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Major league baseball's green season

Article: Major league baseball's green season

Posted April 14th, 2010, 3:04 PM by

As Robert Redford notes in the video above, the environmental footprint of major league baseball (or any professional sport) is “formidable”: from the energy to run the stadium, to the gas consumed by fans traveling to a game, to water used in bathrooms and to keep field grass green, many resources go into the production of America’s national pastime. Yesterday, the partnership between MLB and the NRDC announced a significant initiative to assess and address that footprint: “…a comprehensive software system to collect and analyze stadium operations data to develop and distribute best practice information across the 30 Clubs” that will go into use this season.

Getting by with a little help from a sportsgasm

Article: Getting by with a little help from a sportsgasm

Posted April 09th, 2010, 1:04 PM by

When Craig Venezia, the man behind the Faking a Sportsgasm blog, wrote to us suggesting that our sites had a lot in common, we were wary. On the one hand, we love that he makes fun of macho dudes who slobber and moan over balls and hard pucks. But on the other hand, we’re against faking of any kind — and it seems like Craig just wants to blend in with all the face-painted sports fans. Which would mean that slobbering macho dudes win. And on the other other hand, part of us thinks that Craig just might be pulling everyone’s leg.

But then Craig uploaded his Faking a Sportsgasm song to his blog, set to the tune of YMCA, with lyrics like “A discharge of your testosterone / You can do it when you’re all alone / But it’s more fun, when you’re with other guys / Then you can all do high fives.” Okay, so (a) that is hilarious on so many levels, and choosing the YMCA tune was a stroke of genius. And (b) the recording actually sounds really good and surprisingly professional, which leads us to think that Craig is serious and not pulling our leg. We’re still not down with the faking, but we’re totally down with making fun of sports fans in song, and so we decided to ask Craig a few questions and let him explain his mission in his own words.

March Madness by the numbers

Article: March Madness by the numbers

Posted March 26th, 2010, 12:03 PM by

Aside from Chat Roulette, most of the country right now is obsessed with March Madness, the annual NCAA basketball tournament. GOOD Magazine shares this interesting infographic from Fast Company that explains how this tournament pays it forward.

Hi-res Olympic images

Article: Hi-res Olympic images

Posted March 02nd, 2010, 10:03 AM by

The Olympics came and went before I had time to fully understand the phenomenon of curling. I still have no clue. None at all.

And while we were a bit Johnny Weir-obsessed around these parts, and rightfully so, it would be a shame to not think fondly on the USA’s triumphs. Even with costumes consisting of bird feathers, we can still win the gold.

Sex at the Winter Olympics

Article: Sex at the Winter Olympics

Posted February 22nd, 2010, 4:02 PM by

The Olympics are such a noble event symbolic of international peace and camaraderie, that to bring sex into The Games would be a tactless move, expressing an outright distaste of taste. So….let the tactlessness begin! Apparently, lots of sweating, increased heart rates, and aerobic activity doesn’t just happen at the official events, but also in the Olympic Village — in the past, people have called it “an adult Disney World.”

Winter Olympics medals contain e-waste

Article: Winter Olympics medals contain e-waste

Posted February 11th, 2010, 5:02 PM by

As with the past several Olympic games, the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics have worked to incorporate elements of sustainability into this massive event. From building a framework for event sustainability to creating greener event venues like the Whistler Sliding Center for bobsled, luge, and skeleton competitions, the Vancouver Organizing Committee has worked hard to lighten the admittedly huge footprint of the upcoming games.

