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Disc world

Taking a stroll down London’s über-hip Brick Lane today (venue, somewhat incongruously, for a Leo Messi adidas corporate signing gig last week), I was transported back to my youth, as amongst the array of delicious smelling fast-food stalls and kitsch bagatelles, I spotted a posse of passive sportifs hunched over some gaming boards – Dominoes? Craps? No, none other than carrom, the sub-continent’s answer to billiards.

This most addictive of two-player games is contested on a square board of lacquered plywood with pockets at each corner. A striking disc, which can be placed anywhere along a baseline on one side of the board, is flicked with the finger to cannon smaller white and black pucks into the pockets; the one who pockets all his men first is the winner. At the start, the pucks are packed together in a complex formation in the centre of the board, the equivalent of the snooker triangle, which the first player breaks. A neutral red puck, the queen, can be pocketed to accrue bonus points at the end of the game, if it is followed by a man of your colour into the same pocket.

 
Shootin' discs: First date?

I spent many a happy hour (sans alcool) over the carrom board, the habitual opponent being my younger sister, who I took great delight in beating – a time-honoured ego booster for the cowardly male; defeat was, of course, always benevolence on my part.

Baseball: Could Strasburg be the real deal?

Tonight the latest in a long line of supposed 'phenoms' in Baseball started only his second game in the Major League but already he has provided ample evidence that if he can stay free from injury he may just be capable of matching results to the hype that has surrounded his emergence at Washington Nationals.  

His debut on Tuesday was little short of sensational lasting 7 innings with 14 strikeouts, without conceding a single walk.  4 hits including a two run homer in his first 3.2 innings could often be enough pressure to make even a seasoned pitcher get spooked but Stephen Strasburg responded well and completed his day's work with 7 consecutive strikeouts (a record for the Washington Nationals) to take the win. 

 

His second start was less spectacular but a return of a further 8 strikeouts with just two hits and five walks in 5.1 innings conceding only 1 run was enough for a second win in two starts.  Look out for his next start in five days time to see if baseball's latest 'next big thing' can continue to live up to the hype. 

Maths in sport #1

An interesting lunchtime lecture at the Museum of London yesterday by Prof. John D. Barrow gave a whistle-stop tour of some miscellaneous uses of physics and mathematics in sport, including, inter alia:

* Why Bradley Wiggins uses solid disc wheels at the velodrome (a lower moment of inertia means it’s easier to accelerate).
* Why the classic alternating configuration of oarsmen in a rowing crew may be sub-optimal and results in an unwanted lateral wiggle (albeit usually imperceptible to the onlooker).
* Why, somewhat unexpectedly, the optimal launch angle for the shot-put is a little less than the 45° learnt for classical projectile motion in A-Level mechanics (even if the effect of air resistance is discounted).
* Why the old ice skating ranking scoring system led to perverse results.

QoS will be looking to provide some maths-in-sports related gubbins of its own in due course.

Winter Olympics: That’s (not) Entertainment

It is not the Canadians’ fault but I am struggling to get into these Winter Olympics. Why? Firstly, the modern Games have become too costly, commercial and generally bloated. Secondly, there is the jingoism: switch over to any country’s channel and you will have a flag-waving national medal-hunt. Thirdly, TV broadcasters and commentators over-egg the pudding: so much Is Thrilling – so little is left to speak for itself. Fourthly (last but by no means least), the death of the Georgian luge competitor cast a long, long shadow. What these things have in common is that Sport is being confused with Entertainment. We must be enthralled by a lavish opening ceremony. And we’ll feel better about ourselves if our boys and girls bring back some medals but it’s all going to be a must-watch in any event. As for the luge, you have to feel that if a sport or track is designed for speed, this is done at least partly for the ‘excitement’ of those who merely sit and watch. Sport has become a fast-moving consumer good but it is not there solely for our viewing pleasure. Sometimes it should be allowed to be just a little bit dull.

Winter Olympics: redemption in defeat for Jacobellis

As Lindsey Jacobellis lost control and slid out of her snowboard cross semi-final last night, one of the most-hyped stories of the 2010 Winter Olympics had ended in anti-climax. This was supposed to have been the American’s great chance for Redemption after infamously missing out on gold in 2006 when a showy board-grab saw her botch a landing within sight of the finish. But Jacobellis, one of the big favourites for 2010 gold, had blown it again – all the more gallingly for her as the manner in which Canada’s impressive Maelle Ricker breezed through the competition to victory perhaps suggested this was not a field with overwhelming strength in depth. Yet this was not quite the end of the story. Just moments after the semis the racers were convened for the Small Final – an endearing but essentially superfluous run-off for minor placings between losing semi-finalists staged before the Big Final medals race. That Jacobellis found it in herself to make it to the start-line and complete this run so soon after such a crushing failure arguably said as much for her character and competitive spirit as winning the gold would have done. A case of redemption in defeat, you might say.