There’s a great scene in Field of Dreams, though probably less memorable than the one where Ray Kinsella is playing catch with his dad or where Shoeless Joe first appears. It’s the scene in which Archibald “Moonlight” Graham gets his only at bat among major league ballplayers. The elder Graham, played by Burt Lancaster, has […]
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The Problem with “The DH Years”
Since 1973, the Designated Hitter rule, which allows a non-fielding player to bat in place of the pitcher in baseball’s American League, has certainly changed the game. There is a lot of ambivalence surrounding the DH, and I will not begin to try to deal with whether the rule should be changed. What I will […]
History of Baseball
Origins and Early Development: 1845 – The Knickerbocker Rules: Alexander Cartwright, and the Knickerbocker Base Ball Club of New York codified the rules of baseball. The game began to be very organized. Some of the essential constituents brought about by the Knickerbocker Rules included a diamond-shaped infield with bases. Professionalization and Expansion: Major Milestones and […]
The Heart and Soul of Rugby: A Journey Through Its Storied Past
Origins and Early Development: Formation and Standardization:1871—Rugby Football Union (RFU) Formed: Rugby football was formalized through the establishment of a Rugby Football Union (RFU) in England in the year 1871. The RFU standardized the rules of the game, which really set rugby football apart from association football, otherwise known as soccer. Splits into Codes: Professionalization […]
History of Track and Field
Origins and Early Development: Modern Revival and Standardization:19th Century: Revival in England – This is where the modern revival of the sport took place. Schools and universities began organizing athletic competitions, probably due to the influence that ideas originating from the ancient Olympic Games had. 1866 – Establishment of the Amateur Athletic Club: The Amateur […]
The Heroes of 1972 | Politics and the Olympics: The World of 1972 | Rethinking The Dream Team
Basketball is a kids’ game. Kids play it, and kids are pretty good at it.”-Mike Krzyzewski The greatest active basketball coach is exactly right. After all of the games he’s been able to watch, Coach K probably knows about as well as anybody the joy that comes from watching the game you love be re-embraced […]
Politics and the Olympics: The World of 1972
Although we view the Olympics as a coming together of nations for spirited competition, there’s a lot of evidence that others have looked at the Olympics as validation for an ideology. For example, Hitler wished to use the results of the 1936 Olympics as evidence that the Aryan race was superior to others, which explains […]
Plato vs. Aristotle in the World Series
More than ever before, the 2005 World Series is not just a clash of two teams but a clash of opposing philosophies on the playoffs. You could say that this debate goes all the way back to the original Tony Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon, Plato and Aristotle. I’ve always enjoyed the fact that we have […]
The Contender, the Rookie, and the Trailblazer:Sports as a Meritocracy
The year is 2005, and reality television has finally gone too far. After shows about flatulent fake fiancées, castaways driven to eating rats, and recipients of radical facial reconstructions, I think we’ve made it to a point where we all can agree we shouldn’t have reality TV interfering. After toying with the very idea of love and […]
Suspense vs. Purity:A Game Theory Perspective on Timed Sports
There’s almost nothing more exciting in the sports world than a buzzer-beating jump shot, a Hail Mary pass, or a last second wrist shot. We all know that when time is running out in a close game, we may be in for something very special. Knowing that the end of the game is near can […]