Sports
The leagues, the games, and the off the field business of athletics.
College Sports Now Runs on a Hard Salary Cap
A federal settlement put a single dollar ceiling on what each school can pay its athletes directly. The number is about 21.3 million this...
Only 11 Minutes of an NFL Broadcast Is Live Football
A Wall Street Journal review of NFL telecasts found the ball is actually in play about 11 minutes across a three hour broadcast. The rest...
A Single Baseball Game Goes Through About 120 Baseballs
A fan watches one ball at a time, but a big league game burns through roughly ten dozen of them. The reasons say a lot about how the sport...
The Pitch Clock Cut 24 Minutes From a Ball Game
Baseball spent decades getting slower and could not fix it. A timer on the mound erased two dozen minutes in a single season.
Left-Handers Have a Built-In Edge in These Sports
Lefties are about one in ten people, yet they crowd the top ranks of fencing, boxing, and baseball. The reason is not talent. It is the...
Two Seconds: How an F1 Crew Changes All Four Tires
A Formula 1 pit crew can swap all four tires in about two seconds. The system behind that number is a lesson in practice and trust.
You Won't Believe What Olympic Gold Medals Are Made Of
The gold medal handed to Olympic champions is mostly silver, with only about six grams of real gold on the surface. Here is why the Games...
Why Dimples Make a Golf Ball Fly Twice as Far
A smooth golf ball would travel about half the distance of a dimpled one. Those little dents are doing real physics work.
The Real Reason a Marathon Is 26.2 Miles
The odd marathon distance of 26.2 miles is not based on ancient history. It was set by a royal request at a single Olympic Games.
The Basketball Rim Has Been 10 Feet High Since 1891
The height of a basketball hoop was never carefully calculated. It traces back to a peach basket nailed to a gym balcony in 1891, and it...
An NFL Game Has Only 11 Minutes of Real Action
A famous stopwatch study found that a three hour broadcast contains about eleven minutes of live football.
What Actually Happens When a Runner Hits the Wall?
The wall is not in your head. It is your body running out of stored fuel. Here is the science behind it and how runners push past the point...
A Baseball Has Exactly 108 Stitches, All Sewn by Hand
Every regulation baseball carries 108 double stitches, and no machine sews them. The count is not random, and those red seams decide how...
Why Do Upsets Happen More in Baseball Than Basketball?
The better team wins far more often in basketball than in baseball. The reason is not talent. It is the math of how each game is built.
You Won't Believe How Short a Pro Athlete's Career Is
The dream of going pro comes with a short clock. Here is what the average career really lasts, and why it ends so fast.
The Tennis Match That Lasted 11 Hours and 5 Minutes
The longest match in tennis history ran across three days and ended 70-68 in the fifth, and the rules were changed so it can never happen...
An Olympic Gold Medal Holds Just 6 Grams of Gold
Olympic gold medals have not been solid gold since 1912. Most of the disc is silver, with only about six grams of gold on top.
Why Does Basketball Use a 24 Second Shot Clock?
The 24 second shot clock was invented in 1954 to save a stalling, low scoring league. The number came from simple math, and it changed...
You Won't Believe What Dimples Do to a Golf Ball
A smooth golf ball flies about half as far as a dimpled one. Here is the strange physics that makes those little pits work.
A 95 MPH Fastball Reaches Home Plate in Four-Tenths of a Second
The mound has sat the same distance from the plate since 1893. What a hitter has to do in that split second explains why hitting a baseball...
The Real Reason Home Teams Win More Often
Home field advantage is real across almost every sport, but the cause is not what most fans assume. The biggest driver is quieter and...
Why Every Golf Hole on Earth Is Exactly 4.25 Inches Wide
Every regulation golf hole in the world measures exactly 4.25 inches across. The reason traces back to a leftover piece of drainage pipe in...
An NFL Game Has Just 11 Minutes of Real Action
A three hour football broadcast contains only about eleven minutes of live play. Here is where the other three hours actually go.
A Soccer Player Runs About 7 Miles in One Match
Tracking data shows the average outfield soccer player covers roughly seven miles in a single ninety minute match, most of it without the...