Category: Geo-Analysis
Very Superstitious: Who Believes in the Madden Curse?
| September 6, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
Curses are essential to sports. How else can you explain the improbable comebacks, inexplicable cold streaks, and impossible stretch runs that appear season after season without resorting to boring statistics? The Wikipedia page dedicated to this topic counts 30 major curses in total, covering every major sport as well as hurling, snooker, and curling. And ever since 2004, when the… more
Skating on Thin Ice: Global Sports Warming
| May 24, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
On Tuesday, the LA Kings continued their playoff tear by dispatching the Phoenix Coyotes 4-3 in overtime, advancing to the Stanley Cup and winning our hearts through top-grade social-media snarkiness. Los Angeles – with an average daily high of 75° F – and Phoenix – average of 87° – are not exactly considered the breadbasket of North American hockey. As… more
Called Up but Moving Down: Elevation and Minor League Ballparks
| March 26, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
Baseball is an interesting sport to follow geographically, as every ballpark comes with its own unique environment characteristics. Perhaps the most famous example of this is the “Coors Field Effect,” where the thin air of the Rockies’ 5,200 foot-high home field makes the place a hitter’s paradise. A comprehensive study on this effect found that from 1995-1998 the average fly-ball in… more
Home Away From Home: Geography and the 2012 Bracket
| March 13, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
College basketball – perhaps more than most popular sports – is strongly influenced by home court advantage, with a recent analysis finding that from 2007-2012 holding home court was worth an additional 4.74 points per game. The selection committee takes this advantage into account when assigning teams to the eight Rounds 2-3 locations as well as the four Regional (Rounds 4-5) locations, rewarding… more
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
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
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
Noam Chomsky: Wrong About Sports
| January 29, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
Interviewed in the documentary Manufacturing Consent, renown activist/philosopher/linguist Noam Chomsky had this to say about sports: There’s the real mass media- the kinds that are aimed at, you know, Joe Six Pack – that kind. The purpose of those media is just to dull people’s brains… Take, say, sports — that’s another crucial example of the indoctrination system, in my view. For… more
What It Means to be an Urban Sport
| January 22, 2012 | Posted by ReubenFB under Geo-Analysis |
For those following the whole Turner debacle, to kiss and make up I asked the residents of Turner to help me finish this map, which broke down the country by NBA fandom and left western Montana blank. The responses have trickled in, and by and large it seems that people in this part of Montana, well, just don’t care about… more
Guess Who Likes the Ridiculous BCS Formula?
| January 18, 2012 | Posted by JoshR under Geo-Analysis |
When it comes to the Bowl Championship Series, SportsNation seems to be of one mind. They don’t like it. This is a sentiment echoed widely across the country. There have been books about it, there have been on-air rants about it, and there’s even an academic literature on it. It seems that a four-team playoff is the most likely replacement… more