The Super Bowl Ad Superlatives (in the love & sex category)

Article: The Super Bowl Ad Superlatives (in the love & sex category)

Posted February 08th, 2010, 4:02 PM by

BEST OVERALL: Dove Men+Care’s “The Journey to Comfort”
At last, a commercial that celebrates manhood without being sexist, stupid or beer-related! It’s basically a mini-movie crammed into 45-seconds (seriously, try counting the number of scenes they had to shoot) that follows one Everyman’s life from birth to adulthood by highlighting the big moments as well as the mundane ones: puberty, love, marriage, jar-opening, parenthood. The message is “You’re mature and comfortable enough in your own skin that you don’t have to worry about seeming like a pussy if you want to moisturize your skin.” And it avoids all the divisive or offensive gender stereotypes often found in Super Bowl ads. BUT — and it’s a big “but” — the title of “best ad” only applies to the 45-second version that aired during the Super Bowl last night. If you search online for it (and on the Dove site), the version that will probably come up first is the ONE minute version, which sadly DOES include a bunch of tired gender stereotypes, like fighting at parties, never showing your sensitive side and never showing fear — ugh! Like with good film making, good commercial making is all about editing, editing, editing.

45-Second Version (Yay!):

One-Minute Version (Boo!):

See the winners for “Most Romantic,” “Most Sexist” and “Funniest” after the jump:

City museums make Super Bowl bet

Article: City museums make Super Bowl bet

Posted February 04th, 2010, 11:02 AM by

1644 painting “Ideal View of Tivoli” by Claude Lorrain

It’s a long standing tradition that the mayors of the two teams fighting it out in a sports championship, such as the World Series or Super Bowl, will wager on the outcome and bet their city’s local offerings, typically food. In this year’s Super Bowl, the respective museums of the two cities, the New Orleans Museum of Art and the Indianapolis Museum of Art are beating their proverbial (artsy) chests and betting a major art piece from their collection. There’s been a lot of trash talk between the two museum directors as words such as “insignificant” and “gaudy tchotchke” to describe some of the paitings has been tossed and tweeted back and forth.

The Superbowl ad you WON'T see this weekend

Article: The Superbowl ad you WON'T see this weekend

Posted February 01st, 2010, 4:02 PM by

We used to look forward to Superbowl Sunday for the ads (that, and the excuse to over-indulge in junk food). But it looks like CBS is determined to ruin the one sports-related joy in our lives. First of all they went and accepted an anti-choice ad from conservative Christian group Focus on the Family — apparently CBS no longer bans advocacy submissions or controversial ads, as they have claimed in the past. Of course, Focus on the Family claims the ad is not controversial at all, and is simply about “the issue of life.” Riiiight. The ad — which has not yet been released — is expected to feature Pam Tebow (mother of college football star Tim) and her decision to carry Tim to term despite a recommendation from doctors that she have an abortion. Sorry: despite a recommendation from doctors regarding the issue of life.

Unfortunately CBS’s policy on “controversial” ads still holds firm if the ad happens to come from a gay men’s dating site.

Golden State Warriors practice facility goes solar

Article: Golden State Warriors practice facility goes solar

Posted January 19th, 2010, 4:01 PM by

From players’ salaries (and egos) to stadiums and arenas, pretty much everything about professional sports is big… including the carbon footprint. You likely only need to take a look at huge, climate-controlled facilities with acres and acres of parking to figure that even single events are responsible for massive greenhouse gas emissions. Genuine reductions in that footprints will likely require major shifts in how fans experience the play of their favorite teams… for now, though, a number of pro franchises are doing what they can with LEED building standards, renewable energy installations, and fan education.

The Golden State Warriors basketball team will join that group tomorrow with the unveiling of a 9,641 sq. ft., 143.5kW solar installation on its practice facility in downtown Oakland.

10 things you probably didn't know about hermaphrodites

Article: 10 things you probably didn't know about hermaphrodites

Posted September 14th, 2009, 12:09 PM by

photo by dalbera

The South African runner Caster Semenya recently withdraw from a competition amid speculation about her sex. The rumor is that she is intersex — or a hermaphrodite, as they used to say in the olden days. If it’s true, then it’s too bad she withdrew, as we would have loved to see the world of international athletics try to wrangle this one. After all, it’s not like they could force her into the operating room in order to compete. Plus, it’s a subject rife with misunderstanding and stubborn rumors, and the more people talk about this stuff openly, the better. For now, we’ll try to clear up a few things as best we can: