Sport
@article{belson2022packers,
Author={Belson, Ken},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/12/sports/football/green-bay-packers-shareholders-fans.html},
Title={How Much Do N.F.L. Teams Make? Packers Fans Paid to Find Out.},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2022-08-12},
comment={The Green Bay Packers are owned by the fans, though perhaps more symbolically than in reality. This article covers (loosely) their finances.},
category={Sports, green bay packers}
}
% This could be a better article. It doesn’t mention the charity work of the Packers, and hints at how the public nature of the Packer’s finances suggests things about all football teams, but doesn’t really say what.
@article{reynolds2021banana,
Author={Reynolds, Gretchen},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/04/well/move/banana-sports-drinks-exercise-workout-carbs.html},
Title={Bananas vs. Sports Drinks? Bananas Win in Study},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2018-08-04},
comment={Bananas provide critical sugar-carbs during a workout equivalent to a sports drink. But they also provide anti-inflammatory properties that sports drinks do not have.},
category={Sport, cycling, banana, sports drinks, Criticality}
}
% Not mentioned in article: also useful but not-necessary-during-exercise fiber. But no salt.
% Banana might be the perfect food to eat just as you are finishing a workout?
@article{futterman2021tennis,
Author={Futterman, Matthew},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/04/sports/tennis/us-open-naomi-osaka.html},
Title={Why Does Playing Tennis Make So Many Pros Miserable?},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2021-08-04},
comment={Professional tennis players often reach a point of break down and sometimes quit the sport. This is from the grueling long hours and days, the repetition, the lack of change of environment while stuck on a court every day, the lack of interaction with other people, and the sheer the lonliness of playing tennis.},
category={Sport, Criticality, tennis}
}
@article{smith2021soccer,
Author={Smith, Rory},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/12/sports/soccer/soccer-football-transfermarkt.html},
Title={The Wisdom of the Crowd},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2021-08-12},
comment={Transfermarkt is a website that gathers data on statistics about soccer players, and then uses that data to create a market value for individual players. This number is used by everyone, but especially team administration when they are discussing trading and contracts with players. The interesting part is that at its core is a combination of input from soccer fans and judgement by a team of experts at the company to arrive at the market value. It is not based on strict data, but rather has human judgement at the heart of it. And it has become critical to the world of soccer because it offers all these people — with millions of dollars at stake every time — a concrete point to work from, even if the source is grounded in subjectivity.},
category={Sport, soccer, transfermarkt}
}
@article{etnier2020coaching,
Author={Etnier, Jennifer L.},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/11/opinion/youth-sports-coaches.html},
Title={Your Kids’ Coach Is Probably Doing It Wrong},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2020-03-11},
comment={45 million children play youth sports, but 70 percent drop out by the time they are 13 years old. This is likely because of coaching that is focussed on winning rather than improving skills and fun for everyone.},
category={Sport, Criticality, coaching, leadership}
}
% The implications of course go way beyond youth sports and coaching and apply to leadership generally.
% I feel like Uncle Ken exemplifies this characteristic in coaching. Probably why he became such a leader!
@article{snob-headphones,
Author={Snob, Bike},
url={https://www.outsideonline.com/2263576/go-stick-it-your-ear},
Title={Go Stick It In Your Ear},
journal={Outside},
comment={Bike Snob argues convincingly here (though with little scientific evidence because there is very little done) that wearing headphones while riding a bicycle is less dangerous than listening to music in a car. Also suggests drivers should be wearing crash helmets.},
category={Sport, bicycles, Criticality, Health, public health, headphones, Music}
}
@article{dorman2011yips,
Author={Dorman, Larry},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/12/sports/golf/the-yips-bane-of-golfers-may-be-muscular.html},
Title={Cause of the Yips Is Debated, but the Effect Isn’t},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2011-06-11},
comment={In golf, the sudden onset of shaking hands and an inability to put, often among expert golfers, is called the yips. Traditionally it was thought of as a mental block, but in this article an analyst suggests it might be caused purely by a physical problem - scar tissue in muscles from repeatedly swining the driver in a specific way. Others debate this, and claim it is purely physical, or a combination of problems, pointing out that some golfers recover miraculously and all of a sudden.},
category={Sport, golf, the yips}
}
% The fact that this symptom is seen in other sports like baseball and archery does suggest the cause being purely physical is unlikely.
