Club Sportico: A Historic Papal Conclave, by the Numbers

Club Sportico: A Historic Papal Conclave, by the Numbers

This week’s Club Sportico steps outside our normal sports discussion to apply an athletics-minded perspective to the big news out of the Vatican City. Eben: I was sitting at my Bloomberg desk in March 2013 when Scott Soshnick (now Sportico’s editor-in-chief) came to me with an idea. The Cardinals were in conclave to pick Pope Benedict XVI’s successor, […]

The Papal Conclave as a Game

Embed from Getty ImagesFor two days now, 133 cardinals have been sequestered to elect a new pope. Ballots have been burned twice, producing black smoke, but no white smoke has been seen, which would indicate an election. While we are waiting, you might distract yourself by throwing your own hat into the ring. Virtually, of course, so you don't have to be a priest, an unmarried man, or even a Catholic. The game White Smoke has you competing for t…