Category Archives: Basketball

MY FAVORITE SPORTS NICKNAME.

Posted on October 25, 2009 by Philip

MY FAVORITE SPORTS NICKNAME. Yahoo!Answers yesterday had this answer to the question “Is there a word without vowels in it?” Many of them have a “y” in them, but the words “cwm” and “psst” are nominated. I was reminded of … Continue reading →

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BASKETBALL AND PIANO MUSIC.

Posted on August 20, 2009 by Philip

BASKETBALL AND PIANO MUSIC. Some time after Van Cliburn had burst upon the American musical scene by winning a major Russian piano competition, he gave a concert in Kansas City at the same time that a major basketball tournament was … Continue reading →

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DIMAGGIO DID IT TWICE.

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Philip

DIMAGGIO DID IT TWICE. There is an anomaly to Mlodinow’s contention that DiMaggio’s streak could be accounted for as the result of a random process— that there is a better than 42% chance that some major league player or other … Continue reading →

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RANDOMNESS AND STREAKS.

Posted on July 7, 2009 by Philip

RANDOMNESS AND STREAKS. Kids, people underestimate how common streaks are when the events are random. What are the chances that if you toss a coin 100 times that you will get a streak of ten or more heads or tails? … Continue reading →

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EVERYBODY IN THE INFIELD.

Posted on May 29, 2009 by Philip

EVERYBODY IN THE INFIELD. Malcolm Gladwell had an article about a girls basketball team (twelve and under) which had great success playing a full court press. The article turned out to be controversial (google new yorker gladwell basketball if you … Continue reading →

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AN UMPIRE MAKES HIS RATING KNOWN.

Posted on May 28, 2009 by Philip

AN UMPIRE MAKE HIS RATING KNOWN. I have urged in several posts, including here, that the grading of the performance of sports officials should be made public. Now an umpire has made his rating for a game public. Umpire Bob … Continue reading →

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NOT CARING ABOUT THE SCORE.

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Philip

NOT CARING ABOUT THE SCORE. The seventh game of the series between the Chicago Bulls and the Boston Celtics featured something I have never seen in any high school, college or professional sporting event. As reported here and here, the … Continue reading →

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SCAMS: FLOOD PREPARATION.

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Philip

SCAMS: FLOOD PREPARATION. The article by Pablo Torres tells about an athlete ” who invested almost $70,000 in an invention: an inflatable raft that would sit under furniture. The pitch was that when high-rainfall areas were flooded, consumers could pump … Continue reading →

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IT’S NOT ONLY MADOFF: ATHLETES AND INVESTMENT SCAMS.

Posted on March 28, 2009 by Philip

IT’S NOT ONLY MADOFF: ATHLETES AND INVESTMENT SCAMS. This article from Sports Illustrated by Pablo Torre says that 78% of National Football League players have either gone bankrupt or are under financial stress within two years of retirement. For National … Continue reading →

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BENCHMARKS FOR FREE THROWS.

Posted on March 5, 2009 by Philip

BENCHMARKS FOR FREE THROWS. This article by John Branch reports that the average for free throws made by male college basketball players has basically stayed at 69% since the mid 60’s. Women in college have been close to the men’s … Continue reading →

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