Sport has long been one of humankind’s favourite pastimes, but for just how long? From a rather high-stakes Mayan football game to when the Olympics doubled up as an exhibition of surprising range of talents. Some of the thorniest questions in sport and how nuanced data analysis may answer at least a few.

© 2020 Tanay and Sach

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Film quote, presumed under Fair Use: Voices of Jonah Hill and Brad Pitt from Moneyball (2011). Peter Brand makes his pitch to Billy Beane for a new way of drafting a team. 

Basketball icon from Smashicons.

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Links:

Essays, Poetry and Glee singing competitions in the Olympics:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/when-the-olympics-gave-out-medals-for-art-6878965/

Strychnine used as energy drink in the 1904 Olympics marathon

https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2016/jul/21/the-cocktail-of-poison-and-brandy-that-led-to-olympic-gold-strychnine

Some of earliest balls games were played in Mesoamerica

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/06/soccer-world-cup-origins-mesoamerica-ball-games-archaeology-science/ 

China’s investments in sports 

https://thebastion.co.in/politics-and/sports/the-dragons-growing-might-chinas-big-bet-on-sports/

Why Egypt produces so many squash champions

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/11/why-egypt-crushes-at-squash/383062/

Origin of the word ‘badminton’

https://scroll.in/video/830040/watch-the-time-when-badminton-was-called-poona

Tennis was close to being called ‘sphairistike’

https://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/wales/entries/d4437526-3b92-32f4-89a6-bd3c29f296f0

Weightlifting and wrestling hold a special place in Iran

https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2012/08/the-ancient-roots-of-irans-wrestling-and-weightlifting-olympic-dominance/260919/

Usain Bolt’s fastest 100m run, which is not in the record books

https://www.worldathletics.org/news/news/bolt-runs-1435-sec-for-150m-covers-50m-150m-i

Contrary to sexist stereotypes, women are no worse than men, at least in track and field events

https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2012/08/we-thought-female-athletes-were-catching-up-to-men-but-theyre-not/260927/

Tricky legal, ethical questions like those regarding intersex athletes present emerging career options

https://www.bbc.com/news/health-47640359

David Epstein’s The Sports Gene

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/aug/22/sports-gene-david-epstein-review

Automated Strike zones in baseball

https://events.sporttechie.com/soti-2019

Publicly listing English football clubs was not a very successful experiment in the 1990s

https://www.economist.com/game-theory/2012/07/12/if-at-first-you-dont-succeed

The diet and lifestyle of a professional e-sports team

https://www.businessinsider.in/Heres-what-life-is-like-in-the-cramped-gaming-house-where-5-guys-live-together-and-earn-amazing-money-by-playing-video-games/articleshow/47164755.cms

Andy Dinh, founder of Team SoloMid

https://www.forbesindia.com/article/cross-border/andy-dinh-the-derek-jeter-of-esports/51647/1

Master’s in Sports History at De Montfort University (DMU)

https://www.theguardian.com/education/2017/mar/17/ball-watching-through-the-ages-studying-the-history-of-sport

Sports for Development:

Project Khel - https://projectkhel.org/

Dribble Academy - https://pradyutvoleti.com/dribble-academy/

1 Million Hockey Legs - http://onemillionhockeylegssocialprojects.com/