Losing feels worse than winning feels good. | | | | Sport without boundaries or fear.
(Romina Amato/Red Bull/Getty Images) | | | | | | “Losing feels worse than winning feels good.”
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| | rantnrave:// Why do sports fans hate announcers? NEIL BEST tries to figure it out. Seems like there are more reasons to hate announcers than like them. They're biased against your team. They're homers. They're wrong. They're too hard on players. They're too soft. They talk too much. They don't know what they're talking about. Announcers have an interesting relationship with fans, who hear them 16, 82 or even 162 times a year. Fans learn their patterns and voices and personalities. They become like family. Replacements or national announcers can seem like outsiders. I subscribe to the white noise theory of announcing. Announcers are a part of the broadcast but mostly bleed into the background, except for the best and worst. When the announcers aren't white noise, it means they're either superb and their voice breaks through, or so bad you can't ignore them. But we let them into our living rooms every night, so we hold them to a high standard. They don't just call the games, they're a part of the experience. They also have some stories of their own to tell. SportsSET: "Soundtrack of Sports: The Stories Behind the Voices"... NBC SPORTS will start offering an EPL streaming subscription. For $50, fans who don't have cable can watch 130 games plus other content. But the new package comes at a cost to existing cable subscribers. Every EPL game used to be available to cable subscribers. Not anymore. The games NBC Sports airs with its streaming subscription will be taken out of the inventory available to viewers who pay for cable. NBCSN aired every game each week on TV or online last year -- now those 130 games will be available only to streaming subscribers. That's a significant loss for cable customers. Soccer fans are notoriously loyal to their teams. When CHELSEA games aren't on NBCSN, I'll head to the NBCSN app even if the game on TV is better because I want to watch my team. What happens when Chelsea games aren't on TV or on the app? Then what am I paying for? That likely won't be a question Chelsea or MAN U fans ask, but how does a BURNLEY or STOKE fan answer that question? Why would NBC Sports push them to look outside its own platforms for EPL games? Does the new revenue outweigh the loss in customer happiness? Is this the end of EPL's golden age in the US? Will a marginal diminishment in the EPL's availability open a crack for another league, like the BUNDESLIGA on FOX, to make inroads in the US market?... The first episode of ESPN's 30 FOR 30 podcast series relives the saga of DAN and DAVE, the decathletes at the center of a national ad campaign in 1992. This is the most relevant Dan and Dave have been since then. Maybe REEBOK can still get a bump from their ad campaign... The SUPREME COURT will hear a case about NEW JERSEY's attempt to offer legal sports betting. The NFL, NHL, NBA, MLB and NCAA sued the state to stop it. Even if SCOTUS doesn't rule in NJ's favor, the case's long life could facilitate a revised look at legal betting. Change doesn't need to come through the courts. Public opinion can be more potent. | | | - Mike Vorkunov, curator |
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| Last January, on the eve of the Australian Open, Serena Williams handed her fiancé, Alexis Ohanian, a paper bag containing six positive pregnancy tests. It was just the latest surprise in an unlikely pairing: the world’s greatest tennis player and the geek co-founder of Reddit. From their first date--a magical six hours in Paris--to their plans for the baby’s arrival, this is the full love story. | | |
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| From what to call the events to facing social media backlash, hosting Ladies Night at the ballpark can be a minefield for baseball organizations. | | |
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| The 1992 Barcelona Olympics produced a great many heroes, but in the months leading up to the Games, television viewers were led to believe that they were all about decathletes Dave Johnson and Dan O’Brien -- who were competing not only for the United States but for Reebok, as well. The ad campaign cost some $25 million and made them stars. | | |
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| Bill Simmons is joined by Judd Apatow to discuss the state of American politics, his attempt to humanize Muslim Americans in 'The Big Sick', his return to the stand-up comedy circuit, the 'Freaks and Geeks' experience in today's TV landscape, the binge-watching culture and lack of conversation around shows, Garry Shandling's greatest comedic moments, and more. | | |
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| Qualified women are ready to coach soccer -- but they're being shut out. | | |
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| Her father, Mike, coaches the Howard University football team and her brother Brandon has a Super Bowl ring, but neither man inspired Kristen London to start playing football. Instead, it was her mother who signed up the then-eight-year-old for Pop Warner. | | |
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| Artists do all sorts of heavy lifting, often in ways that we least expect. Case in point: the muscular paintings on view at Chimento Contemporary. | | |
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| If Paulinho’s proposed move to Barcelona goes ahead, it could be one of the most significant transfers in history considering what it would mean for the rise of the Chinese Super League. | | |
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| Sports wagering is currently legal in Nevada and, in limited ways, three other states. On Tuesday, the United States Supreme Court announced it would hear an appeal to reinstate a 2012 New Jersey law that would legalize sports wagering at the state’s casinos and racetracks. | | |
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| Some NCAA schools are making a splash by “offering” scholarships to players as young as 9 or 10. What’s next: Offering Cam Newton’s 2-year-old son a full ride? | | |
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| Not too long ago, the NBA feared the influence of hip-hop was bad for business. As Drake hosts the first NBA Awards, it seems the league changed its mind. | | |
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| How number crunching has worked its way into NFL decision making at all levels. And how, with some of football’s greatest minds, it has always been that way, even if they didn’t know it. | | |
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| This isn’t going to be another moral screed about tanking. I am neither one of those people appalled by it, nor an evangelist for it. | | |
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| The comedian-turned-podcaster-turned-character-actor is a delight on the Netflix series. | | |
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| Following Fox Sports laying off many employees on the digital side of the operation, Awful Announcing looks at a turbulent year under Jamie Horowitz. | | |
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| For the sub-elite running class, it can be hard to decide when those five a.m. 15-milers are no longer worth it. | | |
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| The NFL has a race problem. This certainly sounds ludicrous on its face. How can an organization with so many recognizable black stars have a race problem? In short, the NFL serves as a case study for the difference between inclusion and representation. | | |
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| "I didn’t stop because I wanted to. Now, I can’t blame anyone but me.” Vince Young won a national title and was named Rookie of the Year in the NFL, but he’s remembered more for flaming out and financial snafus. At 34, he decided to play again--and quickly learned how hard that is. | | |
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| Rugby union is the closest sporting equivalent to a demolition derby. Why are they lifting each other up in the air? Why was that not a penalty for straight-up killing someone? Why am I hurting just watching it on TV? | | |
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| Nigerians are making waves in the U.S. due to their intensity, intelligence and athleticism. | | |
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