% See this article about “target panic” in archery: \url{http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/01/sports/olympics/01archery.html} This article suggest the problem might be neurological — the neurons that guide a particular movement become worn from overuse.
% See also this article about executing things through practised moves (without overthinking the specific movements) so as to keep your attention focussed on the current situation: \url{https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/13/smarter-living/dont-be-less-awkward.html} Particularly in the context of job interviews.
@article{keh2017finlandsport,
Author={Keh, Andrew},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/27/sports/finland-has-a-sports-screw-loose.html},
Title={Finland Has a Sports Screw Loose},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2017-07-27},
comment={Finland used to be a major competitor in international sports, now they are more interested in sports you play while drinkning, and that aren’t taken very seriously. ``More than 2,000 people ventured to the remote backwaters of central Finland recently for the 20th annual Swamp Soccer World Championships. If you and your spouse want to compete in the Wife Carrying World Championships, you must come to Finland. The Mobile Phone Throwing World Championships? Finland. The World Berry Picking Championship and the Air Guitar World Championships? Finland and Finland.’’ Possibly related to long summer days and “Everyman rights,” which guarantee public access to most outdoor lands and bodies of water for recreational purposes.},
category={Sport, finland, Criticality, calvinball}
}
@article{keh2017isleofman,
Author={Keh, Andrew},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/06/07/sports/Isle-of-man-TT-motorcycle-race.html},
Title={TAKE A LAP IN THE WORLD’S MOST DANGEROUS RACE},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2017-06-07},
comment={Goes through the course of the Isle of Man Tourist Trophy motorcycle race (TT). Talks about how riders die almost every year, and that death is a part of the race. Includes dramatic crash pictures and videos.},
category={Sport, motorcycles, isle of man, tt}
}
@article{casey2017underhand,
Author={Casey, Tim},
url={https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/08/sports/ncaabasketball/underhand-free-throw-rick-barry.html},
Title={Like Father, Like Son, Like Granny? A Case for Underhand Free Throws},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2017-02-08},
comment={It turns out that because it is a smoother less complex motion, the underhanded “granny” throw is more accurate in basketball than the standard overhand throw. But nobody does it simply because they think it looks dumb. The people who look deeply at this stuff actually say the underhand it about even with an overhand throw for accuracy if both are fully developed to the most potential of a player. But any player who doesn’t throw overhand shots well, should consider the underhand because it’s easier to master. Not mentioned: the obvious fact that this basically only applies to free throws, which are undefended, rather than active play throws where you have to get around a defender.},
category={Sport, Criticality, basketball, throwing}
}
% See also this article about how throwing anything as slowly as possible will make you a more accurate thrower: \url{https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/03/sports/want-to-make-more-baskets-science-has-the-answer.html}
% of course, again, this doesn’t apply in something like baseball, where essentially you are trying to throw around a defender.
@article{pennington2017baseball,
Author={Pennington, Bill},
url={https://mobile.nytimes.com/2017/04/01/sports/baseball/they-can-hit-400-foot-homers-but-playing-catch-thats-tricky.html},
Title={They Can Hit 400-Foot Homers, but Playing Catch? That’s Tricky},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2017-04-01},
comment={Collects some opinions that say high school baseball is now focused on power hitting and pitching, while bypassing the basics of the game. This is because recruiters for colleges/athletic scholarships observe players at “showcases” where players show off their skills for recruiters, but don’t have to demostrate basics of the game.},
category={Sport, baseball}
}
% This article shows interesting implications for the generalist vs specialist arguments, or for complaints about the hyper-professionalism of the culture.
