Wednesday, 29 September 2004

Scoring Football

When watching a baseball game, it is always fun to keep score during thegame. Keeping score in baseball allows you to track every aspect of thegame. When scoring a game you track the pitch counts, hitting, base running,and fielding. It really keeps you into the game when normally you wouldthink the game was dragging. This made me ask a couple of questions. Canyou score any other games? Why aren't these games scored? Why would youwant to score the games?

A number of sports are not conducive to scoring. Any sports that havecontinuous motion are not good for scoring. This inludes games like soccer,hockey, and basketball. Why? The style of the game doesn't give the viewerany time to write down and collect meaningful stats. The only sport thathas enough breaks in the action for this type of data collection isfootball.

So I set forth to start working on a method to score football games andhave come up with the following system.

Divide your scorecard into two columns. The left column is used to show thescore, who has possession, and the game clock. The right column is fordescriptions of the plays, results from the play, and the drive totals.The best way to understand the scoring system is to explain a samplescore card. Below is an example score card from the game between theDallas Cowboys and the Washington Redskins.

------------------------------------------------------15:00 Dallas (7-3)  KO - 10 - 14                    1-10-24 P SL - 83 - 4                    2-6-28  R M - 24 - 4                    3-2-32  IP SR                    4-2-32  K13:34               1-4 | 1-2-4 | 1:26------------------------------------------------------Wash                1-10-26 P ML - 83 - 18                    1-10-44 P MM - 83 - 15                    1-10-42 R M - 26 - (-1)                    2-11-43 Y - Holding                    2-21-47 P SR - 83 - 9                    3-12-44 Y - Int Grounding                    4-22-46 K11:02               1-(-1) | 3-3-42 | 2:32------------------------------------------------------Dallas              1-10-20 R M - 27 - (-1)                    2-11-19 P DL - 88 - 48!!                    1-10-33 P MM - 19 - 24                    1-10-9  P SR - 82 - 9 (TD+1)8:47 (14-3)         1-(-1) | 3-3-81 | 2:25------------------------------------------------------

First off, the line represents a change of possession of the football. Inthe first possession, Dallas is receiving the kickoff with a 7-3 lead. Thekickoff traveled to the 10 yard line and was returned 14 yards to the 24.On 1st and 10 from the 24 Dallas completed a pass(P) short left(SL) tonumber 83 for a gain of 4 yards. On 2nd and 6 number 24 ran(R) up themiddle(M) for a gain of 4 yards. On 3rd and 2, a short pass to the right(SR) was thrown incomplete(IP). On 4th and 2, the Cowboys punted(K).Because of the TV coverage I was unable to get distance and return.The final line tells us that the drive ended at 13:34, the Cowboys ran oncefor 4 yards, was 1 of 2 passing for 4 yards, and had possession for 1:26.

The next drive for Washington started 1st and 10 from the 26.The first playwas a mid-range pass on the left(ML) to number 83 for a gain of 18 yards.The next play was a medium-range pass over the middle(MM) for a gain of 15and another first down. The next play was a run up the middle by 26 for aloss of 1 yard. On 2nd and 11, Washington was assessed a penalty(Y) forholding. The next play was a pass to the short right(SR) for a gain of 9yards. On 3rd and 12, Washington was penalized for intentional grounding.and forced to pun on the final play of the drive. The Washington driveended with 11:02 left on the clock. The drive summary consisted one runningplay for -1 yards and 3-3 passing for 42 yards. It took 2:32.

A couple notes on my notation:

  • Short Passes are less than 10 yards
  • Medium Passe are more than 10 but less than 20 yards
  • Deep Passes are more than 20 yards
  • TD + 1 = Touchdown plus extra point
  • TD - 1 = Touchdown w/missed extra point

This notation is arbitrary, and I would encourage people to play with thissystem and try to find better mechanisms for scoring a football game.

Ok, so it is possible to come up with a method for scoring football games. Whyaren't games scored? I think the main reason football isn't scored is thatthe game is not as boring as baseball. One does not need to keep their headin the game. I also think the game of football offers not only morerelevant action, but more visual confirmation to how the game isprogressing. This makes it easier to get wrapped up into a football game.Baseball, on the other hand, does not provide visual displays of dominance.Thus the need for score card to provide a view of the internals of the gamewhich is better for measuring a teams success.

So why would anyone want to score a football game? That is a good question.I would think reporters would be interested in scoring the game to make iteasier to review and calculate game statistics. The only other reason toscore games would be to understand the internals of the football game. Tosee patterns in the game that are not obvious by watching. Thus it is onlyuseful to students of the game.

Posted by elendil at 11:12 AM in Sports Topics
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Thursday, 23 September 2004

Kerry Trashes Prime Minister Allawi

Shortly after the interim prime minister of Iraq gave thanks to the U.S. forits work in freeing Iraq, Kerry came out and blasted Allawi by sayingthat the premier was painting an unrealistically upbeat picture of thesituation in his homeland.

