si Page 685 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights
Russia Today Consults Security Expert Steven Seagal On Sochi Safety
Some security experts have suggested that with the eyes of the world on the Winter Games, terrorist elements could leave Sochi under siege. Indeed, with its location near contested Chechen territory, it's possible the world's athletes could be competing on deadly ground. With that in mind, the U.S. ...
NBC Edits Out IOC Anti-Discrimination Statement From Opening Ceremony
Russia's anti-gay laws have been a major focus in the lead-up to the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, and during his address at today's opening ceremony IOC president Thomas Bach made a strong statement against "any form of discrimination" and in favor of tolerance. Viewers worldwide heard the stateme...
Russian TV Didn't Show The Olympic Rings Malfunction
Remember this? Five giant snowflakes suspended above the Fisht Olympic Stadium were supposed to open up into the five Olympic rings. Only four did, and scheduled pyrotechnics never materialized. If not for the internet, Russian viewers would be none the wiser....
Russian Police Choir Sings "Get Lucky" Before Sochi Opening Ceremony
The Russian police choir, which has become rather famous for its wonderful covers of popular pop songs, made an appearance before the Olympic opening ceremony in Sochi today. It was delightful....
Here Are This Year's Sloan Finalist Papers—And Their Biggest Issue
The eight finalists for the paper contest at MIT's Sloan Conference—the most prestigious and most branded sports analytics conference in the U.S.—were announced this week. They're a fascinating mix of creative problem solving and impresario number-wrangling, and if you read through them, you'll see ...
How The Opening Ceremony's Russian History Lesson Handled The Bad Stuff
Every Olympic opening ceremony is essentially the same—the host nation's history, by way of Cirque du Soleil. The real drama is in seeing how they'll whitewash the bad stuff. So, how did Sochi organizers cover the period between the Russian Revolution and World War II, the period of purges and famin...
The Beautiful Infographics Of Ted Williams's <em>The Science Of Hitting</em>
In 1971, Ted Williams and John Underwood released The Science of Hitting, the definitive treatment of the subject. Few great athletes have ever been so articulate about the mechanics of their greatness, which is one reason the book holds up even today, well into the analytics era. (A decade ago, Sci...
Model Predicts That The U.S. Is Going To Dominate Sochi
We're nearly past the Opening Ceremony, so it's time to get serious: Who's going to win the Winter Olympics? Based on an analysis of economic and geographic data from participating countries through Winter Olympic history, Dan and Tim Graettinger have built out a model for medal performance at the g...
Russian Olympic Beer Cans Are Dripping With Testosterone
The Washington Post's Rick Maese brings us this photo of Russian beer that can be purchased at the Sochi Olympics. As Maese points out on his Instagram page, that appears to be a Russian hockey player stealing a pretty ice skater from the defeated Canadian hockey team. You may question Russia's comp...
Olympic Luger Crashes, Makes Incredible Recovery
During a training run on the Olympic luge course, Indian luger Shiva Keshavan fell off his sled before making an amazing save, somehow flipping over and regaining his position on his sled. The scene made for a pretty mind-bending GIF, which makes it look like Keshavan was aided by CGI or wire effect...
Russia Is Pregnant With Anticipation For The Opening Ceremony
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Here's Bob Costas Saying "Pussy Riot" Over And Over
This is Bob Costas saying "Pussy Riot" a whole bunch. Enjoy....
Motel For Stray Dogs Near Sochi Has Roughly 100 Occupants
The majority of news regarding the stray dogs roaming around Sochi has been dismal. A company was hired to cull them, but it hasn't done that well, and now these dogs are just chilling everywhere as the Olympics start. Not exactly the most uplifting situation. But there's refuge for some of them! ...
Cool Chart: The Altitudes And Latitudes Of Winter Olympics Hosts
Over at the Washington Post, Darla Cameron, Cristina Rivero and Gene Thorp have created an excellent graphic comparing the latitude, host city altitude, and skiing venue altitude of every Winter Olympics since 1960. Squaw Valley, Ca. was the highest host city and Salt Lake City was the highest ski v...
Equality Organization's Ad Features Hot Luge Action
This is the work of the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion, which is not very happy with Russia's anti-gay rhetoric....
This New NBA Stat Is A Huge Step Forward For Basketball Analysis
This morning on Grantland, Kirk Goldsberry introduced the stat Expected Possession Value Added (EPVA), which he developed with some colleagues as part of a Sloan Conference paper. EPVA still needs some work, but it may represent an enormous development in NBA analysis. Here's why....
NFL Teams As Corporate Logos
NYC-based designer Ryan K. Fishman has mashed up 32 recognizable corporate logos with NFL teams, and has presumably been sued by everyone....
Obese Fans Will Get Discounts, Special Wider Seats At The World Cup
All 12 of the stadiums hosting 2014 World Cup matches will be either new or completely renovated, and a recently passed Brazilian law requires that at least one percent of their capacity be devoted to seats for fans with disabilities, including obesity....
How To Watch The Sochi Olympics Opening Ceremony Live
The XXII Olympic Winter Games opening ceremony in Sochi starts Friday morning at 11 a.m. Eastern Time, but it won't be aired in the U.S. until more than eight hours later thanks to NBC's tape-delay policies. They aren't streaming it live online, either, so if you'd like to join the rest of the world...
The Legacy Of <em>The Decision</em>: Everyone Is Taking His Talents Somewhere
Aside from the alleged traitorousness, arrogance, callousness, short-sightedness, and all the other negative adjectives that have been largely forgotten or forgiven with LeBron James's recent success, the lasting aspect of The Decision will be a particularly clunky bit of phraseology that has noneth...