February 2012
1 post
Super Bowl sets Twitter records →
I did a quick recap of how the Super Bowl did on Twitter for the Wired.com Playbook blog. The closing moments of the game and the Madonna halftime show were the first two US-based events to crack the 10,000 tweet-per-second mark.
December 2011
1 post
Neurotraining Helps Turbo-Charge Football Offenses →
There was so much interesting stuff that wouldn’t fit into this post I did for Wired.com’s Playbook blog about how teams are using brain training to help with reaction time and decision making. One of the best quotes came from clinical sports psychologist Dr. John Sullivan, who described a quarterback’s pre-snap calculations this way:
If you had to really break down what they...
November 2011
1 post
August 2011
1 post
July 2011
2 posts
June 2011
3 posts
Rick Barnes and the Nagging Question →
I crawl inside the head of Texas basketball coach Rick Barnes and try to figure out what’s more important: winning NCAA tournament games or developing NBA talent.
4 tags
Garrett Gilbert's Confidence →
I’ve been writing a few things for the Longhorn sports blog Barking Carnival. Today’s post is about whether the coaching staff’s concern over quarterback Garrett Gilbert’s confidence is causing more harm than good.
May 2011
5 posts
3 tags
4 tags
WatchTim Hardaway was the first player I remember associated with the phrase “killer crossover”, but Iverson takes the all-time title.
“I think this genius is impossible to describe,” Pep Guardiola, Barcelona’s...”
March 2011
1 post
Today in Things We Love: The Guardian's SXSW 2011...
markcoatney:
The Guardian has been doing some of the best, most innovative online journalism out there, and this is one of my favorite things they’ve produced: A page that pulls in all the great SXSW coverage by the Guardian’s reporters on Tumblr into a single, sortable space. Especially nice: Developer Dan Catt’s explanation of how he built this using the Tumblr and Guardian APIs. Definitely...
February 2011
2 posts
January 2011
4 posts
“The less I know about other people’s affairs, the happier I am. I’m not...”
– Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson - Parks and Recreation)
“First off, a pro is necessarily getting paid to do what he does, and that’s a...”
–
Chris Jones, of Esquire, dropping some science on a young writer. (via capitalnewyork)
This so, so crucial, and not just for journalists, but for any job. To be a pro is to be able to do the work, even when it’s not fun, even when you don’t feel like it, and do it well. The highest compliment my...
The Web Is A Customer Service Medium →
This essay has been stuck in my head since I read it this morning. “Why wasn’t I consulted?” is the fundamental question of the Web, Paul Ford says. He advises that publishers create a service experience around what you publish and sell.” Fascinating stuff.
December 2010
5 posts
Print is Dead? Nah, It's Just a Start-Up →
frogdesign teams with Italy’s best-selling magazine to revamp their website.
“We imagined ourselves as a venture-capital-backed start-up in Silicon Valley...”
– Justin B. Smith, president of the Atlantic Media Company
WatchMy review of Pony Excess, the excellent documentary about the rise and fall of SMU football. It premieres on ESPN tomorrow night after the Heisman Trophy ceremony.
Don Meredith, Always on My Mind - NYTimes.com →
Believeland
Crowder lives just a few miles from LeBron’s house. One of the guys hanging out back here installed the acoustical tile in LeBron’s home theater. I ask a dozen or more people what they think, and all of them say: It’s not that he left for greener pastures; it was how they thought he showed them up. They think he rubbed their noses in it.
“I was all right with him...
November 2010
6 posts
“If there is a tear left, shed it for Jack Ruby. He didn’t make history; he only...”
– Gary Cartwright, Texas Monthly, Who Was Jack Ruby?, 1975.
Cowboys Responsible for 12% of Worst Players in...
Sports Illustrated columnist Jeff Pearlman listed the worst 100 players in NFL history over at Deadspin, and the Cowboys contributed more than their share. Twelve of Pearlman’s bottom 100 played for Dallas at one time. Current Cowboys radio announcer Babe Laufenberg came in at No. 3 and was one of four Cowboy quarterbacks on the list.
Dallas Cowboys
3. Babe Laufenberg, Cowboys
6. Ryan...
Retired Strippers and Dogfights: A Salute to Gary... →
One of the great Texas sportswriters - hell, great writers - was honored last week at Texas State after his retirement from Texas Monthly. Here’s to you, Cartwright.
Frank Deford Wants You Kids To Stay Off His Lawn
A trick play by a middle school football team leads to a lecture on situational ethics, saying the move was “a form of child abuse”.
The Eyes of Texas Are Upon Them →
And the question on everyone’s mind is: Does TCU deserve a shot at the BCS title game?
Jerry Jones Blows Off Steam in Vegas
Days after canning his head coach, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was spotted by TMZ blowing off some steam in a Las Vegas nightclub. He’s 68, dresses like he 28, and posing with someone who looks 18. Couldn’t he at least have brought Wade along for a big-time sendoff?
July 2010
6 posts
Some Cuban Flavor Spices Up Rangers Bankruptcy...
The Texas Rangers bankruptcy hearings are about the most boring but important Texas sports story going on now. The good news is that any story is made a little more interesting by adding some Cuban flavor. Mark Cuban has emerged as a prospective bidder for the team, even though his chances appear slim.
The group headed by Rangers Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan still looks like the frontrunner, but...
Rachel Getting Married (Colt, Too)
Official reports are difficult to find online, but enough evidence exists through the magic of Twitter to confirm that former Texas quarterback Colt McCoy and sweetheart Rachel Glandorf were married on Saturday.
Reportedly among the guests was Governor Rick Perry, along with dozens of McCoy’s former Longhorn teammates.
McCoy and Glandorf met in the summer of 2008 when she was working as...
Kevin Durant: The Anti-LeBron
Now that the furor over LeBron James and The Decision has begun to wane, please take a moment to appreciate the quiet grace of the league’s best young player: Kevin Durant.
Rather than an hour-long infomercial to announce a new contract, Durant took to Twitter to tell Oklahoma City Thunder fans that he’d signed on with the team for five more years. And today, he said what many NBA...
Horrible Injury Fells Rice Baseball Star
Rice third baseman Anthony Rendon, college baseball’s player of the year this season, suffered a horrible injury Wednesday playing for Team USA and had to be carted off the field.
The official report from USABaseball calls the injury a “fracture-dislocation” of the right ankle, the same ankle in which Rendon tore ligaments during the 2009 NCAA playoffs.
Reports said Rendon was...
Rangers: On-Field Bliss, Off-Field Chaos
The Texas Rangers have the strangest combination of on-field success and off-field chaos going right now. They lead the AL West at the All-Star break, just signed one of the best pitchers in club history (Cliff Lee) and have a powerful offense triggered by Ian Kinsler, Josh Hamilton, and Vlad Guerrero.
On the other hand, the specter of bankruptcy that’s been haunting the team has been...
Mavericks Considering NBA's Oldest Man
It would be an off-season move that pales in comparison to the LeBronacle, but the Dallas Mavericks are considering signing Shaquille O’Neal.
At 38, The Big Aristotle is now the oldest active player in the NBA, and his skills have waned in recent seasons. He was a bad fit in Phoenix’s up-tempo offense and didn’t provide enough punch to get LeBron James and the Cleveland...