It is appalling to watch a presidential candidate embarrass the country hehopes to represent. Here in Allawi, we have a man who risks his life daily torebuild his beloved country. He travels here to thank the United Statesfor making it possible for the Iraqi people to run their own government. And Kerry calls him a liar painting an unreal picture of his own country. He has also insulted our allies like Britian, Australia, Poland, and South Korea by calling them the coalition of the bribed and co-erced. I am wondering if Kerry is planning on showing this same class and sensitivity when he "rebuilds" relationships in the world. If so, I am sure we will gain lots of new friends under a Kerry presidency.

Posted by elendil at 9:53 PM in National Politics
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Mitch McConnell Loop Trail

The McConnell Loop trail is located within Jefferson Forest near LouisvilleKentucky. The trail is 5.4 miles in length and takes about 3 hours to hike.It is a hilly trail that goes up and down along a number of ridges insouthern Jefferson county. Fortunately, none of the hills are especiallysteep or overly long making it a moderately difficult but vigorous trail.

The underbrush of the forest is not dense allowing views of the surrounding nature. The views down into the forest from the top of the ridges are the highlights of the hike. Even though the trail follows a number of ridges the trees deny panoramic views of the surrounding countryside.

The only downside of the trail is the intermixing of horse trail with largeportions of the Loop trail. This means you have to dodge horse pies and mud pits during extended portions of the trail.

Overall it is a good hike and one I would give a rating of 2.5 stars.
Posted by elendil at 1:11 PM in Travel
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Value of Talk Radio

Last night, I was watching the O'Reily Factor on Fox News. Normally, I don't watch his show, but he had an interesting segment on the impact of talk radio on the world of politics. The guests acknowledged that talk radio was overwhelmingly conservative and male dominated. They also concluded talk radio was preaching to the choir and had minimal impact on the election cycle holding up Clinton's election as proof.

What they failed to see was what I call the "water cooler" effect of talkradio which I believe is only recently beginning to surface. To understandthe water cooler effect, it is important to understand what service talk radiois performing.

First it is providing relevant news information to those who areconservative. This is news that was not available to conservatives fromtraditional news sources. Stories like the 60 minutes forgeddocuments and the swift boat ads might never have been known without thehelp of talk radio.

More importantly, talk radio provides education in conservative theory.It provides a form a mentoring for those in the conservative movement. Itprovides a foundation that allows us conservatives to go forth and spreadour philosophy intelligently to those around us.

Thus it is the conversations around the water cooler that allow us to winconverts to conservatism. To help others understand the logic thatdominates conservative thought. It is this grass movement effect that isbeginning to sway the people of this country to a more active conservativeposition.

We are seeing the effects of this everywhere
  • Bush is leading the election even though he has been pounded mercilessly by the left and media
  • Democrats hide from the liberal label and try to cast themselves asconservative
  • Republican registration is up over democratic registration in new registration
  • The younger generation which is traditionally left wing is moving closer to a 50-50 split between conservatives and liberals.
These trends do not bold well for the left in this country. And I believetalk radio has been a major force in this gradual demographic shift.
Posted by elendil at 11:04 AM in National Politics
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Thursday, 16 September 2004

Winning the War on Terror

Last Saturday September 11th, I was working out in the morning while watching Fox News. They were showing the the ceremonies remembering the thousands who were slaughtered on the attacks on the twin towers two years ago. The overwhelming sadness of the event brought tears to my eyes as I watched those who lost family members grieve. The more I thought about the tragedy, my moroseness shifted from sorrow to anger. Anger at the Muslim fascists who dared to murder our people. It reaffirmed my belief that we must win this war on terror.

But how can we win this war? How do we stamp out fascists whose only desireis to violently impose there will upon the rest of the Arab world?

After 9/11, Bush invaded Afghanistan to eliminate the main training groundsfor these terrorist organizations. This immediately put the terrorists intoa defensive position that set back there organizational capabilities tremendously. They were quickly flushed out and many were destroyed or captured. Those captured have provided us with a fresh wave of intelligence to help us inour battles.

The next step in the war was the invasion of Iraq. Many Americans today questionthis move. I don't claim to know the actual reasons the president decidedto invade Iraq, but to me it appears the decision was indeed the correctchoice.

Why?

  1. We have begun to see the real motives of the terrorists. They are nolonger attacking Americans. They are attacking there fellow Iraqi citizens.This shows, for those who care to see, that the terrorists are not fighting for Arab freedom, but for dictatorial control of the Arab people. These terroristshave shown their true colors of Muslim fascism.
  2. The media keeps saying that city's like Falluja are "havens" for theterrorists and terrorists are flocking to them. This is good news. What themedia calls a "haven", I call a prison. These terrorists are hold up inthese cities with no where to go, and more importantly they can't killAmericans on US Soil in those dark holes.
  3. Given some help and time, democracy will take hold. We already see it inAfghanistan were 90+ percent of the people are registered to vote in thecoming elections. The naysayers who say it can't happen need only look backto the end of World War II. Both Japan and Germany were recovering fromcontrol from dictators. Both took time to embrace capitalistic democracywhich lead to the stabilization of each countries which today are now leading economic countries.

