Bill James Dismantles The BCS Computers [College Football]
Deadspin —
... The world's greatest stat nerd explains why the BCS computer "rankings" are a complete farce and why any mathematician who participates in it should be ashamed of themselves. But who is he betting on? [Slate] ...
Bill James Attacks The BCS
FanIQ Blog —
Bill James wants to put a mathematical smack-down on the BCS Rankings and the Ranking Computers. (Courtesy of Slate) A smack-down just like the one he put on the ...
Bill James: Boycott the BCS
Lone Star Ball —
... Bill James has an excellent article up on the stupidity of the BCS system, and why folks who value quantitative analysis should boycott the BCS. ...
Bowl Controversy Series
Fire Jay Mariotti —
... Alright, who's next? Oh, my man, Bill James. The title of this article is "Boycott the BCS!" Hell yeah, we're gonna get some solid statistical analysis about why Utah deserves a chance at the national title. ...
Bill James on the BCS
Beyond the Box Score —
Bill James on the BCS
H/T LoneStarBall
Today's Links
Not Qualified To Comment —
The Bears have already offered Marinelli, now they want his son-in-law who was on the Lions staff too? No way. Bill James slams the BCS's use of the computers. Well, now we know they're bogus. Ottawa's Jarko Ruutu gets a two game suspension for biting. See, the NHL is awesome! Someone left Rickey Henderson off his Hall of Fame ballot? Another wussy NBA fight. Chandler did little to live up to his first name, and I don't know why, but I'd love to see someone knock out Joel Pryzbilla. ...
Shanoff's W.U.C.: For BCS Title, D Rules
The Sporting Blog —
... Bill James had a great column in Slate, calling on the computer pollsters to drop out, because the BCS won't let them incorporate telling data like, say, margin of victory. ...
The Bowl Season Ends Tonight. The Suits Win and the Schools Win. Players? Debateable. Fans? Nope.
The Big Lead —
... Whoever plans on taking down the bowl games, just tell us where to sign up. We’re on board. Bill James is doing his part. This blog is calling for a ...
Bill James supports BCS boycott
Pro-football-reference.com blog —
Thanks to Dr. Saturday for the pointer to this Slate article, in which Bill James articulates his reasons for not liking the BCS.
I don’t have time to comment on all the items in the article that deserve comment, so I’ll just say that, like everything Bill James has ever written, it’s worth a read. I do have a question, though, for those out there who are a bit more in touch with what James has been doing for the past decade or so:
When did James start to refer to himself as a statistical analyst?
Twice in this article, he makes it clear that he does in fact consider himself to be ...
Create The Caption #334
AwfulAnnouncing —
... shot..."- The Great Bambi "Somehow the rumours of Sharapova and Chris Parnell hooking up never caught on...."- Nuk _______________________________________ Are you funny enough to create a caption for this photo of Dick Vitale interviewing Chauncey Billups of the Denver Nuggets after their game against the Miami Heat last night? Daily Links: Your JSF 2008 Media Craptacular! (Joe Sports Fan) Bill James Hates Thinks The BCS Is Garbage (Slate) Schilling Lays Into The Boston ...
Lost Time Is Not Found Again: Jan. 8, 2008
MOUTHPIECE Blog // A Chicago-Addled Sports Blog —
... you can put the blame on the greedy small schools that wanted to milk money from the big football factories, on the greedy big schools that wanted to keep as much money as possible in the fewest possible hands, on the lunk-head football coaches who can’t program a computer to play tic-tac-toe but want to make all the rules, or on the Congress that sits idly by and watches it happen. You guys want to make a mess of this, you can make a mess of it without our help.” – Bill James on the BCS ...
Stats Guru Bill James dissects the BCS
SportsFilter —
Thursday, January 08, 2009 Stats Guru Bill James dissects the BCS A precise encapsulation of all that is wrong with College Football rankings. ...
Daily Rubbish: Game Over For Pacman
Sports Rubbish —
... Jones. Now he claims he's going to sue ESPN after the network said he ordered 3 men shot outside an Atlanta night club. You'd think he'd be out of chances in the NFL, but the Raiders are still out there.
One Detroit Lions fan gave women another reason to laugh at him when he's naked by commemorating their 0-16 season with a tattoo.
