It was an alley-oop party at the Garden last Friday night, and all Celtic fans were invited. The first 18,000 or so witnessed it first hand while the millions of other fans enjoyed it on TV. Watch the clip below as the Celtics picked apart Toronto’s weak interior defense with a cornucopia of alley-oops. Enjoy.
PRESS RELEASE / NEW YORK (Nov. 30, 2010) – Fresh off his fifth straight victory less than two weeks ago, former University of Tennessee standout linebacker turned rising Mixed Martial Arts star Ovince St. Preux will re-enter the cage to face hard-hitting Benji “Razor” Radach this Saturday, December 4, at Scottrade Center in St. Louis, [...]
Five Ounces of Pain
Patrick and I use a lot of advanced stats on this site, and I think there’s a good reason for it. When used properly, advanced stats can often provide a better assessment of what’s happening on the court than traditional stats.
But we don’t always do the best job of explaining advanced stats to those who don’t otherwise understand them. I’d like to do that more often, and today’s a great excuse to talk about team offensive and defensive rating (sometimes called offensive and defensive efficiency).
Offensive rating is designed to replace team points per game, and defensive rating replaces team points allowed per game.
These advanced stats account for possessions alternating no matter what. When a team scores with 21 seconds left on the shot clock, its opponent gets the ball. When a team scores with three seconds left on the shot clock, its opponent gets the ball.
The team that scores quickly will obviously score more points, but is that really beneficial if it’s just giving its opponent more opportunities to score?
On the flip side, a team that takes more time to score will score fewer points, but it also limits its opponents opportunities to score.
That’s why points per game and point per game allowed are inefficient. Those stats depend too much on a team’s pace.
A fast team might have a poor offense and great defense, but it will still rank well in points per game and poorly in points per game allowed. A slow team might have a great offense and poor defense, but it will still rank poorly in points per game and well in points per game allowed.
Offensive and defensive rating fix those problems because they’re based on points per 100 possessions, not points per game.
If a team scores 12 points in 10 possessions, its offensive rating would be 120. Likewise, if a team allows 12 points 10 possessions, its defensive rating would be 120.
It’s a pretty simple stat that ranks offenses and defenses without the noise of pace.
The Pistons are the league’s 28th-slowest team, averaging just 89.5 possessions per 48 minutes. That means their points per game and points per game allowed will be lower than the quality of their play represents.
Assuming those traditional numbers accurately characterizes the team’s offense and defense leads to misguided articles like this: Pistons have to find ways to score more points, by Perry A. Farrell of the Detroit Free Press.
The Pistons rank 24th in the league in points per game (96.6) and 19th in points allowed per game (101.1), so on face value, Farrell’s decision to focus on offensive shortcomings makes sense.
But a more accurate picture shows the Pistons’ offense is ahead of their defense.
Detroit’s offense rating (105.4) ranks 20th, and its defensive rating (110.2) ranks 25th.
The more you know…
As people who spend a lot of time writing about basketball and reading about basketball, Patrick and I can easily get caught up in advanced stats and assume everyone else is on board. If you ever a have a question about a stat we use, ask in the comments, and we’d be happy to explain.
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Cleveland Indians fans have it rough. It’s been more than 60 years since we won a championship, and we’ve made the playoffs only once in the last nine seasons. We’ve seen countless hometown heroes traded away while the team wallowed in mediocrity.
But tomorrow is Thanksgiving, meaning we should try to find something to be grateful for. But why stop at one? Here are 10 things Tribe fans should be thankful for (in no particular order):
1. Shin-Soo Choo’s military exemption. After leading the South Korean baseball team to victory at the Asian Games last week, Choo has officially been relieved of his compulsory service requirement. That means he can stay with the Tribe instead of having to serve in the Korean army for the next two years.
2. Carlos Santana’s bright future. Santana was absolutely phenomenal in the 46 games between his call-up and his knee injury. His power and plate discipline suggest he’ll be a great player for years to come.
3. Talent in the minors. This might sound like a tired cliche by now, but the Indians have a bright future ahead of them with guys like Lonnie Chisenhall, Nick Weglarz, and Drew Pomeranz waiting in the wings.
