tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post1670323007231555600..comments2023-11-05T04:16:44.937-05:00Comments on Advanced Football Analytics (formerly Advanced NFL Stats): UnplugUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-43805356192074020492011-07-27T13:09:48.710-04:002011-07-27T13:09:48.710-04:00So the NFL season is on again. And that's all ...So the NFL season is on again. And that's all the info we needed to know from that story. Good advice Brian.Ian Simcoxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01518825067469269377noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-65491443301517564762011-06-05T20:42:48.789-04:002011-06-05T20:42:48.789-04:00So we should stop trying to foresee future events ...So we should stop trying to foresee future events altogether? While I think that the pundits that speculate about such news are too often looked to for correct information, I think that they have an important role to play in the news reporting field.<br /><br />Pundits, such as those on ESPN, are often given the task of speculating about what the future events of may be. They tend to be alot closer to the subject being reported on than most of us, and therefore can make better guesses than most of us about how things might unfold.<br /><br />If we lived in the present moment like you suggest and ignored totally such news, and only presented news as something static, then we would be leaving out a very important aspect of the human condition. The ability to think about future events is what separates us from every other creature on this planet, and to not report news as a human might would be a diservice to all of us.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-12695456597369618932011-06-01T15:08:59.818-04:002011-06-01T15:08:59.818-04:00" ... the growing sense of isolation and disc..." ... the growing sense of isolation and disconnect that marks this, the digital era, more than any other era of time." <br /><br />A friend once told me, "Joe, the thing that keeps me from being pessimistic is that I know a little bit about history. Whenever anyone says to me, 'It's never been this bad before,' I tell them, 'Yeah, it has.'"Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-69552278600312634022011-05-31T09:18:54.528-04:002011-05-31T09:18:54.528-04:00I disagree. Let's start here: It's the res...I disagree. Let's start here: It's the responsibility of citizens in a democracy to make informed choices at the polling place. To admit, as Dobelli does, that news doesn't affect his decision making is to claim that he already knows everything he needs to. That hardly seems plausible. News is important, and it sounds to me like this post is a deserved attack on particular sources of news, and not news in general.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-86416229481305704632011-05-22T21:14:54.874-04:002011-05-22T21:14:54.874-04:00I stopped reading most actual news years ago, but ...I stopped reading most actual news years ago, but I still read blogs that frequently discuss, debate, or criticize the news from various angles. As a general rule, I think I get a lot more out of the arguments than out of the underlying stories.Ben Morrishttp://www.skepticalsports.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-8597521321478568222011-05-22T13:19:07.477-04:002011-05-22T13:19:07.477-04:00Love this post.Love this post.Misfithttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04391741204628687296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-54955796201948550172011-05-18T18:36:46.336-04:002011-05-18T18:36:46.336-04:00I'm just waiting for more statistical analysis...I'm just waiting for more statistical analysis. I use your articles to help my online simulated football game http://deeproute.com <br /><br />And I need new articles to help me balance my game! I could care less about the lockout.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-3690359252687994182011-05-18T16:06:37.474-04:002011-05-18T16:06:37.474-04:00This is the reason why I unplug during the NFL dra...This is the reason why I unplug during the NFL draft. I could spend hours watching videos of players, but still not be able to tell if one player is going to have a better career than the other.<br /><br />It seems that this kind of absorbing news, and assuming the most popular conclusions as your own, is part of how fans are supposed to perform. If you are a fan that watches every game, i.e. more than a "casual" fan, you're "supposed" to "know" about the labor struggle and the draft.Rikkinoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-9101184502701602332011-05-18T15:59:12.873-04:002011-05-18T15:59:12.873-04:00Agree with everything you wrote. I follow the &qu...Agree with everything you wrote. I follow the "news" to the extent that's required for my investment and personal entertainment, and nothing more. This doesn't require watching either the nightly news or reading the paper. In fact it mostly means following blogs of an in-depth nature like you own on a variety of topics.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-18596710810101362422011-05-18T11:56:35.271-04:002011-05-18T11:56:35.271-04:00Thanks for what you had to say here.
The ultimate...Thanks for what you had to say here.<br /><br />The ultimate irony to me in all of this is the growing sense of isolation and disconnect that marks this, the digital era, more than any other era of time.<br /><br />We have instant access to people's thoughts (i.e. Twitter, Facebook status updates, live news, etc.) yet it seems that there is this growing sense on the air of no one really feeling "known." Maybe this is also a reflection of a postmodern worldview in that nothing is truly "knowable". <br /><br />However, I think the biggest issue, more than the noise, is our love of entertainment combined with a fear of true engagement of reality.<br /><br />The reason news is noise is because people WANT that. They want sensationalism,not substance. They want visceral images but not data and (good) statistics. The monster perpetuates because we want it to--further reinforcing the need to "unplug."<br /><br />Regarding engaging reality, most people are so far removed from the actual community around them that this diving into the "fantasy world" that is news further perpetuates the isolation. We know about rising gas costs but how about carpooling to work with our neighbor? We will read about Prince William getting hitched but do not go over and attempt to engage the guy at the office in cube 6, row 7 that is going through a divorce.<br /><br />While disengaging "unreality" is part of the equation, I am more concerned that it is our love of the sensational, of entertainment ultimately, that will lead to a further disassociation within our society from true reality out of the fears that arise, initially at least, from engaging in real community.<br /><br />Again, thanks for your thoughtful words Brian.Michael Schuttkehttp://nfldraftdog.com/nfl-team-columns/atlanta-falcons.htmlnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-38784915099500409642011-05-18T09:26:34.500-04:002011-05-18T09:26:34.500-04:00I agree. They don't want to be sensationalisti...I agree. They don't want to be sensationalistic for its own sake. It's just how they need to compete and it's what people demand. It's the market.<br /><br />But that doesn't mean you need to lap it up.Brian Burkehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12371470711365236987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-22984253913152374142011-05-18T09:07:33.293-04:002011-05-18T09:07:33.293-04:00The people running news organizations aren't s...The people running news organizations aren't stupid, they're businessmen. Their job is to make money.<br /><br />So while I'm sure it's satisfying to blame the "media", you've got it backwards. The suits in charge of Viacom, Disney, Comcast, and NewsCorp don't make the news sensationalistic because they want people to be worried and afraid. They do it because they know that's what sells newspapers and gets TV viewers.<br /><br />When news is presented in a thoughtful and rational manner (think NewsHour on PBS, or The Economist) nobody watches. When it's presented in a hysterical, alarmist manner (anything on Fox News, USA Today), it sells.<br /><br />It's not about scaring people; it's about making money.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38600807.post-19656109737798631572011-05-18T06:58:21.325-04:002011-05-18T06:58:21.325-04:00Should I remove Advanced NFL stats from my RSS fee...Should I remove Advanced NFL stats from my RSS feed? <br /><br />Seriously I think the insane babble makes your type of analysis more meaningful. <br /><br />In a wider sense looking at sabermetric-stylr approaches to sport. If everyone was 100% rational there would be no edge for those of us who disdain the talking heads trying to force meaning on a few events. I guess it depends whether you want to convert everyone to sabermetric/stats based way of viewing and analyszing sport or if you are happy to let the masses believe what they like confident that you are on a better path. Maybe it is analagous to the Christian vs Jewish approach to conversion.Jamesnoreply@blogger.com