The Jonah Keri Podcast, Episode 24

My guest today is Jon Wertheim, writer for Sports Illustrated, and co-author of the new book, Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won. We discuss the new book, some of the sports traditions that drive us both crazy, and a bit about Jon’s beats at SI, tennis and MMA. You can follow Jon on Twitter @Jon_Wertheim.

The topics we cover:

• 0:31-5:38: The impetus for writing Scorecasting
• 5:39-7:58: The process of co-authorship
• 7:59-10:49: How Jon and Tobias decided which questions to address
• 10:50-13:59: Going for it on 4th Down
• 14:00-17:04: The secret to success in sports: Get me a good damn owner
• 17:05-20:09: Will fans abandon a team because of individual performances or errors?
• 20:10-23:04: Excessive risk aversion in sports
• 23:05-29:34: The .299 hitter and the irrational threshold
• 29:35-32:24: There’s no I in team
• 32:25-42:04: Whistle-swallowing and the case against refs/umps/linesmen
• 42:05-44:07: Testing the strategy of icing
• 45:10-48:04: Tiger Woods and loss aversion
• 48:05-53:04: Why we should be following tennis right now
• 53:05-54:44: The contribution of Dana White’s candor to MMA
• 54:45-end: Food Pick of the Week

My pick
Jon’s pick

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