In case you hadn’t noticed, the NBA is experiencing an offensive explosion. Teams are averaging over 112 points per game this season. By comparison, the league scored only 106 points per game last season and a mere 100 points per game five years ago. It is difficult to explain just how preposterous this increase is. […]
Allowing Teams to Trade Draft Picks Would Address MLB’s Tanking Problem
Over and over again, analysts have lamented Major League Baseball’s tanking problem. A tanking team, for those unfamiliar with the term, directs all of its resources toward building for the future. Instead of trying to compete for the playoffs, the team in question jettisons its veteran regulars in exchange for young talent. While this strategy […]
The NBA’s Schadenfreude Prospects
NBA players are soooo good. They are so very, very good. Absurdly good, even. We all know this! Youtube channels posting nightly highlight videos get a half-million subscribers. This one video of a Giannis Antetokounmpo dunk got 430,000 views in ten days! Yup, the NBA is chock full of phenomenal talents, and we love to […]
What the Cavaliers Could Learn from the Brewers
American sports have become enamored with future value. This dynamic is probably best illustrated through the ‘Process’-era Philadelphia 76ers, the most hyped team in NBA history that has yet to play a playoff game. Even outside of Philadelphia, however, potential success has repeatedly taken precedence over actual results. When the up-and-coming Minnesota Timberwolves began to […]
Baseball Has More Home Runs Than Ever—And Is Better For It
The Major League Baseball (MLB) playoffs are in full swing, which means we get a full dose of meaningless baseballisms. Pitching wins championships! Bunt the runner over! Grumble grumble CLUTCH grumble FUNDAMENTALS grumble grumble. For more than a century, these dictums have outlined the way to win important baseball games; a “smart” team will string […]
The Dodgers are the Best Team No One Can Watch
Despite a horrific stretch of play over the past month, the Los Angeles Dodgers are sitting pretty with a 99-57 record, nine games ahead of their closest competitor in the National League West. Fangraphs’ projections have them ending the season with over a hundred wins and the best record in Major League Baseball. Those same […]
Does Major League Baseball Need A Salary Cap?
Major League Baseball is the last holdout in a sports landscape dominated by salary caps. The NBA installed one in 1984, and the NFL followed suit a decade later. The NHL was the most recent adopter, instituting a cap in 2005. If history is any guide, there will be an MLB salary cap within our […]
Roaring to the Finals: Why the Raptors Can Upset Cleveland
Friends, I come bearing good news: April has come. You had to spend the last three weeks watching bricked free throws and horrifying midrange jumpers. Worst of all, you had to pretend to enjoy it, using gambling to trick yourself into an emotional investment. The pain is over. The playoffs are here. This article is […]
Demarcus Cousins and the Power of Unintended Consequences
On February 19, Demarcus Cousins was traded from the Sacramento Kings to the New Orleans Pelicans. Cousins is, by consensus, a top player in the NBA. Indeed, he is one of the most talented scoring centers the game has seen in years. Yet, for a multitude of reasons, the Kings felt obligated to trade him. […]
Lost and Found: Searching for the World’s Lost Birds
For twelve days this October, a team of Brazilian birders and ornithologists performed an exhaustive search of Rio de Janeiro’s Atlantic Forest. Their target was the tiny Kinglet Calyptura, a bird so sought after it is often called the “Holy Grail” of South American birding. For over one hundred years, the bird was as lost as […]