Brad's Blog

2010-03-30T06:20:00.001-07:00

:-D

2009-12-20T14:31:00.000-08:00

So I've got some news...

Wow.

2009-12-19T07:53:00.000-08:00

Former NFL star Dave Pear wishes he had never played football.

Golf

2009-12-11T17:58:00.000-08:00

14 years ago Golf was in critical condition. It was plummeting into the deepest depths of sports obscurity, nuzzled up next to Tennis and Handball. Then came The One. One of the most spectacular athletes I've ever had the privilege to watch. He made golf cool again.

The question is, has this same man now ruined golf? Will we be able to watch a tournament without having to hear about his personal exploits? Will people still care about golf without Tiger playing?

If golf continues in its popularity, I'd say we still owe quite a lot to Tiger Woods. But does golf need another hero to keep it afloat? Maybe.

I recall a paper by Jen Brown at Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern. This time with Tiger out, the players don't expect him back at a particular time. I wonder if they'll pick up their games as it seems they have in the past when Woods has skipped a tournament. Who could the new hero be?

Boxing

2009-12-04T18:15:00.000-08:00

I, for one, am pretty excited about Pacquiao vs. Mayweather, but not enough to purchase it on pay-per-view. Has charging $50/fight caused/contributed to the collapse of boxing as sport that people care about?

Football Helmets

2009-11-30T14:51:00.001-08:00

Helmets have undergone technological change since the days of the leather diaper they used to wear in the 50s, but concussions are still a major problem.

Question: Do the tougher helmets cause more concussions? Were players just less likely to report concussions back then? Do people play more recklessly knowing they have a better technology helmet?

The NFL is now moving to make rules about how long you have to be out if you sustain a concussion, but this doesn't reduce the number of concussions sustained. How could we do that without banning football altogether? Or should we just call it natural selection and not worry about the welfare of those guys who are making millions anyway?

I'd be curious to hear your thoughts (if anyone reads this, anyway).

BTS

Food for Thought

2009-11-09T05:35:00.000-08:00

Low flow toilets in public restrooms: I say terrible idea. Possibly the worst idea I've ever heard, Am I alone?

Grad School is Hard

2009-11-02T17:03:00.001-08:00

Just in case you were wondering why I don't post more often...

Checking Back In

2009-10-10T06:38:00.000-07:00

Already 3 weeks since my last post, eh? Time flies when you are doing lots and lots of work.

I'm starting to get into a groove, just as everything is starting to change and ramp up towards midterms/finals. I'm not exactly sure what to expect. It has been a long time since I've taken a timed test!

Macro continues to eat my soul, but I at least sort of know what is going on now. In micro we've learned fun terms like Quasi-Supermodular. Harvard kids don't learn that word. Yeah, it's true- they don't. Why assume differentiability when you could assume only Quasi-Supermodularity?

Every now and then I can sit and think about research ideas. They are evolving as I read more papers, hear more presentations and so on.

That's all I've got for now. Back to macro so I can cheer on my Hokies this afternoon.

-BTS

2009-04-16T16:58:00.001-07:00