"Blind Side"might be the best book I've read in a long while. I hadn't made the connection to the Sandra Bullock movie (probably due to the movie having such a cryptic name "The Blind Side":) ). I'm not a huge football fan, as I grew up a Detroit Lions fan and thus, football wasn't the most successful sport around during my life. However, I had liked "Moneyball", so picked up "Blind Side".
I did learn some football, but I really learned about how difficult even truly talented folks have in overcoming barriers of poverty (race would be another barrier, but at least sports seems to have dealt with that issue). The odds of Michael Oher actually making it into high school, let alone college and the NFL are truly staggering. I found myself locked into reading this book and found it impossible to put down.
Most excellent.
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
Monday, October 17, 2011
Finished - 'I'd Rather We Got Casinos And Other Black Thoughts" - Larry Wilmore
Larry Wilmore's book is a good time. "Why brothers don't see UFOs", "how the government can apologize for slavery" and his campaign to change "NAACP" from National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People" to "National Association for the Advancement of Chocolate People" are all brilliantly conceived and written, as is the funeral and trial of the "n" word.
"Zombie Spaceship Wasteland: A Book by Patton Oswalt" - Patton Oswalt
I was a little harsh on Patton Oswalt's book. I actually enjoyed the last few chapters - these were stories of starting in comedy on the road.
Finished "Bossypants" - Tina Fey
Quite liked "Bossypants" by SNL and 30 Rock's Tina Fey. Some behind-the-scenes discussions of how SNL works, long hours, dealing with hosts etc. along with the whole Sarah Palin impressions during the 2008 presidential campaign was worth the read. The mutual respect among the 30 Rock crowd is nice as well - Tina Fey is very complimentary about Alec Baldwin, and in other interviews, there are very nice things to say about Ms. Fey.
A quick read - worth the trouble.
A quick read - worth the trouble.
Finished (Paper Book) - "Moneyball" - Michael Lewis
I heard about Moneyball from the Brad Pitt movie, but I decided to read the book before seeing the movie. The book is excellent - not often are stats nerds portrayed as being ground-breaking and innovative. I'm not surprised that changes in computer power, which provide both data through the internet to massive numbers of increasingly computer sophisticated users would result in new ways to look at baseball, which has always been seen as a statistics-rich sport.
What I was surprised about, was the lack of willingness of "the system" to understand and learn from the innovations. I had always assumed that each team would have a small department (either stand-alone, or attached to business or marketing) which would use statistical information to assist the teams. I didn't necessarily expect each team to employ a Ph.D. in statistics/economics/psychology (though, if a team is looking, give me a call), but I did expect that there would be constant chatter about innovations, even if the ultimate decision would be to rely upon "older" or existing statistics.
I was also surprised at the relative lack of ability to accurately track and rate fielding objectively, and the difficulty in separating the pitching/hitting/error stats (was it a legitimate hit? was it an error on a fielder? was it catchable?). It seems that even post-moneyball, there is still areas of exploration and understanding in baseball, and even moreso in other sports (I can imagine innovations in both football and hockey, just by extrapolating from the baseball-moneyball experience).
What I was surprised about, was the lack of willingness of "the system" to understand and learn from the innovations. I had always assumed that each team would have a small department (either stand-alone, or attached to business or marketing) which would use statistical information to assist the teams. I didn't necessarily expect each team to employ a Ph.D. in statistics/economics/psychology (though, if a team is looking, give me a call), but I did expect that there would be constant chatter about innovations, even if the ultimate decision would be to rely upon "older" or existing statistics.
I was also surprised at the relative lack of ability to accurately track and rate fielding objectively, and the difficulty in separating the pitching/hitting/error stats (was it a legitimate hit? was it an error on a fielder? was it catchable?). It seems that even post-moneyball, there is still areas of exploration and understanding in baseball, and even moreso in other sports (I can imagine innovations in both football and hockey, just by extrapolating from the baseball-moneyball experience).
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