I feel like I’ve been seeing these on Sportscenter more and more lately. Every time they come on I am immediately reminded of “Bill Nye The Science Guy.” The way the narrator talks makes me think his target audience is young children watching Nickelodeon on a Saturday morning. If you haven’t seen any of them yet, here’s an example:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJ7QMNUFqMw[/youtube]
So let me get this straight: if you spread the floor, move the ball around, and find the open man, it’s easier to score? Wow.
There were two baseball related “Sports Science” features in the past few weeks that practically made me nauseous. I literally spent an hour just now searching for them online, but couldn’t find any evidence of either. I promise they exist though, and ESPN ran both of them on Sportscenter. The first was about home runs. I even know that it aired on October 19, because it was so terrible that I made a note right away to try and find it on youtube. It used a bunch of numbers and floating graphics to say that home runs are caused by greater bat speed and hitting the ball at a higher angle. The second aired during the World Series in St. Louis, and it was about the effect that cold weather has on the game. The conclusion was that lower temperatures make the players hands cold, and that makes it harder for them to hit and field. And also that when the ball is colder it doesn’t travel as far. Thanks Mr. Wizard. Thanks a lot.
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About Mark Vandeusen