46% of the 736 World Cup 2014 players play in England, Italy, Germany or Spain during the year

Got World Cup fever yet? I bet — even if you are an American. (“That first game is a must-win,” you’re now breathlessly telling all your friends.) Chances are you’ll watch at least a couple of games during this World Cup, see… Continue Reading

Sorry, New York Rangers — the only time a team came back from 0-3 in the Stanley Cup Finals was 1942, and a ref got punched in the face in the process

We don’t think of 0-3 in a big spot as totally insurmountable anymore because of the 2004 Red Sox (and other examples), but on hockey’s grandest stage, it really is. There are only four examples of a team down 3-0 coming back… Continue Reading

Are hashtags going to become really valuable during the 2014 World Cup?

FIFA is definitely going big-time on social media for the 2014 World Cup, and it appears that brands might be as well. Here’s a quote via Mashable: “Connecting with fans posting through social is a critical opportunity for advertisers, who can engage… Continue Reading

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Let’s revisit the whole context of Spurs vs. Heat and “same teams back-to-back in the NBA Finals”

We talked about this a bit before, but broader context is needed. This is the sixth time this has happened since the NBA-ABA merger of 1976; the other five times were: – Sonics/Bullets, late 1970s – Sixers/Lakers, early 1980s –… Continue Reading

After Lionel Messi and Neymar, does anyone at the World Cup have more pressure than Manuel Neuer?

Manuel Neuer, the German goalkeeper, had a pretty strong 2010 World Cup — really one of his only blemishes was that Puyol goal above, which ultimately sent Spain into the finals (where they won). Germany finished third. They’re coming back… Continue Reading

If you race electric cars on the streets of Miami and London, does that make them sexier? Formula E hopes so.

“Formula E” will debut next summer with a bunch of cool features — you can ‘tweet to boost’ certain drivers, for example — perhaps none more than the essential feature of the circuit: all the cars are electric and yes, if you… Continue Reading

Spurs-Heat is the sixth time since the NBA-ABA merger that the same two teams have met in the NBA Finals in back-to-back years

The NBA can sometimes seem a little repetitive. Case in point? The champions since 2000 are: Lakers, Lakers, Lakers, Spurs, Pistons, Spurs, Heat, Spurs, Celtics, Lakers, Lakers, Mavericks, Heat, Heat. Not a ton of variety there, right? And now, we… Continue Reading

Is Cristiano Ronaldo’s selfishness ultimately going to massacre his legacy?

Gareth Bale — theoretically the most expensive player in the world — scores the truly important goal for Real Madrid in the Champions League Final; Ronaldo doesn’t run over and celebrate with the team. Ronaldo then gets this mostly-meaningless goal… Continue Reading