It is stupid to think that Arab's do not want democracy. The Arab peopleare like anyone else. They yearn for freedom and a chance to betterthemselves and the world around them. We must capitalize on the goodnessof the human spirit and encourage its growth. If we do, the terrorists willhave no place to go and the youth they successfully indoctrinate will nolonger heed there call. They will turn away from the darkness of hatred toface the shining opportunities liberty provides to chase their dreams.

Posted by elendil at 12:58 PM in Political Issues
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Tuesday, 14 September 2004

Rivalry Games Should Not Be at the Start of the Season

Every year we hear the people in sports whine about the games being at the beginning of the season. They complain for all of the wrong reasons. They will say that the loser suffers a set back that is hard to recover. They will say that it puts to much pressure on the preseason. They say that the veteran teams have too much advantage. All of that is poppy-cock.

The reason I don't like rivalry games at the beginning of the year is that they are dominated by the team with the best defense. At the start of every college campaign, the offenses are always struggling to find their stride while the defenses have a much easier time with it. This causes two things. Bad games where the offenses look inept and games where scores are closer which means the better team doesn't necessarily win the game.

I love good defensive battles so you might think I am hypocritcal, but lets take a look at two examples from this year. The first is the Floriday St vs Miami game. The defenses for these teams are spectacular. The offenses never had a chance and that led to a boring game. I would much rather see these stellar defenses match up against offenses that are clicking.

The second game was the University of Louisville vs. Kentucky. This game wasalso dominated by the defenses. U of L's high powered offense looked eniemic against an ok UK defense. If this game were played later in the year, the acrobatics would have been impressive. Also it would have given UK a chance to at least score. As it was they looked like an 0-11 team. Both offenses willlook better as the season goes on, but the game lacked something fundamental..

I like watching good teams play at the end of the year for a couple of reasons

  1. The offense and defense are at the top of thier games and it comesdown to the playmakers
  2. The underdog has something to play for if the season went south
  3. The favorite is scared to death of losing which makes rivalrygames tight
I just think that makes for a better game.

Posted by elendil at 11:00 PM in Sports Topics
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Thursday, 9 September 2004

The Case for Eliminating Muslim Fascists

A couple of weeks ago, I was talking to a friend and trying to persuade her to the need to fight terrorism. I told her that these Muslim terrorists we face are nothing but barbarians who have no respect for life. They would slit her young daughter's throat with knife and laugh about it. My goal was attempting to make her understand how brutal parts of the world still are and that we must respond before it overruns us.

It turns out that my picture I painted came to life when the school in Beslan, Russia was overrun by Muslim terrorists last week. In this small school in Russia, these homicidal extremists captured and tortured innocent children. Then as the children attempted to flee during the final moments of the siege, these homicida terrorists shot these innocent children in the back. The horror that is coming out from the survivors is so cruel and base that it is hard to believe that a human could possibly perform these attrocities. It almost seems like a campfire story told to scare kids into behaving themselves.

Sadly, it is not a tale. It is cold hard truth. We Americans must stand up and face this truth. We need to understand what motivates these people to perform such acts of terror. They are motivated by fear of democracy and liberty. They understand that thier extreme views would be defeated in an open marketplace of ideas brought about by freedom. Instead of competing for the hearts and minds of the world peacefully, they would rather enforce their ideals through force and terror. All of which is done in the name of Arab nationalism and Muslim fundamentalism. We have seen this behaviour before in the 1930's and the 1940's. This is the doctrine of facism.

Realizing the motivation of our enemies, we can begin to understand there pure hatred of the American way. We stand for the ideals that will make inevitably lead to the abolishment of there ideas. Thus in their desperation to hold onto power, they use the only effective tool fascists have, terror. And they will continue to wield it until they are defeated. Once we realize this fundamental truth, it becomes imperative that we stand up and demand the elimination of these purveyours of eveil before innoccent children are brutally murdered here on the soil of the United States. We must, like the World War II generation, fight and sacrafice so that the evil of fascism is erradicated from the world. Only then will peace reign.

Posted by elendil at 2:31 AM in Political Issues
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Wednesday, 8 September 2004

Welcome to My Blog

Welcome to my blog!

This is where I am going to record my thoughts about various topics. My hope is to bring a unique view to the topics around me. I am planning to focus on topics that are important to me such as politics, sports, movies, spirits, outdoors, and other things I come across in my travels through life.

So sit back and enjoy the read.

Posted by elendil at 7:42 PM in Announcements
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