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The founding articles of Dink & Carreau, in reading order — the background before the deeper reporting begins.
Everything on this page is short on purpose. These are the founding articles of Dink & Carreau — the background you need before the deeper reporting begins. Read them in order; the whole shelf takes about half an hour.
The Dink and the Carreau
Two signature shots, two theories of winning: the soft American placement and the decisive French strike.
2 PétanqueHow Pétanque Works
A circle, three boules, one wooden jack, and two verbs: pointer and tirer. First to 13 wins.
3 PétanqueA Hundred Years of Pétanque
In 1907, a rheumatic man's friendship invented a sport. A century later, it is played on every continent.
4 PickleballHow Pickleball Works
A badminton court, a wiffle ball, and one sacred rule: thou shalt not volley in the kitchen.
5 PickleballPickleball's Unlikely Rise
Three dads, one bored summer afternoon in 1965, and a dog named Pickles. The fastest-growing sport in America was an accident.
6 PétanqueTwo Games, One Grammar
Pétanque and pickleball were born an ocean apart. Play both for a week and they start to rhyme.
7 PétanqueThe Road to the Mondial
From Marseille's dusty squares to world championships: the competitions that crown pétanque's kings.
8 PickleballPro Pickleball's Gold Rush
Two rival leagues, billionaire owners, and a TV deal. Pickleball went pro in about fifteen minutes.
9 PétanqueFinding a Game
Pétanque is quietly thriving in American cities, and pickleball is exploding across France. Here's where the two games are meeting in the middle.
10 GlossaryLe cochonnet
The little wooden target everything revolves around — and what each country claims to be aiming at.
11 GlossaryMène
A single round of play — from mener, to lead. Every mène has a leader, and the lead changes hands the way power does.
12 GlossaryPointer / Tirer
To place gently or to shoot: every policy debate is a choice between the two.
13 GlossaryFanny
Lose 13–0 and tradition demands a kiss. Two theories of losing, one painted backside.
14 GlossaryLa buvette / The Tailgate
The game beside the game: where France and America actually govern themselves.
15 CultureThe Apéro and the Happy Hour
France drinks before dinner as a sacred ritual. America drinks after work as a limited-time offer. Both are telling the truth about themselves.
16 CultureThe Art of Disagreement
In France, arguing is a social art. In America, it's a bug report. Both countries are convinced the other is doing it wrong.