Most of the focus when the N.C.A.A. tournament bracket is revealed on Sunday will be on how teams are seeded and what sort of opponents they’re due to face — and which teams make the field of 68 at all. But there is another factor that can make just as much difference: where the games are played. Since 2003, for instance, teams playing an N.C.A.A. tournament game within 50 miles of their campus are a remarkable 24-2. One of the two losses came in last year’s championship game, when Butler — playing just miles from its campus in Indianapolis — came within 2 points of defeating a heavily favored Duke team. By contrast, teams travelling at least 1,000 miles to...
The economics of the N.B.A. dictate that there are only two ways to build an elite team: 1. Acquire players who produce above-average value relative to the salaries they are making. 2. Exploit the loopholes in the salary cap so that you spend more money than other teams. This is not merely a rule of […]
The economics of the N.B.A. dictate that there are only two ways to build an elite team: 1. Acquire players who produce above-average value relative to the salaries they are making. 2. Exploit the loopholes in the salary cap so that you spend more money than other teams. This is not merely a rule of […]
This year’s soccer World Cup in South Africa, in the end, yielded relatively few surprises. Seven of the eight quarterfinalists hailed from either Europe or South America, soccer’s traditional power continents. The tournament was won by Spain, which was ranked as one of the two strongest teams heading into the competition. Sure, the 2006 finalists, […]
Tyler Kepner, who covers baseball for The Times, has an excellent article on the contract negotiations between the Yankees and their Hall of Fame shortstop, Derek Jeter. Few players have had a more harmonious relationship with their employer than Mr. Jeter, who has rarely caused controversy in his 16 seasons with the Yankees. But the […]
