Sports have released their video for “Reality TV.”
Elliotte Friedman on the Viral Michael Phelps Race Call
By now you’ve probably seen the viral video of a Canadian announcer messing up the call while Michael Phelps wins yet another gold medal. Michael Rosenberg spoke with the announcer for Sports Illustrated and it’s a master class in taking responsibility and dedication to your profession:
He only has two requests. One is that I write that if an athlete messed up like that, we would want the athlete to talk, and that’s why he is doing this. He is no hypocrite. The second request is that I put the mistake entirely on him. When I ask if a producer or production assistant was in his earpiece during the race, he bristles. It’s his fault, he says. Entirely his. Write it that way.
What Makes Simone Biles the World’s Best Gymnast
This interactive piece from The New York Times on Simone Biles, the US gymnast, is awesome:
Her signature move is a double layout with a half-twist and a blind landing. When she first performed it in 2013, no one else had ever tried it in competition.
It’s now officially known as “The Biles.”
Sports Stream Debut EP
Turnover Announce New Tour
Bill Simmons Announces ‘The Ringer’
Last week Bill Simmons announced his upcoming new website, The Ringer. Today his partnership with Medium for the publishing of said website has been announced. Edward Lichty’s post about the partnership is filed with PR platitudes but one line in particular set off my bullshit detector:
We eliminate the need for any investment in tech, provide access to a growing network oriented towards meaningful engagement, and deliver constant, always-on innovation from a world-class product development team, whether you’re a single blogger or a large commercial publication — all for free.
I think Medium is a really interesting product and a great environment for hosting medium to long form text — and I’ll continue to recommend it for a certain set of writers. But any company promising this sort of thing for free is really saying for right now. The other shoe drops eventually. I’d recommend a read of David Winer’s “Anywhere But Medium” for the counter argument.
Open Thread: Game Day Thread • Bill Barnwell: Why Denver Won