And you are here why?

via SMBC

Ok, we're not actually talking about the really  dangerous sports, like tiger-tipping , delayed-parachute-opening , and East-River-swimming . This, via the Guardian , is the incidence of head-injuries in various sports.  Who knew that water-sports where this dangerous?

Its nice to see Bob Costas (and NBC!) take a stand on this one, and a principled one at that. I particularly like the point about applying the same nomenclature to African-americans, Hispanics, Asians, etc. (That said, if you're in the mood to feel depressed about your fellow man, read the comments. Sigh.)

Josh Levin has a fairly searing take on the NCAA over here , where he points out - for quite probably the eleventieth time - the essential unfairness of the system.  This time around he points out the eery similarities between the NCAA and prison economies, with the following lines being particularly powerful.  And horrifying (emphasis mine)  “Student-athletes earn free tuition, which over the course of four years can exceed $200,000,”  says  Sports Illustrated ’s Seth Davis , who gets a nice paycheck to gab about unpaid laborers. “They are also provided with housing, textbooks, food and academic tutoring. When they travel to road games, they are given per diems for meals.” What Davis  and others  don’t seem to understand is that money is the only thing that’s money . Google employees get a free shuttle to the office, free food in the cafeteria, a free on-site gym, and  free continuing education classes . They also get salaries, because ...

Tyson Gay (who recently ran the 2nd fastest 100 ever)  has - apparently - just tested positive for a banned substance, and is pulling out of the World Championships next month.   Per an AP story Gay wouldn't reveal the substance in a phone conversation from Amsterdam on Sunday, but he said he was notified by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency late last week that a sample came back positive from a May 16 out-of-competition test. He said he will have his "B" sample tested soon, possibly as early as this week. "I don't have a sabotage story. I don't have any lies. I don't have anything to say to make this seem like it was a mistake or it was on USADA's hands, someone playing games," said Gay, who fought back sobs as he spoke. "I don't have any of those stories. I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down." " I basically put my trust in someone and I was let down " Seriously? I mean, it is entirely possible that so...

From Deadspin , we have the highest paid public employees on a state by state basis .  As expected, its pretty much either a football coach or a basketball coach - with a few exceptions for med-school types (and the further exception of the great state of Maine and its law school dean!) From the article Most of these databases include only the coaches' base salaries, which are drawn directly from the state fund. This is how you could be led to believe that   Virginia's offensive coordinator earns more than its head coach . Far exceeding these base salaries is the "additional compensation" that almost all of these coaches receive, which is tied to   media appearances, apparel contracts, and fundraising . While this compensation does not come directly from the state fund it is guaranteed in the coaches' contracts; if revenue falls short, the school—and thus the state—is on the hook to cover the difference. Plus, even it doesn't come directly from taxpay...

The NY Times goes through the drafts since 1995 (screen-cap below, go to the site for the interactive version! ) and figures out what we already new, viz. With notable exceptions, the first overall pick has, on average, proved to be the most productive player in the class. Nearly two-thirds of the most productive players drafted since 1995 were selected in the first round Mind you, we're not talking Alan Greenspan here (" With notably rare exceptions, Germany remained largely at peace with its neighbors during the 20th century. ") - its just very, very unlikely...