Category Archives: Sports

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO EDDIE THE EAGLE?

Posted on July 18, 2016 by Philip

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO EDDIE THE EAGLE? I came across this question while reading the archaeology article by Franz Lidz. Lidz asked and answered the question in this article at the Smithsonian site in 2014. I was glad to see that … Continue reading →

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HOW GLADIATORS FOUGHT.

Posted on July 12, 2016 by Philip

HOW GLADIATORS FOUGHT. The Lidz article explains a lot about the gladiator school and about gladiators. There were about 100 gladiator schools in the Empire. Trained gladiators were valuable and the notion of a fight to the death doesn’t seem … Continue reading →

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GOLF—“IT SEEMS LIKE IT INVOLVES A LOT OF LUCK.”

Posted on June 20, 2016 by Philip

GOLF—“IT SEEMS LIKE IT INVOLVES A LOT OF LUCK.” A lawyer I knew with a wry sense of humor told me that he did not play golf and that whenever some one asked him whether he did, he would say … Continue reading →

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FITBIT CONTESTS.

Posted on June 12, 2016 by Philip

FITBIT CONTESTS. The front page of the Wall Street Journal often reports on novel sports—for example, wife carrying, Irish road bowling, or noodling. This Journal article by Rachel Bachman (June 10) reports on Fitbit contests to see who can take … Continue reading →

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WHY NOT PUT BASEBALL’S “UNWRITTEN RULES” INTO WRITING?

Posted on June 11, 2016 by Philip

WHY NOT PUT BASEBALL’S “UNWRITTEN RULES” INTO WRITING? There are baseball players who celebrate the tough old days and the traditions which are represented by the “unwritten rules”. The problem with “unwritten rules” is that there is no way of … Continue reading →

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MUHAMMAD ALI—MASTER OF LANGUAGE.

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Philip

MUHAMMAD ALI—MASTER OF LANGUAGE. Muhammad Ali has died. He was always one of my heroes. I posted on “MUHAMMAD ALI, THE POET” here. The first time I encountered Cassius Clay was in the pages of the New Yorker when A.J. … Continue reading →

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“FEELING LONESOME DOWN THERE?”

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Philip

“FEELING LONESOME DOWN THERE?” The Boston Red Sox and New York Yankee rivalry is probably the most intense in baseball. Tee shirts insulting the other team are big sellers at both ballparks. I have been told that there is an … Continue reading →

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BASEBALL DEFENSES—POINTS ON A GRID.

Posted on May 29, 2016 by Philip

BASEBALL DEFENSES—POINTS ON A GRID. I have posted, for example here, on the dramatic changes in baseball defenses in the last few years. There were 8134 shifts in the major leagues in 2013, compared to 2357 in 2011. One indication … Continue reading →

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OFFENSIVE SCRABBLE.

Posted on May 25, 2016 by Philip

OFFENSIVE SCRABBLE. Over the years, our family Scrabble games have become more and more like NBA All Star games—all offense, no defense. We had already moved in that direction by a tacit agreement not to take into consideration whether a … Continue reading →

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THE TACTICAL VALUE OF AN “E” TILE.

Posted on May 24, 2016 by Philip

THE TACTICAL VALUE OF AN “E” TILE. This article by Giri Nathan on Deadspin (which is based on the Wall Street Journal article) gives an example from the final World Chamapionship game in which the eventual World Champion made a … Continue reading →

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