Category: Football

Well, that was unexpected….

I predict that I’m going to throw something at the tv if Arlen Specter doesn’t go away. Like the Senate Judiciary Committee doesn’t have anything more useful it could be doing than making a stink about an utterly pointless pseudo-scandal. And giving Gregg Easterbrook an excuse to be smug, on top of everything else. I… Continue reading My Super Bowl Prediction

A quick review of an important concept going into this weekend’s Super Bowl: The “point spread” for a football game is set at the level required to get equal numbers of bets on the two teams. The spread is not the consensus opinion of expert observers as to the likely outcome of the game. The… Continue reading Betting vs. Prediction

A few more detailed comments on the games leading up to the Chateau Steelypips Showdown in two weeks: The Patriots looked a little shaky, but again, I was never that worried that they would actually lose. Their defense isn’t as intimidating as it was a few years ago, but they did enough to get the… Continue reading Miscellaneous Football Thoughts

The good news: Kate’s New England Patriots beat the Chargers to win the AFC championship My New York Giants beat the Packers in overtime to win the NFC champioship The bad news: They play each other in the Super Bowl in two weeks. This is perhaps not the most positive sporting development for marital harmony…

I stopped by a Sports Authority store yesterday to buy a couple of whistles before tonight’s intramural basketball game (a persistent problem in the last few years has been that the students refereeing the game don’t have whistles, and thus fould go uncalled). There were laser-printed signs taped to the front doors saying (approximately): When… Continue reading Great Moments in Hubris

Yo, E! (Do you mind if I call you E?) I’d like to draw your attention to an item on your web page: NY Giants 21, Dallas Cowboys 17. Yeah, shocking as it may seem, the Giants won that game. Go figure. Hey, it surprised me, and I’m a Giants fan! Still, in light of… Continue reading Memo to ESPN

The New York Giants, who played all their starters in a “meaningless” game against the Patriots in the final week of the season are now 2-0 in the playoffs. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Indianapolis Colts, and Dallas Cowboys, who played their starters only sparingly at the end of the regular season to “rest up for… Continue reading How Many Anecdotes Does it Take to Make Data?

So, how much does it suck to be David Garrard? He was 22-for-33 for 278 yards, with two touchdowns and only one interception, an excellent performance by any normal standard, but he was the second-best quarterback in the game. Tom Brady was 26-for-28, 262 yards, three TD’s, no interceptions. And one of the incompletions was… Continue reading Saturday Football