The FiveThirtyEight film “The Cowboys and the Indian,” which debuted last week, tells the story of A. Salam Qureishi, who brought computerized player analytics to the Dallas Cowboys in the 1960s. At the time, few other pro sports front offices used advanced statistics to make decisions about player acquisition and game management. By 2001, […]
On Thanksgiving Day 1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association — featuring the world’s first professional football player, William Heffelfinger — beat the Cleveland Athletic Club with a single touchdown, by a score of 4 to 0. Back then, field goals were worth five points — meaning, yes, a field goal was worth more than a touchdown […]
On Thanksgiving Day 1892, the Allegheny Athletic Association — featuring the world’s first professional football player, William Heffelfinger — beat the Cleveland Athletic Club with a single touchdown, by a score of 4 to 0. Back then, field goals were worth five points — meaning, yes, a field goal was worth more than a touchdown […]
A week before Thanksgiving, the NFL’s top teams had plenty to be grateful for. Eleven of the top 13 teams in Week 12’s edition of our Elo ratings won their games, with the lone exceptions either losing to another good team on the road (the Arizona Cardinals, then ranked No. 2, fell to the third-ranked […]
A week before Thanksgiving, the NFL’s top teams had plenty to be grateful for. Eleven of the top 13 teams in Week 12’s edition of our Elo ratings won their games, with the lone exceptions either losing to another good team on the road (the Arizona Cardinals, then ranked No. 2, fell to the third-ranked […]
