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Wednesday, August 30, 2006
For the record
Proposal: $1.2 billion measure funded by a Sacramento County quarter-cent sales tax.If I understand the sequence and strategy right, city leaders came to believe that the original plan to finance and spend about $600 million on an arena was unlikely to pass muster with voters. So in response, they are going to spend another $600 million on "unspecified projects" and make everyone pay. This in order to cross the threshold at the voting booth. This struggle might be worth watching in the next couple of months.
Breakdown of funds: $470 million to $542 million for arena and parking structure; minimum of $594 million for unspecified community projects.
Arena ownership: Public joint powers authority created to build the arena would own the facility, oversee the building's design and construction, and be responsible for cost overruns.
From the Kings' owners: Lump-sum payoff of an outstanding $71 million loan; sign 30-year lease, pay $4 million annually; $20 million repair fund.
Kings' responsibilities: Maloofs would maintain the building and keep proceeds from events, parking and concessions. They would control naming rights for the new facility, which would anchor a planned sports and entertainment district in the downtown railyard.
On the Nov. 7 ballot: Requires approval by 50 percent plus one voter -- a simple majority.
Across the country in Orlando, those who control the out-dated structure that is the Citrus Bowl are trying to devise a fixer-upper plan. Now that UCF has moved its games to an on-campus facility, the Citrus Bowl's football business is limited to three college games per year. Is that worth a $250 million spruce-up? Apparently not. The question now is whether a $195 million plan will fly.
Monday, August 28, 2006
Gresham's Law of Sports Commentary
- "Offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships"
- "You need a strong running game"
- "You have to control the ball"
"Great defense beats great offense -- and vice versa".
Too bad that we can't get the Sean Saliburys of the world to perk up and pay attention to data rather than their own voices.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
The Game is Afoot... Interesting Already!
Just a couple of highlights. Ohio State is first in two rankings, joined by Texas, Oklahoma, USC, Miami, and Notre Dame. Fourteen teams are common to all rankings-- Auburn, California, Florida, Georgia, Louisville, LSU, Miami, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, USC, Virginia Tech, and West Virginia. Tulsa, UCLA, Utah, and Washington State appear only once and on different lists.
In his "Wise Crowds" post below, Brian Goff cites one of his papers where he shows another reason to be interested in pre-season polls. Apparently, where a team started in the pre-season polls influenced where it ended up even after taking into account winning percentage and schedule strength. This is echoed by Russell Adams in the Wall Street Journal today, where he assesses those making pre-season picks (I gleaned this from my subscription to Sportsbusinessnews.com):
"A team ranked sixth, for example, is already closer to getting to play in an elite postseason bowl game than a team ranked 10th. Those rankings are partly determined by polling coaches, who base their decisions primarily on early hype, especially preseason predictions. In that way, perception can easily become reality -- particularly when three or more teams finish the season undefeated but only two can go on to the championship game. ...A team's preseason ranking can also have ramifications for future seasons, because, schools say, a higher ranking can boost everything from alumni donations to ticket sales -- while a lower position could do just the opposite."I'll confer with the players on the final scoring system and we'll see who's buying when the end of the season poll results are in!
Player valuation in college football
Wilner's piece is quite good, providing fairly thorough coverage to what is familiar territory to sports economists - the difference between the value of collegiate stars and their compensation. The debate over who captures the value produced by the Lynches and Vince Youngs, whether athletes should be given a "work-study stipend", and so on. One thing I found particularly refreshing was this statement by a Pac-10 official. Cal is scheduled to appear on television seven times this season, netting them an estimated $3.5 million to $4 million. To which Duane Lindberg, the Pacific-10 Conference assistant commissioner for communications, says: "A lot of (the TV schedule) is based on who the teams have coming back. That's more of an argument for Marshawn, when you have a running back like that." I'll say.
Wilner's valuation is too small, however. His method is clever, based on player salaries' share of NFL revenues, and the share of salaries accruing to top running backs. But Wilner marks down the share of income that would accrue to college athletes in a market system, on the grounds that college coaches get a much bigger share of revenue than their NFL counterparts. But a significant chunk of this difference stems directly from the inability to pay players, and the consequent increase in payments for what I've previously called "player proxies." As Roger Noll points out in the piece, coaches that are top recruiters collect the value of top athletes as a result. Take away the restriction and college coaching salaries would decline, boosting the percentage spent in the hypothesized competitive bidding for talent.
Regardless, Wilner's piece - on may levels - is a good one to share with students in Sports Econ classes this fall.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Cupcakes Anyone?
"When the demand for cupcakes rises, given the supply, their price... anyone? Anyone? Anyone? Their price... their price rises."
Buffalo is just the kind of opponent some of the nation's top-ranked teams are looking for — and are paying rapidly rising prices to play this season. The Bulls will travel this coming season to play Auburn, a national title contender, and Wisconsin, a perennial Big Ten Conference power. Although Buffalo appears destined to be humiliated, the university will receive a $600,000 appearance check for each game.
Scheduling easy victories is a tradition as timeless in college football as fight songs and homecoming. But after the National Collegiate Athletic Association approved the addition of a 12th regular-season game for the coming season, the appearance fees began climbing in a bidding war for games against college football's flotsam and jetsam.
Buffalo became such a hot commodity in the off-season that it broke contracts with West Virginia and Rutgers because Auburn and Wisconsin were offering at least double the money. Troy State of Alabama will receive $750,000 from Nebraska to play in Lincoln this season. Louisiana-Lafayette will get the same amount from Tennessee next year.
It's good to be the cupcake.HT to reader Mark Stratton
Maryland Stadium Authority - the gift that keeps on giving
In a recent editorial, the Baltimore Examiner outlined some more of the Authority's accomplishments.
Last year, its operating expenses outpaced revenue earned from stadiums and convention centers by nearly $7 million. Its overall loss was about $31 million, before government subsidies fixed its budget hole. In 2004, its expenses outpaced its revenues by about $33 million, according to MSA annual reports. Its economic outlook: "The Authority will continue to closely monitor revenues and expenditures to the best of its ability." Notice it did not say, "balance its budget," or even — gasp — make money."
Under its close monitoring regime the MSA spent more than $100,000 on outside counsel in 2005 to prepare a potential lawsuit against Major League Baseball to block the Washington Nationals from coming to the region. The hiring violated state procurement laws, according to officials at the Attorney General's office. Due to cost, state lawyers must first approve hiring outside counsel. This was not the first time it did not follow the rules. A state audit in 2004 found that the MSA improperly awarded $66 million in construction projects, prompting the resignation of the executive director.It loses money, violates the law, and works to protect the monopoly status of a private business.
Maryland has recieved all those good works from an agency created in 1986 with the "mission of returning a professional National Football League (NFL) team to Baltimore and ensuring that our Major League Baseball team, the Orioles, remained in Maryland." Now that's good government!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Wise Crowds
Perhaps the most important behavioralist contribution to economics has been their reminder that the market-model claim of rationality often does not comport with actual human behavior. Economists frequently failed to qualify economic pronouncements as being limited in application to aggregate behavior. Too many assumed that if markets in the aggregate behave rationally, it must be because the "marginal" participant -- the trader who has the correct information about what a price should be -- was himself a perfectly rational maximizer. This better-informed and rational trader would always arbitrage away any discrepancies from efficiency that a market displayed.While some may think that Manne ceded too much ground, Gary Becker said much the same in 1973 ("A New Theory of Consumer Behavior). Most of the propositions in economics, even though theoretically worked up from an idealized individual, explain outcomes a lot better when applied to some group of 30, 50, 100 or more.
But there is a vast difference between economics and psychology, and we can thank the behavioralists for forcing economics back into its correct posture of dealing with aggregate behavior. We can also thank the behavioralists for demonstrating that the marginal trader/arbitrage theory cannot explain all price formation, since we have no way, a priori, of knowing that this hypothetical individual will be rational. Nor can we any longer assume that the arbitrageur (apart from a purchaser of 100% of the securities of a given company) will have all the information necessary to set the correct price.
The upside of this is "wisdom of crowds" or "law of large numbers" kind of insight is that it helps buttress points like Rod made. The flip side for sports economists is that in making application of theories and principles at the individual coach, player, or manager level, we need to recognize that the rational choice approach may be as good or better than any other, but it still leaves a lot of error.
Separately, Rod's bet raises an interesting question as to whether the "wisdom of crowds" works the same with investors who have "skin in the game" as with voters who don't. The voting literature finds a lot of ideological or expressive voting behavior. This might be a subject worth investigating using sports polls. As a stab in this area, in a 1996 Applied Economics article I found that where a team started in the preseason polls influenced where it ended up ("path dependence") even after taking into account winning percentage and schedule strength.
A New Stadium Brings Tourism?
Some local attractions and hotels wonder whether a ticket squeeze at the new, smaller Busch Stadium has discouraged tourists from visiting Cardinal Nation this summer.
Certainly, steep gasoline prices, sweltering heat, severe storms and road construction have tattered St. Louis' welcome mat. But those factors can't entirely explain an 8 percent dip in summer attendance at the St. Louis Zoo, president Jeffrey Bonner said.
