What the MLS Needs to Do

                With the MLS struggling to have its popularity reach the levels of the NBA, MLB, NFL or even NHL. It cannot be argued though, that the MLS hasn’t found a nice niche in the middle of the American sports scene. The MLS has die hard fans that show up to almost every game just as any other sport does, but it lacks the attendance of the so called casual fan. In the past, the MLS would have tried to tinker with the rules of soccer in ways such as having  the clock run down, altering the number of substitutions allowed in a game, or going through many ways of resolving tie. For the MLS to become immensely popular in the United States it needs to change a few simple things and most of them revolve around one thing; a mass influx of money into the league.

                The MLS has depended on the college and high school American players as long as Southern and Central American players to fill rosters since their inception which works well but they could improve that talent pool as well as expanding their roster bases. By pouring money into the youth development process in the United States players will be able to get better coaching as well as have more time to develop their skills. Most teams already have U23 teams and have academy set up but they need to adjust how they are run. The MLS draft should become the main way for players to enter the MLS, no more homegrown talent contracts. A team can enter anyone in the CONCACAF soccer region that is at least 16 years of age and once selected a player can choose between not signing, signing an amateur contract, or signing a professional contract. Teams will possess the rights of any player that doesn’t sign until that player becomes 23 or until they sign with a professional club outside of the United States. Players that sign amateur contract will still be able to play high school and college soccer but over the summer they will play for the MLS team’s amateur development team. Draftees that sign professional contracts will start playing for either the club’s U23, U18, or first team. The best high school soccer and college players that are not professionally signed could all be moved to a central location where they could play together for high school. They would stay with host families in a program similar to the US Hockey Development program.

                Now that the MLS has a solid foundation for developing US talent they need to find away to bring not only the best American players but the best players from around the world. By setting up youth academies in soccer hotbeds across the world the MLS will be able bring in International players that it wasn’t able to in the past. Now just because they have scouts and academies in other countries doesn’t mean that they will get the players, they need to be able to offer more money for those players than teams in Europe would be able to. Now once the MLS starts bringing in young international players the United States can start to give them citizenship so that they can one day play for the US national team. Instead of bringing in old European talent the MLS should try to loan young European players that are having trouble making their clubs first team. This would not only increase the talent level of the MLS but it would also bring European interest into the league as well.

                The MLS should differentiate its game from the International game by including overtime in the rules. Now they don’t need to go back to their shootout idea from the past but they should play a standard 2 halve, 15 minute overtime to try to resolve a tie after 90 minutes. If after the overtime periods there is a tie, then the game ends in a tie. In the playoffs, the MLS should avoid having shootouts by developing an alternative way to end the game. One way would be to have 20 minute periods of sudden death overtime with each team allowed one extra sub per overtime period. Another way the MLS can separate itself in a good way would be to include technology to help the officials out. The use of goal line technology to make sure that the ball actually crosses the line could help prevent controversy as well as having the game decided by the players. Replay could also be used to review each goal to make sure offsides or any other offense did not happen. Offsides calls could not be reversed once called unless the call was made after the ball has entered the net.

                Another thing the MLS should do is not change. The MLS should not change its schedule so that it agrees with that of Europe and should continue its summer season because that is the most appropriate time for an outdoor sport in North America. Promotion and Relegation has been called for before but the MLS needs strong franchises with fan bases in order to survive. Once the league becomes successful no one would want to see a major league team demoted in favor of a team of scrubs. In fact, it would make more sense if teams would create development contracts with some of the minor US soccer teams.

                The MLS isn’t far away from being a top soccer league in terms of time but the talent is well off. If the MLS can find billionaires to back teams the United States could become the hum for club soccer. Football is dying in the US as more and more players are suffering the long term consequences of soccer and soccer could fill the void. All they would have to do is become a summer-fall sport instead of a spring-summer sport and they would be the only league in town. Soccer can be appreciated in the US if there is good soccer in the US to watch.

