Category Archives: Sports

BOG SNORKELLING.

BOG SNORKELLING. As I posted here, I think of my Irish and Danish ancestors as being bog people, so I was excited to find out about the sport of bog snorkeling. This wikipedia article says that the sport “consists of … Continue reading

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COMPETITIONS AMONG WINE TEAMS.

COMPETITIONS AMONG WINE TEAMS. Lettie Teague in the Wall Street Journal (May 10) had an article about the competition in wine expertise that will take place in Bordeaux in June among teams from universities from all over the world. The … Continue reading

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CHANGING THE RISK-REWARD RATIO FOR BIG HITS.

CHANGING THE RISK-REWARD RATIO FOR BIG HITS. Nicholas Cotsonika had a follow up article on hockey’s new system for imposing penalties. Cotsonika says that it is now risky to make a high hit because of the greater risk of being … Continue reading

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WHAT HOCKEY GETS RIGHT ABOUT DANGEROUS PLAYS.

WHAT HOCKEY GETS RIGHT ABOUT DANGEROUS PLAYS. This article by Nicholas Cotsonika about the thought process underlying a penalty imposed on a player for an illegal check which caused an injury illustrates several things that the National Hockey League does … Continue reading

Posted in Baseball, Basketball, Football, Sports | 1 Comment

GATSBY GOES TO A BASEBALL GAME.

GATSBY GOES TO A BASEBALL GAME. Anne Margaret Daniel in this article on the Huffington Post blog (link via RealClearBooks) describes a scene which appeared in early drafts of THE GREAT GATSBY, but was replaced in the published version by … Continue reading

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NONUNIFORM BASEBALLS (COMMENT).

NONUNIFORM BASEBALLS (COMMENT). Carl Davidson commented on my post on how baseballs were made that the process could lead to imperfectly uniform baseballs. I think that’s right. It’s one explanation for why a pitcher would ask the umpire to take … Continue reading

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BASEBALL’S SECRET RUBBING MUD.

BASEBALL SECRET RUBBING MUD. The video about making baseballs points out the smoothness of baseballs when they emerge from the factory. This wikipedia article tells about how before each professional game, the umpires rub the several dozen baseballs that will … Continue reading

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HOW BASEBALLS ARE MADE.

HOW BASEBALLS ARE MADE. Lee Bryant sent me this video showing the process of making a baseball. They are made to standards established in 1872. Except for machinery, the process is a little like what we imagine was used to … Continue reading

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SPALDEENS.

SPALDEENS. A spaldeen is, to quote this wikipedia article, “a small pink rubber ball, somewhat similar to a racquetball, supposedly made from the defective core of a tennis ball without the felt”. The “yesteryear” issue (April 8) of New York … Continue reading

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HOW TO WIN AT ROCK PAPER SCISSORS.

HOW TO WIN AT ROCK PAPER SCISSORS. This article in Slate by Brad Fox (link via Instapundit) bore the intriguing title: “What Are Some Strategies for Winning ‘Rock Paper Scissors’?” Intriguing, because I was taught that the game theory answer … Continue reading

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