Given Stanford’s obvious standing in the intellectual community, I sometimes go to the Stanford Daily’s sports page for an intersection of the academy and athletics. I was thrilled to find last week an article that fit the bill: “Replacement refs? Yes, please.” Read More…
Sports Illustrated dedicated its issue last week to the concept of speed. De’Anthony Thomas’ fleet feet flew by as you flipped the cover; they reappeared — blurred, as if print could not capture their quickness — 46 pages later. The section’s introduction ended with this claim: “Faster is better.” Such Read More…
Two weeks ago, I wrote that “the moniker ‘student-athlete’ has rung hollow for years.” Apparently, officials at the highest echelons of the NCAA agree with me. Some of the chief powerbrokers in collegiate athletics think the NCAA is on shaky ground by continuing to deny college athletes access to the Read More…
Zach Maynard can’t throw. Jeff Tedford can’t coach. Such is the general consensus in the persistently morose Cal football community. But I’m here to tell you: Really, everything is just fine. Sure, Maynard may have succeeded Tebow as Turf’s favorite quarterback, and Tedford may rival Solyndra as the state’s worst Read More…
Economies are founded on a basic principle: Labor earns compensation. Advanced economies take it a step further and ensure fair compensation for workers by rule of law. But, somehow, a multi-billion dollar American industry has for years swept this inconvenience under the rug, paving the way for executives to earn Read More…
I chose to attend UC Berkeley primarily for its public mission. I respect its purpose above all others; It made for an easy decision to leave my Vermont home to study in California. But I have often felt, throughout my five semesters on campus, that this respect is not reciprocated. Read More…
The Red Sox just made one of the biggest trades in baseball’s recent past: We sent our best player — a pitcher who brought us the 2007 championship — and an outfielder we bought for $142 million, to the Dodgers, and in return we received… um… eh… James Loney? As a fan, I should be devastated; we gutted the team and waved the white flag for the foreseeable future. But all I am is happy. It is a melancholy joy, for sure. I never thought we would go more than three years without making the playoffs — and that itself is the problem. Read More…
The Cal baseball team succumbed to a dominant pitcher Friday afternoon at Evans Diamond, falling 3-1 to No. 10 Arizona. Despite taking a one-run lead in the first inning, the Bears had no answers over the next eight as Wildcats starter Kurt Heyer stymied the Cal bats for a complete Read More…
A dry baseball weighs just over five ounces, roughly equivalent to your average smartphone. But unlike a handheld device, the baseball causes damage disproportionate to its small size. Along the 60-foot, six-inch path it traces on every pitch lie generations of crippled arms that couldn’t handle the stress of throwing Read More…
Powered by three home runs, the Cal baseball team slugged its way to a series-opening win over Utah, 9-4, at Evans Diamond on Friday. Led by center fielder Chad Bunting, who put two balls well over the left-center field fence, and right fielder Andrew Knapp, whose shot cleared the back Read More…
