So there's this new book coming out on January 25 that looks like it will be a fun read -- Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played and Games Are Won. Explored in the book, according to the promo materials, are topics such as

   Interesting in and of itself, right? You can read an excerpt here and read a discussion of home-court advantage here. But while reading an advance review I found the best part:

Some quick examples from chapters I enjoyed: . . .

Why Tim Duncan's 149 blocked shots are more valuable than Dwight Howard's 232 (Answer: Duncan tends to block the ball to his teammates, Howard tends toward the spectacular swat that goes into the 4th row...then back to the other team.)

I hope Timmy sees that and that it makes him smile.