The Weeks That Were (Apr. 1-12, 2024)

A roundup of what I wrote, read, watched, etc. over the past two weeks.

Apr 13, 2024

In this space on Saturdays, I do a weekly round-up of sorts: Sifting through what I wrote that you might have missed during the week, what I’ve been reading and watching myself, and some other fun things that have been going on. (Note: Since I missed last week, this version will cover the past two weeks.) Let me know what you think about the format in the comments (or email me!1), and if there are running sections you’d like to see on a regular basis.

What I did these past 2 weeks

Stealing a bit from Will Leitch’s newsletter format, here are the things I wrote or podcasted about during the previous week, sorted in descending order by quality, popularity and/or current relevance.

💸 A history of the American economy through stadium names - For the launch of Sherwood News, I wrote a piece looking at the history of naming rights deals in the “Big Four” major men’s pro sports leagues, and how it relates to trends in the American economy at large.
😔 What Do We Do When a Great Athlete Is a Bad Person? - In response to the death of O.J. Simpson and the ongoing shame of Curt Schilling, I pondered the dilemma of recognizing athletic greatness in players who let us down morally.
⚾ MLB's Pitching Elbow Injuries Are on the Rise — And More Costly than Ever - It seems like big-name pitchers are hurting their elbows on a near-daily basis so far this season, so I looked at how this year’s pace of injured-list days — and dollars — lost to elbow injuries compared to earlier seasons.
🏀 Where Does Bronny James Rank among the NBA Draft's Worst One-and-Done Players? - I have nothing against the idea of LeBron James playing with his son in the NBA — it’d be pretty cool to see a basketball version of this — but the announcement that Bronny James was attempting to enter the draft made me look up just how bad his freshman season looks relative to other one-and-done players from history.
🏀 UConn Built Arguably the Most Dominant Men’s Champ in Modern History. Then They Did It Again. - A year ago, I wrote about the case for 2023 UConn as the most dominant modern men’s NCAA champ, based on how no opponent was able to keep the score close with them in their wins. Remarkably, the 2024 Huskies improved upon their predecessor’s numbers and made an even stronger case for the greatest tourney run.
🏀 Caitlin Clark and Iowa Met Every Challenge - This was written before Iowa’s loss in the national title game — so technically there did end up being one challenge (South Carolina) the Hawkeyes couldn’t overcome — but I marveled at how Clark and her teammates overcame a tough draw in the bracket to make the Final Four.
🏀 Is UConn-Purdue the Best NCAA Men’s Final Ever? (*On Paper) and Where Does UConn’s Dominance Rank on the Road to the Final Four?- In the lead-up to the national championship, I wrote about how both UConn and Purdue had dominated the competition to a historic degree this tournament. (This is another great argument for UConn as the GOAT — they dominated another dominant team!)