19 March 2005

Sports

Two stories on NPR that caught my attention:

Gary Kasparov [Wikipedia] is retiring from chess competitions to get "involved in" Russian politics. When asked if chess has any relevance to politics, he pointed out that chess helps us understand the mechanism of decision-making and offers us strategical vision.

The Germans have created a soccer ball with a tracking device that will flawlessly signal when a goal is made. Apparently, because of the speed of play and the absence of instant replay, there are many debatable calls. One of many soccer players interviewed agreed with Freddy Adu [Wikipedia], who feels that such devices are unnecessary and that wrong calls were a part of the game that you should accept. The interviewee stated simply that it makes you a better person. Perhaps it helps a player to accept the influence of outside forces.

[ posted by sstrader on 19 March 2005 at 11:48:49 AM in Culture & Society ]