By Cynthia Gordy/ProPublica

World tennis was stunned last month by allegations of widespread match-fixing, as well as the utter failure of the game’s authorities to deal with the underhanded practice. In a blockbuster investigation called The Tennis Racket, by BuzzFeed data reporter John Templon and BuzzFeed UK investigations editor Heidi Blake, the journalists drew on evidence from leaked files showing that 16 tennis players (who at some point have been ranked in the top 50) have been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit for suspicions they had thrown matches or arranged for their opponent to lose.
Those suspicions supported a BuzzFeed data analysis, in partnership with the BBC, of betting data and the outcomes of 26,000 ATP Tour and Grand Slam matches. While the BuzzFeed/BBC investigation stopped short of naming names, other outlets, including Medium, have pounced on the report’s methodology and data analysis to de-anonymize the top suspects, fueling further controversy.
On this week’s podcast, ProPublica managing editor Robin Fields and assistant managing editor Scott Klein talk with BuzzFeed’s Templon about the investigation’s methodology, why they chose to keep their findings anonymous, and the reaction from world tennis just weeks after publication.

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Posted on February 2, 2016

By Jim Coffman

The overarching question has to be, will incompetent sports owners and commissioners ever pay a significant price? Will fans ever say, you know, we don’t have to give them so much of our money, we could figure out something else to do with our time and resources, at least for the short period of time that would be enough to get their attention?
And if the fans and players ever said screw it, we’re all going to go do something different, then you might really get somewhere.
On the heels of the ridiculous scene in Nashville on Sunday, the scenes in the NFL during the past five years and the ridiculousness that so frequently runs rampant in all major pro sports these days, it is way past time for a reality check for management.

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Posted on February 1, 2016

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Exceeding expectations, even if Captain Serious stands accused of not being serious. Plus: Bulls Losing Meaningless Games Against Crappy Teams In Dead Of Winter Just Like We Wanted Them To; White Sox Convention Opens At Southwest Suburban Motel 6; and John Fox’s Former Teams Meeting In The Super Bowl.

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Posted on January 29, 2016

By Angel Krasimirov/Reuters

Bulgaria’s retired double Olympic wrestling silver medalist Stanka Zlateva said on Sunday she was once offered cash to lose a world championship final but had refused to do so.
“I was offered money at a world championship but for me, it’s much more important to win,” Zlateva, who retired this month, told Bulgarian national television. “No matter how much money they would offer.”

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Posted on January 26, 2016

By Jim Coffman

Fellow Blackhawks fans, work with me here.
It is time for more people to do a better job dispensing credit when the boys of winter post yet another stellar defensive performance. Our latest opportunity to do so comes in the aftermath of the home team shutting down the St. Louis Blues on Sunday night 2-0.

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Posted on January 25, 2016

By Jim Coffman and Steve Rhodes

Also livin’ on a prayer. Plus: Blackhawks Have Only Won 12 Of Last 13; Riverboat Ron Has Last Laugh; and John Baker Way Better Than Dusty Baker.

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Posted on January 22, 2016

‘There Is Nothing Bigger In The Ski World; You’re Willing To Die For It Almost’

It’s ended careers, it’s ended dreams, it’s crushed people.

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Posted on January 22, 2016

Both Heartbreaking And Uplifting

“Like millions of kids before him, Jay Williams used to pretend he was making the game-winning shot while playing basketball in his Plainfield, New Jersey, backyard,” the jacket copy of Williams’ new book says.
“Unlike almost all of those other kids, he kept right on making shots until he became an NCAA champion and two-time national player of the year at Duke and the number-two overall NBA draft pick in 2002.
“But after just one season with the Chicago Bulls, a team starved for a new messiah since Michael Jordan’s retirement, Williams destroyed his career when he suffered a horrific motorcycle accident. In an instant, the man with as fast a first step as any point guard in history could no longer do anything for himself, including walk.

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Posted on January 21, 2016

By Jim Coffman

Derrick Rose plays clueless basketball in the first six minutes on Monday afternoon, hoisting numerous ill-advised shots of the sort he has been missing all season, and a fan thinks maybe those who have called for his benching recently have a point as the Bulls fall behind by 13.
This comes on the heels of Rose giving even more clueless than usual answers to questions in interviews for the last six months, leading that same fan to also wonder whether Rose will ever make the kind of commitment to a team that it must have to even begin to contend for a championship.
But down the stretch, Rose is a big part of a highly satisfying run that enables the Bulls to knock off a nemesis, the Detroit Pistons, 111-101, for one of their most impressive road wins of the season. They enter this week tied for third in the Eastern Conference, with a 24-16 record at the midpoint of the season.

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Posted on January 19, 2016

By Greg Stutchbury/Reuters

World tennis was rocked on Monday by allegations that the game’s authorities have failed to deal with widespread match-fixing, just as the Australian Open, the first grand slam tournament of the year, kicked off in Melbourne.
Tennis authorities rejected reports by the BBC and online BuzzFeed News, which said 16 players who have been ranked in the top 50 had been repeatedly flagged to the Tennis Integrity Unit (TIU) over suspicions they had thrown matches in the past decade.
Eight of those players were taking part in the Australian Open, the BBC and BuzzFeed News said.

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Posted on January 18, 2016