Last year, 29 percent of the Zoo's out-of-town visitors attended a Cardinals game; this year, the number has dived to 14 percent.
...High gasoline prices usually boost tourism in St. Louis, said Nancy Milton, a spokeswoman for the St. Louis Convention and Visitors Commission. That's because families in Iowa, Arkansas and other nearby locales decide to stick close to home for vacation rather than fill up the SUV and drive to the Grand Canyon or the nation's capital, she said.
... But don't string up Chris Carpenter just yet. Not all St. Louis attractions are slumping.
The City Museum and St. Louis Science Center are enjoying attendance bumps, though a majority of those institutions' visitors are local. Half of Cahokia Mounds' visitors hail from outside Missouri and Illinois, and its numbers have remained steady.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Clint Dempsey and MLS player development
These players might be considered cheapskates in some sports. But in Major League Soccer, they're more like poor college students who can't afford to pass up a freebie.Now, when you get good, seeing as you've been paid a pittance in the meantime, it would seem that you don't owe MLS that much. But that's not the way MLS is playing it with Clint Dempsey, who is attracting interest from England. Grant Wahl writes:
That's life as part of the Galaxy's developmental roster, where players can make as little as $11,700 per year on an non-guaranteed contract.
Developmental players for Chivas USA and the Galaxy consider their economic situation a serious challenge in the South Bay, where the cost of living is as high as anywhere in the country. Players room with teammates, clubs turn a cold shoulder to league rules to help and athletes still take handouts from relatives to keep alive their dream of being professional soccer players.
And these players have to do it in the South Bay, where so many of their peers are soaking up rays at the beach before hitting the nearby bars at night.
"Food before partying, you know?" said Galaxy defender Kyle Veris, a 23-year-old rookie earning $16,500 after being drafted in the second round. "Girls are another struggle. I have to ask Mom and Dad. I tell them I met a girl and need money to take her out."
No American had a better World Cup than Dempsey, who brought much-needed pace and confidence to the right side of the U.S. midfield starting with the team's 1-1 tie against world champion Italy. Dempsey currently makes only slightly more than $80,000 a year in his deal with MLS, which runs through the end of 2007.Wahl claims that MLS turned down an $1.5m offer from the EPL's Charlton Athletic for Dempsey. Perhaps that's because they expect a better offer from West Ham (see last paragraph), but that story is quite stale.
"Clint Dempsey is a valuable player, and we'd like to renegotiate his agreement and keep him in the league," MLS commissioner Don Garber told me last week. "Unless these clubs offer his real value and don't discount the value he has to MLS, we have no interest."
In Dempsey's case, MLS may be sending out a signal that they will be tough negotiators, and a deal may get done before the Aug. 31 transfer deadline. That's the most likely scenario, however much MLS would like to keep their hands on Dempsey.
The alternative - if Dempsey is indeed worth more than $1.5m to MLS - implies I'm missing something about the value of talent to the league. That's a big gap between the transfer price and Dempsey's $80,000 salary, and Dempsey wants to learn his trade in a top league. Moreover, that's where Dempsey belongs - he's surely more valuable in just about every dimension playing in a better league. If MLS plays hardball with the players in Dempsey's situation, they'll end up creating their own hard core union to deal with once the money starts flowing into US soccer.
Who's Number One?
To create these rankings, we copied down the official rosters for every NFL game played last season, giving each player a separate entry for each game -- about 27,000 in all. We grouped the players by college, and then gave each school points based on the role their alumni played. Starters earned more than substitutes or benchwarmers, and players involved in wins gained extra points. So under our system, Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, who started every game for a team that won 14 of 16, earned 94 points for his alma mater, Tennessee -- while a decent bench player from an average team would earn about half that. We tallied each school's total points to arrive at an "alumni success score" for more than 250 schools from Notre Dame to Northern Arizona.
Walker's top 10:
- Florida State
- Florida
- Georgia
- Tennessee
- Ohio State
- Michigan
- Miami
- Auburn
- Louisiana State
- North Carolina
What can programs do to improve their players' status in the NFL? Walker suggests:
Improving recruiting also helps, but that's partly dependent on the success of alumni in the NFL.
- Hire a coach with NFL experience
- Let NFL scouts come visit your program and welcome them.
- Bring back NFL players who played in your program for a visit.
This reminds me of an argument I heard awhile back on who was the better coach: Tom Osborne of Nebraska or Hayden Fry of the Iowa Hawkeyes. Nebraska was a perennial powerhouse and had 3 National Championships under Osborne. Iowa has a solid program, but had no National Championships under Fry. But because assistant coaches from the Hawkeye program obtained much more success in college coaching ranks than those under Osborne, Fry was considered the better coach.
It's said that you are only as good as those you surround yourself with and it's great when your players have success in the NFL, but you have to give the greatest weight to the on-field performance of the team.
Thursday, August 17, 2006
Football rules changes
It will be interesting to see what this does for the total length of the game. The NCAA portrays these changes as speeding up the game, but somehow I doubt it. Interesting as well will be the effect on the number and placement of commercials for broadcasted games. Will networks have commercials queued for possible challenges? What happens if they are not used?
One very annoying change (announced in Chronicle of Higher Education, subcribers link) is that rather than having the two large college divisions labeled Divisions I-A and I-AA, they will now be named Football Bowl Subdivision and Football Championship Subdivision. All sports are simply D-I outside of football, and this was a way to avoid calling the other programs in I-AA as being somehow lesser programs. But it does tweak those of us who think there should just be a football championship, period.
Universities as baseball teams
Goolsbee prefers the university as baseball team metaphor. Schools are out chasing the research stars, but there are only so many stars to go around.
Trying to make some town into the next Silicon Valley by attracting the best scientists is rather like trying to start a new baseball team and turn it into the New York Yankees. If dozens of sports-mad billionaire team owners can't do that, how easy would it be for the economic development office at the University of Texas, Arlington?Goolsbee also points to research which shows that the students, in addition to the research stars, are highly mobile. There are many ingredients in the economic development cocktail, and just building a better University is not enough. If a state's overall policy mix retards the ability of entrepreneurs to succeed, the stars and their students will ultimately play ball elsewhere.
What is worse, it is a safe bet that as these development incentives become a primary motivation for financing higher education, the competition among universities for stars will start looking much more like today's baseball scene. Ambitious state university systems will find it easier to steal the stars of another team than to develop their own prospects. As a result, salaries will go through the roof - just as in baseball.
And while everyone pays more, only a tiny number of cities will ever win the World Series. One will increasingly hear about how the costs of college are rising everywhere and that local economies have little to show for it.
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Not Exactly Julian Simon and Paul Ehrlich...
"My sense is that no journalist can name every starter on every team. I could be wrong, but that is my sense. And without this information, I am not sure one can even begin to formulate a ranking that has any real meaning."
In the comments, I posted a wager. I'm going to repeat it here because it was the 9th of 11 comments and I was hoping for more than the one taker that responded (thanks, Dennis Coates). The bet is still open:
"If somebody thinks the coaches/media pre-season polls are significantly uninformed, I'd take the following bet just to see the result:
I'll take the USAToday Pre-Season Coaches Poll against your ranking projection. If you guess the final poll-ranking better than the pre-season poll placements, I'll buy you a beer when I'm at the next WEAI meetings in Seattle. If I win, you buy the beer. Must be present to win; I reserve the right to cap the number of bets (I do have a budget constraint, after all).
Scoring device: Number of correct placements plus or minus one place in the rankings; e.g., the USAToday poll puts Oklahoma 5th. If they actually come in 4, 5, or 6, one point for me. Or maybe there is a better scoring device; I'm open to suggestions.
Sound like fun? If I get a couple of takers, I'll put up a post in the main section with a pointer to an Excel file with the USAToday Poll, a completely random scramble of the teams in that poll, and your alternative ranking.
Just send your name, email, and ranking to me: firstname.lastname@example.com."
Monday, August 14, 2006
Instant Replay and Line Calls in Tennis
We have been able to see some of the initial impact of using the new technology in The Rogers Cup, a Canadian tennis tournament.
The sports announcers have repeatedly told us that approximately 30% of all player challenges have been upheld (i.e., the line calls were incorrect). This seems like an inordinately large number of errors by line judges.
- I can readily imagine, as a commenter on my earlier posting noted, that because line judges are not unionized, the results from this new technology will readily be used to assess line judges' skills and abilities. It might even lead to paying some of the better ones more money, either directly or indirectly.
- Alternatively, with this many instances of having line-judge overcalls, I can imagine a different scenario in which the technology becomes fast enough that line judges are eliminated. I wouldn't mind seeing this form of capital-labour substitution.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Bengal Fan Rowdiness
Cincinnati Bengal officials have set up a system that allows fans in attendance to monitor other fans for rowdy behavior.
An Associated Press story detailed the team's plan for the upcoming season to set up a hotline number that fans can call from cell phones during games to report bad behavior, such as excessive profanity, fighting and drunkenness. Video cameras will be focused on the offending fans and security personnel will respond. Fans involved in the behavior will be warned first, then will be subject to ejection, loss of season tickets and even arrest if the behavior continues.
