Predictive Versus Descriptive Observations

The detailed quantification and numerical dissection of sports started in the US long before it started here in Australia, one result of which has been a modern-day ability to produce statistics so obscure and specific that their half-life is measured in seconds - until the next play, the next pitch, the next batter, the next down, or even just the next statistic. It might well be the case that the Cubs are 7-0 when leading by 3 or more at the Bottom of the 6th when facing a left-handed pitcher at home but what, really, does that tell us about their chances in the current game? Not much, if anything, I'd suggest.

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Who Are The Champions?

Having spent now over seven years applying statistical methods to the analysis and prediction of games of Australian Rules football I've become entirely comfortable - if I was feeling uncharitable I might even say blasé - about treating the outcome of these games as random variables with definable statistical characteristics.
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