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Posted by Mary Chastain on September 05, 2016 2 Comments

Holy cow! Baltimore Ravens offensive lineman John Urschel recorded a 4.0 GPA at MIT in his first semester of his PhD program. https://twitter.com/JohnCUrschel/status/735199097376940032 But it's actually not that surprising: He earned his bachelor's degree in three years at Penn State and spent his senior year working on a...

Posted by Leslie Eastman on August 13, 2016 24 Comments
Before the Rio Olympics began, I noted that scientists found dangerous drug-resistant “super bacteria” off beaches in Rio de Janeiro and in a lagoon where rowing and canoe athletes will compete. This is in addition to bodies, sewage, and other detritus floating off the coast of Brazil. But Olymic officials said, "Let the Games begin". Now, Rio's contaminated waters have claimed their first victim.
A Belgian sailor who won a bronze medal at the 2012 Olympics has become the first person to fall sick after racing on Rio's polluted Guanabara Bay.

Posted by New Neo on June 04, 2016 13 Comments
Muhammed Ali's death is the sort of news that will be covered in the media for weeks, with tributes and reminiscences. He styled himself "The Greatest," and boxing aficionados say that he certainly was one of the greatest, or maybe even the greatest, just as he had always claimed. People like me, who never followed boxing and can hardly bear to watch it, still know a lot about Muhammed Ali, because he has been a huge celebrity and unique personality ever since he burst on the scene as Cassius Clay. Brash and talkative, he went through many transformations---his name, his women, his religion, the form his religion took (from racial- and anger-focused Black Muslim to more conventional Islam and a far more mellow outlook)---as well as the terrible transformation wrought comparatively early in his life by Parkinson's disease. Parkinson's is a progressive disease, and Ali's diagnosis came at the age of 42---although, looking back, his trainer Angelo Dundee thought he might have shown signs as early as the age of 38. It is commonly assumed that his Parkinson's was the result of his boxing career and all the blows he took, and although that may be true it is not necessarily the case for Ali:

Posted by Mary Chastain on May 06, 2016 3 Comments
The Zika virus has forced the Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) to move the Pittsburgh Pirates and Miami Marlins series from Puerto Rico to Miami. Several players voiced their concerns over the virus, which led the union to ask Commissioner Rob Manfred to move the series. MLB scheduled the games on May 30 and 31. "The Pirates are disappointed that we will not be playing in San Juan this season," stated the team. "We very much looked forward to this opportunity. However, the health and safety of our traveling party must be and is our first priority. As a result, the Pirates fully support the decision by the Commissioner and the Players Association to postpone the trip to San Juan."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on September 03, 2015 21 Comments
A federal judge tossed out the controversial 'Deflategate' decision Thursday morning. New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2015-2016 season, the team incurred a $1 million fine, and the Patriots lost their first round draft pick in 2016 and fourth round pick in 2017. Two employees who handle footballs for the club were also implicated. “Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective May 6. They aren’t allowed to be reinstated without the NFL’s permission,” reported Yahoo News. Multiple sources including Yahoo Sports claimed there was no evidence that Brady, coach Bill Belichick, or Patriots owners were directly involved in the Deflategate scandal. According to Yahoo Sports, the NFL handed down the unprecedented punishments, “for violating playing rules and not cooperating fully in the investigation.” But that was all tossed out the window. You can read the full decision here:

Tom Brady Deflategate Federal Ct Decision

Posted by Amy Miller on July 06, 2015 17 Comments
If you've been away from all technology (and nestled comfortably under a rock) since Sunday afternoon, you should know that the US women's soccer team dominated Japan in the final match of the World Cup 5-2. It was a big deal: Soon after the end of the match, a Nike ad released back in early June began to circulate on social media amongst my conservative lady friends. When I clicked on the video and saw that it was, in fact, an official Nike Soccer promotion, I immediately flashed back to this past March's feminist freakout over Nike sports apparel that was a little too pretty for those friendly social justice warriors to handle. Would this latest spot lick the wound, or diverge from the comfortable PC path? Neither, really. Watch:

Posted by Amy Miller on May 27, 2015 17 Comments
For what may be the first time ever, the United States has expressed a wholehearted and enthusiastic interest in Soccer. ...too bad that interest manifested in the form of an investigation, accusations, and mass arrests. C'est la vie. Today at dawn, seven of FIFA's (the Fédération Internationale de Football Association, or the governing body of worldwide soccer) most powerful executive were dragged out of their Zurich hotel rooms and arrested under suspicion of corruption. If the results of a long-term investigation by the FBI pan out, they could be facing up to 20 years in prison. The Daily Beast explains:
The U.S. authorities probed what officials described as a 24-year scheme by senior executives to enrich themselves through the corruption of international soccer. Indictments on 47 counts against 14 people, including racketeering, wire fraud, and money laundering, were unsealed in federal court. The indictment details a $10 million payment to induce one executive to vote for the 2010 World Cup to be hosted in South Africa. There are also allegations that bribes were paid to help Sepp Blatter secure the FIFA presidency in 2011.

