some reads

My favorite reads of the week so far:

How a Football Team Falls Apart - I really enjoyed this excerpt from a book about 2011 New York Jets. (And I'm definitely buying the book.)

Interview with George Clooney - Well-written and full of interesting tidbits from Clooney. (My favorite is the story about playing basketball with Leo DiCaprio.)

Is Miguel Cabrera the Hero of the Post Steroid Era - Short profile on Miggy. At one point the writer refers to sabermetrics and asks Miggy what he feels is the most important offensive statistic. (I like the answer.) I only wish this was longer and went into more detail about his approach at the plate -- though the detail it provides is great.

Thanksgiving in Mongolia - Incredibly brave writing. But do not read this if you have a weak stomach. (I'm serious.) It's a traumatizing read. (Zer, don't read this.)

Street Cop - profile on the new chair of the S.E.C. and reminder of how fucked up our financial system might be. 13 years ago I graduated with a degree in finance, but earlier this year I was talking to a guy who writes high-frequency-trading algorithms, and it was like we were speaking different languages. Rather than go into a diatribe about the state of finance (which I began but deleted), I'll say this: Those policing the industry are significantly underfunded compared to those whom they're supposed to be policing. (SEC Chairman makes $165,300/year, and their entire 2013 budget is about one-fifth of Goldman Sachs' 2012 net earnings.)