snap culture: January 2007

  1. what to do? ben, 1/28/2007 0 comments
  2. How many licks... William, 1/25/2007 0 comments
  3. a point i've made a million times ben, 1/25/2007 0 comments
  4. i know it was last week ben, 1/23/2007 1 comments
  5. overlooked at the onion ben, 1/20/2007 0 comments
  6. The funniest personal ads.... William, 1/18/2007 0 comments
  7. the greatest ben, 1/17/2007 1 comments
  8. The body isn't as resilient as it used to be... William, 1/17/2007 0 comments
  9. Obamaramamania William, 1/16/2007 0 comments
  10. My response... ben, 1/12/2007 1 comments
  11. Ben, your thoughts on Becks? William, 1/12/2007 0 comments
  12. The night of the 70th home run... William, 1/11/2007 0 comments
  13. How do you take your tea? William, 1/09/2007 0 comments
  14. I disagree... ben, 1/04/2007 1 comments
  15. Wow... William, 1/03/2007 0 comments

1/28/2007 Add a comment

What do journalists cover on the weekend in-between the conference championship games and the superbowl? Apparently, how now-forgotten stars are coping with the injuries from their playing days. A couple of very depressing articles: The Post on the disability claim efforts of Eugene "Mercury" Morris, and a detailed list of all the horrible injuries suffered by the 1985 Bears in today's Tribune. ben

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1/25/2007 Add a comment

does it take to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop? 252 for a human, and between 364 and 411 for a robot. My favorite part as that two universities put their engineering students on this task. Makes you proud of Michigan, huh, Ben?

Also, a lot of other good scientific answers to fun questions there. (What's all the tea in China actually worth?) William

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1/25/2007 Add a comment

That NCAA football and basketball aren't about education at all...today from Frank Deford. The only problem with his proposal (and mine), is that if you take away the revenue from football and basketball, who's going to pay for the rest of college athletics? ben

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1/23/2007 Add a comment

but here's a great article from the Times on the Democratic Reps and Senators who are roommates on the Hill, crammed into a tiny row house a few blocks from the Capitol. A must-read. ben

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  1. Blogger William: The funny thing is that they have done this same story every two or three years for the last ten. 1/24/2007  

1/20/2007 Add a comment


Last year, the Onion started doing an editorial cartoon feature, which spoofs the "holier-than-thou" attitude of most editorial cartoonists. It's been solidly funny each week, but I think this week's is particularly genius: ben

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1/18/2007 Add a comment

you will ever read. The best of these have been collected into a book. It's old news, but I recently remembered it. William

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1/17/2007 Add a comment

In honor of his 65th birthday, Slate put together a photo retrospective of Muhammad Ali. Check it out... ben

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  1. Blogger ben: more Ali photos from CNNSI. 1/18/2007  

1/17/2007 Add a comment

but I'm glad I can lose weight by playing video games! William

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1/16/2007 Add a comment

One thing in this whole Obama love-fest... I didn't realize he was a smoker. If this is his worst choice in life, then that isn't too bad. But it really does surprise me and goes against his squeaky-clean-guy image. William

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1/12/2007 Add a comment

Of course, the answer to Will’s question about whether Beckham is bad for American soccer is “it depends.” I’d say it depends mainly on three as-yet-unresolved questions:

  1. How healthy is Beckham, and can he play at a high level at age 31? If he plays well, he’ll get more ESPN highlights, more tv time, and more attention to soccer, which is good. He’ll sell tickets and jerseys, and his success (and giant payday) will likely encourage other international players to follow in his footsteps…you have to think that the rumors of Ronaldo to the NY Red Bulls in the next couple of years will be a self-fulfilling prophecy if Beckham plays well and expands his American fame.
  2. How MLS can afford to pay him that much but at the same time allow their best players to leave for Europe? This is critical, the best Americans have to play abroad to be able to be successful at the World Cup, because the speed of the European game is twice as fast as the MLS. So the MLS needs to both recruit international talent, allow domestic talent to leave, and still not break the bank. We need a soccer player trade surplus!
  3. Will Freddy Adu develop in time for 2010? I know that seems out of the blue, but it’s not Beckham who’s going to inspire the next wave of players in the US, it’ll be an American. Or at least a quasi-American who plays for the US national team. Because when the World Cup rolls around in 3 years, Beckham will be watching it on his couch. Basically, I don’t think Beckham can be the difference-maker for US soccer in the long-term, but Freddy can.
ben

