New Books In Communications

Twenty years ago, when I was studying abroad in Europe, the only way to keep track of my teams back in the US was to sneak looks in The International Herald Tribune at the newspaper kiosk (the price of the paper was beyond my meager budget). Twelve years after that, when I returned to Europe as a researching professor, I was able to watch any event I wanted online. I read the commentary on my home teams in my hometown newspaper. I tracked the rumors of trades and signings on the fan sites. The only obstacle I faced in following my teams was the difference in time zones. Even though the games were available, I seldom had the energy to stay up until 2 in the morning to watch them. The consumption of sport has changed profoundly in the last two decades. Higher bandwidths and faster processors now bring events to our laptop with the same crispness and color as our televisions. Sports leagues and networks are making more and more events available online. And we have a glimpse into the private lives of star athlet