jbeckham @ gmail dot com @jeffbeckhamTumblr (3.0; @jeffbeckham)http://jeffbeckham.com/“One of the world’s leading rugby teams is about to learn whether the sport, once described as “a ruffian’s game played by gentlemen,” can benefit from the genteel field of science.”<br/><br/> - <em><p><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/05/ibm-leicester-tigers/"><img src="http://www.wired.com/playbook/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/Leicester-Tigers-660x551.jpg"/></a></p> <h1><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/05/ibm-leicester-tigers/">Big Blue Could Help Keep British Rugby Stars Healthy</a></h1></em>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/23041137831http://jeffbeckham.com/post/23041137831Mon, 14 May 2012 11:50:00 -0400wiredplaybookphoto by leicester tigers“Even if no one is going to refer to Dirk Nowitzki of the Dallas Mavericks as one the league’s best “scoring rebounders” any time soon, Alagappan’s prize-winning analysis could change how coaches and general managers think about the roles their players fill.”<br/><br/> - <em><p><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/04/analytics-basketball/"><img src="http://flowingdata.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/New-Basketball-Positions-954x715.png"/></a></p> <h1><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/04/analytics-basketball/">Analytics Reveal 13 New Basketball Positions</a></h1></em>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/22122600879http://jeffbeckham.com/post/22122600879Mon, 30 Apr 2012 10:24:00 -0400photo by ayasdiplaybookwired<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m2s8c4EfFb1qccjz2o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>When it comes to <a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/04/fitness-tracker-psychology/">fitness trackers</a>, the psychology behind them is just as important as the technology inside them. I talked to some folks, including game designer and author Jane McGonigal, about why these devices work.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/21435807041http://jeffbeckham.com/post/21435807041Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:31:00 -0400photo by cuegalosplaybookwired“Innovation in athletic shoes historically has focused on improving materials and manufacturing to make lighter, stronger sneakers. Now the focus is on making shoes smarter. The next generation of athletic shoes will feature radio frequency identification tags, motion sensors and accelerometers that will allow you to customize the look, fit and responsiveness of your kicks.”<br/><br/> - <em><h1><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/04/smart-sneakers/"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/nikeinc/assets/8048/Nike-Plus-Lebron_original.jpg?1329917190"/></a></h1> <h1><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/04/smart-sneakers/">The Shoe of Tomorrow Knows How Hard You Hustle</a></h1></em>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20599665793http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20599665793Tue, 03 Apr 2012 14:04:00 -0400photo by nikeplaybookwired“Sarah Reinertsen didn’t start running until after she lost her left leg above the knee. She’s been at it for 23 years, which makes her an expert on prosthetic limbs. You name it and she’s probably run on it, in events like the Boston Marathon and the grueling Ironman Triathlon. The record-setting athlete knows what works and what doesn’t, which is why Össur sought her help refining a prosthetic foot made specifically for runners.”<br/><br/> - <em><p><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/03/ossur-flex-run/"><img src="http://s3.amazonaws.com/nikeinc/assets/6930/NikeOssurSarah_9315_original.jpg?1328202057"/></a></p> <h1><a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/03/ossur-flex-run/">New Prosthetic Foot Delivers a Vastly More Natural Stride</a></h1></em>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20600636154http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20600636154Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:22:00 -0400photo by nikeplaybookwired“I play my best when I’m not 
thinking. I’ll score a goal, but I won’t 
remember how I did it. Then, when 
I go back and watch the film, I’m like, 
’Oh yeah. That was pretty cool.’”<br/><br/> - <em>Brek Shea, from <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2012-04-01/thehorsesmouth.php">The Horse’s Mouth: Becoming a Pro Soccer Player</a></em>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20602735326http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20602735326Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:59:00 -0400texas monthly<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m22zkqGuip1qccjz2o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>Richard Ayers has a very cool job. Or jobs. He’s the head of digital business development for the British Film Institute, and he’s also helping Manchester City FC with digital innovations. He showed off some of his work - and previewed some of the things to come at SXSW. I recapped his talk for <a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/03/soccer-datatainment/">Wired.com Playbook</a>.</p> <p>Jay Dicharry has superpowers. In just a few minutes, he can tell you what type of running shoe you need to buy. And in a few more minutes, he can diagnose problems in your form and give you some basic exercises that will have you running faster. I also wrote up his interview with ESPN.com’s Henry Abbott for <a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/03/the-biomechanics-of-good-running">Playbook</a>.