% It would also be great to see the terms “showcase” “showcase skills” or “showcasing” get adopted by the general public, and mean both that someone has serious showy skills, but also implies that their non-show skills might be weak. And thus they might have only a niche role to play in an organization or effot.
@article{nestor2016diving,
Author={Nestor, James},
url={http://unfathomable.epicmagazine.com/},
Title={Unfathomable},
journal={Epic True Stories},
comment={A fun story about the early history of diving, technology that was spurred, of course, in the effort to reclaim sunken treasure. Highlights include the sinking of the Royal George, and the dive to demine the channel of Sevastopol during the Crimean War.},
category={Sport, diving, history, shipwrecks, crimean war}
}
% Actual date unspecified.
% This is written in a kind of delightful Reader’s Digest accessible style.
% “Most of the injuries were a function of pressure, a phenomenon poorly understood at the time. Those in watertight diving suits connected with air hoses suffered from the worst injury, a condition called squeeze.”
% “At 40 feet, their face would engorge with blood. The blood vessels in their eyes would burst and bodily fluids would shoot from their orifices. Then they would hear a sickening swish at the back of the dive helmet—this was the sound of their hair being sucked off their scalp. At extreme depths, their face would rip from their head and be deposited back through the air hose on deck in a bloody spurt.”
% This story reminds us that underwater is really no environment for humans.
% I’ve had the thought before that while many enviornments on earth, even the far north, are places humans can adapt to living, underwater, the antarctic, and space are all environments that are so far outside our safe experience that they can only be ventured into with support from other places.
% There’s something deeply disturbing and frightening about that, if you ask me. And that is something that I feel like 18th (and probably 19th Century) people inherently felt, but now is completely gone.
% Now diving is seen as just a fun sport. People don’t take into account the insane risk involved.
% A funny thing to think about, especially in terms of Mars exploration, is that in modern times no human population has ever moved into a new environment and become self-sustaining in that environment. There are no space colonies that are producing their own food and supplies and living their sustainably. There’s no undersea colonies or even Antarctic colonies either. (The Antarctic colonies, of course, entirely depend on shipments from the mainland, and produce nothing that could even be traded economically for those shipments. So it’s not like they even have ECONOMIC independence, much less phsyical life-sustaining independence.)
@article{macur2009tuft,
Author={Macur, Juliet},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/08/sports/othersports/08cycling.html},
Title={Canadian Rider Has Made Unorthodox Climb to the Top},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2009-02-07},
comment={Profile of Svein Tuft, the Canadian professional cyclist who dropped out of high school in 10th grade to head into the Canadian wilderness on a bike with a trailer and his 80lb dog.},
category={Sport, road cycling, canada}
}
@article{hoff2014maunakea,
Author={Hoff, Martin P.},
url={http://cyclingtips.com/2014/11/tackling-mauna-kea-the-worlds-biggest-climb/},
Title={Tackling Mauna Kea, the world’s biggest climb? },
journal={Cyclingtips.com},
comment={Article describing the 65km, 4200m climb up Mauna Kea (the second largest mountain in the solar system) in Hawaii, by bicycle.},
category={Sport, cycling, climbing, hawaii}
}
@article{culpepper2014fsu,
Author={Culpepper, Chuck},
url={https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/colleges/florida-states-unusual-bond-with-seminole-tribe-puts-mascot-debate-in-a-different-light/2014/12/29/5386841a-8eea-11e4-ba53-a477d66580ed_story.html},
Title={Florida State’s unusual bond with Seminole Tribe puts mascot debate in a different light},
journal={The Washington Post},
date={2014-12-29},
comment={Florida State University has the support of the Seminole Tribe of Florida in using the name ``Seminoles’’ for their football team. The university works closely with the tribe to make sure things are done in good taste and they have their support.},
category={Sport, football, seminoles, fsu, mascots}
}
% See also this article in the Times: \url{http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/24/sports/ncaafootball/amid-rising-discord-over-indian-images-florida-state-has-harmony.html}
@article{pielke2016sportdegree,
Author={Pielke Jr., Roger},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/14/opinion/14pielke.html},
Title={Why Not a College Degree in Sports?},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2016-09-14},
comment={Asks the simple question of why we award degress in violin and dance, but not sport. Also mentions that 157,000 people watch a single college football game this year — a record for both pro and college football.},
category={Sport, football, academics, values}
}
% I like that this challenges the notion that activities for elites like violn should merit a degree while activities for the masses like sports should not.
