R ex S orgatz

3 comments

We launched a new site today: SportsGrid. There's lots of data porn to ingest there, but imagine if you triangulated a player's performance metrics with their internet buzz with their salary. You could develop a new statistic -- their hype.

According to a Wall Street Journal study of four recent broadcasts, and similar estimates by researchers, the average amount of time the ball is in play on the field during an NFL game is about 11 minutes.

--11 Minutes of Action, WSJ. Also, a Vikings fans' fandom is worth $530.65.

11 comments

This video of Brett Favre mic'd up during last week's Vikings game is pretty amazing:

I realize no one will interpret this the right way, but this reminds me of The Hills more than anything I've ever seen.

5 comments

For the handful of Minneapolites who remember 7QQ (which have all sadly been deleted from the internet), it's been resurrected as 5QQ: Bill Simmons.

Did Shaq really find out he was traded to the Cavs on Twitter?

Some details about Soderbergh's adaptation of Moneyball. Brad Pitt and Demetri Martin star. Real players (David Justice, Scott Hatteberg, Daryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra) play themselves.

Leitch recounts his interactions with Costas and Bissinger. Juicy!

Awesome new song from the upcoming Lonely Island album: We Like Sports, starring Kiva and Jorm.

ONN: Pre-Game Coin Toss Makes Jacksonville Jaguars Realize Randomness Of Life.

Which is more strange: that Morrissey let his song be used in an NFL commercial or that the NFL wanted to use it? [via]

NYT video: The Women of Parkour. Traceuse!

saturday

4 comments

Michael Phelps conspiracy site: www.001ofasecond.com.

saturday

It looks more like an extra-terrestrial battle for dominance of the galaxy: photos from the Olympics Opening Ceremonies. Welcome your new overlords with kindness, America.

What the Olympics website looked like in 1996. [via]

A couple good NYTimes.com Olympics interactive graphics: Medals by Year | Torches by Year.

ESPN Mag: Klosterman on Kobe & Shaq, feuds, and hatred.

sunday

What's better than 20 Laker Girls? 500 prospective Laker Girls. I bet every single one of these darlings has a story to tell.

Shaq dissing Kobe in a freestyle rap. The remix is better.

Candace Parker, the second player in WNBA history to dunk in a game. [via]

4 comments

A rare sports link: Unassisted Triple Play.

5 comments

A few months ago, a NYT Mag columnist speculated that maybe the reason Friday Night Lights was a ratings failure had to do with its lack of internet presence. Yesterday, in one of the most buzzed clips in months, the guy who wrote the book that inspired the series (and is a Vanity Fair editor, natch) showed up on Costas Now to go totally freakazoid about blogs. Is there a looming blogphobia sweeping the country? I dunno, but Leitch thinks so. UPDATE: NYT weighs in.

friday

China is literally trying to modify the weather for the upcoming Beijing Olympics. (Btw, a few people have asked if Fimoc is shutting down for the Olympics again. [I produced NBC's site for the last two Olympics.] I'm happy to say that I have absolutely nothing to do with it this time around -- no more memorizing the nuances of Modern Pentathlon for me!)

friday

Tony somehow talked Kareem Abdul-Jabbar into doing a blog for the LA Times.

BornReady.tv is a real-time documentary about Lance Stephenson, a New York high school junior who is also a basketball superstar and a potential NBA lottery pick. Interestingly produced by Fader, which has more details.

Wired has a detailed feature on The Untold Story of the iPhone, which Valleywag conveniently cuts into bulletpoints for you.

I'm not one to hook you up with sports video links, but this 15 lateral play from Div III football is pretty great.

Apparently we're breaking all sorts of records in athletic spinning madness. Let's go to the tape: the first ever 720 dunk and the first ever BMX triple spin.