No team likes to get swept out of the playoffs. Just ask the top two seeds in the NHL playoffs, both of which were swept in the second round this week. Rarely, however, does a team respond as the Los Angeles Lakers have in the past few minutes. It was a pathetic display for a […]
Archive | Sports and Games
You Knew I’d Say Something About This:
A somewhat dispirited series of highly-anticipated matches between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid was elevated to high art through the remarkable play of the remarkable Lionel Messi. If you didn’t see his goals in Wednesday’s game — the second one in particular is a thing of sublime beauty — check them out here (the UEFA […]
Canadian Party Leaders’ Debate May be Postponed to Avoid Conflict with an NHL Playoff Game
By Ilya Somin on April 11, 2011 12:21 am in Canada, Democracy, Political Ignorance, Sports and Games
Canada is in the midst of an important election campaign. Many important issues are at stake, including the state of the Canadian economy, crucial foreign policy decisions, and others. Nonetheless, the leaders of most of the contending parties have asked for the postponement of an upcoming debate between them to avoid a schedule conflict with […]
The Case for Paying College Athletes
Tonight is the NCAA basketball championship game. At the risk of being a party-pooper, I would like to focus on a serious injustice associated with college sports: the existence of a cartel that prevents college athletes from being paid. Economist Gary Becker summarizes the arguments against the cartel here: Every year prior to this final […]
The NFL Lockout – Who’s to Blame?
Forget Wisconsin, unless you’re worrying whether the Green Bay Packers will get a chance to repeat. Now that negotiations between the National Football League’s team owners and players’ union have stalled, the real labor fight is just beginning. After the sides failed to reach an agreement, the players’ union decertified and several players filed an […]
When Is a Hockey Hit a Crime?
Police in Montreal are reportedly looking into a brutal hit by the Boston Bruins’ Zdeno Chara on the Montreal Canadiens’ Max Pacioretty. The hit produced a major penalty and game misconduct, but did not result in a suspension, even though Pacioretty suffered a concussion and broken vertebrae. I suspect the NHL’s failure to discipline Chara […]
Gary Kasparov on Bobby Fischer
Former world chess champion Gary Kasparov has a fascinating review of the new biography of Bobby Fischer written by Frank Brady [HT: Tyler Cowen]. Kasparov reflects on the fascinating contrast between Fischer’s incredible insight and rationality at the chessboard and the paranoid delusions that eventually destroyed his life away from the board. I briefly wrote […]
New York Yankees Co-Owner Hank Steinbrenner Denounces “Socialism”
New York Yankees co-owner Hank Steinbrenner recently denounced Major League Baseball’s revenue-sharing system, calling it “socialism”: Yankees co-chairman Hank Steinbrenner [the other co-owner/co-chairman is Hank’s brother Hal] says baseball’s revenue sharing and luxury tax programs need changes….. “We’ve got to do a little something about that, and I know Bud wants to correct it in […]
Moneyball the Movie
Sports columnist Rob Neyer has an interesting post about the making of the movie based on Moneyball. Michael Lewis’ famous book about Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane’s successful efforts to build a great team with a small payroll by relying on statistical analysis to identify undervalued players. The movie will be directed by Aaron […]
On Caring About Sports
Co-bloggers Sasha Volokh and Ken Anderson express puzzlement as to why anyone would care about the outcome of professional sports competitions. By the same logic, why would anyone care about any kind of entertainment? Why, for example, do people care about and identify with fictional characters in the Harry Potter novels or in Jane Austen’s […]
Has Sports Performance Peaked?
In this recent Boston Globe article, sportswriter Paul Kix argues that human sports performance is close to reaching its maximum limits because track and field world records have plateaued over the last two decades: In the sports that best measure athleticism — track and field, mostly — athletic performance has peaked. The studies show the […]
Somin Family Featured in December 2010 Issue of Engage
By Ilya Somin on December 30, 2010 10:45 pm in Eminent Domain, Kelo, Post-Kelo Reform, Property Rights, Sports and Games
The December 2010 issue of Engage features not one but two items written by members of the Somin family: a debate on Kelo v. City of New London and eminent domain reform between University of Chicago Law Professor (and former Dean) Saul Levmore and myself; and an article on Title IX and women’s sports written […]
New York Times Room for Debate Blog Forum on Today’s Individual Mandate Decision
By Ilya Somin on December 13, 2010 9:50 pm in Commerce Clause, Federalism, Health Care, Individual Mandate, Sports and Games, Taxes, Taxing and Spending Clause
The New York Times Room for Debate blog has posted a forum where various scholars weigh in on today’s district court decision striking down the individual mandate. It includes contributions by co-blogger Randy Barnett and myself. My piece briefly discusses the Commerce Clause and Tax Clause aspects of the ruling: Judge Henry Hudson’s decision today […]
Football Injuries:
A couple of weeks ago, I moderated a panel at the Philadelphia Sports Law Conference, organized by a former student of mine, Ed Wasielewski, who’s been working as an NFL agent for the past several years. I don’t know a great deal about sports law, or even about the specific focus of the panel I […]
Man, This Guy Can Write:
Though I’m not that much of an NFL football fan, I can’t help but noticing the extraordinarily good writing of Mike Tanier, who writes for FootballOutsiders.com (and the New York Times from time to time). Here are some examples, from his discussion of this week’s games: On the Jets v Browns: “Eric Mangini is on […]