Harvard Sports Analysis Collective http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:15:13 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.3.1 en NEW HSAC BLOG - CLICK LINK BELOW http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/11/03/new-hsac-blog-click-link-below/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/11/03/new-hsac-blog-click-link-below/#comments Wed, 04 Nov 2009 04:15:13 +0000 Jonathan Adler http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/11/03/new-hsac-blog-click-link-below/

HSAC has a new online home: www.harvardsportsanalysis.wordpress.com

From now on, this is where all HSAC content will be posted. Thanks for visiting the site!

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/11/03/new-hsac-blog-click-link-below/feed/ One-point-deficit-strategies http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/20/one-point-deficit-strategies/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/20/one-point-deficit-strategies/#comments Sat, 21 Mar 2009 04:23:36 +0000 Carl Morris http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/20/one-point-deficit-strategies/ Regarding: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/03/16/sports/ncaabasketball/16score.html?_r=1&ref=sports

  ————— 
If the Berger-Pope study (NY Times, March 15) becomes widely accepted, we eventually will see accounts like this.

                             WILEY’S BRILLIANT PLOY

Battling against University’s fabulous five for the National Championship, State trailed by a single point as halftime approached.  We know from Berger and Pope’s work that wins stem more often from one point halftime deficits than from ties or from one point leads.

As the halftime buzzer sounded, University’s Coach U. R. Cagey aimed numerous obscenities at the referees.  Cagey knew a technical foul and a State free throw would deny State its hard-earned motivational halftime edge.  But State’s coach I. M. Wiley intervened ingeniously by choosing Joe Clank, their worst shooter, to take the foul shot.  Clank’s ensuing miss preserved State’s fragile halftime advantage.  (more…)

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/20/one-point-deficit-strategies/feed/ March Madness for Dummies http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/16/march-madness-for-dummies/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/16/march-madness-for-dummies/#comments Mon, 16 Mar 2009 15:54:20 +0000 David Roher http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/16/march-madness-for-dummies/ I don’t follow college basketball, but that hardly matters this time of year. If you’re like me, you need a good way to figure out how to make a bracket without knowing anything about the teams playing. By following a statistical framework and mixing in your own judgment about upsets (or just random guessing), you’ll have a much better chance of filling in a pretty good bracket. (more…)

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/16/march-madness-for-dummies/feed/ Is T.O. Done? Football Outsiders Examines The AFC East’s New #81 http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/08/is-to-done-football-outsiders/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/08/is-to-done-football-outsiders/#comments Sun, 08 Mar 2009 19:42:47 +0000 Jonathan Adler http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/08/is-to-done-football-outsiders/ Released from the NFC’s glamorous Cowboys and snatched up in a hurry by the AFC’s equally glamorous Bills, Terrell Owens found himself a fresh start at the age of 35. But given last year’s production, Football Outsiders’ Bill Barnwell asks, Is T.O. Done?

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/08/is-to-done-football-outsiders/feed/ Trivia Night Champions! http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/06/trivia-night-champions/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/06/trivia-night-champions/#comments Sat, 07 Mar 2009 00:22:54 +0000 Jonathan Adler http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/06/trivia-night-champions/ Surrounded by nachos, mozzarella sticks, and fierce competition, HSAC dominated sports trivia night at the Queen’s Head Pub this Thursday. HSAC was pleased to host Baseball at Tufts (BAT) for this fun evening on campus. From our small booth in the pub, HSAC achieved a near-perfect score on the night’s questions, earning a sound victory over the seven other competing teams. HSAC Public Relations Director Elizabeth Fryman skillfully organized the night’s festivities and arranged a lineup of questions that tested participants’ knowledge of baseball, football, basketball, and Olympic trivia.

In the early rounds, HSAC’s freshman sensation, David Roher, took charge of the squad and guided the group through the baseball and basketball questions. With help from Jamie Rees, Rick Goldstein, and Neil, HSAC sprinted out to an early lead. After the second round of trivia, HSAC and a competing team, “Surge Protector,” went to a triple tiebreaker in order to determine the winner of the night’s bonus question. After a grueling set of questions administered Price Is Right-style, HSAC won the bonus, and along with it, a complimentary French bread pizza. Winning never tasted so good…or so much like Stouffers.

