Pitcher intent, as measured by the position of the catcher's glove before a pitch is thrown, is an element of baseball that is regularly observed by commentators (he's missing his spots) but remains an uncaptured aspect of statistical analysis of the game, offering many potential aspects on...

In this paper, I estimate adjusted odds ratios by fitting stratified logistic regression models to binary response variables, games won or lost, with plus/minus statistics as explanatory variables. Adapted from ice hockey, the plus/minus statistic credits an NBA player one or more points...

In Ohio high school football, playoff teams are selected and seeded using an objective point system. Roughly one-fourth of the states teams earn playoff berths, and higher seeds host first-round games. Even in the final week of the season, a teams playoff chances can depend on the outcomes of...

The 2007 gambling scandal involving a National Basketball Association (NBA) referee, coupled with the NBAs follow-up investigation, put allegations of basketball referee bias in the spotlight. This paper analyzes specific allegations of bias by Miami Heat coach and general manager Pat Riley...

By definition, giving 100 percent effort all of the time is sustainable, but begs the question of how to define 100 percent effort. As a corollary, once a benchmark for defining 100 percent effort is chosen, it may be possible, even optimal, to give a greater amount of effort for a short period...

The search for great goalscorers in football has been traditionally tunnel-visioned. Prestigious individual football awards, such as the Golden Boot and the Ballon dOr, are almost automatically given to the player with the highest goal count. Simple. There is nothing usually complicated about...

Before the space race and computer games, 1957 was a simpler time. Baseball card collectors, mostly young boys, had few distractions to advance their hobby. In 1957, there were 16 major league baseball teams. The Kansas City Athletics, moved from Philadelphia in 1955, was the farthest west team....

The existence of home advantage in Australian Rules football (AFL) has been well documented in previous literature. This advantage typically refers to the net advantage of several factors which, generally speaking, have a positive effect on the home team and a negative effect on the away team....

Sports fans can be freed from cheering against their favorite team for a draft pick. Draft orders based on how teams perform after becoming mathematically eliminated from playoff contention trigger highly competitive atmospheres that inspire fans with passion and optimism. The worst teams...

This article examines the dependence and direction of dependencies between on the field performance variables, winning percentage, and payroll in Major League Baseball using team data from 1985-2009. Particular focus is given to the relationship between winning and payroll. The method is to...