💪Jeopardy's New Genius, Ted Williams, Back-Saving Spinal Hygiene, George RR Martin's kindness & more...

ISSUE #64 - April 19th, 2019

ONE

GAMES - Right now there is a man on television who is so thoroughly dominating the competition that record books are being rewritten and his talent is being analyzed for future generations. No, it's not Giannis Antetokounmpo. The man's name is James Holzhauer and his game is Jeopardy!

In the past week he has nearly doubled the previous high score for the game, taking in $131,127 for a single show. Actually, that's not true. He broke his own record of $110,914, which also broke two of his own previous records, which all broke the record that had been in place since 2010, which was $77,000. How is he doing it? This story by Claire McNear for The Ringer does an amazing job of breaking down his skill set, which includes: all-world buzzer talent, Double Jeopardy hunting and more. It's an awesome read.

TWO

FITNESS - My never-ending hunt to cure my increasingly terrible posture continues...but I think I've found my secret weapon. It's a stretch/movement series that my pal Dr. Tommy John calls his Spinal Hygiene Routine.

For people who are stuck at their desk for large swaths of time (AKA writers, AKA me) this movement has been a godsend. I've been doing ten sets of them mid-morning and ten mid-afternoon, right around the time that I feel my back or shoulders hunching and stiffening (even while using a standing desk). Watch the movement here and then give it a try. I admit, it feels a little goofy the first few times, but I promise, if you do it right, you'll feel crackling and stretching and opening up in all the right places.

THREE

KINDNESS - If you watch Game of Thrones or are even aware of the magnitude of its success and you like stories about strangers and kindness, then you will love this upcoming Twitter thread.

I don't want to spoil the finale because the story works best when you read the Twitter thread in sequence, but all you need to know is that it involves my good buddy Dan, our friend and legend Alex Hanan, George RR Martin, Bruce Springsteen on Broadway, pizza and an act of being nice that resonated far larger than anyone would have thought. Please enjoy this two-minute thread by my pal Dan right here.

FOUR

NOSTALGIA - The only thing I like better than a great sports biography is a great sports documentary filled with information and perspectives and footage I've never seen before. The new Ted Williams doc on Netflix (via PBS) touches all those bases (thank you, thank you, I set that play on words up well in advance).

Whether you're from Boston or not I'm guessing that if you're a sports fan you have some idea of how larger-than-life Teddy Ballgame was as a person and how otherworldly he was as a baseball hitter. What you may not have known is that he was an elite pilot who served in two wars (in the middle of his playing career), belongs in two non-baseball halls of fame (both for fishing) and that he spent a lot of his free time in Boston during his playing days with sick children while working with the Jimmy Fund. The film is only an hour, and it doesn't gloss over the damaging marks on his personal life or character, but he's one of the most interesting athletes we've ever had and this doc does him justice.

FIVE

A TREMENDOUS QUOTE FROM TEDDY BALLGAME:

A man has to have goals — for a day, for a lifetime — and that was mine, to have people say, "There goes Ted Williams, the greatest hitter who ever lived." - Ted Williams

After watching the documentary and hearing Bob Costas and others retell how important that quote was to Ted's life, it got me thinking... What would you want your quote to be... Rather than 'greatest hitter who ever lived'.... What do you want to be greatest at? That's an awesome guiding light to aim for throughout your life.