Aussie Rules

‘Sports Guy’ and Editor-in-Chief of Grantland (the world’s biggest sporting website owned by ESPN) in praise of Australia. Bill came up with a new system “Best Ball” for deciding the Most Valuable Player in the US National Basketball Association. A Chicago reader pointed out that this is the system used for the Brownlow/Sandover/Magarey Medal in Aussie Rules Football “the best sport on earth”.

Q: Saw your “Best Ball” idea for the NBA. Did you know that Australian Rules Football uses that exact process to determine their MVP? After each game the referees vote for 1st, 2nd and 3rd most influential player in the game. The player with the most total points (3 for 1st, 2 for 2nd, 1 for 3rd) over the season wins the Brownlow Medal (the defacto MVP). Votes are sealed after every game, so the Brownlow is announced live at a postseason Red Carpet event with all the players there. This creates an ESPYs-esque unintentional comedy factor, in addition to a phenomenal gambling opportunity. Who wouldn’t want to get in on some amazing Robin Lopez +/- 1.5 NBA Best Balls action? Anyway, Aussie Rules Football is the best sport on earth, and I’m 100% all-in on the NBA Best Balls concept.
—David E., Chicago

BS: Proving yet again that Australians are the coolest people on the planet. I’m still waiting for my first moment when I say to myself, “I wish Australia weren’t there.” Australia is like the Robert Horry or Philip Baker Hall of continents — it just makes everything it touches a little bit better. Well, except for tennis majors. I still think the Australian Open needs a gimmick that’s better than, “Our court is blue, we’re not on grass or clay, and we’re not in New York.” I vote for cheering/booing during play in all Australian Open matches. And the tennis community has to look the other way with PED use for those two weeks — as opposed to the other 50 weeks, when the tennis community still looks away. Don’t get me started.