SB Nation, Beyond the Boxscore blog, John LaLoggia from
… His decline started to become apparent in the World Series last year when gave up two save opportunities on home runs, courtesy of Red Sox Jackie Bradley Jr. and Steve Pearce. His health and age could be contributing to his lack of velocity. Jansen is 31 years-old and just had major heart surgery last year to repair his left atrium. DRA, which stands for deserved runs average, isolates the performance of the pitcher and removes outside factors like ballpark, defense and quality of opponent. Jansen had a 2.56 DRA last year and has a 3.19 DRA so far in 2019. His best and only pitch seemed to be his signature cutter. Unfortunately, it’s becoming less effective as his average velocity has declined to 92.09 mph (2019) from 93.59 mph (2017), according to Brooksbaseball.net.
Ryan Kesler has undergone surgery on his right hip, and given the type of procedure, there’s a good chance that we’ve seen the last of the veteran center.
… “I kind of joke about that, because one of the things about Steph is that he’s about as conflict-free as it gets,’’ said [Gotham] Chopra. “When you’re telling a story, you’re always on the lookout for what the conflict might be. But he doesn’t really have any. His family is great, his teammates love him, he’s kind to the fans, has a great reputation around the league. Maybe the conflict comes in the unforeseen roadblocks that get in the way of his quest.”
Chopra recognizes similarities between the Patriots and Warriors beyond their dominance of their respective sports. While gregarious Warriors coach Steve Kerr and Patriots boss Bill Belichick have opposite outward personalities, Chopra said their similar knack for managing egos and getting the most out of diversely talented players is remarkable.
… After three years biding his time at Alabama, it was a storybook 2018 season for the rangy safety, as Thompson was named an All-American by finishing the year with 78 tackles, three forced fumbles and two interceptions.
That success was supposed to catapult him up NFL draft boards, but instead, medical concerns about his knee kept the projected second-round pick without a team through the first four rounds.
“There were 13 safeties picked before me,” Thompson said. “That’s something I’ll never forget.”
… Human growth hormone is a biochemical that is essential in muscle growth. This hormone is secreted when we sleep, particularly in a phase of sleep called non-REM deep sleep. During this phase of sleep, our bodies go into repair mode. Our brains secrete muscle-building hormones while our cardiovascular system increases blood flow to the muscles. This allows our bodies to recover from the stresses of the day, but also encourages them to increase bulk and strength.
Human growth hormone also has other muscle-enhancing effects. It enhances your muscles’ ability to absorb amino acids from your bloodstream. This is essential to getting the most out of a healthy diet, particularly if you are taking supplements to increase your muscle gains.
In addition, there is a hormonal cost to not getting enough sleep.
Sleep is your life-support system and Mother Nature’s best effort yet at immortality, says sleep scientist Matt Walker. In this deep dive into the science of slumber, Walker shares the wonderfully good things that happen when you get sleep — and the alarmingly bad things that happen when you don’t, for both your brain and body. Learn more about sleep’s impact on your learning, memory, immune system and even your genetic code — as well as some helpful tips for getting some shut-eye. [video, 18:48]
If you’ve had issues with hydration or cramp in the past and have gone online looking for a solution then the chances are that you’ve seen the term ‘sweat test’ mentioned.
In this piece i will explain just what a ‘sweat test’ is, what the options are and how taking one could help you significantly improve your performance.
The aim of this study was to determine the in-season micro-cycle scheduling strategies used in professional team sport with particular reference to the reasoning and perceptions that underpin current practice. An online survey was completed by 35 practitioners from professional collision (C; Australian rules football: n = 9; rugby league: n = 6; rugby union: n = 2) and non-collision (NC; soccer; n = 18) sports. Respondents identified a common 48 h post-match recovery period, with few scheduling training stimuli during this period (NC: range: 0–17%; C: range: 0–47%). The majority (C: 78%; NC: 89%) of resistance training sessions were concurrent in nature, often delivering resistance training in the afternoon following field-based training (C: 72%; NC: 92%). NC practitioners were less satisfied with the maintenance of strength, power and hypertrophy (33–44%) versus C sports (59–76%), reflected by the lower frequency of prescription reported (C: 2.4 ± 0.6; NC: 1.5 ± 0.9; p = .003). Cold water immersion following both matches and daily training was highly prevalent, as was the adoption of self-report tools to monitor recovery. The congested and concurrent nature of training prescription during the micro-cycle, together with the universal adoption of routine cold water immersion warrants further investigation to inform evidence-based prescription and scheduling of training and recovery modalities in professional team sports.
