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In Sports, a Must-Win Situation Usually Leads to a Loss
On May 31st, Mauricio Macri, the President of Argentina, met with the members of the nation’s soccer team as they departed for training before the World Cup, which opens, in Russia, on Thursday. “Whatever we
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The Science Behind South Korea’s Race-Based World Cup Strategy
Whenever you bring together dozens of different countries from around the globe, there’s bound be some cross-cultural confusion. The World Cup is no exception. And if you’re Shin Tae-yong, coach of the South Korean national
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Chasing the ‘Holy Grail’ of Baseball Performance
In the final regular-season game for the 1977 Los Angeles Dodgers, Dusty Baker hit a home run, giving him 30 for the season and making him the fourth Dodger to reach that milestone that year
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Is Fandom Really Worth It?
There’s a lot of losing in sports. Only one team can win at a time, and only one champion escapes the season without tears. But that doesn’t stop Americans from spending nearly $56 billion a
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Bet on the champion’s rival
Analysis of decades of data from college basketball and the major sports leagues (MLB, NBA, NFL, NHL) reveal that a team is more likely to have better playoff success if its archrival did better in
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The Minds of Medalists
Psychological scientists have identified what distinguishes the athletes that made it to Winter Olympics, and what predicts their chances of standing on the medal podium.