% However, I think this is just the start of a proposal. To do it would require figuring out a way to tie the sport degree in deeply with academics. And it would be preferable if the corrolary to that were that funding the comes in from sports could be redistributed to less-well funded but more sorely needed academic programs.
@article{dillesufolkbicycling2014,
Author={Dille, Ian},
url={http://www.bicycling.com/advocacy/worst-city-cyclists},
Title={The Worst City for Cyclists…},
journal={Bicycling},
date={2014-09-04},
comment={In 2014 the worst place to ride a bicycle in the US was Suffolk County, particularly Babylon with its statue of Robert Moses. In 2008 the county accounted for 23.8% of all cyclist fatalities in New York State.},
category={Sport, bicycling, long island, robert moses, suffolk county}
}
@article{lawsonnorthpole2016,
Author={Lawson, Guy},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/20/magazine/an-insurance-salesman-and-a-doctor-walk-into-a-bar-and-end-up-at-the-north-pole.html},
Title={An Insurance Salesman and a Doctor Walk Into a Bar, and End Up at the North Pole},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2016-03-17},
comment = {The story of the Plaisted expedition in 1968, where a bunch of amateurs went to the North Pole by snowmobile - and ended up the first to ever get there (over ice).},
category = {north pole, adventures, Sport, arctic}
}
@article{easterbrookfootballguide2016,
Author={Easterbrook, Gregg},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/06/upshot/a-guide-to-watching-the-nfl-playoffs.html},
Title={A Guide to Watching the N.F.L. Playoffs},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2016-01-05},
comment = {A short, easy to understand, recommendation for ``keeping your eye off the ball’’ when watching football to appreciate the game more.},
category = {football}
}
@article{noceramizzou,
Author={Nocera, Joe},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/10/sports/ncaafootball/missouri-presidents-resignation-shows-realm-where-young-minorities-have-power.html},
Title={College Athletes’ Potential Realized in Missouri Resignations},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2015-11-09},
comment = {Two months of protesting, including a hunger strike, did nothing to change the University of Missouri’s approach to racial slurs. But 36 hours after the football team threatened to strike, the president of the university resigned. ``It turns out that the football players had something the other protesters didn’t: power. There wasn’t the slightest hint that Wolfe was considering resigning — until the football players got involved. Schwarz, the economist, told me that it was easy for the university administration to ignore the protesters because they were members of minorities and because they were young. But, he added, “The one place where young minority voices have economic power is sports.”’’},
category = {football, protests}
}
% Once again it is shown: protesting does little or nothing (except possibly raise awareness). People in power only fear economic repercussions or violence. And since the left wing abhors violence, we are left only with the occasional football player to change things.
% another interesting corollary here is the Keystone Pipeline which Obama just rejected. It too was protested for years. And the protests did apparently nothing. But as soon as the price of oil fell, Obama denied the permit.
% See also this On The Media spot: \url{https://www.wnyc.org/story/power-protest}
% Where a political science researcher talks about finding that the easier it is to do an action, the less representatives are affected by it.
% So since it is easy to put a protest together now, it gets less attention. Same for emails or phone calls. There is diminishing returns to ENCOURAGING people to call their representatives.
% It is still hard to get people to show up at representative’s office though…
% And suggested in here is that taking the risk of violent action is something that REALLY gets attention
% because it is a hard thing to get people to do.