This seems to be an efficient way to monitor the problem. Fans experiencing a negative externality from the obscenity-laced hollering of some drunken dope, obscenities that would make George Carlin blush, now have a way to make the rowdy fan internalize that externality (I'll get your arse kicked out of here, mein betrunkener Freund, if you don't pipe down). The Bengals don't have to hire folks to police the stands, patrolling around like secret police, wondering if the behavior that bothers them bothers those in attendance. All fans have to do is decide if they've had enough and call the appropriate number... and that can be done fairly discreetly.
Moreover, because they can target certain areas of the stadium where trouble is actually occurring, this policy cuts down on the number of video cameras that the Bengals would need to have on hand.
But fan rowdiness isn't the only problem Bengals officials face. Many of the players can't seem to keep from getting thrown in the joint.
Friday, August 11, 2006
A World of Limits Even for Chelsea
... the other issue is as old as football itself; the simple wish to play. There is a dilemma that confronts players at elite clubs; however well remunerated, sitting on the bench is a poor substitute for first-team football. Abramovich can fund the most extravagant of salaries, but not the intangibles; the memories, the sense of belonging and purpose, the thrill of making a decisive contribution. In short, the experience of being a footballer.His point is that the goal of having a squad 2-deep with world class players at every position may not be sustainable. Already, Jarosik, (Carlton) Cole, Duff, Gudjohnson, and Crespo have opted out. Wright-Phillips may soon follow. Gallas was getting plenty of time but seemed to get his fill of something. Even Mourinho has made noises about going with a leaner "regular" squad this season. To be sure, the draw of making a lot of money playing for a team likely to be on top of the EPL and vying for Champion's League title is powerful as seen by the Shevchenko and Ballack signings, but there is a potential tradeoff that figures in over the long run -- loss of playing time.
On a different Chelsea note, Arsenal's 25 million pound price tag for Ashley Cole proved a bit much for even Roman Abramovich. The deal might still happen, but as FSC's Bobby McMahon noted, figures in that range are hard to fathom for a left back, especially when paying such a sum to a direct competitor. With very accomplished strikers like Van Nistelrooy going for 10 million, Arsenal could buy three players of world class quality if Chelsea forked over such a huge fee. As good as Cole is, his incremental impact on Chelsea would seem far below what the impact of 3 very good players for Arsenal might be.
Thursday, August 10, 2006
College sports and future earnings
Here's a short summary of the findings:
Henderson and his co-authors found that a slightly higher percentage of athletes than non-athletes were in higher income brackets. Most athletes in business, the military and manual labor were better off wage-wise than non-athletes working in those fields, but not all athletes enjoyed a premium from sports participation.One field where former athletes earn less is education. A disproportionate share end up teaching in high school, perhaps to maintain their interest in athletic competition. Former athletes earn 8% less in this occupation.
I found the following statement from Henderson interesting:
Although college jocks have a reputation of being poor students, we found that on average, former athletes were making more money than non-athletes six years after college. This may be because athletics enhance existing skills during college or because athletes learn skills on the field that they can apply in their careers.Crank up the NCAA hype machine! But seriously, this is an article worth reading for academics interested in the field.
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
This one's a whopper
Raymond Keating states that Louisville's Metro Council approved its $200m share of the financing on a 23-1 vote. The state of Kentucky is putting up $75m, which leaves $175m to come from ..... the University?
The governor of Kentucky has created a new entity, the Louisville Arena Authority, to develop the project. The pictures of the arena at their web page look fabulous, and for the price, they certainly should. There is also an economic impact study (power point! animated!) available there. It claims that (in effect) moving U of L basketball games from Freedom Hall to the downtown arena will generate $154m in annual economic impact, net of spending transferred by local residents.
Let's do the math. Freedom Hall seats about 19,000. The new arena is designed for 22,000. Suppose both sell out for 30 games. Let the new arena's seats be a significant improvement, so that they sell for $50 each, a $15 premium over tickets at Freedom Hall. The additional seats would thus yield $4.5m of new revenue. The seats "moved" from Freedom Hall would bring in, under these assumptions, an additional $8.55m. So the bread and butter fare at the new arena nets $13.05m in additional ticket sales ($33m if you assume that Freedom Hall is no longer usable). How one gets from there to $154m in annual economic impact takes a mighty big imagination.
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Fan Message Boards and College Program Naughtiness
At 1:30 in the morning on Jan. 30, a fan using the Internet screen name of "aggiegrant06" posted a cryptic message on the popular fan site TexAgs.com entitled "Is it legal???????" In it, he vaguely described how his girlfriend handled payroll checks at a "large dealership where we live" and "didn't recognize several of the names." He went on to say, "The checks were made out to football players of the local university, and even though they had never actually been to work there, they were receiving HUGE!!!! pay checks."I can't blame Jones for erring on the side of caution. Being easy on rumors could well end up opening a Pandora's box, turning the message board into a "I know this dude who knows this girl whose brother's sister's mother knows this guy down the street..." board. Worse, being easy could invite lawsuits.
Unfortunately, aggiegrant's post was met with what can best be described as belligerent skepticism. "Dude, go away," wrote one person. "You and your thread are completely stupid," wrote another. Perturbed by the reaction, he went on to specify that "The School is OU, and the specific player is Bomar." After a few more cynical comments, the post was removed by administrators less than two hours after it originated. "We're pretty conservative when it comes to rumors that show up on the site," said Brandon Jones, owner of Texas Ags.com, who employs 20 volunteer "moderators" to monitor the site's 10,000 daily message-board posts. "Anytime you see an accusation like that show up on a bulletin board it almost seems too good to be true, so the natural reaction is this guy is making this up."
Even so, whistles have been blown before on these message boards. The now infamous Larry Eustachy photos partying with college students after a game in Columbia, Mo. were first published at Tigerboard.
Here is aggiegrant06's restored post.
Chess cheats
So we can add chess to the list of games stained by accusations of cheating. At least there's still golf ... oops, I forgot about Michelle Wie, et al.
Monday, August 07, 2006
Sports Illustrated Notes The Sports Economist
Of course you do, this is Skip Sauer, the man most responsible for The Sports Economist - the very blog you are reading. And the picture comes with the story on The Sports Economist published in Sports Illustrated. As Bill Syken notes in "Number Crunchers"
"One of the beauties of sport is that it can be enjoyed by so many kinds of people, from little girls to grandfathers, from face-painted yahoos to deep thinkers like Skip Sauer and his cohorts. Sauer, 50, is chair of the economics department at Clemson and the brains behind The Sports Economist, a two-year-old blog. On the site Sauer and nine other professors put their decades in academe to use dissecting the sports news of the day. Think of www.thesportseconomist.com as a highbrow version of Around the Horn."
All in all, this was a wonderful article and very nice recognition for this blog and the field of sports economics.
By the way, if the Sports Illustrated article was not enough, the field was also profiled in USA Today's Money section on July 27. In a lengthy profile by Sue Kirchhoff entitled, "Batter up! Sports Economics Hits Field", one can learn much about sports economics. One interesting factoid was that between 100 and 120 professors in the United States teach a sports econ course. It would be interesting to see how much that number has changed in the past ten years and project the popularity of this class into the future. Perhaps Rod Fort, author of one of the two major textbooks in the field and a contributor to The Sports Economist, could comment on that issue. At what point do we expect most colleges and universities to offer sports economics as an elective to its students?
A Simple Test for Those Ranking College Football Teams
Ohio State lost nine starters from its defense last year. Yet, despite these departures, it is believed the players who will take the field this year – many of who must not have played significantly last year -- will lead Ohio State to the National Championship.
A similar story can be told for Texas and USC. Texas finished last season without a loss, defeating the USC Trojans for the National Championship. The quarterback that appeared to play a significant role in that outcome – Vince Young -- is now playing for the Tennessee Titans. Despite the departure of this talent, Texas is considered the second best team in the country. In other words, with Young the team was the best. Without Young, though, only one team is thought to be better.
A similar story can be told for USC. USC was lead on offense by Matt Leinart and Reggie Bush. Leinart, if he ever signs, may play for the Arizona Cardinals this year. Bush is slated to star for the New Orleans Saints. With these players USC lost to Texas last year. Without these players, USC is still expected to be the third best team in the nation.
Given all this, one suspects that the pre-season rankings are, well.... suspect.
Next up is the media, who are also going to rank the teams before any games are played. Before this ranking is posted, though, I propose a simple test for those voting in the Associated Press poll.
If you are voting, please name the eleven starters on offense and defense for each of the Division I college football teams this season.
I am not asking for an evaluation of these player's abilities. Just a name. And you have to know all of them.
Here is my reasoning. If you do not know the abilities of the players who will take the field this year, you cannot project who is going to be good or bad. And you cannot know the abilities if you do not at least know their names.
My sense is that no journalist can name every starter on every team. I could be wrong, but that is my sense. And without this information, I am not sure one can even begin to formulate a ranking that has any real meaning.
Saturday, August 05, 2006
The present and future of MLS
The conundrum: everyone knows that the product on the field has a long way to go. Trecker mentions one policy change which addresses this problem, albeit it in a small way. MLS has departed from the "league as a unit" model by giving teams "vertical development rights" to young players that they identify and sign. Transferring those rights from the league to the teams means scouts from MLS teams will have the same incentives as scouts from teams in the rest of the world to discover talent. That's a step in the right direction.
