My main Insider piece this week was on sustainable MLB breakthroughs in 2015. I meant to include Rougned Odor on this list, and somehow just plain forgot him when I sat down to write the piece. Anyway, this is my mea culpa and statement that I believe his improvement at the plate is real, sustainable, and only the beginning for him.
I also covered the Metropolitan Classic high school tournament that’s hosted and organized by the NY Mets, writing about the top 2016 and 2017 draft prospects there.
And now, this week’s links…
- The nationwide rise in the popularity of authentic barbecue has left black pitmasters behind, even though that style of cooking has roots in African-American culture.
- An excellent longread from the BBC on the forced repatriation of Chinese sailors in the UK after World War II, with the story of one woman whose biological father was one of those deported.
- Baseball is on the rise in Uganda, believe it or not. It’s a sport that requires a long gestation period when it manages to take hold in a new region or country, but it seems to be growing well in the small sub-Saharan African nation, where it’s still against the law to be gay.
- A chemistry decoder to send to that idiot friend from high school who keeps posting FoodBabe links on Facebook.
- A personal post from a woman whose son nearly died from the flu. It’s just about flu shot season, too.
- Another sugar (sucrose) substitute, the natural but uncommon sugar allulose, may be moving toward the marketplace, but like sugar alcohols, it passes right through the upper GI tract and can cause some problems further on down the line.
- Kevin Folta, a scientist at the University of Florida, is under attack by the tin-foil hat crowd because Monsanto provided $25,000 for an educational outreach program, covering his travel costs. The personal nature of the attacks and the ignorance of how corporate funding actually works in academic research result in a deeply disturbing application of the genetic fallacy.
- Longtime reader Tom Hitchner has a good post up on why teams keep getting sweetheart government-funded stadium deals. It’s happening in Milwaukee, and it’s happening in disgusting fashion in St. Louis, where a law prohibiting such deals was overturned by a judge as “too vague.”
- TV critic extraordinaire Alan Sepinwall asks if there’s too much good television right now. I say yes, there is, and I have little to no hope of watching most of it.
- U.S. tennis pro Mardy Fish had to quit the sport due to anxiety, but he’s back, and he’s talking about his affliction.
- Mental Floss assembled a group of clever airline safety videos from around the world. The two Delta ones are both funny and effective; the first time I saw each this year I had to put down my book to watch them.
Thanks for putting in a link about Kevin Folta. As an addendum, given that he cannot give the money back to Monsanto (it is crazy it even got to this point) he is donating the money to the University of Florida Field and Fork Food Pantry. This program is designed to give fresh food and dry goods to food insecure UF students and staff.
Link here: http://www.gainesville.com/article/20150828/ARTICLES/150829661/-1/andreur@gvillesun.com?p=1&tc=pg
I almost feel at this point there needs to be a primer on scientific funding so the public does not take the presence of a grant out of context. If I find something of this ilk I’ll send the link your way.
I mostly agree with the stadium article, although I think there is a civic value of having sports teams and modern facilities. Now that value isn’t anywhere near $250 million, but there is some small value. Of course, this would vary by team and city. The Yankees are valued higher to more New Yorkers than the Islanders. In this way, historically or currently successful teams in large, crowded markets are more valuable than teams with less recent success. The potential return of the Nordiques to Quebec City as an expansion team is a lot more valuable to it’s citizens than the Coyotes are to Phoenix. In this way, cities with one or no sports teams attach more value to it’s teams than cities with multiple teams. And, of course popularity would come into play. How one would determine that value, I don’t know.
Maybe the question on the ballot should be different. Maybe it should read “How much would you like to donate to team XYZ on an annual basis for their proposed new facility? $0? $50? $100? Other?”
Thanks for posting the link to that story on American BBQ. I live in Metro Detroit which has an amazing BBQ place called Slow’s that is a great example of the new “hipster bbq.” Fantastic food and beer selection. Contracting that with a place called Fat Man’s Paradise which is on U.S. 27 in Kentucky that I visit every time I drive down to TN to see my dad offers a great contrast of the old and new BBQ. Both have great food. One is a side of the road place that doesn’t serve beer and you can eat a fantastic brisket sandwich, coleslaw and fries for $7. I don’t dislike new Bbq. It’s fantastic. I just hope the old mom and pop hole in the wall place doesn’t disappear because of the new.
KLaw, thanks for the interest and the link in African baseball. Uganda IS coming – how quickly is the only question. I’m involved with a non-profit trying to speed up the development and do other positive things for the individuals involved through the spectrum of baseball.
If you enjoyed the LLWS or otherwise have interest in supporting it, please check out the Play Global website and/or get a Uganda Baseball t-shirt here (www.booster.com/playglobaluganda). ALL proceeds go to the Uganda Baseball & Softball Association and to Play Global’s programming in East Africa.
Thanks for your attention. Keep up the great work.
Dizzy
Next time you’re in Chicago, just a couple miles south and east of US Cellular Park is Honey 1 BBQ. They have southern style BBQ in a wood burning, oven/smoker right in the middle of Bronzville. You’d probably like it, tho they don’t have deep dish pizza …