o Analyze results, identify trends and predict outcomes for NFL, NBA, WTA and ATP matches.

o Assign player fantasy sports value, measure player efficiency, and compare and rank teams across eras.

Monday, February 28, 2005

sunday wrap-up: A Tangled Webb

…how rumors get started…


The NBA should look into live television coverage of the annual trade deadline, the same way it does for the draft. This year’s deadline proved more dramatic than most daytime soap operas.

From a basketball standpoint and how it affects wins and losses, only the Chris Webber trade will have any impact this season.

--->read more

Friday, February 25, 2005

Knicks play No Limit, Texas Hold ‘Em

…moving the Center to go Forward takes us Back…


In two trades that amount to folding your hand right after the flop, Knicks President Isiah Thomas did his best Scott Layden impression. At the same time, Isiah showed why he is so different from his Knicks predecessor.

Thomas stocked up on Forwards by trading Center Nazr Mohammed, Vin Baker, and back-up Point-Guards Moochie Norris and Jamison Brewer. In return, he got San Antonio Forward Malik Rose, Houston Forward Maurice Taylor, and two first round draft picks.

Monday, February 14, 2005

sunday wrapup: ALL BULL?

…‘Roids in BaseBall, Nets Resurgence, and Knicks Reality


Baseball is lucky to have Jose Canseco. He is a metaphor for why playing baseball is often considered passé. The game does not have a level playing field; it never had, not even after black players joined the ranks.

Baseball historians hold numbers dear, bypassing the fact each stadium has different dimensions; and the changes made to the ball at various points in the game’s history.

Canseco used steroids to alter his physical limitations, much the same way stadium walls are adjusted to benefit a team.

--->read the rest

Friday, February 11, 2005

Working Over / Time

The Atlantic Division is the laughing stock of the NBA – at least that’s what the pundits would have you believe. Wins and Losses tell you that, on the surface. Even if you keep injuries as a constant for all NBA teams, this division is in major flux. Each team has a new head coach, and a revamped roster.

Since 1999, the division has made 4 trips (sent three teams) to the NBA Finals. None of the teams has “rebuilt” completely through the draft. Their moves have been to complement their core with a patchwork of mid-level first round picks, and acquiring free agents.

Whether one or two teams make the playoffs, the Atlantic will be a force.

Sunday, February 06, 2005

sunday wrapup: Stay Off The Bandwagon!!!

For the New Jersey Nets to surpass my pre-season expectations of 30 or so wins, I need to stay off the bandwagon.

The Nets cannot be categorized as a franchise that makes bad trades, except that of Julius “Dr. J” Erving. When it came to transactions, the team had become a haven for top draft picks, veteran underachievers, or established NBA talent whose image has recently been tarnished, in some fashion.

Until Rod Thorn took over the front office, at best, the Nets were a franchise beset by a string of bad luck injuries and tragedy, maximized by the death of Drazen Petrovic.

---> read the rest

Saturday, February 05, 2005

Brotherly Loathe

…why the NFL wants the Eagles to win the Super Bowl

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T.O. has the chance to become the most loved figure in Philadelphia team sport history, unless Allen Iverson wins a title for the Sixers. Whereas A.I. was the NBA’s principal opponent, as the league tried turning players into robots, T.O.’s struggle is to be included in the NFL marketing hierarchy.

Except for its PSA (public service announcements), contrary to the NBA, the NFL markets the players who embody the sports’ pugnacious reality. The NFL does so, on a wink-wink basis, which is best represented by its recent affiliate marketing scandals: Janet Jackson’s nipple; and Nicolette Sheridan’s towel drop.

---> read the rest

FREE…throw... FALL

…another Knicks loss


The Knicks continue to lose, and last night’s loss has to be the most frustrating. Yesterday, the three major local papers reported and gave a spin to accounts of Knicks players’ fighting spirits. This airing of differences came on the heels of two disparate road losses – a close one to the Los Angeles Clippers; and a blowout at the hands of the rejuvenated Denver Nuggets.

Throughout yesterday’s game against the Sacremento Kings, the team presented the evidence. They were not going down without a fight.

--->read the rest

Tuesday, February 01, 2005

REVISIONIST HISTORY 0105:

...The Knicks Should Trade For Ron Artest

...in the age of free agency and guaranteed contracts, revision is part of the landscape.

Revising history needs full cooperation from parties who may not be ready to admit culpability.

But they will do so if the spin is tight; the public relations hit minimal; and the numbers match, on and off the court:

--->read the rest