Probability of a No-Hitter

              With the influx of no hitters over the past couple of years, the writers at Hawks Report wanted to take a deeper look of the likelihood of both perfect games and no hitters. To do this, we had to use our knowledge attained from high school Probability and Statistics for the first time in our adult lives. We decided that we would do two probabilities for no hitters as well as two for perfect games. The first probability relies on the assuming that every outcome in baseball has an equal probability. We determined that there were 36 distinct but simple results of an at bat. Those results are single, double, triple, home run, reach on error to every season, groundout and flyouts to each position, catcher’s interference, hit by pitch, and both striking out looking and swinging. Of those, 4 of them will break up a no hitter while 16 of them will ruin a perfect game.

                Since a perfect game or no hitter depends on each out being preceded by another out or in the case of a no hitter each hitless at bat being preceded by a hitless at bat, the formula for dependent events. After punching the numbers, we figured out that a perfect game should be thrown .0000128 of the time. That is an infinitely small percentage that is smaller than the actual amount of perfect games that have been thrown since 1900. 0.000109 of major league baseball games since 1900 have ended in perfect games which means that they happen more than you would expect if based on our first set of math. Now, what happens if we find the probability using baseball statistics. We took the all time major league On Base Percentage which is around .340(for simplistic purposes) and subtracted it from one. That number, .660, represents how often a pitcher gets an out and it will be used to determine the probability of throwing a perfect game. The number we got was .0000058 which is much smaller than the actual number of perfect games. This can be attributed to the fact that once a pitcher gets in a certain groove the outs start to come easier.

                When calculating for a no hitter there is only 4 events that could put it to an end. When doing the math based on outcomes the probability of throwing a no hitter is .04 which means that no hitters don’t happen as often as they should. After that we decided to calculate the probability of throwing a no hitter based off of the average batting average. .266 is widely accepted as the number that batting averages will fluctuate around. According to batting average the probability of throwing a no hitter is .00023. However, when you go to the numbers a no hitter happens in the major leagues at a rate of .0013. According to the numbers no hitters are thrown more often than expected based off of batting average but less so than based off of the book.

Anibel Sanchez ending the no hitter drought

                The recent surge of no-hitters and perfect games can be attributed to batting averages going down as well as players swinging for the fences instead of making contact which results in outs that don’t have to rely defensive players. During the steroid era, no hitters were far and few between but as soon as drug testing became standard in the major leagues, pitchers were able to start achieving the feat starting with Anibel Sanchez.  

HFSL Ping Pong Tourney

5-Man, round robin, aggregate scoring tournament.

Round 1- Mole v Danny

The huge favorite entering this match and 3rd ranked player in the tournament, Daniel Ruppert takes a commanding lead in the first match, yet gives away points towards the end to win 21-14.

In game 2, Mole needs a 8-point victory to get the overall win against Danny but it doesnt look good as Danny holds the lead and finishes the vegan 21-17.

Final Score: 42-31 Danny

Records: Danny 3-0, Mole 0-3

Round 1- Austin v Willie

Austin enters this match expecting a win, but it was not as easy as he thought. Even though he was the more agile player he failed to capitalize on all of his opportunities. Willie however was the one who made the mental mistakes. He screwed up serve after serve and ended up losing the first match 21-7.

The first match started off hot as Willie was able to stay with Austin in the beginning but Austin began to run away with it around the midway point. Austin demolished Willie to end the match with a score of 21-10.

Final Score: 42-17 Austin

Records: Austin 3-0, Willie 0-3

Round 2 Cody v Mole

Cody begins the warm-up match hoping for a win by double digits. Mole coming into his second match has decided to go back to the traditional ping pong grip. Cody recognizes this and hopes to use this to his advantage. Cody with a dominant serve and great volleying skills beats Mole in the first game 21-8.

