The Society Of The Spectacle

Baseball might not be everyone’s taste, with it’s emphasis on statistics as much on the actual emotive aspects of the game. But, as with football here, it has a long and rich history, with some teams as old as our most venerable football institutions, and just the same amount of passion.

The intersection of history and statistics, is brilliantly bought to life with the Pennant app. An interactive guide through the history of all 32 Major League ballclubs. The truly awesome thing about the app is the great UX. (The film below gives you a clear run through of how it works). There is so much detail, so much depth in here from a purely informational standpoint that it boggles the mind, acting more as an interactive encyclopedia than just a series of stats.

There are limitations to it, video content and press clippings for teams would add an emotional edge that is lacking with just stats, but the potential for more of this is absolutely inherent. Even more exciting, is how this idea could be translated across a whole host of sports, from basketball, American football and even our own Football teams.

Check it out. (Video HERE)

(Via Chitwood & Hobbs)

As you do on Holiday, I devoured books like Godzilla over Tokyo. I took a really great range of books, some political (and eerily prescient) to the salacious, but fascinatingly detailed story of a Star (more on this one next time) and another Peter Biskind book that felt like you needed a degree in film theory and cold war politics to truly understand. While Miss. Mullen took what seemed like every single Malcolm Gladwell book going and devoured each and every one.

But secretly, I had taken a book that I had waited months to read, to find the perfect spot, the perfect atmosphere to soak it up, for I knew that this book would be an indulgence of the highest order. 700 pages of pure unadulterated Basketball. From the first page to the last Bill Simmons book The Book Of Basketball was a love letter to a sport that is much more than the sum of it’s parts. (more…)

Another week, another Tumblr…. But this one is a little different, digging up the basketball visual nuggets from Naismith to LeBron and everything in between in the always colourful world of the NBA. (With a little bit of the ABA thrown in.) Here’s a few choice cuts… (more…)

Say no more really, a pretty impressive feat.

Over the last couple of years, the NBA has done a fantastic job of advertising and building the reputation of the league.
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Holy shit. That is all. I will leave it to the Sports Guy to articulate further.