Nobody will win the Super Bowl this year without being disrespected.
Bill James is the latest to pile on the BCS.
Jay Glazer kicked off 2009 by licking a woman's face. Michael ...
Reporters Notebooks
The Wiz of Odds —
... Bill James, Slate: The statistical analyst takes a stand against the Bowl Championship Series. "This isn't a national championship — it's a big-money waltz. The only role that the computer rankings play in this is that they're there to take the fall when the system doesn't work — and it doesn't work most of the time." ...
Response to Bill james on the BCS
vorosmccracken.com —
Bill James’s remarks on the BCS are making all sorts of rounds on the internets, and when you do what I do it’s awfully hard not to pay attention to whatever Bill writes. This particular subject is important to me because I find the process of using statistical rankings to rank sports teams fascinating (in a variety of sports). I think Bill is mostly spot on. One area I strongly disagree with involves getting Congress involved. As much as the NCAA bugs me on all sorts of levels, it hardly seems like Congress is likely to improve anything it touches, especially something like ...
A statistical analyst calls for a boycott of the BCS
The Scores Report - The National Sports Blog —
... Regular readers know that numbers are near and dear to my heart. Maybe it comes from my background — my degree is in industrial engineering — or maybe I just like the cold, objective finality of statistics. ...
Bill James wants us to Boycott the BCS
SEC Football Blogger —
Boycotting the BCS. This argument starts every year around the day of, or the day after, the BCS National Championship game. President Obama, whom at least a majority of Americans believe in, even knows that this system does not work. Bill James, the top statistical geek and number cruncher in the country, claims that mathematicians who agree with the numbers here are mistaken because the system does not work. Anyway, below are a few of my biggest arguments with the system: ...
An Award-Nominated Link Dump
Rumors and Rants —
... it, I’m out of here - Soccer by Ives. (Incidentally, this is one of the couple of blogs that’s made it to my regular reading rotation as a result of the awards)
Mmmm break down of the left field market for nerds. / drools - Beyond the Boxscore
Putz in, game over? Dude. - Metsgrrrl
I had NO idea cycling was this complex. Seriously. NO idea. - Cozy Beehive
Bill James says boycott the BCS. You gonna argue with him? - Slate
Jordan Farmar’s biggest missed opportunity at UCLA wasn’t ...
Bevo's Daily Round Up 1.09.09
Burnt Orange Nation —
... 12 Sports previews the women's conference schedule.
Who is No. 1? Well, who isn't? Southern California, Utah and Texas have all laid claim to the top spot as well as the winner of the BCS title game.
Bill James, Slate Magazine, looks at Dr. Hal Stern's article on boycotting the Bowl Championship Series by all quantitative analysts. James takes on Stern's four points.
The BCS complies with law and can fend off any law suit, ...
Daily Links: 99%? That’s A Better Approval Rating Than Ice Cream!
thejetsblog.com —
... the Lions, declining all interviews until his season is over.
Will Mangini find a spot for Romeo on his staff?
There’s at least one position coach, maybe two that will leave so far to join Mangini.
Ohio columnists wonder at the haste of the Browns’ pick. Here, and here.
Ohio St RB Beenie Wells is going pro, as is LeSean McCoy.
Bill James father of statistical sports analysis takes on the BCS, condensed explanation on FO.
Morning Link Dump - Cheerleaders, BCS, Darius Miles, Monkeys On Bikes
TheScore.com Blog —
... Baseball stats God Bill James doesn't mind putting his knowledge to use on other sports, it seems, because he's written an outstanding piece for Slate about precisely how f'd the BCS calculations are. ...
Seatowning 1/10/09, Bye Bye P.I.
SeaTown Sports —
... spring training tickets go on sale today, go here if you're interested
+Improved outfield = More wins [Bleeding Blue and Teal]
+11 teams Seattle people love to hate [SeattleSportsNet]
National
+Do you like Stephen Curry? Watch this. FLASH! [YouTube]
+Dwayne Wade be rockin' the shades during practice [Ball Don't Lie]
+Most unpopular players in NBA history [Dime]
+Bill James on the BCS...read this [Slate]
+Michael Phelps vs. Warren Sapp...in a swim race, no joke [Shutdown Corner] ...