Mole begins the second match serving and with an early 4-1 lead. Cody, along with the other spectators aresurprised at this, however the early lead turns to dust as Cody settles in. Although, Mole takes advantage of his side and comes back. In the end,  Mole the huge underdog wins in dramatic fashion 21-20.

>Final Score 41-29

Records:

Records: Cody 2-1, Mole 1-5

Round 2: Danny v Austin

In the first game of this match Austin was able to escape with a 21-15 win against Danny even though Danny played very technical shots but they weren't landing where they were suppose to.

In the second game Austin took a commanding lead but Danny wanted to keep up so he could get some points to help with tiebreakers he was only to get 13 as Austin came away with the victory. 

Final score: 42- 28

Records: Austin 6-0, Danny 3-3

Round 3: Cody v Willie

An uninspired Willie took the table for his second game of the tournament  and was quickly defeated 21-10.

In the second game however he came to life and was able to keep it close early on. Cody's expert use of backspin kept Willie of guard but Willie's relax style kept it close. Cody started to pull away at the midpoint. Willie's subpar serving prevented him from contending. On game point Willie gave a valiant try but came up short 21-11.

Final Score: 42-21
Records: Cody 5-1, Willie 0-6

Round 3: Austin v Mole

The first game was over quickly as Austin's pace was too much for Mole to handle and he quickly lost 21-7.

The second game was more of the same as Austin quickly overpowered Mole to a 21-5 victory.

Final Score: 42-12
Records: Austin 9-0, Mole 1-8

Round 4: Cody v Austin

In the most highly anticipated match of the tournament between the brothers the game started off as hot as a stove. Austin took his power game to the table while Cody relied on finesse shots to take the lead. He didn't allow Austin to tee off but when Little Manmiller got his chances he smashed the ball for points. It wasn't always effective though as he would miss long about half the time. Cody relied on backspin while Austin's vicious front spin kept him in the game. Cody's unlucky draw on the side of the room cost him a costly point as his paddle hit the cabinet. With the game tied at 19 Cody missed a forehand to put him on the rope. Austin won in the tiebreak to win 21-20.

The second game saw Cody go to a more aggressive style that allowed him to get off to a quick lead. Once the match got to the halfway point however the brothers grew closer in score. However, Austin let things get away from him as Cody got up to a 19-12 lead. Cody won with a 21-14 win off of Austin's critical mistake.

Final Score: 41-34
Records: Austin 10-12, Cody 7-2

Danny v Willie

Willie is in desperate need of a victory or some points to keep him in contention for the coveted 4th spot when it comes to the seeded bracket. The two were neck and neck until finally Danny took the lead 18-14 and never looked back despite Willie's effort. Danny finished with the 21-17 victory and continued to boost his resume.

Once again, in game 2, the two were very evenly matched throughout. Danny held a 14-9 lead and looked to finish Willie, and that is exactly what he did. The final score was Danny closing out another victory 21-14. This matchup had implications for the 4th spot as Mole and Willie are battling.

Final Score: 42-31
Records: Danny 6-3, Willie 0-9

Round 5: Danny v Cody

Battle of the Lefties: The match close halfway through as Cody took the offensive with Danny sitting back and just keeping it on the table. Cody pulled away with the last couple points going his way. Cody ended up with an easy 21-12 victory.

In the second game of the series Cody had to go to his hated rugged side of the table that saw him lose in one of the biggest upsets in ping pong history earlier this night. It was a very technical game that was a lot of back spin and defensive plays. Danny was trying to keep the point differential close but Cody won 21-16.

