The Lakers were blown out at home by the Milwaukee Bucks for the game preceding today's game between the Lakers and Heat. That should definitely help their performance against Miami, as it will refocus them. I'll watch the game today but it should definitely have had a positive effect overall.
We'll see the results shortly.
The other side of the coin is that today the Lakers will give their best effort, and I'm sure the Heat will too. So taking into account home court advantage, it should be a good indicator of where each team is relative to each other.
If the Lakers lose today, thats a bad sign.
The match-ups will be interesting
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Different types of humor
I was thinking about the different types of humor and the ways they are expressed in movies and books and tv shows.
The most common way is the clueless person who is expected to be smart. For example, a person in a position of authority who is actually a doofus, but must be taken seriously by everyone. Kind of like Michael Scott.
Another is when two people are talking about different things, but are assuming they are both talking about the same thing. I remember watching The Ladies Man and a Catholic Nun was talking about the Yalu River in China and he was talking about the Yellow River.
People taking trivial things seriously. This happens a lot, basically actors being too serious for a given situation.
Often times it is a merging of the person watching the joke and his/her expectations with the expectations of the actors or characters in the show. That mismatch can create humor.
Also, in LOTR a big theme is people making a decision about an issue or idea, and trying to act on it, only to find it is a moot point. There are many examples of this. Gandalf dies fighting the balrog, giving up his life to protect it, only to be granted another life by the Gods. Aragorn, after taking Gondor, takes his army on a suicide mission to attack Mordor and draw out their forces, only to have Frodo destroy the ring at the last possible second, saving his life. In Tolkien's book, it is often more important what people decided to do rather than what was actually done, as external forces conspire to change the reality of the situation after characters decide to act, but before they can actually do so.
The most common way is the clueless person who is expected to be smart. For example, a person in a position of authority who is actually a doofus, but must be taken seriously by everyone. Kind of like Michael Scott.
Another is when two people are talking about different things, but are assuming they are both talking about the same thing. I remember watching The Ladies Man and a Catholic Nun was talking about the Yalu River in China and he was talking about the Yellow River.
People taking trivial things seriously. This happens a lot, basically actors being too serious for a given situation.
Often times it is a merging of the person watching the joke and his/her expectations with the expectations of the actors or characters in the show. That mismatch can create humor.
Also, in LOTR a big theme is people making a decision about an issue or idea, and trying to act on it, only to find it is a moot point. There are many examples of this. Gandalf dies fighting the balrog, giving up his life to protect it, only to be granted another life by the Gods. Aragorn, after taking Gondor, takes his army on a suicide mission to attack Mordor and draw out their forces, only to have Frodo destroy the ring at the last possible second, saving his life. In Tolkien's book, it is often more important what people decided to do rather than what was actually done, as external forces conspire to change the reality of the situation after characters decide to act, but before they can actually do so.
Monday, December 20, 2010
NBA topics
What causes a team to quit? When has a team quit? How can one tell when a team has quit? When a professional or college team fails to meet expectations, do they quit? Are our perceptions of the team drawn up afterwards?
Blah blah blah.
This blog is nearly dead. I simply don't have the motivation to write any more.
Blah blah blah.
This blog is nearly dead. I simply don't have the motivation to write any more.
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Lakers vs Kings
The Lakers won by 30 at home in a laugher to stop their four game losing streak. Rah.
I'll try to continue keeping track of losing streaks during the NBA season.
I'll try to continue keeping track of losing streaks during the NBA season.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
NBA Martingale Part II
I was thinking more about the NBA martingale system. Really every team in the NBA will eventually win games. The important part is getting a large enough sample size and controlling the size of the bet made.
What about looking at road trips, say 5 games in length or more. What are the odds of a team winning all five in a row? Could a reverse martingale system be done to bet on a team to lose, i.e. picking the whichever team the subject is playing against? There is probably huge levels of attrition on road trips, in the sense that teams get more and more fatigued with each effort required to win games on the road. What about a bad team on the road? The worst teams in the league have long road trips too. The odds of them sweeping a road trip must be unfathomable.
