Stats Versus Instinct

This article discusses a paper that compared NBA General Manager's "naive" statistical decisions to what sabermetricians say are important statistical decisions. The paper concluded that in the end, general managers were more effective. Therefore, statistics should not be the sole factor for a general manager when he or she is building a team.

http://sabermetricresearch.blogspot.com/2008/12/do-nba-general-managers-outperform.html

Moneyball NBA Team

In this article the writer takes the "moneyball" approach to compiling a basketball team. He focuses his 12-man roster on players with low salaries, low turnovers, high field-goal percentages, a lot of offensive boards, and high blocks. The only pick I disagree with is Brook Lopez, who only averaged 6.0 rebounds per game last year despite playing big minutes and being 7 feet tall. Additionally, the writer makes a bold statement by asserting that Chris Paul is the "ultimate NBA Sabermetrics guy."

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/771677-nba-sabermetrics-the-ultimate-moneyball-team

"Joining the Revolution"

This article is written by esteemed sports writer Bill Simmons. In it, he explains why he's decided to "join the revolution" and embrace sabermetrics. He provides in depth explanations of several sabermetric stats in baseball. Its a little long, but I suggest reading the first couple explanations which really hammer home why sabermetrics are valuable.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=simmons/100402

The Goal of Our Club

The goal of our club is to submit our findings to this conference. Check it out.

http://www.sloansportsconference.com/

A Sin Tax On College Football and Basketball Games

This essay was posted on the Freakonomics blog, which approaches economic issues from odd perspectives (the blog is run by the authors of the the book Freakonomics). In the essay, Allen R. Sanderson argues that a "sin" tax should be imposed on collegiate sporting events to essentially pay the players. Since most of the players don't end up going pro and less than half complete their degree, Sanderson claims that the money raised from a tax could be well spent helping student-athletes finish their education.

http://www.freakonomics.com/2011/10/06/should-college-football-be-taxed-bring-your-questions-for-allen-sanderson/

Ranking the Popularity of Sports

The Economist evaluates the popularity of different sports using television viewers, attendance figures, revenue, and even google hits. The article only focuses on the second most popular sport because football (American soccer) pretty much blows every other sport out of the water.

http://www.economist.com/blogs/gametheory/2011/09/ranking-sports’-popularity

The Villains of the NBA Lockout

This article ranks the "villains" of the NBA lockout, i.e. the individuals and thing that are most to blame for this seasons lockout. It ranks both players and NBA officials, effectively spreading the blame and conceding that neither party is completely at fault. Oddly, the number one ranked villain isn't even a person but a thing.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/bleacherreport/2011/10/13/nba-lockout-ranking-the-biggest-villains-in-the-labor-dispute/

New Sabermetric Stat in Football Says that Sanchez Was the Worst Ever

http://espn.go.com/blog/new-york/jets/post/_/id/7683/new-stat-rates-mark-sanchezs-game-worst

Sabermetrics Cartoon

How Did the "Moneyball" Draft Actually Pan Out for Billy Beane?

http://blogs.wsj.com/dailyfix/2011/09/23/moneyball-draft-wasnt-beanes-best/?KEYWORDS=moneyball

Is There Such Thing as Being Hot?

This article goes about disproving the theory that players can get "hot" in basketball. If there is a basketball season, we will conduct our own study. Until then, you can read this.
http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/6241/hot-and-heavy-about-nba-shooting

NBA Lockout Update

A fun little update on the NBA lockout. Enjoy
http://www.csnphilly.com/blog/sixers-talk/post/Lockout-update-and-a-look-ahead-to-Sunda?blockID=565321&feedID=2365

History of Fantasy Sports

http://newsgames.gatech.edu/blog/2009/01/history-of-fantasy-sports-and-its-adoption-by-sports-journalists.html

Week 2 Pickups

Some suggestions for week 2 pickups...

http://sports.yahoo.com/fantasy/nfl/news?slug=be-gmcpow

How Sabermetrics Can Help You in Fantasy Sports

http://baseball.about.com/od/fantasybaseballtips/a/fbbsabermetrics.htm

Although this article is older it details some important points

http://sports.espn.go.com/fantasy/football/ffl/story?page=nfldk2k10advancedstats

The 411 On Sabermetrics

Defining basic sabermetric terms, from BaBip (Batting Average on Balls in Play) to WAR (Wins Over Replacement), this site will give you the basic rundown of what terms mean, and how they will give you the upper hand in any fantasy league. http://baseballreflections.com/2011/07/28/sabermetrics-101-gaining-the-fantasy-baseball-edge/

Bill James (Sabermetrics Extraordinaire) Question and Answer

http://www.freakonomics.com/2008/04/01/bill-james-answers-all-your-baseball-questions/

Here are some of my favorites:

Q: Why can’t the Chicago Cubs get into the World Series? Is it the small park? Low salaries? The curse of the billy goat? Does sabermetrics provide any insights?

A: Talking about the origins of it — the Cubs fell into a trench in history in the late 1930′s, when almost all baseball teams built farm systems, but the Cubs for several years refused to do so. This put them behind the curve, crippled them for the 1950′s, and really the organization did not fully overcome that until about 1980.

Q: How important are good-hitting pitchers to the success of an offense in the N.L.?

A: Exactly as important as good-fitting underwear on a long drive.

Q: Do you play fantasy baseball?

A: Not at the moment. I have, though. I think the Commissioner’s office frowns on front office guys having fantasy teams. It creates the appearance of a conflict of interest, and, even though it’s a trivial conflict, one still has to respect that somebody might get the wrong idea.

Will there be a Fantasy Basketball Season?

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2011/writers/sam_amick/07/24/amick.notebook/index.html#ixzz1T8P6SG8r

Welcome!

Dear Blog Reader,

We are three high schoolers from New York who, from an early age, have had a passion for math and fantasy sports. We decided to share our interests with our classmates by making a club, and subsequently a blog, to show how one can use math to be successful in fantasy sports. We encourage you to subscribe and enjoy our posts.  

Sam, Penn, and Leroy