Here's another sign of latent demand for top-drawer soccer in the U.S.: 7,000 fans showed up at Toyota Park for Chelsea's practice last night. That's almost as many as the 7,710 who showed up for last week's MLS match between the Wizards and the Revolution. Make of the 7,000 what you wish; the 7,710 figure implies that MLS has a lot of work to do.
Friday, August 04, 2006
What's In a Name? The College Football Edition
The word "championship" sounds much better than "bowl." Rather than merely naming the divisions after their postseason formats, could this be an attempt to marginally levitate the mid-major/directional/non big-time/minor/modest programs towards the status of the big schools in the minds of fans? What if the "Bowl Division" goes to a playoff format?The NCAA is doing a little re-labeling, eliminating the Division I-A and I-AA tags that officially separate college football's major and more modest programs.
Acknowledging frustration that the classification often brands an entire university as big-time or non-big-time, the association's Division I Board of Directors moved Thursday to rename the subdivisions. Beginning in December, they'll be known by their respective postseason formats.
What now are I-A programs — the Texases, Notre Dames and others vying for bowls — will play in the Football Bowl Subdivision. The Georgia Southerns, Montanas and others now known as I-AA will play in the NCAA Football Championship Subdivision, alluding to the 16-team playoff that settles its national title.
In any case, the powers that be can call the 1-AA schools whatever they like. Unless the absolute level of competition in D1-AA gets closer to that of D1-A, fan perceptions aren't likely to change, regardless of what titles NCAA officials give the divisions. Until then, a mid-major by any other name... .
Incentive Contracts:
A Form of Co-Insurance
Belfour agreed to a one-year contract with a base salary of $750,000 (all figures U.S.). However, as a player older than 35, Belfour is eligible for individual bonuses under the new collective agreement and was granted bonuses for games played, games dressed and playoff performances that could bring the one-year total to $1.5-million.This contract has been labeled an "incentive-laden" contract by some television sports talking heads. Another way to look at the contract is to see that it is just a form of co-insurance.
... Keenan said once Belfour passed his medical examination by the Panthers team doctors, the contract was nailed down. Belfour had back surgery in April and the Panthers wanted to be assured he was capable of playing a full season.
Belfour is assuming some of the risk that he might not be able to play the entire season. His contract is just like the co-pay clauses we have that say our insurance company pays, say, 80% of a claim and we pay the rest. In this case the Florida Panthers are the employer-insurers, and Belfour is the co-insurer.
The case of the one-eyed ref
While some facts are in dispute, Filson apparently refereed Big 10 football games since 1992, and has been wearing a prosthetic eye since 2000. Professor Rapp notes the following interesting feature of the case:
Filson's "rating" as an official actually improved after his injury. That would seem to undercut the conference's ability to claim that Filson could not be reasonably accommodated. (How, exactly, Filson managed to improve his rating after his injury is an interesting question. Perhaps, sensitive to his potential limitations, he concentrated extra hard on making the right calls after his injury. But if extra concentration could improve his rating, what does that say about his pre-injury level of effort?).As Rapp states, the legal ground for the Big 10 is weakened by Filson's performance improvement. Indeed, he was chosen, presumably on merit, to work an Orange Bowl during his one-eyed period.
But I would take Rapp's observation one step further. Arguably, Filson has been optimally responding to incentives all along. Thus, his performance improvement, while impaired, suggests that the incentive system used in the Big 10 produced ... [can I say this gently? no] ... a group of slacker refs. [Note to Big 10 refs: you are many first downs ahead of your ACC brethren, so please save your venom.]
Systematic review of referee performance is now commonplace in college athletics. These procedures, combined with proper incentives, should improve referee performance, as I argued earlier this week in "Refereekonomics." Arguably, they have. If so, an important but undisclosed fact in the Filson case is his performance rating relative to other referees in the Big 10, as the increased use of review procedures may have induced a league-wide increase in performance.
Thursday, August 03, 2006
He Did It Because He Had To
Based upon an investigation initiated by the University of Oklahoma and facts uncovered by the University, Head Coach Bob Stoops today announced that he has permanently dismissed two members of the Sooner football team.This decision leaves the QB situation at OU muddled, big time. While Bomar led the Sooners to 6 wins in their last 7 games in 2005, his back-ups are imperfect subsitutes at best.
The investigation by OU revealed that two football players received extra compensation above that to which they were entitled related to their employment at a private business. This is a direct violation of NCAA rules. The two accepted payment over an extended period of time in excess of time actually worked.
OU is taking the initiative by declaring them ineligible for the entire current season and by permanently dismissing the two from the team. They will not be allowed to return to the OU team at any time in the future.
Even though Halzle has more to work with at OU, than he did in JUCO he's going to be facing Big 12-level competition. He's going to need to make quick decisions if he doesn't want to visit the turf too often. But coach Stoops didn't act so quickly, harshly, and decisively because it was the "right thing to do." He did it because he had to.
My hunch is that Bob Stoops will move Thompson back to quarterback. Given his experience under center in the program, Stoops almost has to. I remember former OU quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Chuck Long raving about Thompson's makeup a few years back and, quite frankly, I think Thompson could be more helpful under center than being just another good receiver. His career passing numbers aren't great (42-of-73 for 428 yards with four TDs and three INTs), but he has to be considered an option because this officially qualifies as a catastrophic situation in Norman.
Joey Halzle, the JC transfer who was listed at No. 2 on the depth chart, was dreadful in OU's spring game, going 8-for-21 with three picks. He also has no experience in the Big 12. But Halzle won't give up the position easily. Keep in mind this was the guy who had the Oaks Christian QB job when prodigy Jimmy Clausen was a freshman there. At the end of his prep career, Halzle had to share a bit of the spotlight.
His team last season, Golden West CC, was terrible, going 1-9. I chatted with a former NFL quarterback who has seen a lot of Halzle in JC ball. He thinks Halzle moves pretty well and has a good arm but needs to make decisions a lot quicker. Then again, the guy didn't have much to work with -- and that won't be the case at OU.
Another possibility is freshman Sam Bradford, a newcomer to big-time college football.
OU athletics is already in hot water with the NCAA. Earlier this year, the university dodged receiving the dreaded "lack of institutional control" tag in the handling of former basketball coach Kelvin Sampson's basketball program, even though that was the recommendation.
Now comes the Bomar/Quinn fiasco. No doubt the previous escape was influenced by OU's self-imposed penalties on its basketball program. With this fiasco coming on top of the Sampson fiasco, it's quite possible OU might not escape the lack of control tag when the NCAA finishes with its certain investigation.
The university was able to avoid a severe "lack of institutional control" finding that could have resulted in a ban from postseason play. NCAA enforcement staff had recommended such a finding but the infractions committee instead found Oklahoma guilty of a lesser "failure in monitoring" finding.
The Committee on Infractions strayed from the enforcement staff's recommendation, saying "though seriously flawed, a system for monitoring the phone calls did exist."
Referees, biased decisions, & incentives
One paper which estimates a model of referee decisions that is quite interesting but didn't quite fit the theme of the essay is Jason Abrevaya's "Reversal of Fortune." Along with Robert McCulloch, Jason shows that in the NHL, referees have a strong tendency to offset a penalty called on team A by making the next call against team B. Holding numerous relevant factors constant, the probability that the next penalty will be called on team B is 2/3. That's huge, and far from random. To me, this is telling evidence that NHL referees have considerable latitude when blowing the whistle. And given the importance of penalties to goal scoring opportunities in the NHL, referee discretion - to blow or not to blow? - can have a big impact on game outcomes.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Estimating the Error Term
ProTrade analyzed detailed data from each batted ball in every Major League game, including speed off the bat and where it landed. Based on typical results for batted balls over each of the last four years with similar characteristics ...Using this procedure, they compute "lucky" and "unlucky" hits or outs and then recalculate batting averages, ERAs, wins, losses, and other outcomes for players and teams. Sports econ fellow traveler, J.C. Bradbury, garners three paragraphs in the article detailing similar work that he has done. In particular, it mentions his application of these methods to Chipper Jones' seemingly low numbers in 2004 and how they reflected little change in Jones' hitting, just a change in luck.
There are several interesting aspects to this line of research. One is that it indicates that sometimes what we treat as part of a random error term, in fact, grows out of lack of fine-tuned measurements. Dig deeper into measuring things more accurately and the error term shrinks. Ronald Coase might like such a result a lot. Second, there are game-theoretic reactions that complicate the results some. MLB teams do a ton of scouting. When I attend a game, I'm always amazed at how many hard hit balls to the outfield go for outs. To a large extent, the positioning effects are likely randomized over the course of a season. However, the article mentions that the adjustments for "luck" may be influenced where positioning responses are extreme, for example, with a Barry Bonds (or a Willie McCovey in my youth). Last, the applications of these methods are interesting. There is a little addendum to the article listing possible applications and making reference to Malkiel's Random Walk. ProTrade itself hosts a site for buying and selling players.
Eau de ShorteStoppe
Avon Products Inc. has signed Jeter to a deal in which it will create a men's fragrance called Driven, ''reflecting the unique personality of one of the most driven men in America,'' a company news release said.
The fragrance, the first in a line of men's grooming products bearing Jeter's name, will go on sale in November. It is a blend of chilled grapefruit, clean oak moss and spice.
What? You were expecting a blend of warm chew spit, stale beer, and dirty locker room? I just wanna know if it will change my softball glove from a frying pan into a soft piece of leather.


