Twice in the past month ESPN.com’s Bill Simmons has made reference to our book. Generally when members of the media mention our book I get pretty happy. Of course, that's because typically the response to our work – by people who have actually read our work – has been really positive. Simmons, though, has been […]
The Knicks yesterday bid good-bye to Larry Brown. After a season where the Knicks spent more than any other team, and lost more than all but the Portland Trailblazers, it is expected that New York would make changes. But did they make the right change? There are two actors in this drama. Brown was hired […]
The United States – who entered the World Cup with supposedly the fifth best team in the world – has been eliminated from the World Cup. Once again the United States has failed to find much success in the world’s most popular sport. How can it be that a nation that so consistently succeeds in […]
After Wade averaged nearly 35 points and 8 boards in the NBA Finals the media has now crowned him the “next Jordan.” Unlike the previous “next Jordans” – Grant Hill, Jerry Stackhouse, Vince Carter, etc. – this “next Jordan” has now clearly led his team to an NBA Championship. So is Flash really the next MJ? […]
1. Half a Hero is better than None At the end of Game Five Dwyane Wade was a hero. If all you saw was the first half, though, that is not the story you’d tell. At the half the Mavericks led 51-43. Miami was definitely in trouble, since a loss would have forced the Heat […]
The series is now tied and the story is that NBA Finals have only just begun. I am not sure I buy that story. Yes, Miami is playing better and not coincidently, the Mavericks are playing worse. The Mavericks, though, are still in the best position to win this series. Looking at the schedule Miami […]
This just in – the Mavericks did not play well in Game Four. Even in a bad performance, though, someone usually plays well. For the Mavericks, that someone was Adrian Griffin. There was one sequence in the first quarter that I think captures the productivity story of Adrian Griffin and the Mavericks. With 3:40 left […]
Three games into the NBA Finals and each team has held serve on their home court. I have looked at the data from these games and read a fair sample of the media’s coverage. What are the myths (some of which I just made up) – and corresponding measurements (which I didn't just make up) – from these […]
In an earlier post I noted that baseball and golf were probably my two favorite sports. But for pure excitement and intrigue I must admit that there exists no greater month of sports for me than Fifa’s World Cup. Maybe because it comes around only once every four years. Maybe because nations, rather than individuals […]
Once upon a time I studied international trade. In fact, my dissertation with Terry Ozawa at Colorado State consisted of an examination of trade flows between Asia and the United States. Although I have spent much of my career researching the economics of sports, I still remember a bit of international trade theory. For example, […]
Wages of Wins Journal 
June 23, 2006 by dberri
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