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Archive for November, 2008

Fall NBA Predictions

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

The NBA season started and many people are predicting a Boston Celtics – Los Angeles Lakers final rematch, but with the Lakers winning the championship instead this year. However, it is hard to be to certain because the depth and talent of so many other teams in both conferences. In the Western Conference, the Jazz, Hornets, and Rockets, all seem prepared to upset the Lakers. The Jazz and Hornets are each led by young point guards who are surrounded by shooters, excellent power forwards and great coaches. The Rockets made a trade for Ron Artest and look to stay healthy, and if they are able to, then their superior defense and superstars Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming could help the take over the Lakers as the West’s best.

The Celtics seem to have a little less competition in the East, but teams like the cavaliers and the Sixers, as well as the Pistons, are going to give them a challenge. The Cavaliers, led by Lebron James will be ready to go this year with the addition of new point guard Mo Williams and the progression of some of their younger players. The Sixers made a trade for Elton Brand over the summer and they should be able to use their speed and athleticism to win a lot of games this year. The Pistons are one of the best franchises in the NBA and always put together a very good team. They did not make any huge moves during the off-season, but this veteran team should challenge the Celtics as well.

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Bypassing the BCS: Predicting My Own Stats

Thursday, November 13th, 2008

Trying to guess winners and losers in college football is one of the hardest things to attempt, let alone trying to predict which teams will make a BCS game. Sports analysts spend all year contemplating the subject. They look at everything from each team’s strength of schedule to each team’s average GPA, but these analysts still are not very successful. There seems to be some sort of “X factor” that they have not found.

I have found the missing piece. It is right in front of us every time we turn on the T.V. and watch a game. Obviously this isn’t a surefire method, but when you have nowhere else to turn, this is what I would consider. My solution is to take each teams mascot or team name and figure out which would win if they met in a dark alley, known as the “street fight method.”

You might say this is not true, or is not applicable, but consider a game many people had a hard time guessing the winner of, for example, Ohio State vs. USC. To most people it was a toss up, but I figured a USC Trojan could easily destroy a Buckeye (which is a tree), so I picked USC to win. Take a more recent example, the Florida Gators vs. the Georgia Bulldogs. Based on their team names, which would you think would win? In my opinion a gator would, and who won the game? The Florida Gators.

Now, the “street fight method” is only one piece of the puzzle. It is not meant to stand alone, but to supplement other, more in depth analysis. When two teams seem to be statistical equals, that is when you should apply the “street fight method.” The next big game that I will be watching is the University of Utah Utes versus the TCU Horned Frogs, two potential BCS Busters. The two teams match up pretty equally and both have had a lot of success this year offensively and defensively. So, in order to predict the winner, I am going with the “street fight method,” and a Ute would clearly be able to eliminate a frog in a dark alley. Therefore, the Utes are my pick to win.

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