Posted by Mike LaChance on May 16, 2015 1 Comment
There's an old saying that there's no such thing as bad publicity. That rule seems to be working for Tom Brady of the Patriots, whose merchandise is way up in sales since the announcement of his suspension over Deflategate. Kurt Badenhausen of Forbes:
Tom Brady Merchandise Sales Up 100% Since Suspension Announced Quarterback Tom Brady and the New England Patriots organization have come under fire since the 243-page “Deflategate” report was released last week by attorney Ted Wells, who was hired by the NFL to investigate claims the Patriots used underinflated footballs during the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. The report concluded that “it’s more probable than not” that Patriots personnel “participated in a deliberate effort to release air from Patriots game balls after the balls were examined by the referee.”... Since the Wells Report was released on May 6, Brady was the NFL’s top-selling NFL player, outside of the two top draft picks Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, according to Fanatics.com, the largest online retailer of officially licensed sports merchandise (Brady ranked sixth prior to the report). The Patriots are the second highest-selling NFL team behind the Cowboys, up from fourth before the report. Brady gear has spiked 100% since the suspension was announced Monday.
This might explain why Brady looked like the cat that swallowed the canary in interviews this week.

Posted by Amy Miller on May 14, 2015 32 Comments
Earlier this week we reported on the NFL's verdict in the "deflategate" scandal involving the Indianapolis Colts, the New England Patriots, and a sack of deflated footballs. Following an investigation, the Patriots were fined $1 million and lost their first round draft pick for 2016 and fourth round pick for 2017. Additionally, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2016-2017 season, and locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski were both suspended without pay, and cannot return to their jobs without the permission of the NFL. The punishments were rendered based on the contents of the now-famous "Wells report", which was issued last week and revealed the results of an independent investigation into the footballs used in this year's AFC Championship game. Brady today announced that he is appealing the suspension, and the Patriots issued a blow-by-blow response to the Wells report. "The Wells Report in Context" asserts that the findings of the Wells report are "at best, incomplete, incorrect and lack context," and seeks to "provide additional context for balance and consideration."

Posted by Kemberlee Kaye on May 11, 2015 47 Comments
Following a lengthy investigation, the 'Deflategate' verdict was handed down by the NFL early this evening. Boy is it tough. New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the 2015-2016 season, the team incurred a $1 million fine, and the Patriots will lose their first round draft pick in 2016 and fourth round pick in 2017. Two employees who handle footballs for the club were also implicated. "Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective May 6. They aren't allowed to be reinstated without the NFL's permission," reports Yahoo News. Multiple sources including Yahoo Sports claim there's no evidence that Brady, coach Bill Belichick, or Patriots owners were directly involved in the Deflategate scandal. According to Yahoo Sports, the NFL handed down the unprecedented punishments, "for violating playing rules and not cooperating fully in the investigation." Is the finding that Brady was most probably aware befitting of a four-game suspension though? CNN reports, "The Wells report found that "it is more probable than not" that Brady was "at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities" of locker room attendant Jim McNally and equipment assistant John Jastremski. Jastremski has been with the team for 14 years, the past three as the staffer in charge of preparation of the game-day footballs." Yahoo Sports has the breakdown:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on February 04, 2015 12 Comments
(This post is just an excuse to gloat over the Patriots' victory, but please read on, there's a point here someplace.) Has there ever been a more exciting Super Bowl final quarter than the one we saw during the Patriots' latest win? First, there was the improbable, amazing, super-stupendous "what the **** just happened" catch to put the Seahawks on the verge of victory: Then, there was Bill Belichek playing mind games with Pete Carroll by not calling a time out, which caused "the call" and "the interception":

Posted by Leslie Eastman on February 02, 2015 32 Comments
While Professor Jacobson was surfing the Twitter stream during the Super Bowl, I was savoring the free market creativity of American advertisers. The runaway favorite commercials feature cute puppies and horses. One particular ad, however, brought out an entirely different animal in me: The Mama Grizzly. I have a serious recommendation to T-Mobile executives: Fire the idiot feminists and their beta-male minions who came up with this commercial: The dialog for one of the scenes, in which Sarah Silverman & Chelsea Handler characters duel over first-world lifestyle quality, has Sarah Silverman's insipid character inform a newborn's mother: "I'm sorry, it's a boy." It was a real piece of #WarOnMen propaganda. As a mother of a son, who is a 100% all-boy alpha male that I have been delighted to raise as such, I was appalled by the crass anti-maleness of the statement. Let's play a game of substitution, shall we?

Posted by William A. Jacobson on January 31, 2015 8 Comments
Tomorrow is the Super Bowl between The New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. "Deflate-Gate" is deflating. While there are rumors that the ball-boy may have done it, there doesn't appear to be a history of such shenanigans:
Brady, too, has denied wrongdoing, amid an NFL investigation into allegations that 11 of 12 balls he used in the first half of a 45-7 rout of the Colts in the AFC Championship game were underinflated. His denial rang true not only to a couple of former Patriots quarterbacks but an ex-ball boy who spent a number of seasons helping Brady select the balls he used in games. The former ball boy, who asked not to be identified because he is building a new career and does not want to become entangled in the national frenzy over Deflategate, said he never heard Brady express interest in the air pressure of game balls. “The only thing I knew about his preferences were that he chose the balls that were more broken in and the ones he liked the grip of,’’ the ex-ball boy said. “He never said anything about inflation levels.’’ Nor did anyone else in the Patriots organization mention game-ball inflation levels to him, the former ball boy said.
And science (!) makes the Patriots' climate change explanation plausible:

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 18, 2014 49 Comments
From WaPo:
The United States Patent and Trademark Office has canceled the Washington Redskins trademark registration, calling the football team’s name “disparaging to Native Americans.” The landmark case, which appeared before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board, was filed on behalf of five Native Americans. It was the second time such a case was filed. “This victory was a long time coming and reflects the hard work of many attorneys at our firm,” said lead attorney Jesse Witten, of Drinker Biddle & Reath. Federal trademark law does not permit registration of trademarks that “may disparage” individuals or groups or “bring them into contempt or disrepute.” The ruling pertains to six different trademarks associated with the team, each containing the word “Redskin.”
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