The ongoing debate about the best quarterback of all time becomes complicated when people mention Dan Marino or Brett Favre, men whose playoff accomplishments did not match their regular season success. In our generation, two players sit high above the rest: Tom Brady, winner of three Super Bowls, and Peyton Manning, whose eleven playoff losses … More Does Peyton Manning Perform Worse in the Playoffs?
For the casual weekend golfer, there may be too much wrong with your game to focus on only one aspect to perfect. However, PGA players often do have that issue and spend practice days refining the booming power-draw off the tee or fiddling around with a new wedge near the green. The question then becomes … More Drive for Show, Putt for Dough: How the PGA’s Best Make Their Money
Fighting continues to be one of the defining traits of hockey. When a player puts his body on the line in a hockey fight, there is often an expectation that the fight will make a difference in the score of the game. If a player destroys an opposing player in a fight, it is largely … More The True Impact of a Hockey Fight
Throughout the pre-sabermetric revolution days of baseball, the statistics that determine fielding ability (namely errors and fielding percentage) had generated much criticism of fielding stats and undeserving gold glove award winners (Derek Jeter et al), and had kept fielding ability a mystery. However, this mystery in part led to the sabermetric revolution in baseball statistics. … More A Pure Measure of Fielding Ability: Predictive Ultimate Zone Rating
While the baseball community has largely advanced past the utilization of purely descriptive traditional statistics to evaluate player performance, occasionally we witness the resurrection of their futility. Pitching win-loss records have largely been debunked as a poor tool for evaluating a player’s performance, for after all, pitchers cannot control the runs their teammates produce. The … More A Simple Guide to Basic Sabermetrics
George Li begins his third season with the Raiders, his second in his present role. Li, who manages databases and develops research reports for coaches, player personnel and management based on statistical trends, was with the Raiders in 2011 as a defensive assistant. He previously spent five years as lead researcher at the NFL Network … More Q & A with George Li, Football Operations Statistical Analyst for the Oakland Raiders
Dean Oliver is the Director of Production Analytics at ESPN, leading the development of sports analytics for the network. He worked for seven years in the NBA with the front offices of the Denver Nuggets and Seattle Supersonics, using analytics to improve trades, free agency, the draft, and coaching tactics. The contents of his book, … More Q & A with Dean Oliver, Director of Production Analytics at ESPN and Author of Basketball On Paper
Benjamin Alamar is a Professor of Sport Management at Menlo College, sports analytics consultant/researcher, and author of the book Sports Analytics: A Guide for Coaches, Managers, and Other Decision Makers (July, 2013). He has consulted with a variety of teams in the NFL and NBA, including five seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder and with … More Q & A with Benjamin Alamar, author of Sports Analytics: A Guide for Coaches, Managers, and Other Decision Makers
After 26 illustrious seasons in charge of Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson is now officially the former coach of perhaps the most famous club in the world. Fellow Scot David Moyes has quite a task in replacing the man who bossed United to 38 trophies, including 13 Premier League titles and 2 UEFA Champions League … More Premier League Spending and Success: Why David Moyes and Manchester United Form a Scary Combination
Throughout most of the NBA regular season and the beginning of the playoffs, there was very little question in the eyes of NBA experts and observers about which team was the large favorite to win the NBA championship. The Miami Heat were pretty much assured to repeat. With their Game 7 championship victory, the Heat … More Destined for a Championship? How Even the Best Teams Must Overcome Statistical Chance
