Europe has long been the epicenter of track and field. With the European Championships taking place last week, it’s a good time to take a look at whether that is still the case. On this week’s episode of the podcast we recap the highlights from the meet, which countries are on the rise, and how Europe still stacks up against the rest of the world. Read more
In the baseball world, the term “eyewash” is thrown around a lot. It’s used to describe players who try to look real busy but really are not accomplishing anything at all. Just as eyedrops make your eyes look better without fixing the underlying problem, eyewash is something you do that looks good but doesn’t actually accomplish anything. Read more
Four years ago I left my hotel room to head for the London Olympic stadium. We got an early start to navigate the public transportation, security queues, and ticket lines. We still got to our seats an hour before the competition started, but I felt like we were late as the stadium was already packed. It was immediately clear they were not there to see the men’s hammer throw qualification like I was. Neither were they there to watch the steeplechase qualifying round. They were there to see one person: Jessica Ennis. The people in front of us brought their five-year-old daughter to witness the spectacle and her scream nearly blew out my eardrums once Ennis started the competition with a national record in the hurdles. The event’s power to draw in fans was on full display in London. The multi-events are a two-day test to crown the world’s greatest athletes and fans stand in awe of the diverse skill-set the top athletes possess. Therefore it was a bit odd when I learned that a new proposal from European Athletics would get rid of the heptathlon and decathlon forever in favor of newer formats. Read more