4. Chris Perez’ dominance. In case you missed Monday’s post, Perez’ 1.71 ERA was the second-best in the league amongst pitchers with at least 50 innings. For the first time in years, we’ve got a closer we can count on.
5. Second-half improvement. For the seventh straight year, the Indians played better after the All-Star (35-49) than they did in the first half (34-54). Still pretty bad, but it’s progress.
6. It could be worse. The Indians didn’t finish last in the division—they ended up two games ahead of the hapless Kansas City Royals. In fact, there wasn’t a single division in baseball where a team with Cleveland’s record would have had sole possession of last place.
7. Progressive Field. The best stadium is one with a winning team, but The Prog is a top-notch facility for playing and watching the game. Most ballparks aren’t as nice as ours.
8. 2007. It feels like we haven’t been to the playoffs in a long time, but 12 teams have been waiting for a postseason berth for even longer.
9. At least we have a team. How many other cities would kill to have a professional baseball team?
10. Wahoo Blues. No matter what happens, we’ve got Tribe news, opinions, and analysis, seasoned heavily with 100% of your daily recommended dose of dry wit. You’re welcome!
EVANSTON, Ill. — Northwestern head coach Kelly Amonte Hiller today announced the Wildcats 2011 women’s lacrosse schedule, which gets underway in February. The challenging 17-game slate features 10 games against teams that qualified for last season’s NCAA tournament, 10 match-ups with teams that finished among the nation’s top-20 in 2010 and a neutral site game at Cowboy Stadium in Dallas, Texas.
“I could not be more excited about the 2011 schedule,” said Amonte Hiller. “We have another young team this season and the challenges presented in this schedule should provide a great opportunity for this team to mature, and do so quickly. Our conference should again prove to be one of the strongest conferences nationally and the combination of our ALC and non-conference opponents gives us an extremely dynamic schedule. Our student-athletes are very excited about this challenge.”
Northwestern will be tested from the opening draw of the year as the Wildcats’ first five games will be on the road against 2010 NCAA tournament qualifiers. NU begins the season with an NCAA first round rematch at rival Notre Dame on Feb. 19 before a trip to the southeast, taking on North Carolina in Chapel Hill in a semifinal rematch and opening up American Lacrosse Conference play at Vanderbilt in Nashville the last weekend in February.
March will open up with what should prove to be a memorable game for Amonte Hiller as her Wildcats will travel to Annapolis, Md., on March 3rd to face Navy, which is coached by Cindy Timchal, Amonte Hiller’s head coach during her playing career at Maryland and the first head coach in Northwestern lacrosse history. Northwestern then wraps up its season-opening five-game road trip at Georgetown March 5th.
So folks, here we are in week thirteen. For most teams this marks the end of the regular season but more importantly it is Rivalry Week. With that in mind we are going full court press for the week. We want to hear what your favorite rivalry is, what rivalry you think should be played this week that isn’t and we’ll try our best to rank this week’s rivalries. As evidenced by my most recent column over at al.com I’ll have to be convinced as to why the Iron Bowl isn’t the best rivalry but I’m sure you folks will try.
If you think Michigan-Ohio State is the best come tell me why. Same goes for Florida-Florida State, Stanford-Cal, OU-Texas and any other game you’d like to put up as the best rivalry in college football.
We’ll also get into why I think college football rivalries are the best in all of sports. This little sentiment got me called a traitor by one of my good friends who swears that UNC-Duke basketball is better than any college football rivalry. Blasphemy I know!
Bring the funny folks and as always, if you can’t make it for the live chat be sure to drop your thoughts into the twitter so that we can add you to the chat.
With just under a month to go till Christmas you probably still have some Christmas shopping left to do. If you are super organised then you may just need the odd thing or if like me you normally leave buying gifts till the last minute you probably need quite a bit more. Today I am here to help with 10 Christmas gifts with a fitness theme. Whether you are buying for a gym junkie or just trying to gently introduce a newbie to the world of fitness, you should be able to find the perfect Christmas fitness gift for them here.