… For most runners and gym-goers, the treadmill is a necessary evil. It’s an easy (and safe) way to get your workout in when it’s dark outside or the weather is less than ideal. For Ewens, the above-average winter rainfall in Northern California forced her indoors. But a combination of new technology and treadmill classes offered by many gyms has given the machine a new luster.
According to year-end data from ClassPass, a service that connects people to fitness studios and gyms, treadmill classes were the fastest growing trend in 2018 among its users.
From on-demand and group workouts to virtual running worlds with simulated courses, companies have given the most boring cardio machine a much-needed makeover, much as group cycling studios and spinning classes have revolutionized biking for exercisers. Treadmill-only studios, such as Stride in Pasadena, Calif., to Equinox’s stand-alone Precision Run Studio, have cropped up across the country, and companies such as Peloton, iFit and Zwift are catering to devoted “tread” fans with virtual classes in their own homes, mostly via apps.
Harvard Business Review; Bhaskar Ghosh, Paul R. Daugherty, H. James Wilson, Adam Burden from
…
Artificial intelligence is a vital part of adaptable systems. Whether it’s virtual agents, natural language processing, machine learning, advanced analytics, or other forms of AI, companies have a host of opportunities to transform the way they do business once their architectures make AI an integral part of the transaction flow. By finding a responsible, transparent balance between human and machine intelligence, and combining it with more basic forms of robotic process automation, adaptable systems can create value in ways that were previously impossible.
To be effective, AI must also gain the trust of the humans it works with. First and foremost, that means being transparent in explaining the decisions and actions AI takes. But it also means allowing humans to step in and take back control when necessary. That’s essential in avoiding any adverse effects on business performance, brand reputation, regulatory compliance, and, above all, human beings themselves.
The Conversation, Sarah Steele and Lejla Sarcevic from
… We sought to find out to what extent this was borne out in practice, questioning whether it funds research and allows publication, even if the findings could harm its interests and profits. Can industry money really bring all these benefits while simple conflict of interest statements negate any influence?
How healthy and thrifty are Americans’ food purchases? Until recently, that was a tough question to answer. However, not anymore. With the release of the Purchase-to-Plate Crosswalk (PPC) tool, researchers have the capability to assess the foods we buy to their nutritional content.
The PPC provides what was the missing link between barcoded retail data and nutritional databases maintained by the U.S Department of Agriculture (USDA). With this link, researchers can evaluate what we buy and how it measures up to established dietary guidelines, providing a significant resource for food economics research and policy evidence, according to the USDA.
Nutrigenomix Inc., a global leader in genetic testing and personalized nutrition for sport performance, announces the publication of Sport Nutrigenomics: Personalized Nutrition for Athletic Performance. The review was published in the peer-reviewed journal Frontiers in Nutrition by members of the Nutrigenomix research team in collaboration with researchers at the University of Toronto.
Personalized nutrition for sport performance is a promising field in sports nutrition, which aims to optimize performance by targeting dietary recommendations to an individual’s genetic makeup. “This review is the first to highlight the latest scientific discoveries in the field of genetic testing for personalized sports nutrition” said Dr. Nanci Guest, lead author of the paper, who completed her PhD in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Toronto, where she examined caffeine, genetics and athletic performance. The review includes findings from her doctoral research, which was featured last year in the New York Times and has just been named as a finalist in the 2019 NutraIngredients-USA Awards in the Nutrition Research Project category.
Balls are flying out of Triple-A ballparks like never before, coinciding with a switch in baseballs to the major league model.
The El Paso Chihuahuas have hit 89 home runs in their first 37 games — the most in professional baseball and more than half the 142 they slugged in 139 games last season. The Rochester Red Wings and Lehigh Valley IronPigs combined for 15 homers in a game last month. Overall, 26 of the 30 teams in the Pacific Coast League and International League are on pace to exceed their 2018 totals, most by a wide margin.
Not coincidentally, this is the first year Triple-A has played with the same ball used in the majors.
… [Malcolm] Butler sizzled through the summer, seized a roster spot, and sealed his place in Foxborough folklore with his famous goal-line thievery.
It’s undoubtedly the most famous rags-to-riches story in Patriots history, but it wasn’t the first time an undrafted rookie has made good during Belichick’s tenure. And it likely won’t be the last.
At least one undrafted newbie has made New England’s original 53-man roster for 15 straight seasons.
The Patriots wrapped up their annual three-day minicamp this weekend where no less than 10 fresh-faced candidates took their first steps toward extending the string to 16.