Hal Phillips https://www.halphillips.net/ Small-Batch Journalism & Comment Wed, 15 Apr 2026 17:59:20 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://www.halphillips.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/cropped-BNyb0KwmkKGrHgoH-C8EjlLlhlGBJrZchZqHQ_35-32x32.jpg Hal Phillips https://www.halphillips.net/ 32 32 The Essential Soccer Book for 2026: Sibling Rivalry now Available, from Bloomsbury https://www.halphillips.net/sibling-rivalry-halphillips-net?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=sibling-rivalry-halphillips-net Fri, 13 Mar 2026 15:04:00 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=4987 Welcome to HalPhillips.net, where the lede headline remains the March 2026 publication of my new book. My publishers at Bloomsbury issued Sibling Rivalry: How Mexico and the US Built the Most Contentious, Co-Dependent Feud in World Soccer on March 5, 2026. Get your very own copy here, or click that handsome book cover. We recommend […]

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]]> Ernie D Built the Big East, One Local College Basketball Broadcast at a Time https://www.halphillips.net/ernie-d-was-an-adorable-pro-but-does-the-big-east-even-happen-without-him?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=ernie-d-was-an-adorable-pro-but-does-the-big-east-even-happen-without-him https://www.halphillips.net/ernie-d-was-an-adorable-pro-but-does-the-big-east-even-happen-without-him#comments Thu, 05 Feb 2026 20:46:39 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5315 PROVIDENCE, R.I. (Jan. 5, 2024) — It’s never too late to mark and quantify the impact of Ernie DiGregorio. Not in New England. Not when the subject is college basketball. Yet here’s the immediate news peg, the reason to contemplate Ernie D and his attendant rabbit hole early in 2024: It was 50 years ago […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/ernie-d-was-an-adorable-pro-but-does-the-big-east-even-happen-without-him/feed 1 Pocket Full of Mumbles Ruminate on their Tribute Band Origins https://www.halphillips.net/big-2026-coming-meantime-the-mumbles-ruminate-on-tribute-origins?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=big-2026-coming-meantime-the-mumbles-ruminate-on-tribute-origins https://www.halphillips.net/big-2026-coming-meantime-the-mumbles-ruminate-on-tribute-origins#respond Mon, 26 Jan 2026 23:01:51 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5798 Heartiest New Year’s greetings from the band to everyone out there in Mumbles Nation. We wanted to share some content here and encourage you to monitor this space, as 2026 is shaping up as a busy year on the gig calendar. We should soon have news about a cool April date at a new, prestige […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/big-2026-coming-meantime-the-mumbles-ruminate-on-tribute-origins/feed 0 Golf Wallpaper: Home-Screen Takeaways from Royal Lytham & St. Annes https://www.halphillips.net/golf-wallpaper-home-screen-takeaways-from-royal-lytham-st-annes?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=golf-wallpaper-home-screen-takeaways-from-royal-lytham-st-annes https://www.halphillips.net/golf-wallpaper-home-screen-takeaways-from-royal-lytham-st-annes#respond Mon, 29 Dec 2025 23:49:21 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5790 I tend to spend a lot of time at the computer. In 2025, I started collecting fun golf course images to use as wallpaper on my oversized monitor. The better ones stay in place for several weeks, allowing for detailed scrutiny and study. I decided to share some of the most thought-provoking examples here. 1) […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/golf-wallpaper-home-screen-takeaways-from-royal-lytham-st-annes/feed 0 Fescue Programs: A Roadside Meditation https://www.halphillips.net/fescue-programs-a-roadside-meditation?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=fescue-programs-a-roadside-meditation https://www.halphillips.net/fescue-programs-a-roadside-meditation#respond Sat, 20 Dec 2025 22:58:00 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5784 Driving home from a dreamy golf excursion, author Hal Phillips noticed wispy grasses glistening alongside a newly widened stretch of a busy interstate. Their presence raised questions about the agronomics of incorporating a linksy feature into inland settings. [Ed. This essay was first published in the November 2026 print edition of Golf Course Industry magazine. […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/fescue-programs-a-roadside-meditation/feed 0 Maine Place Names: Observations on visiting, pronouncing Vienna, Madrid, Calais and Peru — while never leaving the 207 https://www.halphillips.net/maine-naming-conventions-observations-on-visiting-bremen-rome-troy-denmark-peru-palermo-paris-while-never-leaving-the-207?