This year, I bit the bullet and got DirecTV Sunday Ticket, which allows you to watch ANY NFL game you choose on Sunday. They show them all.
I also got an HD DVR with the subscription, so I can record up to 2 games at a time. This is nice, because I don't actually get to watch any full game... too busy most Sundays, but this will allow me to catch the best parts.
Here's the problem: I have to plan in advance and set my DVR for the games that might be good.
So as part of my preparation, I'm planning to blog every Friday, and make a note of the 4 best games on the DirectTV Sunday Ticket schedule. Now only if my HD DVR had an API...
Anyways, here's what I want to record this Sunday:
| Game | Time (PST) | Channel |
|---|---|---|
| Jets v Dolphins | 10am | 705-1 |
| Texans v Steelers | 10am | 707-1 |
| Cowboys v Browns | 1pm | 713-1 |
| Bears v Colts | 5:15pm | NBCHD |
| Vikings v Packers | Mon 4pm | 73 |
BTW, this post is an example of one of the main benefits of blogging - writing things down so I don't forget them later...
¶ 9/05/2008
I was psyched when ESPN got Monday Night Football. I get ESPN in HD, and I thought it would be great.
Of course it sucks.
Basically they've sold out the game to commercialism - primarily cross-promoting ABC shows. The whole thing reeks of an 'event experience.' It's like they chose the producer of the Super Bowl halftime show to produce the whole damn game.
Here are the most annoying aspects:
- Tony Kornheiser and Mike Tirico can't stop blathering about ANYTHING BUT FOOTBALL.
- Suzy Kolber and Michele Tafoya. (see above)
- The player intros where some teammate gives us the nicknames of all the players.
- Do we need a soundtrack from Kid Rock and J.Lo or Pink or someone for each show.
- The booth visit from some famous person, usually someone appearing on Dancing with the Stars this season.
- Chris Berman's halftime act is just tiresome.
- The lack of replays.
- Pre-taped interviews / video segments that overrun actual plays.
Overall, I still look forward to the game, but the MNF production emphasizes everything BUT the game.
Labels: football, randomness
¶ 10/08/2007
Remember when the annoying media phrase: "He's the difference maker?" became the thing that every broadcaster, beat writer and NFL fan repeated? I think Difference Maker was the NFL breakout meme of the 2005 season.
Last year (2006), I think the meme was: Fantasy League. As in "Fantasy Leagues have now surpassed the actual league in importance." For 2004, I'd say the breakout meme was the phrase "It is what it is..."
Well, I already know what the meme for 2007 is. I've even contributed to it.
It's "Aaron Schatz". The man behind footballoutsiders.com. He also wrote the best football book for NFL fans.
All of a sudden, Aaron Schatz is everywhere! Here he is in a Bill Simmons column. You'll be hearing about him on pre-game shows within the next couple of weeks - I guarantee!
So "Aaron Schatz" is the meme for all NFL coverage this year.
Here's a handy glossary of key Aaron Schatz terms you will start to see:
- DVOA - defensive value over average. For offense, a good number is something above 12-15%. For defense, a good number is below -10%.
- PAR - points above replacement value. The whole statistical basis of Aaron's system is to compare how well a player or team did against what an average player would do. So if Tony Romo has a 16.4 PAR, he's worth 16 points more than an average replacement player.
- FO - is footballoutsiders.com, Aaron's website.
Labels: football
¶ 9/13/2007
OK, The NFL Football season is starting. If you really care about football, you MUST buy this book: Pro Football Prospectus 2007: The Essential Guide to the 2007 Pro Football Season
Here's a sample of the kind of stat-laden goodness you can expect from the author: How To Look Like a Genius When You're Picking NFL Sleepers
So if you watch more than 1 NFL game this year, or if you want to win an office pool, or you speculate at all on your friend's fantasy league - Don't Walk. Run. And get the book.
Labels: football
¶ 9/06/2007
Gregg Easterbrook has some stats that guide you on how to predict football scores when doing office pools where you need to pick the final score of some game.
Simple rule-of-thumb for picking the final scores of NFL Football games:
- Do NOT pick 11, 12, 15 and 18 -- these scores rarely occur.
- Good numbers to choose include: 20, 24, 17, 27, 10, 13
- The most common final scores in 2006 were, in order:
- 20-17, 23-20 and 24-21 (occured 6 times each)
- 24-10, 27-24 and 17-13 (each occured 4 times)
- Avoid low totals, and high totals. I.e. don't pick 6-3. Don't pick 44-38.
Using those rough guidelines, you have about a 1 in 500 chance of picking the exact final score, according to polymath Easterbrook.
For quick fun, and to double-check, I just did a frequency count on the scores of NFL games from 1990 - 2000 in order to rank the most common final scores.
Here are the most common scores - choose from these:
- 17 occurred 371 times - 9 percent
- 10 occurred 303 times - 8 percent
- 20 occurred 302 times - 8 percent
- 24 occurred 291 times - 7 percent
- 14 occurred 264 times - 7 percent
- 13 occurred 254 times - 6 percent
- 21 occurred 214 times - 5 percent
- 27 occurred 214 times - 5 percent
- 31 occurred 193 times - 5 percent
The least frequent scores are all high numbers above 40. But 11, 12, 18, 25, 32, 33, 36 occur very few times for lower numbers. Never pick a number above 38!
PS. I know this topic isn't seasonal nor very ad related, but when football season rolls around again, I'll know where to find the info - and it'll be indexed by that time.
Labels: betting, football, randomness
¶ 2/14/2007
