Stataesthetics
Katie Muth
The world of sports has become, somewhat paradoxically, a refuge for the mathematically-inclined. Today’s sports enthusiast is confronted with a seemingly endless debate about whether advanced metrics are actually superior methods of measuring accomplishments or so much intellectual hogwash. Eventually, one’s eyes glaze over and the sides become indistinguishable: statistics and sports become perfectly inseparable, each a justification for the other. Read on.
The martial arts supply an empowering narrative for those beset by fear, but a distressing vicious circle results as the martial artist goes from fear-sufferer to fear-inducer. Read more.
Rick Reilly is an acclaimed sportswriter. Rick Reilly’s columns are idiotic. Which would be a forgivable (if annoying) offense if Reilly didn’t so disingenuously misunderstand the very idea of sports.

Golfer Rory McIlroy was skewed in the media for walking off a round of golf and taking the easy way out. But is quitting really as easy as it seems?

Michigan State’s basketball coach Tom Izzo is often praised as being both a good coach and an even better guy. Which is why it matters that he hails from a remote area in northern Michigan.

The lamentable influence of groupthink on athletic uniforms sparks a consideration of the ideal uniform. Read all about it.

Beginning in 2020, wrestling will be removed from Olympic competition, an announcement that prompts a reflection on the experience of being a high school wrestler. Albeit briefly.

The term “nerd” gets applied so loosely that it might be worth separating the nerd wheat from the poseur chaff. Even in the NBA.

A torn rotator cuff lands the author in physical therapy, which turns out to be a proving ground for his masculinity as well as a good place to score Quaaludes. Read more

Although still hypothetical, the Catholic Seven basketball conference has been meet with enthusiasm and support. But for what exactly?

Super Bowl XLVII features an epic showdown between teams named for a poet’s famed pestering bird and a band of opportunistic prospectors.

Some pundits mocked the name change from Hornets to Pelicans for the New Orleans NBA franchise. But what do we want in a team name or team mascot?

The Super Bowl extends far beyond its football context. Here’s a handy guide to some non-football super bowls out there.

Thinking back on how Lance Armstrong’s scapegoated the French only confirms that we should have trusted our instincts all along when it came to that asshole.

The most entertaining part of watching a San Antonio Spurs game has nothing to do with the action on the court.

One pleasure of the World Cup is indulging in somewhat random allegiances. Four years ago I loved Ecuador because of a shirt someone gave me; I’ve supported Paraguay because of my first experience of coffee; I like Portugal just because I’ve been there. Then there are the old stereotypes that can help you cheer: The Italians are all defense, the Argentines are cheaters, the Germans are robots. And the Brazilians, ah, the Brazilians, they just love to dance. Read more.

I heard Dierdorf praising the sit-com “Two and a Half Men” a few weeks ago in the middle of a game. It happened during a network cross-sell moment—the kind I rarely notice anymore—when NFL announcers are forced to mention other programs on their home channel.

Mel Kiper, Jr. seems to have had a normal upbringing, but somehow he became an NFL draft expert.

The sports business blooms.