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=maine-naming-conventions-observations-on-visiting-bremen-rome-troy-denmark-peru-palermo-paris-while-never-leaving-the-207 https://www.halphillips.net/maine-naming-conventions-observations-on-visiting-bremen-rome-troy-denmark-peru-palermo-paris-while-never-leaving-the-207#comments Wed, 03 Dec 2025 14:16:00 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=4837 Prior to the smartphone era, when folks read mainly in analog fashion, a great many of us kept a Maine Atlas and Gazetteer in the glove compartment of our cars, or the privy. Published by Yarmouth-based mapmaker DeLorme, this oversized, soft-cover booklet neatly divided this Great State of ours into 96 pages, or rectangular quadrants, […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/maine-naming-conventions-observations-on-visiting-bremen-rome-troy-denmark-peru-palermo-paris-while-never-leaving-the-207/feed 2 Heart-Stopping: My Big Day Out in Spokane https://www.halphillips.net/heart-stopping-my-big-day-out-in-spokane?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=heart-stopping-my-big-day-out-in-spokane https://www.halphillips.net/heart-stopping-my-big-day-out-in-spokane#respond Mon, 01 Dec 2025 03:20:26 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5757 While I’m a “Masshole” born, bred and proud (the word’s now ensconced in the Oxford English Dictionary), I’ve made my home in Maine since 1992, and never has there been a bigger soccer story to hit the Pine Tree State than Hearts of Pine, our first-year entry in USL One. The club’s fairytale run finally […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/heart-stopping-my-big-day-out-in-spokane/feed 0 World Series 1975 Revisited: Recapturing an All-time Classic, via iPhone https://www.halphillips.net/recapturing-the-75-world-series-via-iphone?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=recapturing-the-75-world-series-via-iphone https://www.halphillips.net/recapturing-the-75-world-series-via-iphone#respond Thu, 16 Oct 2025 00:59:00 +0000 http://theaposition.com/halphillips/?p=1873 It’s often argued that the 1975 World Series — contested 50 years ago this month — ranks among the finest in baseball history. In terms of legendary personalities and the competitive iconography that framed them, Game 6 featured enough fairy-tale moments all on its own: a not-yet-befouled Pete Rose bellyflopping into third then popping up […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/recapturing-the-75-world-series-via-iphone/feed 0 Cassette Tape Revival? Hipsters Need a Primer on What They’re Getting Into https://www.halphillips.net/its-time-to-start-cutting-maine-kids-from-high-school-sports-teams-again?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=its-time-to-start-cutting-maine-kids-from-high-school-sports-teams-again https://www.halphillips.net/its-time-to-start-cutting-maine-kids-from-high-school-sports-teams-again#respond Tue, 19 Nov 2024 20:29:46 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5502 It’s weird to learn via media report that specific, intimate aspects of one’s own cultural history are making “comebacks”. Maybe 15-20 years ago, a certain American demographic started collecting and playing vinyl records again, for example. Out of nowhere this became trendy. Today, folks of all ages are still giddily sourcing records from Discogs and […]

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]]> https://www.halphillips.net/its-time-to-start-cutting-maine-kids-from-high-school-sports-teams-again/feed 0 Oh, Pioneers! GenX Rediscovers the Moderate Joys of Microdosing https://www.halphillips.net/oh-pioneers-genx-rediscovers-the-moderate-joys-of-microdosing?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=oh-pioneers-genx-rediscovers-the-moderate-joys-of-microdosing https://www.halphillips.net/oh-pioneers-genx-rediscovers-the-moderate-joys-of-microdosing#comments Mon, 26 Aug 2024 11:56:58 +0000 https://www.halphillips.net/?p=5531 Observing the proliferation of dope stores here in my former mill town is, by now, old hat. They’re everywhere across the Great State of Maine and their attendant foot traffic has even begun to attract pleasantly parasitic commerce, like the Casa Del Taco truck that took up residence beside one shop, the Cure Cannabis Co., […]

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