“Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade. It succeeds on its ability to engage you, make you think, and give you a glimpse into someone else’s head – even if you decide that’s a place you don’t want to be.” – Malcolm Gladwell, from What The Dog Saw

Connecting what we never considered.

Aug
28

“Man Boobs” and Moneyball: The origin of a story that goes much further than sabermetrics

In the early 2000s, Michael Lewis was investigating a theory. In 1999, he published The New New Thing: A Silicon Valley Story. Born from his experiences working at Salomon Brothers – American multinational bulge bracket investment bank – Lewis detailed the growing entrepreneurial culture just south of San Francisco at the

Sep
12

Travel Baseball & The Triangle Offense: How My First Summer Coaching Resembled Phil Jackson’s Greatest Challenge

The fourth quarter of the 1991 NBA Finals was about to begin. Magic Johnson’s Los Angeles Lakers and Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls were deadlocked at 80 in a decisive game five. Jordan, over the first seven years of his career, had established himself as one of the most dynamic scorers

May
09

How these two prospects showed us “stats are really for losers” – but in two distinctly different ways

The 1999 MLB amateur draft was approaching. Tampa Bay – coming off their first ever season in franchise history – owned the first overall pick. They had their eyes on two particular prospects. Both were high school prospects hailing from the Southeast part of the country; one a right handed

Jan
30

Don’t blink: How a failed NFL career illustrates the ultimate hitting constraint

On April 22, 2010, the Denver Broncos selected Tim Tebow with 25th overall pick in the NFL Draft. Tim, 22 at the time, had just come off one of the most successful careers in NCAA history. As part of Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators football team, Tim lead the Gators to

Oct
01

How the 1954 Mad Bomber case illuminated a critical mistake that almost cost this NFL team their first overall pick

Back in 1956, the New York Police Department was desperate. Over the past two years, the city had become victim to 10 different bombing attacks. The events were recognized not as isolated incidents, but a series of interrelated crimes traced back to one elusive man. The man responsible became known

May
18

California – Thank You

I remember my first day in California like it was yesterday. Considering the events going on in the world, it was tough to forget. The date was March 14, 2020. My dad and I had spent a week driving across the country from my hometown in York, PA. I left