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tried search, factory gauges swapped into idiot light truck
Discussion in 'The Garage' started by bablazer73, Oct 8, 2003.

subset: commoncrawl


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A Big Victory Against Racism in Israel
The holiday of Hanukkah begins this Wednesday night. In Israel, interactive billboards in Jerusalem light up hanukkiyot, adding another candle every night of the holiday. The marketplace smells of sufganiyot, doughnuts filled with jelly, and children gather to spin dreidels and eat chocolate gelt. Also, this week the Israel Religious Action Center, against all odds, won a case in the Supreme Court fighting the incitement of racism in Israel.
IRAC has been monitoring racist incitement in Israel for over a decade. When we saw the racist contents of the book The King's Torah, we knew we had to take action. The book cites Jewish texts to allow the killing of gentiles (non-Jewish (people) - men, women, and children - whenever their presence endangers Jewish life, "even if the person is a Righteous Gentile and bears no guilt for the situation that has emerged" (page 164). It was endorsed by four well-known rabbis, including Dov Lior, who is employed by the state of Israel. We asked the Attorney General to stop the publication, but as we have seen in the past regarding decisions against racist incitement by rabbis, the process took a long time and did not conclude in our favor.
Discontent with the outcome, we took our fight to the Supreme Court. On the eve of the decision, after more than three years of arguing this case, we were worried that conservative Chief Justice Asher Grunis would throw our case out of court - and yet, the dreidel spun in our favor. The state now has two months to either provide better reasoning for why they are not prosecuting the authors, or to take disciplinary action against the state-employed rabbis who were involved with this book.
Rabbis who would use Jewish text to justify hate should be challenged at every turn. In order to truly realize the message of Hanukkah and to be an or l'goyim, light unto other nations, we must continue to fight institutionalized racism in the name of all minorities that have no place else to turn. This Hanukkah, join me in celebrating the little bit of light that can shine through a lot of darkness.
Published: 11/25/2013


