Hockey's Moneypuck Problem
Hockey is inching toward a sabermetrics-type statistical revolution. And like the other major non-baseball North American sports, hockey nerds are naturally taking cues from their baseball brethren, who have just recently seen their good work appear on ESPN tickers and stadium scoreboards. Hockey’s would-be Bill Jameses have even adopted the sabermetricians’ us-versus-them tone—the kind of snark with substance that incubates on message boards after a few thousand unfunny Fire Joe Morgan imitations. BY SAM PAGE
Wednesday, May 23, 2012Gasquet's Tennis and the Triumph of Petulance
It’s only February and it already feels like the dregs of the professional tennis season. The Australian Open, the traditional start of the season and its first Grand Slam, has been over for a month and the next major won’t be played until spring arrives in Paris for Roland Garros. You can see it in the way players approach the court at the ABN AMRO Rotterdam Open, with a weariness that suggests the only thing to be gained is ranking points, not glory. This is the look on the face of our (anti)hero, Richard Gasquet. BY BENJAMIN RILEY
Highschool Heroes
Drizzling rain dews on a morass of brown hair, a playoff beard worthy of a postseason it won’t see—at least not this year. Each warm-up toss flutters, impacting the individual droplets at a hundred different angles, yet never missing the catcher’s target. R.A. Dickey finishes quickly. Unlike nearly ever other pitcher in the world, his readiness for the game is based not on the loosness of his arm but on how his fingernails are holding the ball. And evidently satisfied with his feel, Dickey puts his head down and soldiers onto the next job. BY SAM PAGE
Game Night in the Garden of Good and Evil: The Trial, Tribulation, and Redemption of Sean Avery
Many a New York athlete has flailed under the bright lights of Jay McInerney's big city. Athletes in New York are always under scrutiny, whether it's the floodlights of Madison Square Garden, the flashes of cell phone and paparazzi cameras, or the allure of a city that never goes dark. Where McInerney's Tad is a typical nightlife hedonist, sport is not supposed to be about pleasure-winning is paramount and nothing else should matter. Pleasure is dangerous because it deviates from the requisite single-mindedness we have come to expect. Players who draw attention to themselves-whether it's a point guard taking bad shots to pad box score stats or a hitter swinging for the fences with a commanding lead-do so at the expense of the team, which stands above all. BY JOHN VILANOVA