1) FITDECK:- FitDeck is a unique deck of 56 exercise playing cards that can be topped up with 26 card booster decks. The 56 card decks focus on bodyweight exercises such as yoga, pilates and stretching whilst the 26 card booster decks incorporate exercise equipment such as dumbbells and kettlebells. Each card has three fitness levels (beginner, intermediate or advanced) making FitDeck an excellent Christmas gift for couch potatoes who are just starting out or hard core gym goers who want to mix up their workout routine. FitDeck is also really simple to play and can be performed almost anywhere. You just carry the cards with you and then when you get a spare moment shuffle them, pick one out and perform the exercise shown on the card.
2) GYM BAG:- Do you have a friend who always loses their keys, iPod or phone in the gym? Then why not get them a gym bag to keep all their stuff in one place? Not only will it stop them losing their accessories but it will also make going to the gym much more practical as they can put all their gear in one bag.
3) HEART RATE MONITOR:- Heart rate monitors allow people to measure their heart rate at all times whether they are resting or exercising. This makes them a great gift for people of all fitness levels who want a simple way to track the impact of their exercise routine. Heart rate monitors show new starters whether their heart rate is improving as a result of exercise. They are also compatible with most cardiovascular machines in the gym which is a great feature for any gym regulars.
4) KETTLEBELLS:- Kettlebells are cannonball shaped free weights that are similar to dumbbells. However, unlike dumbbells (which focus on specific body part), kettlebells engage multiple muscle groups (particularly the core muscles) at once. This makes them a great way to get a full body workout in a relatively short space of time. Kettlebells are a great fitness gift for someone you are trying to introduce into the world of fitness or a more experienced gym goer who is looking for a new workout to try.
5) PEDOMETER:- Pedometers count the number of steps taken during a specific period and many can also calculate distance covered and calories burned. They are an excellent way for both new starters and regular gym goers to set themselves fitness targets. New starters may want to set themselves a target of 1,000 steps a day whilst health concious individuals may use the pedometer to ensure that they burn at least 500 calories a day.
6) SLENDERTONE SYSTEM-ABS:- Slendertone System-Abs is an electronic abdominal toning belt that uses clinically proven electronic muscle stimulation (EMS) toning technology to exercise the abdominal muscles. Whilst Slendertone System-Abs does not burn fat, it does tone and strengthen the abdominal muscles making it a perfect gift for the fitness enthusiast who just needs that final push to get six pack abs.
7) SKIPPING ROPE:- Skipping is an old school cardiovascular exercise which can burn up to 750 calories an hour. Whilst it may not sound like a great gift, skipping ropes have come a long way since they first hit the market. You can now get skipping ropes which talk to you, skipping ropes which measure the calories burned and more. Plus, skipping is such a simple exercise that anyone can do it, making the skipping rope a perfect present for people of all fitness levels.
STEAMER:- When it comes to Christmas gifts with a fitness theme, exercise is the main focus. However, healthy eating is just as important as regular exercise. Steamers cook foods in a way that maintains most of the nutrients. These nutrients are often lost through other cooking methods such as boiling and frying, making steamers an excellent addition to any kitchen.
9) WEIGHT LIFTING GLOVES:- Weight lifting gloves are a simple but valuable gym accessory. They allow the user to get a proper grip on the weights, reduce pressure on the hand and wrists and stop the weights from rubbing against the hand skin. They are a perfect gift for a regular gym goer who has never got round to buying any gloves.
10) YOGA MAT:- Yoga mats allow individuals to exercise within the comfort of their own home. This exercise does not have to be limited to yoga. Yoga mats offer a high grip, well cushioned surface that lends itself to stretching, press ups, crunches and more. So if you have a friend who complains that they cannot afford a gym membership this could be the perfect gift to get them started.
SUMMARY
Christmas is normally a time when you expect fitness to take a back seat. However, with these fitness themed Christmas gifts you can ensure that you, your family and friends do not completely forget about fitness during the festive period. So have a browse of the gifts below and finish your Christmas shopping today.