Recently in sports Category

Flip Flop Fly Ball is an interesting site showing bizarre baseball stats and 'what ifs' through inforgraphics. Creator Craig Robinson's other site, Flip Flop Flyin', is full of infographs of all subjects.

According to a study conducted by researchers at the University of California-Davis, a large majority of near-the-line shots called incorrectly by Wimbledon line judges have come on balls ruled out that were actually in. Why? It's science.

McEnroe could've used this info.

At the start of a race at Belmont, the favortie Phone Jazz threw off jockey Jean-Luc Samyn but continued on and took the victory by seven lengths.

I have found the Donte Stallworth case exceptionally interesting since the get go. Seems that now they will be announcing tomorrow a plea agreement that has been reached. It's hard to put into words exactly why my sympathies lie with him as well as the family of the man who passed, but I for one am hoping that he doesn't end up sitting behind bars for an extended period of time.

Frank Selke was an assistant manager for the NHL's Toronto Maple Leafs when they won the Stanley Cup in 1945. His title on the cup is abbreviated as "ass man." This is just one of the many misspellings and mishaps on the world's most iconic championship trophy.

2K Sports has chosen Kobe Bryant to grace the cover of their upcoming NBA 2K10 release. What's interesting about this is that they have provided four alternative images and are allowing you to vote for which image you would prefer to see grace the cover. What's even more interesting is that while three of the four images feature Kobe in a Lakers uniform, images i'll refer to as LA1, LA2 and LA3, the fourth image portrays him in the same pose as LA3 but in New York Knicks uniform. I'll refer to this image as NY3.

Not surprisingly the NY3 image is garnering a good chunk of the vote as of today and sits in second place at 29%. I would assume this is due to the oddity of seeing a player in a competing uniform. The question though is, which LA image is in the lead out of the three? At first glance there is not too much of a difference between the three images. All show Kobe in one some sort of in game pose. But if you consult Predictably Irrational's first chapter The Truth about Relativity you may be able to gain some insight into why LA3 is currently dominating the other two LA options (LA1 and LA2) 36% to 19% and 16% respectively.

The NY3 image is acting as a decoy in this scenario and to voters who aren't swayed to vote directly for it by it's oddness of inclusion its presence appears to be causing LA3 to appear all the more attractive relative to LA1 and LA2. Based on the ideas presented in Predictably Irrational I would assume that whichever LA image was used to represent the NY image would be the LA image that was leading the vote. If so, is NBA 2K10 really giving you the choice to vote or did they want LA3 all along and come up with a creative way of getting the outcome they desired all the while giving us the illusion of choice? They are taking a risk of course that NY3 wins the vote purely on its cache but that seems to be a risk they are willing to take.

In the June 1, 2009 issue of Sports Illustrated, there was a great article commemorating the 50 year anniversary of what is known as the greatest game ever pitched. On May 26, 1959, Pirates pitcher Harvey Haddix pitched 12 perfect innings en route to 1-0 loss to the Milwaukee Braves in 13 innings. He did not record an out in the 13th inning, with an runner reaching on an error, followed by an intentional walk and a double.

This past Saturday, 50 years and 4 days later, Texas Longhorns reliever Austin Wood pitched 13 innings, including 12 1/3 innings of no-hit ball before allowing a two-out single to Tony Sanchez in the 19th inning. Texas would end up winning the 25 inning game 3-2, making it the longest game in NCAA history.

Arguably the greatest player in the history of the NHL, Wayne Gretzky, was never drafted. (via wl)

Charlie Brown threw the first pitch at the Pittsburgh Pirates game on Sunday. Here is the video, complete with his pitching coach's analysis...absolutely hilarious!