The story behind the story of Zak Keefer’s epic article on ex-mobster John Franzese Jr.

Zak Keefer interviews Sugar Ray Seales, an aging boxing champ who went broke and blind but still coaches kids in Indy in 2018. (credit Mykal McEldowney/IndyStar)

By Ed Odeven
TOKYO (April 15, 2019) — Zak Keefer covers the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts for The Indianapolis Star. He’s also a sports enterprise reporter for the Indy paper and USA Today.

He provided a revealing introduction to his ambitious work on his LinkedIn Page:

For example, he wrote this: “I’ve written about an ambitious kid from Plum, Pennsylvania, who lied to his parents, took $100 to a basement poker game and turned that night into an NFL career. His name is Pat McAfee.”

And this: “I spent 18 consecutive hours with the president of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway during race week for a peek inside the most hectic job in motor sports.”

Plus this: “I told the story of Clarence Walker, John Wooden’s…