By Jonathan Adler
The leadoff question asked HSAC members to proclaim their favorite sports video game. Answers included: Backyard Baseball, Madden 08, Wayne Gretzky’s 3D Hockey, Ken Griffey Jr. Baseball, FIFA Road to the World Cup (which, it was argued, is far superior to the paltry FIFA World Cup), Backyard Soccer, Wave Racer, Tony Hawk Pro Skater, NHL Hockey 95, Snoopy Olympics, Quarterback 99, and NFL Blitz.
Next, the club discussed the Kovash/Levitt Paper on game theory in the NFL and MLB. Led by Jake Fisher, HSAC members debated the validity of the paper’s methods, and focusing on football, questioned how applicable its findings might be for an individual NFL team. While it was agreed that an NFL team’s offensive play-calling may not be random enough – failed pass plays are too often followed by runs, failed runs are too often followed by passes, etc. – the necessary adjustments might not amount to more than a few different play-calls each game.
Snacks: Tommy Hutchison, HSAC’s honorable “Jared Allen, Snack Artist” was absent, and in his place, Jake Fisher performed admirably. The lineup was short, but strong, featuring pretzels and the HSAC favorite, glazed Pop’ems.
The Harvard Sports Analysis Collective meets Wednesdays at 7:30pm in the Owen Room in Winthrop House.
