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Sports

NHL Draft Pick Probability

June 4, 2018 by Ned

Getting the top pick in the NHL draft is a big deal for NHL teams and fans. Each year the league holds a lottery to determine the order teams receive draft picks. To discourage teams from purposely losing to guarantee the top pick, all 15 teams that didn’t make the...

Sports

Soccer Formations and Matchups – A Strategic Look at the World’s Favorite Sport

March 8, 2018 by Sarah

For most people, soccer was introduced by their parents as a way to exhaust their kids and make some friends in the process. For me, soccer has been a part of my life since I was four years old (and yes my parents put me in the sport for the...

Sports

Olympic Curling – A Turn-Based Strategy Game

February 22, 2018 by Todd

I regularly go 47 months in a row without thinking about curling even once, and then I spend a month fascinated by the sport. I don’t think I am alone in this. The Winter Olympics provides the only venue for me to watch curling (I think; I really haven’t looked),...

Sports

Sports Science and Data Analytics Presentation by Dr. Sam Robertson

January 31, 2018 by Rob

Thanks to increased computational power and improvements in data collection technologies, sports analytics researchers are now able to ask questions (and get answers) they were not able to in the past. The beneficiaries of these new technologies will be teams and individuals who are intellectually curious enough to ask these...

Sports

Rooting for the Favorite

November 8, 2017 by Doug

Imagine this hypothetical scenario: The Patriots have advanced to the AFC Championship game against the Chiefs and are waiting to see who will play the Falcons in the NFC Championship game. The Eagles are playing the Packers in the divisional round for the right to play the Falcons in the...

Sports

Insuring the Indians’ Win Streak

September 22, 2017 by Todd

ESPN recently ran an article about an Ohio-based window company that guaranteed any of its customers who installed windows (the kind that makes walls transparent, not the PC operating system), siding, or doors in the month of July would have their money returned if the Cleveland Indians had a 15-game...

Sports

Did Kyle Shanahan blow the Super Bowl for the Atlanta Falcons?

February 27, 2017 by Justin

Here is the situation: The Falcons have the ball on the New England 23. It is 2nd and 11 with four minutes left, and the Falcons are nursing a 28 to 20 lead. Matt Ryan doesn’t hand it off! He gets sacked, putting the Falcons out of field goal range,...

Why you should play your worse fantasy football lineup

Sports

Fantasy Football: Play Your Worse Lineup?

November 28, 2016 by Todd

Before we get into fantasy football strategies, let’s first discuss nontransitivity in preferences. Most of our day-to-day experience is with coherent preferences; if I like Kit Kats more than Mounds, and I like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups more than Kit Kats, then I must like the PB Cups more than...

Sports

Taking Biases out of Fantasy Trades

November 1, 2016 by Sri

It’s a classic Fantasy Football situation. Team A has an extra running back, but only one startable wide receiver. Team B has an extra receiver, but only one startable running back. It’s a fantasy match made in heaven, but somehow they’re not able to agree on a trade. How is...

Sports

Penalties in Gaelic Football: When to Go for Goal and When to Take Your Point

September 16, 2016 by Barry

With the All-Ireland Gaelic football final nearly upon us, let’s take a look at the strategies around penalty kicks. For those not familiar with the game, a brief primer: Gaelic football is a 15 player-a-side field sport where the ball can be handled and carried somewhat similarly to rugby, but...