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20617288909http://jeffbeckham.com/post/20617288909Tue, 13 Mar 2012 19:22:00 -0400wiredplaybook<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m0jafaAQ4D1qccjz2o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>The MLS season starts this weekend, and FC Dallas’ Brek Shea looks ready to build on his breakout season of 2010. He’s also a talented painter, which I discussed here at <a href="http://theclassical.org/theclog/brek-shea-artist">The Classical</a>.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/18916367837http://jeffbeckham.com/post/18916367837Wed, 07 Mar 2012 16:30:00 -0500classical<a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2012/02/super-bowl-twitter-record/">Super Bowl sets Twitter records</a>: <p>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.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/17162701950http://jeffbeckham.com/post/17162701950Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:09:00 -0500playbookwired<a href="http://www.wired.com/playbook/2011/12/neurotraining-helps-turbo-charge-football-offenses/">Neurotraining Helps Turbo-Charge Football Offenses</a>: <p><div> <p class="p1">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:</p> <blockquote> <p class="p1">If you had to really break down what they do, it’s higher-level math, And it’s done in hundredths of seconds. They’re doing trigonometry, geometry. They’re working that out and they can’t think about that. It has to move in synchronicity.</p> </blockquote> </div></p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/13644480632http://jeffbeckham.com/post/13644480632Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:35:00 -0500playbookwired<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lvhqsv5ALo1qccjz2o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>This history of the football rivalry between Texas and Texas A&M that I compiled for Texas Monthly turned out better than I had imagined. It’s remarkable that when the teams began playing each other, Grover Cleveland was in the White House (for the second time) and Coca-Cola began selling in bottles.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/13556662862http://jeffbeckham.com/post/13556662862Wed, 30 Nov 2011 15:41:00 -0500texas monthly<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lq1t5oNa3W1r1eyf3o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p><a href="http://muschampstare.tumblr.com/post/9039082539">muschampstare</a>:</p> <blockquote> <blockquote> <p><span>Calvin brings the stare from the animal kingdom. #muschampstare</span></p> </blockquote> <p><span>Thanks for the photo, <a href="http://jeffbeckham.com/">jeffbeckham.com</a>!</span></p> </blockquote>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/9044160627http://jeffbeckham.com/post/9044160627Wed, 17 Aug 2011 13:59:12 -0400<a href="http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2011/06/29/rick-barnes-and-the-nagging-question/">Rick Barnes and the Nagging Question</a>: <p>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.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/7055611400http://jeffbeckham.com/post/7055611400Wed, 29 Jun 2011 16:53:00 -0400<a href="http://barkingcarnival.fantake.com/2011/06/02/garrett-gilberts-confidence/">Garrett Gilbert's Confidence</a>: <p>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.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/6108106852http://jeffbeckham.com/post/6108106852Thu, 02 Jun 2011 10:44:00 -0400utlonghornsfootballbarkingcarnival<img src="http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lm2d1cT3Yi1qgcd75o1_500.jpg"/><br/><br/><p>My favorite Dirk picture of all time.</p> <p><a href="http://www.davidaarnott.com/post/6037451601">davidaarnott</a>:</p> <blockquote> <p>Dirk Nowitzki. Don Nelson. Steve Nash.</p> <p>Middle school center-part! Nellie in a <em>tie</em>! Frosted tips!</p> <p><em><a href="http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/multimedia/photo_gallery/1105/dirk.nowitzki.rare.photos/content.4.html">Via SportsIllustrated.com</a></em></p> </blockquote>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/6044069020http://jeffbeckham.com/post/6044069020Tue, 31 May 2011 15:22:03 -0400dirknowitzkihaircut<img src="http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_llrecknuBh1qccjz2o1_500.png"/><br/><br/><p>50 years of Texas football in sparklines. </p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/5835221691http://jeffbeckham.com/post/5835221691Wed, 25 May 2011 12:12:21 -0400<object width="400" height="225" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" id="ESPN_VIDEO" data="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" allowscriptaccess="always" allownetworking="all"><param name="movie" value="http://espn.go.com/videohub/player/embed.swf" /><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true" /><param name="wmode" value="opaque" /><param name="allowScriptAccess" value="always" /><param name="allowNetworking" value="all" /><param name="flashVars" value="id=5862183" /></object><br/><br/><p>My <a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2010-12-01/webextra10.php">review</a> of <em>Pony Excess</em>, the excellent documentary about the rise and fall of SMU football. It premieres on ESPN tomorrow night after the Heisman Trophy ceremony.</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/2166588454http://jeffbeckham.com/post/2166588454Fri, 10 Dec 2010 11:38:00 -0500<a href="http://www.texasmonthly.com/2010-11-01/webextra15.php">The Eyes of Texas Are Upon Them</a>: <p><span> </span></p> <p class="subhead">And the question on everyone’s mind is: Does TCU deserve a shot at the BCS title game?</p>http://jeffbeckham.com/post/1553053813http://jeffbeckham.com/post/1553053813Fri, 12 Nov 2010 11:15:00 -0500