The SportsThink Weekly Review #19
October 16, 2020
Hello and welcome to the nineteenth edition of the Weekly Review! Hope that this finds you well, wherever in the world you may be. On to the reads!
Inside the Lines: The Best Writing on Sports I Read This Week
A Farewell to the NBA Bubble, by Ben Golliver, via the Washington Post. A journalist reflects on his bubble experience. Nice piece. And, go Lakers!
‘Everything Is Closed Down.’ The Lack of Youth Sports Is a Crisis. by Kurt Streeter, via the NYT. I think we all knew this was coming, but it’s disheartening nonetheless. Strong reporting from Streeter. I remain somewhat optimistic for a reset of the youth sports landscape once we’re through this mess, but I fear we may end up with an even more bifurcated system, with all resources going to elite programs.
Aeropostale, Starter, and Other Extremely Outdated Brands That Used to Make College Football Uniforms, by Morgan Moriarty, via SB Nation. From 2018, this is great fun. Found via Matt Brown’s Extra Points Newsletter, which is as deep of coverage of the innards of NCAA football as you can find. Bonus trivia: the University of Maine, rocking New Balance, is the only D-I football program currently not wearing Adidas, Nike, or Under Armour.
Sports Teams Have a More Powerful Voter Turnout Tool Than Their Stadiums, by Eric Nusbaum, via Slate. On a hot mess in Wisconsin specifically and the intersection of sports and voting more generally. A timely piece from Nusbaum, whose work I will always plug. Subscribe to Eric’s newsletter here.
A Man, A Megaphone and a Mission to Shame the Astros, by James Wagner, via the NYT. You really, really do love to see it. Some small MLB pleasure for me while the Dodgers are getting their butts kicked.
Growing Pains: Teofimo Lopez's Search for Legacy and Peace with his Family by Mark Kriegel, via ESPN Australia. Really nice profile from last year, sharing on the occasion of Lopez v. Lomachenko, arguably the fight of the year, with pretty big implications for boxing (tomorrow night on ESPN).
The Week on SportsThink
Two quick updates on the topic of pandemic acceleration: youth sports and NCAA NIL. And another plug for this very personal piece from last week.
Tweet of the Week
Some good vibes from the very talented Dam-Funk (pronounced “Dame”). If you like synthesized, throw-back grooves, check out his music. Here’s a good track to start with. And, for the romantics, here’s one we danced to at our wedding.
Something Other Than Sports to Watch This Weekend
Shout out to the UT Theatre and Dance department and their production of (Re)Current Unrest, a timely exploration of race and social justice in the US, based on the work of composer Steve Reich, who is a badass. A one hour show with a pay-what-you-can, minimum $5 cover for the livestream. Tonight and Saturday, at 7:30PM central time.
Non-Sports Reads
What if a Pill Can Change Your Politics or Religious Beliefs?, by Eddie Jacobs via Scientific American. Interesting piece on the implications of psilocybin therapies for mental health.
Philosophy, by Thomas Metcalf, via 1000 Word Philosophy. No surprises based on the title of the site: an introduction to the field in 1,000 words. This will probably become required reading for my students.
A Better Crystal Ball: The Right Way to Think About the Future, by J. Peter Scoblic and Philip E. Tetlock, via Foreign Affairs. Cool piece on improving forecasting in geopolitics.
As always, thank you for reading. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you’re having trouble accessing any articles, happy to send them directly your way. And, if you’re enjoying the newsletter, please consider sharing it with someone else who might like it.
See you next week,
Tolga