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Bob Anderson, a British Olympic fencer who fought as Darth Vader in two Star Wars movies as part of a long career as a movie sword master and fight director, died January 1 in England. He was 89. The British Academy of Fencing said Anderson first worked in movies staging fights for the 1952 Errol Flynn pic The Master Of Ballantrae. He went on to choreograph scenes in such high-profile films as the James Bond movies From Russia With Love and Die Another Die, The Legend Of Zorro, the Lord Of The Rings trilogy and those great showdowns in The Princess Bride. He was outed by Mark Hamill in the early 1980s as the man who performed the key Darth Vader light saber scenes in The Empire Strikes Back and Return Of The Jedi — not actor David Prouse, who at 6-foot-6 was far taller than Anderson, who was around 60 years old at the time.
R.I.P. Bob Anderson
7 Comments
Bob was an amazing guy, and had the best job in the world. He was a master swordsman and choreographer, and Hollywood legend. He will be missed.
Although I have seen the film dozens of times —– missed the sword fight in FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE, apparently.
Ramirez! Bob doubled Sean Connery for those awesome sequences in the original HIGHLANDER in 1985. The man was a legend.
Mirroring the other comments – Bob was a gentleman and quite a guy. Not to mention, a great swordsman. Say hi to Mr. Flynn and Mr. Rathbone in your next journey, Bob.
Bob is one-of-a-kind. We'll not see his like again. He was a Royal marine that, as he told the story, had two ships shot out from underneath him. He married once and stayed married. He was a devoted father who loved his children more than himself. Whoever knew him was better for it. He was my friend and, even at 89, died too young.
Great words, Mr. Brown…
He will be greatly missed. His ability was more than just "good for the camera" it was truly artistic what he did. Some of our favorite films would never had been the same without him.


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Final Examination (2003)
The low-budget fright-fest Final Examination (2003) follows a group of sorority girls to their five-year reunion in Hawaii, where, over the course of a magazine photo shoot, a mysterious killer begins picking them off one by one. Director Fred Olen Ray may well be the most prolific B-movie director since Roger Corman, starting with Honey Britches in 1971 and continuing with films like Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers (1988) and Curse of the Erotic Tiki (2004). There's plenty of nudity to be seen...Join Mr. Skin for the full review >>


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The Holstervault
I do not know what nincompoop came up with this idea, but it makes about as much sense to me as a screendoor on a submarine. Here's some advice TSA......If you are going to institute a new policy (guns in cockpits) concerning something you know nothing about (gun safety).......Take a look around you and see what has worked for years for other people. Do you see police officers using this holster and policy? Do you see soldiers using it? Shooting competitors? Do you see anyone using it? You do not need to reinvent the wheel guys. Just do what works for others. Your better idea.......Ain't!
Of course you might want to glue feathers all over your aircraft. After all, birds use less gas, so you can probably save a lot of money........I know! How about Llamas as stewardesses! Caterpillar tracks instead of landing gear! Now there's an idea!
"The design of the holsters that armed commercial pilots use to stow their weapons increases the likelihood of accidental discharge, the inspector general for the Department of Homeland Security has concluded.More.
The investigators recommended that the Transportation Security Administration discontinue the use of the locking holster and consider other ways for armed pilots known as Federal Flight Deck Officers to secure their weapons.
"We examined the holster and observed that its design renders the weapon vulnerable to accidental discharges if improperly handled," the Office of Inspector General said as part of a broader report that it submits to Congress twice a year."
Labels: Gun Safety


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Doesn't cramp your style. Or your friends.
Half the doors. Twice the fun.
Best. Civic. Ever.
All new. All fast.
Packs more punch. And more stuff.
All dressed up with everywhere to go.
Two Doors. Endless fun.
Be good. Look good.
Bring it all while doing it all.
The new face of versatility.
A family room on wheels.
The Odyssey of minivans.
Truck smarter.


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There is a nice feeling of personality and authenticity when you enter a mom-and-pop business. The store almost feels organic, as it is true to its self and its customers. Liana Garcia stands true to her store's culture when it comes to creating outfits. Mixing and matching short overalls, with a floral kimono and some dotted Jeffrey Campbell shoes, this Fashionista makes sure to be one of a kind.
Name: Liana Garcia
Role: Student at Kean University, Manager at Nirvana
CollegeFashionista: I love the mojo you have going on with your outfit. How would you describe your personal style?
Liana Garcia: I would probably say it's like an edgy bohemian style. I'm into all things Indian, printed harem pants and especially mixing things that you wouldn't usually think go together.
CF: Where do you get the inspiration to put together such fashionable outfits?
LG: I get most of my outfit inspiration from fashion blogs, such as We Wore What or Man Repeller. I also look up to Nichole Richie and the Olsen twins, the three are such fashion gods.
CF: What trends are you most excited to rock this summer?
LG: I know this may sound really weird, but I am really into Birkenstock sandals. I feel like they are such casual hippie shoes that match with anything (or perfectly mismatch) and are super comfortable.
CF: What is your favorite accessory?
LG: I am in love with my new Catbird rings. They're so simple, yet unique. You can stack them in different ways. Or move them around to fit in different spots. The best ones are my personalized ones. One of my rings has my initials and the other one has my boyfriend's name.
CF: What is your favorite part of your role as Manager at Nirvana Boutique?
LG: My favorite part has got to be the immense amount of creative freedom I have with the store. I can dress the mannequins however I want or re-arrange the store so it looks it's absolute best. Recently I have also had some influence in what is being bought for the store. I know not all my customers want to dress like me, but I think I am good at reading other people and choosing clothes, even if its something I wouldn't wear.
Learn More: If you're as obsessed with Liana's style as I am check out her creativity at work at Nirvana Boutique, located at 218 E Broad St, Westfield, New Jersey 07090.


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Baby Carrots with Dill, Butter, and Lemon
Toss whole baby carrots with fresh dill, fresh chives, lemon, and butter for an incredible vegetable side dish that makes the most of this nutrient-rich vegetable.
- Prep Time: Cook Time:
- Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1/2 cup)
- 2 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
- 2 pounds baby carrots, peeled and tops trimmed to 1 inch
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill
- 1 tablespoon chopped fresh chives
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon rind
- 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Place broth in a large pot. Arrange carrots in a metal steamer insert or bamboo steamer; place in pot. Cover; bring broth to a boil. Steam carrots for 10 minutes or just until crisp-tender. Transfer carrots to a large bowl. Add remaining ingredients; toss well. Serve immediately.
Nutrition Information
- Calories per serving: 82
- Fat per serving: 3g
- Saturated fat per serving: 1g
- Monounsaturated fat per serving: 1g
- Polyunsaturated fat per serving: 0.0g
- Protein per serving: 2g
- Carbohydrate per serving: 13g
- Fiber per serving: 3g
- Cholesterol per serving: 6mg
- Iron per serving: 1mg
- Sodium per serving: 341mg
- Calcium per serving: 57mg


