be published in 1974, this languished for decades. After Ellison died in 2018, Straczynski took over and completed the anthology. Some great stories in this.
February 17, 2025 at 6:50 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 4. “The Last Dangerous Visions” edited by Harlan Ellison, with an assist from J. Michael Straczynski. Originally set to be published in 1974, this languished for decades. After Ellison died in 2018, Straczynski took over and completed the anthology. Some great stories in this.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 3. “A Life Impossible” by Steve Gleason with Jeff Duncan. Gleason, the former New Orleans Saints special teams star, presents an unvarnished look at his life with ALS. An inspirational read right at a time I needed it.
February 9, 2025 at 1:38 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 3. “A Life Impossible” by Steve Gleason with Jeff Duncan. Gleason, the former New Orleans Saints special teams star, presents an unvarnished look at his life with ALS. An inspirational read right at a time I needed it.
Of course Fenway is the ballpark closest to a Dunkin. I bet there’s 9 or 10 of them inside the ballpark.
January 29, 2025 at 3:25 PM
Of course Fenway is the ballpark closest to a Dunkin. I bet there’s 9 or 10 of them inside the ballpark.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 2. “Dinner at Deviant’s Palace” by Tim Powers. One of Powers’ early novels, I found a well-read used copy online. You can read a young author developing his voice on every page of this one.
January 26, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 2. “Dinner at Deviant’s Palace” by Tim Powers. One of Powers’ early novels, I found a well-read used copy online. You can read a young author developing his voice on every page of this one.
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 1, “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson. A deep dive into the days between Lincoln’s election and the attack on Fort Sumter.
January 19, 2025 at 3:03 PM
Trav reads in ‘25, No. 1, “The Demon of Unrest” by Erik Larson. A deep dive into the days between Lincoln’s election and the attack on Fort Sumter.
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 37. “Salvage and Demolition” by Tim Powers. Only Powers could combine time travel, the beat poets, and a cult worshipping a dead Sumerian god and make it all work.
December 26, 2024 at 3:11 AM
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 37. “Salvage and Demolition” by Tim Powers. Only Powers could combine time travel, the beat poets, and a cult worshipping a dead Sumerian god and make it all work.
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 36. “I Was A Teenage Slasher” by Stephen Graham Jones. A homage to the horror movies us Gen Xers grew up on. It hits all the right notes, with a few surprises too. Jones has been on a roll the last few years, and it continues with this novel.
December 25, 2024 at 1:30 AM
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 36. “I Was A Teenage Slasher” by Stephen Graham Jones. A homage to the horror movies us Gen Xers grew up on. It hits all the right notes, with a few surprises too. Jones has been on a roll the last few years, and it continues with this novel.
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 35. “In the Skin of a Lion” by Michael Ondaatje. An examination of the immigrant experience in Toronto in the 1920s and 30s, and how their contributions to the city’s growth were swept aside. I read some Ondaatje in college, and now I’m sorry I waited so long to read more.
December 17, 2024 at 12:54 PM
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 35. “In the Skin of a Lion” by Michael Ondaatje. An examination of the immigrant experience in Toronto in the 1920s and 30s, and how their contributions to the city’s growth were swept aside. I read some Ondaatje in college, and now I’m sorry I waited so long to read more.
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 34. “Noir” by Christopher Moore. Moore combines hard-boiled detective fiction, science fiction, and slapstick. And it works.
December 10, 2024 at 9:59 PM
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 34. “Noir” by Christopher Moore. Moore combines hard-boiled detective fiction, science fiction, and slapstick. And it works.
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 33. “A Sunny Place for Shady People” by Mariana Enriquez. I read Enriquez’s novel “Our Share of Night” last year and loved it. This collection of 12 stories is superb.
November 29, 2024 at 4:25 PM
Trav reads in ‘24, No. 33. “A Sunny Place for Shady People” by Mariana Enriquez. I read Enriquez’s novel “Our Share of Night” last year and loved it. This collection of 12 stories is superb.