Sports Science

Caxirola: The Vuvuzela Of The 2014 World Cup?

Can you control noisemaking chaos? Brazilian planners hope so. They'd rather not have the ear-splitting vuvuzela which took over the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. Tens of thousands of those instruments blaring in packed stadiums became a major anno ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 27 2013 - 6:18pm

Highlights From A Chess Tournament

The XVIth international chess tournament "Citta' di Padova" ended last Sunday with the victory of GM Kiril Georgiev, who got 7 points out of 9 games. The tournament saw the participation of 63 players from 13 countries, with a total of 11 gr ...

Blog Post - Tommaso Dorigo - Jan 8 2014 - 4:57pm

In Athlete's, Triumphant Victory Gestures Are A Biological Need

Everyone has seen what athletes do after a victory- footballers may take their shirts off and slide on their knees, baseball hitters may pump their fists.  That instinctive reaction that occurs is a biological imperative to display dominance over opponent ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 10 2014 - 2:37pm

Sports Doping Culture: People Who Advocate One Kind, Advocate Many

Doping advocates are just as likely to do the brain kind if they do the body kind, according to survey results of about 3,000 hobby triathletes at sporting events in Frankfurt, Regensburg, and Wiesbaden. The work by Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JG ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 13 2014 - 12:26pm

Fantasy Sports: Luck Is More Important Than You Think

Managers of fantasy sports teams- where people draft rosters filled with players of their own choosing- spend countless hours and sometimes thousands of dollars on analysis to develop a sophisticated method of getting the best roster. And sometimes, just ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 15 2014 - 12:27pm

Girls And Sports: Middle-School Athletes Tough It Out, Even With Concussion Symptoms

A new paper finds that concussions are common among middle-school girls who play soccer, and most continue to play with symptoms. Using a small sample of email survey and interviews, the authors evaluated the frequency and duration of concussions in young ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 21 2014 - 5:30am

Does Athletic Performance Decline After A Contract Year?

In every sport, an athlete who has enjoyed long-term success has the opportunity for free agency, when they can join the highest bidder. ...

Article - News Staff - Jan 22 2014 - 5:30pm

In The Winter Olympics, Home Field Advantage Matters Also?

Does home field advantage matter? In baseball outfielders, the tricks and corners of a new baseball park might be meaningful but that effect should diminish over time. The Seattle Seahawks have a famously loud stadium and the team calls the audience " ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 4 2014 - 9:22am

Do Football Helmets Protect Players From Concussions?

Older football veterans contend that modern equipment, and its ability to protect players from injury, ironically lead to more of it. Rugby players agree.  They may be right. A new study finds that modern football helmets do little to protect against hits ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 17 2014 - 11:14pm

In Sports, Winning Streak Momentum Is Just An Illusion

In soccer, a team is most vulnerable to being scored on right after they score. Pundits and psychologists attribute that to overconfidence. Yet in the 2014 Super Bowl, the Seattle Seahawks dominated early and the Denver Broncos looked increasingly disorga ...

Article - News Staff - Feb 18 2014 - 11:51am