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Last night, MTV closed out an enormously successful first season of Catfish with its first reunion show lead by host SuChin Pak and including Catfish investigators Nev Schulman and Max Joseph. The reunion saw many of the show's "couples" come back together to check-in on where they're at in their respective relationships, but many were also left out.
The first episode's subjects, Sunny and Chelsea, were incredibly tense during the reunion. Though Chelsea, the "catfish-er," seemed more comfortable in her own skin, Sunny seemed distant and still angry over the embarrassment. Another tense couple were Jasmine and Mhissy, with both admitting that they had no intention of resolving their issues.
Joe was catfished by his friend Rose, who pretended to be a former Miss USA and model. The two were still estranged, and their reunion proved that Joe was still very angry with her.
Matt and Kim remained friends, and though they are both in other relationships, they talk almost daily. Additionally, Matt announced that he has dropped 200 pounds since filming. His weight was one of the reasons he avoided meeting up with Kim throughout their 10-year relationship.
Also still friends are Trina and Lee, with Trina announcing that she will soon be starring in her own reality TV series.
Checking in by Skype were James and Rico, as well as Jarrod and Melissa. Both couples are not romantically involved, but they remain very close friends who talk regularly. Jarrod even noted that the show has gotten his band more gigs.
Absent from the Catfish reunion were Kya and Dani, Rod and Ebony, and Mike and Felicia. These three proved to be some of the most interesting couples on the show, but since they didn't appear, how are we supposed to know what happened to them?
According to MTV's Catfish page (which includes bonus content from the show), Kya and Dani are no longer together, but Dani is still undergoing hormone treatments and is in another long-distance relationship. Ebony pretended to be a transgender female during her relationship with Rod, but when they met, both sides had a handful of confessions for each other. Rod is reconnecting with an old girlfriend, while Ebony is open to dating men or women. They remain friends.
The Catfish finale told the story of "Jersey" Mike and Felicia. Coming off of a bad breakup, Mike wanted to be sure that Felicia is who she said she is before jumping into a relationship with her. Felicia looked like her pictures, but several details about her life were false. At the end of the show, the two ended up in a relationship, but since taping ended, Mike went back to his ex-girlfriend. However, Mike and Felicia remain friends.
Did you watch the Catfish reunion? Are you a fan of the show? You can watch the full reunion below:
Catfish: The TV Show
Get More:
Catfish: The TV Show, Full Episodes


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Increases in the prices of basic food products could spark "social tension" in developing countries, the head of the UN Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Director-General Jacques Diouf said in an interview published Friday, in the FT and quoted by the business inquirer.
Get with it Jaques, there have already been food riots in Mexico and Yemen.
He added: food prices would likely continue to increase because of a variety of factors: rising demand from developing countries; rising populations around the world; frequent floods and droughts; and increasing demand for grains from the biofuel industry


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HPD has 438 sworn officers
There are 438 sworn officers in the Hawaii Police Department, according to Marshall Kanehailua, assistant chief of the department's Administrative Bureau. In a story in Thursday's West Hawaii Today, Kanehailua gave a different number.
It is the policy of West Hawaii Today to correct promptly any incorrect or misleading information when it is brought to the attention of the newspaper.


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Feature Article
Learning Spanish via the Internet
Madison City Schools, Madison, Alabama
Mrs. Debbie Moore
According to Mrs. Sally Bruer, Principal of Liberty Middle School, Spanish classes would not be available to the students at Discovery Middle School without the distance learning technology made available through Erate and the Toyota Distance Learning Program. A certified teacher was not available to teach the classes when school opened. Therefore, in the spirit of cooperation, Mrs. Bruer and Mrs. Sharon Willis, Principal of Discovery Middle School, approached Mrs. Debbie Moore, the newly hired Spanish teacher for Liberty Middle School. They discussed ways to take advantage of the technology available at both schools and ways to provide Spanish classes to both sets of students via the Internet. Mrs. Bruer found Mrs. Moore eager to participate and ready for the challenge.
Potential Obstacles to Implementing Distance Learning Classes
|Mrs. Bruer indicated that potential obstacles to implementing distance learning classes via the Internet were 1) teacher familiarity with video conferencing lab equipment and use, 2) transporting six classes of students (250+ students) from the classroom to labs and/or access to the video conference labs on a daily basis in a timely manner, 3) cooperation & compromise between the schools/sites, since bell & class schedules were not the same, 4) face time with both sets of students, 5) preparation of materials that utilize distance learning capabilities and classroom management, 6) maintaining STI records for two sets of students, and 7) administration, parental, and student agreement to class participation rules and regulations. When asked what the biggest obstacle was to implementing a successful distance learning class, Mrs. Moore said "…basically, it is adjusting to dealing with two classrooms and making sure that each class is getting the attention that it needs in order to succeed in the foreign language."
Familiarity with the Distance Learning Environment
Although unknown to Mrs. Bruer when she first approached Mrs. Moore about teaching the classes, Mrs. Moore, while a student at Auburn University, had the opportunity to work for a professor who used distancelearning equipment in her class. Mrs. Moore said that having been introduced to the equipment before coming to Madison City Schools was definitely a blessing and very helpful. Being familiar with the equipment, Mrs. Moore was comfortable having the distance learning equipment moved to the Spanish classrooms, which had Internet access at each site, so there was no need to transport students to a lab, saving valuable instructional time.
The Spirit of Cooperation
Mrs. Willis offered to adjust the bell schedules at Discovery to match Liberty's bell schedule, since Liberty was providing the teacher. This in turn added to the length of the Liberty school day in order to accommodate the courses offered on a block schedule. Since the two schools are only a few miles apart, Mrs. Moore spends three days a week at Liberty and two days a week at Discovery, allowing each set of students some real face time. An aide currently manages the room at the remote site. Prior to implementing the distance learning classes, Mrs. Bruer met with parents and students to explain the class, the proposed instructional method, and the rules and regulations. Parents and students were required to sign a form agreeing to zero tolerance for disruptive behavior at each site.
Preparing to Teach Distance Learning Classes
Preparation of instructional class materials for the successful utilization of distance learning capabilities is essential. Mrs. Moore has emphasized the importance of having functional visuals for just about all aspects of the class. She cited "For example, it is important for me to have 'overheads' for the document camera that are large enough to be seen at the other school on the TV screen." Mrs. Moore has had to adapt "little things" such as homework procedures, testing procedures, and seating arrangements to keep students within the view of the cameras and monitors. Since it is not practical to collect homework everyday for 250+ students, she collects all homework for a specified time frame on test day. When students take a test, they know to look at the current homework sheet and turn in all homework assignments for that time frame. This homework sheet is posted at both schools so students have full access to the information. When Mrs. Moore grades the homework, she selects activities to be graded for completeness and others to be graded for accuracy. Students do not know which ones will be graded, and consequently, they are accountable for all assignments.
Mrs. Moore has also had to adjust to the fact that due to the current audio system, she has to be stationary behind the workstation. Therefore, in order to deal with classroom management, she must mute the microphone, change the screen to the document camera where an assignment is posted, and then promptly deal with the current situation.
Mrs. Bruer and Mrs. Moore have agreed to allow Liberty Middle School's distance learning activities to be featured throughout the school year. Updates will be provided on how the course develops i.e. success stories and lessons learned, in order to assist other teachers that want to take advantage of distance learning technological opportunities available in their schools.
For more information about this article email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Nuts & Bolts - If you're interested in starting a similar project in your school, click here for more information on how to create it!
E-Rate Success Stories & Testimonials
from Alabama School Systems
Testimonials below are in pdf format.Alabama School of Math & Science
Albertville City
Alexander City
Andalusia City
Baldwin County
Butler County
Cherokee County
Chilton County
Clarke County
Clay County
Cleburne County
Crenshaw County
Dale County
Dallas County
Elba City
Elmore County
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Gadsden City
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Hartselle City
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Huntsville City
Lanett City
Lawrence County
Lowndes County
Macon County
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Mobile County
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Morgan County
Muscle Shoals City
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Pell City
Piedmont City
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Scottsboro City
Selma City
St. Clair County
Sumter County
Tallapoosa County
Tarrant City
Thomasville City
Tuscaloosa City
Tuscaloosa County
Wilcox County
Winston County