Around The Web: Arbitration And Homegrown Players
Fire Ned Colletti Now —
... to Scott Boras regarding Manny. Though you can easily tell it's fake, because Ned would never write anything intelligently. True Blue LA: How homegrown is the Dodgers' offense? Eric Stephen has a great piece on it. True Blue LA: You know I couldn't post that last link without also posting the link to the Dodgers' homegrown pitching. Baseball Prospectus: Shawn Hoffman makes an interesting point about salary caps and salary floors. Slate: Bill James shits on the BCS.
They're only discussing the stability of the BCS, move along, move along
Dr. Saturday —
... So for that, then. And the Series doesn't need the Mountain West's signature, either (the MWC has another year to sign the ESPN deal and will almost certainly be considered expendable if it somehow decides to leave it on the table). If the era of annual tweaks has passed, this seems like the beginning of the era of the bunker mentality against ever-stronger sieges from above, below, and, increasingly, within -- before the Mountain West, after all, there was SEC commissioner Mike Slive's "plus one" proposal at last year's meetings. But this year, like last year, you ...
The Mountain West takes its utopian push to the commissioners
Dr. Saturday —
... the "Big Six" leagues.) In that case, the MWC is just another mouth at the table, demanding a slice of the pie. Those with pie do not typically vote to share with those without pie.
What else you got?
A new 12-person committee, made up of one representative from each of the 11 conferences, plus Notre Dame, would determine the top 25 teams at the end of the regular season.
As long as Notre Dame is involved, that sounds plausible. Everybody hates the computers, anyway.
The top 10 teams would play in the ...
The Mtn. West's last stand: 'Presidents, tear down those polls'
Dr. Saturday —
... Agreed on that front, although, I'm not sure how a committee of a handful of interested "representatives" is preferable to to a committee of coaches and computers. (Whether those computers are actually allowed to work the way they're supposed to is another story.) It's less confusing, obviously. But the point is the same: When are they going to stop picking who can play for a championship from the pool of qualified teams? As long as there are only two when there should be six or eight, "reform" is just window dressing. ...
The BCS computers are big LSU fans, but they don't have much choice
Dr. Saturday —
... Remember, though -- just to demonstrate how objective and definitive this process really is -- that the computers might spit out completely different results if they were actually allowed to consider all the factors that human voters are; the most glaring of the many, many fatal flaws in the BCS computer system is that the machines aren't allowed to account at all for margin of victory in their rankings. Beating Mississippi State ...
M’Kay Computers
Eleven Warriors —
... Remember, though — just to demonstrate how objective and definitive this process really is — that the computers might spit out completely different results if they were actually allowed to consider all the factors that human voters are; the most glaring of the many, many fatal flaws in the BCS computer system is that the machines aren’t allowed to account at all for margin of victory in their rankings. Beating Mississippi State ...
BCS Realpolitik: Gators hold court in initial standings, but it's early yet
Dr. Saturday —
... The computers and Iowa, sittin' in a tree. One-point win over Northern Iowa via improbable kick-blocking? Three-point win over Arkansas State? Such trivialities matter to the soft mortal minds of the human voters, which are respectful but still skeptical about the 7-0 Hawkeyes compared to the machines, which can't take margin of victory into account and therefore conclude Iowa has style points aplenty in its overall schedule and unblemished record. The Colley Matrix even ranks the Hawkeyes No. 1, though its "vote" is dismissed as their highest score; ...
What's with the BCS computers' over-the-top love for Iowa?
Dr. Saturday —
... That's all irrelevant to the machines, which don't take margin of victory into account, and subsequently count a 24-21 win over Arkansas State as roughly the equivalent of a ...
What's with the BCS computers' over-the-top Hawkeye love?
Dr. Saturday —
... That's all irrelevant to the machines, which don't take margin of victory into account, and subsequently count a 24-21 win over Arkansas State as roughly the equivalent of a ...
Varsity Numbers: Eight Turnovers!
Football Outsiders —
... about why they were ranked so high, it brings to mind a rant I am almost always more than willing to make: if you are going to use computer rankings as part of your formula, let the computer rankings do what they do. When the BCS higher-ups (whoever those nameless people actually are) took scoring margin out of the equation, they completely and totally neutered their effectiveness . Not every computer rankings system takes scoring margin into account, but those that do (for instance, ...
