In 1954, French-born historian Jacques Barzun wrote, “Whoever wants to know the heart and mind of America had better learn baseball.” Baseball, once regarded as our nation’s pastime, has always been a representation of American culture and the values of hard work and opportunity for mobility. As a result of the steroid era, however, baseball has … Read more
With one month of the English Premier League left, the championship race seems to be all but over. With only six games remaining, Manchester United look set to claim their 20th Premiership title and 5th in the last 6 years as they have opened up an eight point gap over self-destructing second place Manchester City, … Read more
Jordan comparisons have come to define, and dog, a number of careers in the NBA. The legacy of 23 follows every shot Kobe misses, every playoff mistake Lebron makes. After all, the gold standard is not Russell’s 11, but Jordan’s 6. However, Jordan comparisons permeate much farther than those nominated into the “Greatest-of-all-time” sideshow. The … Read more
I know people point to changes in real disposable income as a predictor of presidential elections, but what about real three point percentage? Remember the days when the President would step up and knock down a trey like it was nothing? A recent video from Politico shows the 2-guard-in-chief throwing up bricks at an event … Read more
I wrote a couple months ago about how the NFL’s hesitance to release its All-22 footage betrayed the league’s keen awareness of the marketing problems that football’s extreme violence could cause it. Bill Simmons over at Highbrow–Sports-wannabe Grantland penned an incisive send up of the hypocrisy that the recent bounty scandal demonstrates. Simmons eviscerates Commissioner … Read more
I was once a huge fan of Tiger Woods. I, like many others, was drawn to his determination, drive, and singular pursuit of excellence. He was changing the face of golf, and I cheered him on, fully invested in his growing legend. His sordid behavior, then, was a betrayal and a stunning fall for a … Read more
John Calipari has a magnificent head of hair, there is no doubting that. It was maybe a little surprising, though, to see Kentucky’s players, during the trophy ceremony after having won the national championship, paw at their coach’s impressive coiffure with such unbridled glee. One would expect a little more gravitas from the men who … Read more
It does not take a particularly long viewing of ESPN’s Sportscenter to get more than one’s fill of Tim Tebow. Yet, it is simply not the sports media chattering about Tim Tebow; the entire pundit world is now ablaze over the athlete. As football fans know, Tim Tebow is currently the starting quarterback of the Denver … Read more
David Zweig of The Atlantic lays out an interesting argument as to why the NFL won’t release its coveted All-22 video footage. All-22, for the non-football fanatics among us, is a zoomed-out video angle that captures the whole field, showing all 22 players at once. Mostly, as NFL fans, we’re treated to close shots of … Read more
Max Novendstern recently commented that this post by Matt Yglesias was the type of post that makes him love Yglesias more than he hates him. Max’s love/hate relationship with Yglesias aside, the post ignores the important aspects of the James case by focusing on the money. What we should be concerned about here is not … Read more