Ever wonder how home run distance is actually measured? It's not an exit velo/launch angle formula, despite the myth that it is. Really cool work from Riley @ Sportsball to show what goes into it: www.instagram.com/_sportsball/...

SportsBall on Instagram: "How home runs are measured in MLB ⚾️ Data from Statcast, powered by @googlecloud and Gemini #sponsored"

18K likes, 168 comments - _sportsball on October 7, 2026: "How home runs are measured in MLB ⚾️ Data from Statcast, powered by @googlecloud and Gemini #sponsored".

instagram.com

www.nytimes.com/2026/10/05/s...

What Are the Biggest Questions in Science Today? 100 Scientists Weigh In. (Gift Article)

We asked 100 scientists about unsolved problems in their fields. They sent back provocations — on the origins of life, the possibilities for human progress and much more.

nytimes.com

Whichever birthday happened around this time, the ONLY thing that mattered to me was having a Bigfoot

Dan Szymborski@dszymborski.fangraphs.com · 6d ago

In the early-mid 90s, my friends and I ordered these about 8,000 times.

fantastic photo from @madelinepcarter.bsky.social of the Las Vegas Review-Journal

Carla Hayden: “Somebody’s got to care.” Librarians in their own words and in a nutshell. www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Librarians Discuss the Challenges and Triumphs of Running a Library Today (Gift Article)

We asked dozens of them about America’s libraries — what they provide, what they need to survive. Here’s what they told us.

nytimes.com

What do you look for in a full-time EBUG under the new NHL CBA? On how the Capitals found their guy:

Meet the Capitals’ First-Ever Full-Time Emergency Backup Goalie

The NHL now requires that every team have a full-time, traveling emergency backup goalie. Connor Leslie was up for the challenge.

washingtonsun.com

What a beautiful dumb sport

The U.S. Journalist Assistance Network and partners are hosting "Election Ready: Safety and Resilience for Journalists," a four-part webinar series offering practical guidance for journalists, editors, and newsroom leaders. 🗓️ Starting TODAY → Nov. 17 🔗 Register: pen.org/election-rea...

never skip leg day

Looks like Judge Royce Lamberth is not happy with the government. The judge appeared to share the plaintiffs’ view that the government is not following his order. “Why are you stonewalling the court?” he said at one point. We share his frustration!

pitchers and fielders should wear scabbards on their backs where they holster ceremonial bats. oh come on, it’s not all that stupid. they already make the coach wear player clothes and stand around in a special basement. this isn’t any dumber than that

Two years ago today, RFA journalist Nguyen Vu Binh was sentenced to seven years in prison in Vietnam. He is among six journalists affiliated with USAGM outlets detained there. Journalism is not a crime. Release them now. #SaveVOA

I've added a section on pediatric access to my article (gift link). The gist is that in some (not all!) states, even some where Covid shots are freely available to adults, there may be restrictions on kids' ability to get them *at pharmacies.* You may need to seek the shot from their pediatrician.

F.D.A. Approves New Covid Vaccines, and They Should Be Available Soon (Gift Article)

The shots have been approved for people 65 and older, and for younger people with underlying conditions. Others may be able to get them off label.

nytimes.com

This is what I’ve been up to at work — $200m for local news jobs over five years if Gov. Newsom signs AB 2222, fully paid for by taking away corporate tax breaks for overpaid CEOs. www.rebuildlocalnews.org/california-l...

California Legislature Passes Nation’s Largest Proposed Investment in Community News

Historic effort provides support to local news outlets for hiring or retaining local journalists, AB 2222 now heads to Gov. Newsom's desk.

rebuildlocalnews.org

this is slapstick... love the "my bad"

Scare-ah@slwein.bsky.social · last mo.

@cjzero.bsky.social just now bottom 3 of brewers - cubs. easy grounder to 1st, fielder fell down and tried tossing it to the pitcher but it hit the bag and then the pitcher also fell down. a comedy of errors

Nation’s Quiet, Gangly Kids In Cargo Pants Announce Plans To Be Freakishly Good At Cross Country https://theonion.com/nations-quiet-gangly-kids-in-cargo-pants-announce-plans-to-be-freakishly-good-at-cross-country/

RIP, Dolly Parton. For the local angle, for the last decade Parton's Imagination Library has partnered with D.C. on the Books From Birth program, providing a free monthly books to kids from birth to 5. More than 3.6 million books to 103,765 children as of earlier this year. She was awesome.

the #WPBL has offered so many women the opportunity to play pro — but alongside that is a lot that has yet to be remedied. my latest for Defector, w @thefrankiedlc.news (🎁) defector.com/the-new-wome...

The New Women's Pro Baseball League Offers Hope—And Frustrations | Defector

For most women who play baseball in the United States, playing America’s pastime in a professional league has been little more than a dream. Yet for a select group of women, that dream is becoming a r...

defector.com

In April of 2022, Donovan Casey spent five days with the Nationals but didn't play in a game. Then he never made it back to the majors. Is he a big leaguer? And how has he learned to live with that question rattling around his head? For @notus.com: www.notus.org/sports/washi...

He Spent Five Days With the Nats But Never Played. Is He a Big Leaguer?

Donovan Casey made it to the cusp of his lifelong dream. His biggest challenge has been learning to live with that.

notus.org

Thanks to a lengthy shoe sales career, probably this is the item I've tripped over most in my life?

99% Invisible@99pi.org · 2mo ago

The Brannock Device transformed the way we measure feet forever, and more than a century after its invention… it has barely changed. Listen to A History of the United States in 100 Objects on the 99% Invisible feed 👉 https://bit.ly/4fNZhPW

Hi journalist friends! I wrote a one-pager cheat sheet for covering polling for @aapor.bsky.social! Head it here:

A Journalist’s Guide to Understanding Polls & Surveys - AAPOR

aapor.org

What happened to the Aggro Crag?

G. Willow Wilson@gwillow.me · 2mo ago

What's your personal great white whale of an unsolved mystery? The thing you desperately hope is solved before you die because you need to know the answer? Mine is the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum heist. Where the hell are the Rembrandts. I need the full story

The Nationals enter the week before the trade deadline two games over .500 and one back for the third wild-card spot. Max Scherzer takes the mound at Nats Park tomorrow. Let's go crazy.

This and arriving at your train stop with five pages left should be acceptable reasons to take the day off

Laura Zats@lzats.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Help I finished a really good book at the start of my work day and now all I can do is lay on the couch about it

In case you missed it: that moment when the Artemis II crew captures the Earthset from a window of the Orion capsule. In the background, astronaut Reid Wiseman can be heard commenting: "Dude. No. Way." Just posted on the NASA Image and Video Library: images.nasa.gov/details/art0... #Artemis 🧪🔭

Most modern beach vacations won’t include “land yachting,” but pictures from the Library’s Print and Photographs Division show it was a possibility at the turn of the century!

Got this text a couple months. Had to investigate it. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/16/t...

i think I would be happy living in a terrarium

At Trader Joe's, a coffee shop, a military hospital and a real estate firm, top international broadcasters from Voice of America are embracing second acts they never asked for. My latest: www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Voice of America’s exiled journalists find meaning in work outside the newsroom

At Trader Joe's, a coffee shop, a military hospital and a real estate firm, top international broadcasters are embracing second acts they never asked for.

washingtonpost.com

I don't recommend others track this, but once Verlander is gone there will be no more MLB, WNBA, NWSL, NBA, NHL or NFL players born before me.

The Athletic@theathletic.com · 3mo ago

Detroit Tigers starter Justin Verlander announced Wednesday that he will retire at the end of the 2026 season.