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Fractures in children: Core info leaflet How to identify fractures that may be the result of child abuse
This leaflet summarises what is currently known about fractures in children and when to be concerned that a child may have been physically abused.
We've produced this leaflet to assist all professionals who work with children. The information will be of particular interest to paediatricians, general practitioners, radiologists, accident and emergency doctors, orthopaedic surgeons, social workers, police and legal practitioners.
Author: NSPCC and Cardiff University
Published: 2012
Core info series
The Core info leaflet series is based on a collaborative project by the NSPCC and Cardiff Child Protection Systematic Review Group at the Early Years research section of the Cochrane Institute of Primary Care and Public Health, Department of Child Health, School of Medicine, Cardiff University.
The Cardiff Child Protection Systematic Review Group are engaged in a rolling programme of systematic reviews of published research literature on aspects of physical child abuse and neglect.
The full systematic review findings including research questions and methodologies as well as information about all of the reviews and annual updates being under taken can be found on the Core info website.
Copies available for purchase
Buy 'Core info: fractures in children' from our online shop.
For more information about NSPCC publications contact us on 0808 800 5000 or email@example.com
Other publications and resources
Neglect or emotional abuse in children aged 5-14: Core info leaflet
Bruises on children: Core info leaflet
Emotional neglect and emotional abuse in pre-school children: Core info leaflet
Head and spinal injuries in children: Core info leaflet
Oral injuries and bites on children: Core info leaflet
Thermal injuries on children: Core info leaflet
Leaflets and posters
Our Current Awareness Service for Practice, Policy And Research delivers free weekly email alerts to keep you up-to-date with all the latest safeguarding and child protection news.
Information Service
Our free service for people who work with children can help you find the latest policy, practice, research and news on child protection and related subjects.
For more information, call us or email firstname.lastname@example.com.
Follow @NSPCCpro
Follow us on Twitter and keep up-to-date with all the latest news in child protection.
Library catalogue
We hold the UK's largest collection of child protection resources and the only UK database specialising in published material on child protection, child abuse and child neglect.
New in the Library
A free weekly email listing all of the new child protection publications added to our library collection.
Helping you keep children safe
Read our guide for professionals on what we do and the ways we can work with you to protect children and prevent abuse and neglect.
Impact and evidence hub
Find out how we evaluate and research the impact we're making in protecting children, get tips and tools for researchers and access resources.
Get expert training and consultancy
Sharing knowledge to keep children safe
Read our guide to the NSPCC Knowledge and Information Service to find out how we can help you with child protection queries, support your research, and help you learn and develop.


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Operator: Good day, ladies and gentlemen. Thank you for standing by. Welcome to the Emerson's Investor Conference Call. During today's presentation by Emerson management, all parties will be in a listen-only mode. Following the presentation, the conference will be open for questions.
This conference is being recorded today, today August 6, 2013. Emerson's commentary and responses to your questions may contain forward-looking statements, including the Company's outlook for the remainder of the year. Information on factors that could cause actual results to vary materially from those discussed today is available at Emerson's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed with the SEC.
I would now like to turn the conference over to our host Patrick Fitzgerald, Director of Investor Relations at Emerson. Please go ahead, sir.
Patrick Fitzgerald - Assistant Treasurer and Director of IR: Thank you, Camil. I am joined today by David Farr, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Emerson; and Frank Dellaquila, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.
Today's call will summarize Emerson's third quarter 2013 results. A conference call slide presentation will accompany my comments and is available on Emerson's website at emerson.com. A replay of this conference call and slide presentation will be available on the website after the call for the next three months.
I'll start with the highlights of the quarter as shown on Page 2 of the conference call slide presentation. Third quarter sales declined modestly to $6.3 billion, with underlying sales decreasing 1%. While these macroeconomic conditions continued through the quarter, with cautious levels of business investment globally.
Sales growth was also affected by difficult comparisons from the Thailand flooding recovery in the prior year.
Emerging markets grew 2%, which was more than offset by mature market weakness. We announced this morning that an agreement has been signed to sell 51% stake in the embedded computing and power business to Platinum Equity.
The transaction immediately monetizes the business and shifts focus to our core businesses. Transaction proceeds of approximately $300 million and repatriated cash will be deployed for incremental share repurchase of $600 million.
Charges related to the business were recognized in the quarter totaling $0.70 of EPS. Excluding these charges, earnings per share were $0.97. Strong cash generation continued with free cash flow up 20%.
Moving to Slide 3, P&L summary. Having mentioned the slow macroeconomic environment limited growth, gross profit margin was flat as cost containment offset unfavorable product mix and volume deleverage. Operating profit margin declined due to higher stock compensation and pension expense, as well as abnormally high leverage in the prior year from the flooding recovery.
Goodwill impairment was recognized in embedded computing and power business, and other deductions increased $37 million non-recurring dumping duty gain in the prior year. EBIT decreased sharply due to these items, leading to reported earnings per share of $0.27 and $0.97, excluding the goodwill impairment of $0.65 and income tax charges of $0.05 related to earnings repatriation.


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Carroll volleyball tops Kapaun, moves into tie atop City League standings
When Bishop Carroll junior libero Kelsey Schippers dives for a volleyball, digs up a powerful hit, it's all about trying to help the Eagles win — and avoid having to look at assistant coach Scott Larkin if she doesn't make the play.
"Scott Larkin is one of our new assistant coaches, and I get scared if I don't go after a ball," Schippers said with a laugh. "The look he gives you — you go after every single ball."
Schippers, who moved to libero after being a setter her whole career, was a force in the back row for Carroll as the Eagles beat Kapaun 25-20, 21-25, 25-22 Thursday night at West.
Carroll also beat West 25-7, 25-11, while Kapaun beat West 25-1, 25-11.
Carroll and Kapaun both have one loss in the City League and have two matches remaining. Kapaun, which is ranked second in Class 5A, lost one time previously, to top-ranked, defending champion St. James.
"It's the biggest win," said Carroll junior hitter Taylor Bevis, who had 12 kills and a stuff block against Kapaun. "It's our City League win. It's everything that we've been working for, and now that we have that under our belt, it makes us that more motivated (going into the postseason)."
While Carroll also had strong offensive showings from Haley Northcutt (six kills), Jessi Haffner (six kills) and Lyndsey Becker (seven kills, four stuff blocks), the defensive play from the back row players was vital.
Carroll rarely let a ball drop. Kapaun's top two hitters, Sydney Kuhn and Audrey Grant, had a combined 26 kills, including 17 by Kuhn, but the Crusaders only had six other kills in the match.
"They were amazing tonight," Haffner said of the Eagles' defensive players. "We outpassed Kapaun, and that was what really helped us out. The momentum you get from passing is unreal. When you have Kelsey back there digging balls, it's a huge uplift for the setter and the hitter and it gives you that much more energy.
"When Sydney (Kuhn) goes up and you're like 'here it comes, here it comes,' then you see it and Kelsey digs it up, it's like whoa, and you get excited."
There were times through the course of the match that Carroll dug a hit, surprising Kapaun.
"Those points where they're out of system and they're not ready for the ball to come back, they don't get a good approach, they don't get a good kill," Bevis said. "We then get it back, and we do what we know how to do."
And while Carroll's defense shined, Kapaun's passing on serve-receive and hits was shaky, which also affected the offense. The Crusaders have a potent offense, one of the best in the state, but it didn't have any flow or rhythm.
Yet Kapaun came back from losing the first set to win the second. Trailing 16-15, Kapaun scored 10 of the set's final 15 points, getting kills from Kuhn, Grant and Gabby Torline.
Carroll took a 5-0 lead in the third set, forcing a Kapaun timeout. The break worked and Kapaun got right back into the match with two kills by Kuhn, one from Makenna Johnson.
The score was tight thereafter. Even when Carroll took a 20-16 lead after a Jessica Hageman kill, Kapaun scored four straight to tie it at 20-all.
But Carroll scored five of the final seven points and Haffner, who played sparingly because of a severely bruised rib at the McPherson tournament on Oct. 12, ended the match with a kill.
"We had finished second three years in a row, so this is nice for them," Carroll coach Rita Mernagh said. "We knew Kapaun would be an amazing team this year, but this rivalry, it can cause problems for anybody."