Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played And Games Are Won (2011) - Plot & Excerpts
Review carried forward from Facebook wall.I just finished Scorecasting, a short but interesting book that is a must-read for sports fans who love statistics and the truth behind the clichés. It’s kinda the sports equivalent to Freakanomics (also highly recommended), teasing the truth out of numbers. I found the chapters on the marked effects of officials’ human tendencies and the implications of loss aversion (in coaches and their fans) to be particularly eye-opening, and I’m proud to surmise from reading this book that Sean Payton is a more rational coach than most! Want to find out why home field (or ice, or court) is an advantage in EVERY spectator sport? Read this book Sports and stats go together like beer and pizza, so for all the data-driven pop psychology books out there (Freakonomics, Outliers, Predictably Irrational, etc.), AND given the recent prominence of sabermetrics, why hasn't somebody made a Freakonomics for sports?Look no further. This book uses the full force of decades of sports stats to shatter conventional wisdom, from home field advantage to hot hands to the supposed value of a .300 hitter or a first round draft pick. Some of the book is already out of date just 2 years into publication - for instance, there's a chapter on how the football team that wins the coin flip in overtime almost always wins the game because they can just kick a field goal, but last year the NFL changed the rule to require a touchdown on the opening drive - but quibbles aside, it's a fun way to fly your sports geek flag.
What do You think about Scorecasting: The Hidden Influences Behind How Sports Are Played And Games Are Won (2011)?
If you like finance/sports - perfect book. New Yorkerish for sports fans.
—curiousnomad
Some good stuff, but the middle gets a little repetitive
—anya
Booth professor tackles sports - I liked it.
—avril
