sports + biz + culture + life

Get REDEF delivered to your inbox

rantnrave:// Twitter continues to grow as a home for sports rights. The latest addition: the National Lacrosse League. Quickly, the company is building a platform of patchwork leagues and rights. It had a high-profile fling with the NFL already. But what's the endgame here? Is this Twitter's way of energizing a stagnant brand and business model? Is it battling Facebook as the emerging giant for digital rights? Someone will become the streaming giant eventually -- does Twitter have the wherewithal to do it? ... Free advertising for Potato Parcel. ... The ultimate baseball road trip. ... Baracketology lives. ... A baseball agent and a trainer were convicted of running a Cuban smuggling ring. The trial exposed a seedy side of the sport and involved high-profile MLB players such as Jose Abreu and Leonys Martin. The dangerous path Cubans take to the U.S. deserves more scrutiny, but can anything be done about it? ... March Madness in a nutshell: Cuonzo Martin left Cal for Mizzou, then hired the father of a top-5 recruit as an assistant coach after he got fired from Washington. There's no hating on the coaches -- just don't gripe when players do the same thing. Everyone should be able to get theirs. ... Nike is accused of being full of hot air in China. ... Unnecessary roughness. ... Bracketology is suffering from a "paradox of skill". ... But that doesn't mean you should stop filling them out. Still don't have an NCAA tournament bracket group? Join the REDEF challenge. The winner gets a shoutout here in the newsletter. Password: REDEFSports.

It's easy enough to pick an NCAA tournament bracket online, but if you want to play a fantasy game with actual college players, you'll need to make it yourself.

David Roth | Vice Sports

A numbers-theory expert looks at the important figures in this year's NCAA basketball tournament.

Charles Bethea | The New Yorker

From nondescript dad shoes to rare collectors' item, all thanks to a mass suicide.

Justin Caffier | Vice

When 18-year-old Joe Keller vanished from a dude ranch in Colorado's Rio Grande National Forest, he joined the ranks of those missing on public land. No official tally exists, but their numbers are growing. And when an initial search turns up nothing, who'll keep looking?

Jon Billman | Outside Online

Kentucky coach John Calipari has faced stinging criticism in the past. Now, as the driving force behind several media platforms, he's trying to control his own message.

Marc Tracy | The New York Times

"It's not enough to be smart. You have to be curious."

Get REDEF delivered to your inbox