Now that is a research subject.
I think the main reason I haven't tried to research it more is not a lack of time but a lack of opportunity to bet the games and a small amount of disinterest.
What about looking at road trips, say 5 games in length or more. What are the odds of a team winning all five in a row? Could a reverse martingale system be done to bet on a team to lose, i.e. picking the whichever team the subject is playing against? There is probably huge levels of attrition on road trips, in the sense that teams get more and more fatigued with each effort required to win games on the road. What about a bad team on the road? The worst teams in the league have long road trips too. The odds of them sweeping a road trip must be unfathomable.
Now that is a research subject.
I think the main reason I haven't tried to research it more is not a lack of time but a lack of opportunity to bet the games and a small amount of disinterest.
Lakes versus Kings Dec 3rd
The Lakers have lost four in a row despite being the defending champions. On Friday they play the Kings, at home no less. I'm sure Kobe Bryant is furious about their longest losing streak in years, and they have the same team (minus Bynum) that won the championship last year. Although I'm sure they are tired from busy summers, they are still a good team.
What are the odds the Lakers will win on Friday? I don't know, but I would feel comfortable betting a lot of money on the Lakers to win, at home, against a 4-15 team, to snap a four game losing streak for them.
Situations like this remind me of why an NBA Martingale system based on the one or two best teams in the league could be very profitable.
What are the odds the Lakers will win on Friday? I don't know, but I would feel comfortable betting a lot of money on the Lakers to win, at home, against a 4-15 team, to snap a four game losing streak for them.
Situations like this remind me of why an NBA Martingale system based on the one or two best teams in the league could be very profitable.
Thursday, October 28, 2010
Heat vs Lakers
In analyzing which team would win a seven game match up (NBA Finals) I have to consider the three out of five method. Essentially, which team has better players at more positions?
Center: Bynum/Odom vs Joel Anthony
Advantage Lakers
Power Forward: Gasol vs. Bosh
Advantage Lakers
Shooting Forward: James vs Artest
Advantage Heat
Shooting Guard: Bryant vs. Wade
Undecided
Point Guard: Fisher vs Arroyo
Tie
So the issue is who is better, Wade or Bryant? If it is Wade (and I'm inclined to believe it is) then the match is a push, with possibly the Lakers winning because size beats perimeter players. If Bryant can match Wade for a series, great, but I have serious doubts he could guard Dwayne Wade for a seven game series. Dwayne is really fast and really strong, and Kobe Bryant is coming off a knee surgery and is now in his early thirties.
Center: Bynum/Odom vs Joel Anthony
Advantage Lakers
Power Forward: Gasol vs. Bosh
Advantage Lakers
Shooting Forward: James vs Artest
Advantage Heat
Shooting Guard: Bryant vs. Wade
Undecided
Point Guard: Fisher vs Arroyo
Tie
So the issue is who is better, Wade or Bryant? If it is Wade (and I'm inclined to believe it is) then the match is a push, with possibly the Lakers winning because size beats perimeter players. If Bryant can match Wade for a series, great, but I have serious doubts he could guard Dwayne Wade for a seven game series. Dwayne is really fast and really strong, and Kobe Bryant is coming off a knee surgery and is now in his early thirties.
Monday, October 25, 2010
Brett Favre and the Vikings
The Vikings are currently 2-4 and barring a major turnaround, will miss the playoffs and finish the season with a wimper.
Brett Favre was brought in for $10,000,000 to play this year and has mired himself into a sex scandal with a NY Reporter and is also playing quite poorly. He has tendinitis in his elbow and appears to be missing throws, probably due to the fact that he missed all of training camp and obviously did not stick to his off-season conditioning program, if he even had one.
Its too bad to see, but the guy obviously didn't prepare as much for this season and is also not as focused due to the NFL investigation plus the obvious problems his wife will have with his behavior.
It just seems like there is a lack of focus on behalf of the Favre and a lack of dedication, which is affecting the entire team. Also, based on some of Brad Childress's comments, it appears that there are lots of disagreements between Favre and Childress, with Favre thinking he knows more than Childress and wanting to make the decisions. Overall its not a recipe for success.
