Showing 1 - 10 of 29
Premier League bets $5 billion on game theory
News, Published on 08/11/2023
» Competitive tension is essential to the thrill of any sporting contest. The world's richest domestic soccer competition hasn't been over-endowed on that score in recent years, with Abu Dhabi-bankrolled Manchester City winning England's top division for three consecutive years and leading the table again almost a third into the current season. Those hankering for a bit more drama might do better to turn their attention to the unfolding financial contest for control of who screens the games.
Maoist or not, football looks ripe for revolution
News, Published on 28/02/2023
» It's a fair bet that not everyone will be a fan of the government's proposed English football revolution, which will create an independent regulator and push for a more equitable sharing of the revenues generated by the world's most popular soccer league. When the idea was floated in 2021, the chief executive officer of Premier League club Leeds United decried redistribution as "Maoist collective agriculturalism". That's a little rich. If you want to see an example of a sporting industry that truly embraces egalitarian principles, try starting in that well-known socialist country, the United States of America.
No, Brexit Britain doesn't want its empire back
News, John Lloyd, Published on 14/01/2019
» Britain is moving towards an exit from the European Union on March 29, possibly with no agreement, and thus courting – according to the Bank of England – an 8 percent drop in GDP and a 7.5% rise in unemployment. A drear prospect, attended by matching drear commentaries on the stupidity of the 52 percent of the British electorate who voted for Brexit in 2016.
Designer brands shed big bucks to stave off copycats
Oped, Published on 13/01/2018
» Thailand is on a drive to clamp down on black market branded goods with its "Stop Fake Goods" campaign aimed at tourists, which started at the end of last year.
That election: CliffNotes edition
News, Alan Dawson, Published on 13/11/2016
» Well, since at least half of us here today, dear reader, correctly predicted both fact and scope of the Orange Crush express months ahead, here are thoughts on that.
The media's prediction addiction
News, Andres Martinez, Published on 01/06/2016
» You have to give them credit: many journalists are confessing that they really blew it in the first act of this presidential election season.
Sandcastles in sky and 'our' Leicester win
News, Kong Rithdee, Published on 21/05/2016
» So unsure of ourselves, we grab a straw and think it is a rope. So unconfident of our place in the world, we find an excuse to vaunt it as national pride. Sandcastles? Maybe, and while everyone enjoys building sandcastles, only children think they're real and want to live out their lives in one.
If you expect it, it's not a 'Black Swan'
News, Leonid Bershidsky, Published on 11/05/2016
» It's the bread and butter of pundits to speculate what the world might look like after a relatively improbable but potentially disruptive event, like the UK's exit from the European Union or a Donald Trump victory in the US presidential election. The perceived probability of these "black swan" events is pretty high, after all, and contingency plans may be in order. It's useful, however, to remember how the author of The Black Swan, Nassim Taleb, framed it in his 2007 book:
A Thai monopoly and Leicester's triumph
News, Published on 06/05/2016
» No good party should be spoiled. As Leicester City's well-earned triumph is being celebrated and admired, accompanied by endless elation and intrigue, the anatomy of this previously unheralded, unsung and unlikely championship team that has just conquered the coveted Premier League title will be talked about long into posterity. It is truly incredible, an unprecedented feat harking back 132 years in LC Football Club's trying and grinding history.
Regime needs lesson in Leicester karma
News, Nopporn Wong-Anan, Published on 05/05/2016
» On top of tactics by manager Claudio Ranieri, creativity by winger Riyad Mahrez and goals by striker Jamie Vardy, it is the moral and spiritual support by Phra Prommangkalachan, better known as Chao Khun Thongchai, that helped land 132-year-old Leicester City its fairytale Premier League triumph.