Finally, HSAC swept the final trivia round, courageously wagering the maximum number of points on a bonus question to ensure a resounding victory. Our friends from Tufts finished respectably in third place, just behind Surge Protector. Thanks to the many HSAC members who came to support the competitors. It was a night that will live on in HSAC lore for years to come!

(MVP David Roher located behind Rick Goldstein)

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/06/trivia-night-champions/feed/ HSAC Appears in the Crimson http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/05/hsac-appears-in-the-crimson/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/05/hsac-appears-in-the-crimson/#comments Thu, 05 Mar 2009 16:40:58 +0000 Jason Rosenfeld http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/05/hsac-appears-in-the-crimson/ HSAC was mentioned in an article about a Harvard grad who founded a fantasy baseball company.  I hope you find it interesting.  http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=526940

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/03/05/hsac-appears-in-the-crimson/feed/ Does the NFL Combine Mean Anything? Football Outsiders Explores… http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/26/does-the-nfl-combine-mean-anything/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/26/does-the-nfl-combine-mean-anything/#comments Thu, 26 Feb 2009 20:35:19 +0000 Daniel Adler http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/26/does-the-nfl-combine-mean-anything/ Each year, the NFL decision makers gather in Indianapolis to watch players cavort about in spandex.  Even though all the players participating have appeared in dozens of college games and hundreds of plays, scouts (and fans) insist on hard “data” to determine their value.  The most widely reported test during the combine is the 40 yard dash.  Players run 40 yards (rather than 30 or 50) because Paul Brown wanted to see how they would perform on punt coverage; 40 yards was the approximate distance of a punt. (more…)

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/26/does-the-nfl-combine-mean-anything/feed/ The Real Sabermetrics http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/24/the-real-sabermetrics-2/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/24/the-real-sabermetrics-2/#comments Tue, 24 Feb 2009 17:56:19 +0000 David Roher http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/24/the-real-sabermetrics-2/ Originally appeared in the Harvard Independent

I should love Bobby Abreu.

At least I should according to Ed Wade, the GM of the Houston Astros. Wade told the New York Times that the former all-star is “a sabermetrician’s dream, from the standpoint of what he produces statistically.” Fortunately, Wade is not my most trusted source for baseball analysis. The only dreams real sabermetricians have about the right fielder these days are nightmares about his horrifying outfield defense. (more…)

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/24/the-real-sabermetrics-2/feed/ A “triple 14″ for the Celtics’ Rondo http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/14/a-triple-14-for-the-celtics-rondo/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/14/a-triple-14-for-the-celtics-rondo/#comments Sat, 14 Feb 2009 13:25:45 +0000 Carl Morris http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/14/a-triple-14-for-the-celtics-rondo/ Rondo’s Triple 14.

Rajon Rondo’s triple double Wed night in Boston’s comeback win
over Dallas involved 19 points, 15 rebounds, and 14 assists.  His
“max-min” of 14 (14 maximizes the minimum category) means he
actually actually had a “triple 14″. (more…)

]]> http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/14/a-triple-14-for-the-celtics-rondo/feed/ Splitting the Uprights - Easier Indoors? http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/09/splitting-the-uprights-easier-indoors/ http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/09/splitting-the-uprights-easier-indoors/#comments Mon, 09 Feb 2009 05:42:53 +0000 Jonathan Adler http://www.hcs.harvard.edu/~hsac/Blog/2009/02/09/splitting-the-uprights-easier-indoors/ In Super Bowl XXXVI, New England kicker Adam Vinatieri’s 48-yard field goal attempt sailed through the uprights, clinching a world championship for the Patriots. Nearly eleven years before Vinatieri’s kick, Scott Norwood’s 47-yard field goal attempt in Super Bowl XXV famously missed “wide right” and earned the Buffalo Bills their first of four straight Super Bowl losses. One major difference between these two events in football history: Vinatieri kicked inside the Louisiana Superdome, while Norwood lined up outside in Tampa. (more…)

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