The Strike Zone and the Probability Density Function
A little over a decade ago, I did play-by-play announcing for the AA London Tigers, a London, Ontario, affiliate of the Detroit Tigers. One night, …
Faking = Cheating? The Curious Case of Derek Jeter
As anyone other than the home plate umpire watching Wednesday night could easily determine, both from the loud “doink” of the ball hitting the bat …
Nature vs. Nurture in Coaching
From Friday’s Chronicle of Higher Ed daily emailing: Even though the number of women who participate in college athletics has risen dramatically since Title IX …
“42” and the Intangible Impact of Sports
Baseball is life, or so the saying goes. The release of “42” brings back to light a story that, among its many angles and nuances, …
How Are Infants Like Adults?
With apologies to Levitt and Dubner for the “How are x’s like y’s” title, here’s an interesting case of ticket pricing from the Big 12 …
Scalping and Price Discrimination
All the major league sports teams are getting into scalping [Washington Post, reg. req’d]. NFL, NBA and NHL teams have partnered with Internet firms with …
Player Development Questions
On ESPN Soccernet, Fred Guzman takes U.S. soccer to task for not providing enough opportunity for the development of kids from poorer socioeconomic backgrounds. The …
Rochester Rhinos could get $420,000 city subsidy
I couldn’t resist a blog about the Rochester Rhinos. The story is in the Rochester, NY, Democrat and Chronicle. Here is how it opens. When …
A $2 Billion Bargain for New Dodger Owners?
The $2 billion winning bid the group headed by Guggenheim Financial CEO Mark Walter and Magic Johnson as PR owner raised many eyebrows. It blows …
Winners and Losers in College Bowl Games
It’s well-known that in terms of accounting entries, many college athletic departments lose money. Some economists have questioned whether the expense and revenue entries are …