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  1. Blogger ben: one answer to Question #2 is already in: the huge salary numbers for Beckham are a myth...they're only paying him around $36 million for 5 years, not $250. That number includes all of his worldwide endorsements. That said, MLS still has to allow the best young American talent to leave the country to improve. 1/13/2007  

1/12/2007 Add a comment

As SnapCulture's resident soccer fanatic, do you agree why David Beckham is bad for American soccer? I think that Becks' presence can't hurt. But then again Pele was brought to play in the U.S., but the NASL folded soon thereafter. William

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1/11/2007 Add a comment

was a great night. I still remember exactly where I was when it happened, and I called my dad immediately afterward, too. I hope that the 25% HOF votes jumps to 75% next year. William

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1/09/2007 Add a comment

If you are like me, you prefer a nice cup of tea with milk. I think it stems from a latent desire to be British. Guess that's not how we should be drinking it, though... William

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1/04/2007 Add a comment

Not to get all Becker-Posner on our dear readers, but here's my counterpoint to Will's previous post on McGwire. Will, feel free to respond.

The fundamental problem is that Simmons' counterfactual, where we let McGwire into the Hall of Fame but put a note on his plaque which says he gained 125 pounds in three years, admitted to using Andro, and refused to testify about steroid use, is simply an impossibility.

History is written by the winners. The point of the plaques in Hall of Fame is not to reflect the sentiments of an era but rather to reward the most successful players for their achievements. Just like Ty Cobb's plaque has no mention of the fact that he was a racist of the highest order or tried to intentionally injure every shortstop by going "cleats-up", there is no way that McGwire and his family would allow a plaque of that nature into the Hall. That's simply not how it works.

Given the choice of a laudatory plaque on McGwire with no mention of his misdeeds and none at all, I choose none at all. Same goes for Sammy Sosa, if you think this is simply Chicago-bias. Simmons is being fundamentally dishonest when he proposes a non-existent alternative.

And his article doesn't sway me one bit in my opposition to letting Pete Rose into the Hall of Fame. The only thing that distinguishes professional sports from professional wrestling is the belief that the games aren't rigged. If we were to lose that, sports as we know it would fall apart. Maybe I'm naive, but I think betting on your own team is the cardinal sin and can never be forgiven by the baseball establishment. ben

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  1. Blogger William: Ok. You are right on Rose. He stays out. I was swept up in sentimentality following a defense of my favorite player. And I don't necessarily agree with Simmons on the writing on the plaque. But I do agree with the general notion that the HOF shouldn't sweep history under the rug. You should be able to see the good and the bad. McGwire does represent a certain moment in time for baseball, and I don't think baseball should hide from that.

    Also, I had that Bash Brothers poster and thought it was cool.     1/04/2007  

1/03/2007 Add a comment

This Bill Simmons column is right on the money. I wish I had been able to sum up my feelings about Mark McGwire these past few years. A bit of background: McGwire was long my favorite player, even before he was with my beloved Cardinals. It stems from his magical `87 rookie season when he hit 49 home runs, an almost unheard of number back then. I haven't been able to get my mind around his Capitol Hill testimony or his HOF candidacy in the last two years, but this Simmons article does it for me. I may need to re-think my vehement opposition to Pete Rose, Joe Jackson, and Charles Comiskey, who I once wrote should be kicked out of the HOF. William

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