% Though this feels a little like she’s talking out both sides of her mouth:
% It’s too easy to get people to show up for marches, so those don’t work,
% But it’s too hard to get people to show up at rep’s offices, so those do?
% Seems like both of those are about the same lift for people to me.
% I think really what happens is reps are human and get fatigued and numbed to things they see all the time.
% Stuff that is unusual stands out to them - because it could stand out to their voters.
@book{bissinger2000friday,
title={Friday Night Lights: A Town, a Team, and a Dream},
author={Bissinger, H.G.},
isbn={9780306809903},
lccn={2004559122},
url={https://books.google.com/books?id=RWWdLFoFxUYC},
year={2000},
publisher={Da Capo Press}
comment={The classic nonfiction book which looks at the run-up to the state finals for the Odessa Texas football team, the Permian Panthers. Contains sections on how the black neighborhood of Odess was gerrymandered after the closing of the high school to provide black running backs to Permian. Also a dramatic coin toss in the middle of the night at a truck stop to determine which teams go to state. And the story of how the state championship for a Dallas high school rested on whether a single football player passed algebra II or not - pulling in every major political and community player in the state in the process.},
category={Sports, football, race, texas}
}
% Perminan puts this great quote on their wall:
% “Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats.” ― H.L. Mencken, Prejudices: First Series
@article{barshadyankeesuck,
Author={Barshad, Amos},
url={http://grantland.com/features/yankees-suck-t-shirts-boston-red-sox/},
Title={‘Yankees Suck! Yankees Suck!’},
journal={Grantland},
date={2015-09-01},
comment = {Long format story about the history of the Yankees Suck t-shirt. Makes the connection to the hard core, punk, and straight edge movements and lays out the framework of a shift from the grittiness of Boston to it’s sterilization today. Also suggests that the aggression of the phrase was already inherent in Red Sox fans, even though it is packaged by the corporation as a clean family pasttime. The t-shirt tapped an unfulfilled market.},
category = {Boston Red Sox, Yankees Suck, hard core, punk, straight edge}
}
@article{oconnorbrock,
Author={O’Connor, Scott},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/30/magazine/letter-of-recommendation-brock-lesnar.html},
Title={Letter of Recommendation: Brock Lesnar},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2015-08-27},
comment = {Brock Lesnar is a champion mixed martial arts champion who went into Pro Wrestling. His schtick in Pro Wrestling is that he is threatening to not fake it. And he makes it look more real with his skill as a showman.},
category = {pro wrestling}
}
% When planners talk about the “shared values of a community”, I doubt the community they ever have in mind is pro wrestling fans.
@article{epsteincheating,
Author={Epstein, David},
url={https://www.propublica.org/article/speed-bumps-why-its-so-hard-to-catch-cheaters-in-track-and-field},
Title={Speed Bumps: Why It’s So Hard to Catch Cheaters in Track and Field},
journal={ProPublica},
date={2015-07-20},
comment = {Goes into detail about why doping is so hard to catch in sports.},
category = {doping, cycling, sports}
}
@article{kleinhockey,
Author={Klein, Jeff Z.},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/16/sports/olympics/16lefty.html},
Title={It’s Not Political, but More Canadians Are Lefties},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2010-02-15},
comment = {For some reason more Canadians shoot with left-handed hockey stick, while most US players shoot with right-handed sticks. No obvious explanation. Back in the old days, the sticks were straight, so it didn’t matter.},
category = {hockey, handedness, Canada}
}
@article{bordencalicostorico,
Author={Borden, Sam},
url={http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/01/sports/the-most-dangerous-game.html},
Title={A Most Dangerous Game},
journal={The New York Times},
date={2015-06-30},
comment = {Description and slideshow of calico storico, an old game similar to rugby and football played in Florence. Each quarter of the city has it’s own team.},
category = {sports, Italy}
}