The Front: this issue's lead sports stories

The Front is where every issue of New York Sports Express begins. This section gathers the stories the editors chose to put up front: the lead reports, the headlines that set the tone for the issue and the talking points that sports fans in the city were arguing about at the time.

What you find on the front page

A front page in a sports paper is a mix of the big and the unexpected. Alongside coverage of the major leagues and the teams that fill the city's arenas and stadiums, the front section makes room for the stories that do not fit neatly anywhere else: the strange moment on the pitch, the controversial ban, the athlete whose celebration became the news. New York Sports Express built a reputation for telling those stories plainly and with a sense of humour.

• Lead stories from the issue, with the main headline and its context.
• Short items and briefs on the week's talking points.
• Pointers to the departments inside the issue, where columns and longer features continue.

How to read this section

Each issue has its own front, so the stories here belong to one particular edition of the paper. Read them as a picture of the sports conversation at that moment: who was winning, who was in trouble and what fans were talking about on the way to the game. Some stories are serious reporting; others are the lighter, sharper items that made the paper worth picking up.

From the front section you can move on to the regular departments of the issue, where columnists and reporters go deeper into individual sports, from the major professional leagues to boxing, soccer and the local scene. The front is the doorway; the rest of the issue is where the conversation keeps going.