Monthly Archives: February 2012
Where are NBA Superstars Born?
| February 29, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
On Sunday, the West held on to beat the East 152-149 in one of the most exciting, bloodiest All-Star games in years. The NBA’s East-West divide conjures up memories of some of America’s most enduring cultural conflicts: Biggie vs. 2pac, Reagan vs. Carter, East Coast puppets vs. West Coast puppets. Of course NBA players for the most part don’t get to… more
State of Oklahoma: “No Backsies”
| February 20, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Pointless |
Seattle is the most-populated “urban area” in the United States without an NBA team, coming in 14th overall. Oklahoma City – at 49th – is the least-population area with a team. In retrospect that was a pretty ballsey relocation. Here’s the poll. PHP Freelancer more
Tim Wakefield: What a Ride
| February 17, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Quick Map |
A lot of beautiful words will be written in the next few days about Tim Wakefield, who was an eccentric but productive pitcher, an outstanding person, and one of my favorite players. With his departure from baseball, Roy Halladay becomes the active wins leader in MLB, R.A. Dickey becomes the last active knuckleballer, and Jason Varitek – at least for… more
Mapping the Migration of Team Names
| February 16, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Quick Map |
(Click to enlarge) Some professional team names are pretty generic, but many reflect the history (49er’s, Trailerblazers, Nuggets), environment (Heat, Hurricanes, Thunder), or predominant industry (Brewers, Packers, Steelers) of the cities and regions they represent. Professional sports teams also move around occasionally; the map above shows ten instances where professional team names were transplanted far away from their local context,… more
Is Jeremy Lin the Point Guard Gotham Needs, or the Point Guard it Deserves?
| February 10, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
In my post “What It Means to be an Urban Sport,” I posited that as Hispanic and Asian populations in U.S. cities continued to grow, the NBA would start to see more American-born Hispanic and Asian stars. Well just three weeks later Jeremy Lin is proving me right, in his last three games with the Knick he’s 29-50 from… more
Florida and the Legacy of Billy Beane
| February 9, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Quick Map |
Billy Beane, long-time GM of the Oakland A’s, got a contract extension today through 2019, and as you can tell from yesterday’s featured poll above people are not exactly impressed by the whole thing. 39% is not a great result for a man who’s 2002 performance inspired both a best-selling book and an oscar-nominated role, so what happened? The easy answer… more
Who’s Excited for the Super Bowl?
| February 2, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
The 2009 Super Bowl featured a dramatic East-West matchup, with the Steelers and Cardinals separated by 1,833 miles of good ‘ol frontier land. 2010 was a North-South contest, with 714 miles of Louisiana Purchase dividing the Colts and the Saints. Even the Packers and Steelers were 497 miles apart. This year, the Patriots and Giants are 170 miles apart. Word… more
