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Knowing The Score



How Sport Teaches Us About Philosophy





David Papineau

More books on Sport

Well established that sports stars success isn't down to better than average reflexes. Most of it is due to anticipation - they have watched so many examples of ball coming from opponent's hand or racquet that they know where they have to be in response. The very top players like Federer or Nadal watch the ball right up to, and after, point of contact, amking sure that their head and body stay still in correct position.

Importance of anticipation shown by an exhibition match where top baseball hitters played softball against top women's team, and despite the bigger ball and slower pitches, were compltetely unable to lay bat to ball. They simply had zero stored knowledge of how a softball pitch went.

1994 Caribbean Cup had a tie-breaker rule - games go to sudden death, with that goal counting double for goak difference purposes if necessary. So, in final pool game Barbados needed to beat Grenada by two goals to top them on goal difference to go through to the finals. They duly scored the two goals needed and held Grenada at bay for most of second half. But then Grenada scored, and Barbados could not find another goal. With time ticking away, someone realized that if Grenada scored again it wd out gane into extra time , they would have unlimited time to score match-winner, and bc it counted double, it wd give them the necessary goal difference. So Brabados calmly kicjed ball into their own goal.

With three minutes to go, everybody had to think fast. If Grenada scored again they wd win, and go through to the finals. But if Barbados scored again, they would win, but without enough goals to go through. In other words, a goal at either end put Grenada through. So the last few minutes Barbados frantically defending both ends as Grenada scrambled to put ball in either goal. (For the record, Barbados hung on then scored the necessary golden goal in extra time).

Can play cricket for Rngland if you have at least one British born grandparent. Every England side from 2004 to 2015 had at least one South African born player.

There hasn't been a white man in Olympic 100m final since 1980.

The first international cricket match was between US and Canada in 1884.










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