SportsThink Weekly Review #1

Friday, June 12, 2020

Hello friends!

Welcome to the first edition of the ST weekly review, featuring my top 5 sports reads of the week, as well as highlights from the past week at SportsThink.

Inside The Lines: The Best Writing On Sports I Read This Week

1. Being on the UT campus, I heard a whole lot about the Bru McCoy saga as it unfolded last year. This excellent profile is a reminder of the intense pressure we place on young stars. The Mystery of Bru McCoy by Mirin Fader, via Bleacher Report.

2. A brief, but alarming report on the use of facial recognition technology at the Rose Bowl. Yes, this technology has already been used in other parts of the world to screen for fans with a history of causing trouble, but there are grave concerns about privacy and liberty here. 30,000 Unsuspecting Rose Bowl Attendees Were Scooped Up in a Facial Recognition Test by Dave Gershgorn via OneZero.

3. A heartfelt reflection from Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald, via the New York Times. This Is Not the Minneapolis of My Youth.

4. Despite the rise of the NFL and NBA in recent decades, baseball still feels like our most symbolic national game. For many, the inability of players and ownership to come to terms on a return plan feels like a lump in the national throat. Michael Baumann chronicles the tense path forward for the Ringer. MLB Still Isn’t Close to Returning—and It’s Running Out of Time

5. A brutal story of surfing, murder, and the possibility of redemption. What to Make of Murph the Surf? by Brian Burnsed, via Sports Illustrated.

6. A paywalled bonus from the Athletic. You should really consider subscribing, or at least signing up for a free trial. A look at the possible ‘new normal’ inside sports venues once fans can return by Bill Shea.

The Week on SportsThink

I was honored to share two great guest posts from two very smart friends. Jose Izquierdo considers the future of boxing, while Matt Bowers argues that the future of youth sports might hinge on the collapse of the NCAA. I wrote about the major opportunity for the NFL to emerge as a voice for change and was also proud to share a great little documentary on the XFL that a student produced.

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Tolga