Brett Favre was brought in for $10,000,000 to play this year and has mired himself into a sex scandal with a NY Reporter and is also playing quite poorly. He has tendinitis in his elbow and appears to be missing throws, probably due to the fact that he missed all of training camp and obviously did not stick to his off-season conditioning program, if he even had one.
Its too bad to see, but the guy obviously didn't prepare as much for this season and is also not as focused due to the NFL investigation plus the obvious problems his wife will have with his behavior.
It just seems like there is a lack of focus on behalf of the Favre and a lack of dedication, which is affecting the entire team. Also, based on some of Brad Childress's comments, it appears that there are lots of disagreements between Favre and Childress, with Favre thinking he knows more than Childress and wanting to make the decisions. Overall its not a recipe for success.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
TV Timeouts during NFL Games
The NFL showed why it is the premiere sports league in America with the highest value of its franchises: blatantly injecting as much commercialism as the American viewers can handle. With two minutes to go in a blowout game between the Tennessee Titans and the Jacksonville Jaguars, the referees asked the Coach of the Titans to call timeouts simply to show ads to the viewers.
Its depressing. And lame. And shows why NFL teams make so much money.
Now the NFL is addressing concussion concerns and is threatening to suspend players who make violent helmet-to-helmet concerns and is attempting to address the culture of carelessness to physical violence in the NFL. This is all a result of external pressures and none of it comes from any desire to decrease the occurrence of injuries in the most violent sport around by the NFL.
What lessons are to be learned from this ? Perhaps it is best to come up with something intriguing so people want to watch, them sell lots of advertisements to generate revenue.
The other thought I've had is how difficult it is to break into the NFL's monopoly on football. Simply put, no one else could make a league that can really compete with them for violent outdoor sports. The only other option to really consider is soccer, which is also an outdoor sport and caters to the same type of fans.
Its depressing. And lame. And shows why NFL teams make so much money.
Now the NFL is addressing concussion concerns and is threatening to suspend players who make violent helmet-to-helmet concerns and is attempting to address the culture of carelessness to physical violence in the NFL. This is all a result of external pressures and none of it comes from any desire to decrease the occurrence of injuries in the most violent sport around by the NFL.
What lessons are to be learned from this ? Perhaps it is best to come up with something intriguing so people want to watch, them sell lots of advertisements to generate revenue.
The other thought I've had is how difficult it is to break into the NFL's monopoly on football. Simply put, no one else could make a league that can really compete with them for violent outdoor sports. The only other option to really consider is soccer, which is also an outdoor sport and caters to the same type of fans.
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
The T.Ocho Show
I just saw an ad for the T.Ocho show, a sports radio talk show featuring Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco (formerly Chad Johnson). I also noticed that the Cincinnati Bengals have a record of 2-3. Stuff like this never seems to help the team win games.
I also have been thinking about Shaq's attempts at media relevancy like his show "Shaq versus" and his blatant attempts the past few years to hop onto a good team in the hopes of winning an easy championship. Then I read a comment from Doc Rivers about Shaq's terrible freethrow shooting form doesn't bother Doc Rivers and immediately decided the Celtics won't win another championship.
Doc Rivers' coaching style is not one to push and prod youngsters but instead to get maximum effort and concentration out of veterans. Doc is just not going to get any production out of Shaq and Shaq will instead sap the teams concentration and effort throughout the season.
Celtics = done.
Destroyed by Shaq.
I also have been thinking about Shaq's attempts at media relevancy like his show "Shaq versus" and his blatant attempts the past few years to hop onto a good team in the hopes of winning an easy championship. Then I read a comment from Doc Rivers about Shaq's terrible freethrow shooting form doesn't bother Doc Rivers and immediately decided the Celtics won't win another championship.
Doc Rivers' coaching style is not one to push and prod youngsters but instead to get maximum effort and concentration out of veterans. Doc is just not going to get any production out of Shaq and Shaq will instead sap the teams concentration and effort throughout the season.
Celtics = done.
Destroyed by Shaq.
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