Sunday, August 31, 2008
Short Sided Round Robin Format for Basketball and Soccer
...The computer age has bestowed some unforeseen blessings on the sports world. Math whizzes are now using the personal computer to track game results to a level never before possible, and sports are the better for it. The book "Moneyball" chronicled the way Billy Beane, general manager of the Oakland Athletics used obscure statistical analyses to scout and deal for talent. Now, a variation of this method has spilt over into basketball with a number of NBA teams using statistics in a similar manner. These methods were described in a recent Sports Illustratedarticle titled Measure of Success. Described as simply as possible, these statisticianstrack how well a team does when a player is on the floor, versus how well they do when theyarent.
These measures disregard a players contribution as represented by their scoring, rebounding and assists totals,and simply asks, "Does the team do better or worse when this player is on the floor?" They also in many casescontradict the conventional wisdom concerning the relative worth of certain players. Jason Collins, a fifth-year center for the Nets of little renown gets ranked as the fourth best defensive center in the league. Conversely, high-scoring Michael Redd of the Milwaukee Bucks issuch a disaster on defense that his teams tend to lose with him on the floor, and win while he is on the bench.
While amateur coaches are sure to find these analyses interesting, is there any way in which theycan employ these metrics for their own use? Amateur coaches might be able to get team assistantsto gather the data needed to maintain these stats, but there is a much better way these conceptscan be applied.
Virtually all teams rely heavily on scrimmage play as part of their pr...more
Ben Roethlisberger
... was here to play. And play he did. As the 2005 regular season wrapped up, the steelers had secured the afc leagues wild card position in the super Bowl XL. On February 5, 2006, the Steelers took hom the super Bowl victory in a win against the Seattle Seahawks.
Roethlisberger is far from being your average quarterback. In fact, his stature leaves little doubt that he is a force to be reckoned with. Tied with few others as the tallest starting quarterback in the NFL, Big Ben knows how to use his height to read the competition. In addition, his arm seemingly has a knack for guiding the passes to their ...more
Fantasy Football information: Fans May Have New Star
...Fantasy football Fans will want to remember the name Deion Branch. When preparing for your fantasy football drafts this summer, don't let the New England receiver slip too far in your ratings or in your round-by-round projections.
He is a star in the making.
Branch's 35 catches and four touchdowns in 2004 may make him barely visible on many people's r...more
Soccer Team Positions and Strategies With 3-5-2 Set Up
...3-5-2,
Defense;
3, defenders,
These three are very confident that they can handle a lone striker or two forwards. They are also reliant on a good defensive midfield.
On the attack these players will play wide positions. On the defense these players will be more compact and allow the outside midfields to aid in the wider positions.
At times the inside mid-fielders will "show" for the ball. This creates an additional attack from the centre of the pitch as the mid-fielders become out let players. They are trying to convert the play by ...more
