Grantland's greatest rival for the hearts of smart sports fans is Deadspin (deadspin.com), the sports arm of the growing Gawker empire.
The costumes by Jess Goldstein are a wild array of this and that -- regal robes, satin pajamas, tuxedos, evening gowns, smart sports coats -- intended to convey character rather than depict a time-specific setting.
What really excites me as a sports fan, though, is all the smart sports books coming from an academic perspective: "The Sports Gene," by David Epstein; "The Numbers Game," by Chris Anderson and David Sally; and "The Wages of Wins" and "Stumbling on Wins," by Dave Berri and others.
In stepped O'Brien, a cagey and smart sports executive, who in the Cosmos sees a launching pad for soccer in America, a place he is convinced will be the focal point of the global game "over the next 10 to 15 years".
Only if the RFU takes the turkey-voting-for-Christmas option of appointing someone with considerable experience and the political skills and intellect to puncture the corporate flam that continues to make Twickenham a bloated excuse for a lean, smart sporting operation.
Gadgets on show include the usual smartwatches and wristbands, but also a smart sports jacket and even a locket - as business reporter Caroline Hepker demonstrates.
A smart sports shirt enables a more holistic capture of not just external points moving through space but also the body's internal movement through muscle, respiration and temperature cycles.
Although my focus is on tennis, there are clear possibilities for advances in smart sports fabrics to inform studies of stage and theatrical as well as couture fashion designs, and vice versa, because wearable technology interfaces increasingly encourage us to use costume to manage and interrogate information and our actions in the world in new ways.