Final Score: 42-28

Records: Danny 6-6, Cody- 10-2

College Football Playoff Proposal

   With the BCS about to go to a playoff, they need to find a format that will make everyone happy. With some conferences asking that conference champions hold an edge over non-champions while others want a selection committee to pick the top 8 teams. I am a proponent of the conference champions argument because of two reasons. I feel that the regular season should hold great value and that means that if you can't win your conference championship then you don't deserve to compete for a national championship. Also, it allows teams to schedule tougher non-conference games because they will not have as much of an effect on their national championship hopes which means that we will get to see better football. I prefer an 8 team playoff over a 4 team playoff because there are currently 6 BCS conferences and I feel that you should not leave one of them out. It also means more football games and schools cannot argue that players will miss classes because they will be on winter break. Under my system conferences will be divided into 3 tiers. Tier I will consist of the top 5 conferences according to the ESPN Stats & Info Conference Power Rankings. Tier II will consist of the middle 3 and Tier III will consist of the 3 worst conferences. Conferences Now that that is handled I will now present my playoff system. 

1. All playoff teams must be in the BCS top 25

    My system will continue the use of the current BCS system to decide who the best teams in the country are. This rule is to prevent teams that would qualify through the following routes but are below playoff standard from lessening the quality of playoff football. If less than 8 teams qualify for playoffs because of the top 25 requirement, at large bids will be offered to teams that won their conference but did not qualify for playoffs; if no such team exists the bid would be offered to the highest ranked BCS non-qualifier. If for some reason a Tier I conference champion is not in the top 25 their spot would be handed to the highest BCS ranked team from their conference.

2. Tier I conferences have automatic qualifiers for their champion

    Starting in 2013 the Tier 1 conferences will be the Big Ten, Big 12, Pacific-12, Southeastern Conference, and the Mountain West Conference. The ACC and Big East were demoted from the AQs because of recent poor performance and because of the exceptional play of the Mountain West. the MWC will likely drop to Tier II after a few years because their top teams are leaving the conference.

3. 2 teams will make the playoffs from Tier II conferencs

    Tier II will consist of the ACC, Big East, and Conference-USA as well as the independents. Keep in mind that the rules only guarantee 2 teams but there is a good chance that each conference will be represented because of the "Top 25" rule. Independents will qualify if they have a higher BCS ranking than 2 of the conference champions.

4. 1 team will have a semi-guaranteed playoff spot from Tier III conferences 

   Tier III teams will be Western Athletic Conference, Middle American Conference, and the Sun Belt. Since  these are lower level conferences it is not very likely that they will send a team to playoffs.

5. How will games be played?

    What is unique about my system is that the current bowl system will be kept in use. Even current bowl contracts will be respected. This could mean that #1 could meet #2 in the first round of playoffs but that shouldn't be a problem. The 4 current BCS bowls will be used for the quarter finals so the Big Ten's champion will always meet the Pac-12 champion in the Rose Bowl. The Semi Finals will be known as the BCS semifinals which will be followed by the BCS final. The quarter finals will take place over December 31st and January 1st. One game played on December 31st will be at 6pm (all times are Eastern) while January 1st would have games at noon, 3pm, and 6pm. Fitting in the semi-finals will be difficult because an attempt should be made to have the games on the weekend. Semi-finals must be a minimum of 5 days after the quarter-finals and will be held on a Friday and Saturday. The Friday game will be at 7pm and the Saturday game would be at 3 pm. There would not be a direct bracket to link teams from quarter-finals to semis but the 4 teams who survived the quarters would be paired by geographical closeness.  The championship game will be held on a Saturday at 6:30 PM. With this schedule the student-athletes will be able to return to their classes because their season would be done by the end of winter break. 

  

6. Where will games be played? 

    The quarter-finals will be held at BCS bowl sites because of that tie in. The Semi-Finals would be held in one stadium out of a pool of stadiums that are reserved for Semi Final play. This is to ensure that fans will be able to get to games. The reason for teams being paired by geographical closeness is so that the stadiums will be filled on game day. The Final will be held at a rotating site consisting of some of the most storied college football stadiums in America.

With this system I believe that everyone could be made happy. Fans can get to games, athletes will be back before winter break ends, conference champions will have playoff preference, and there will be a true National Champion.

Draw to Begin Euro 12

Opening Ceremony Before Game 

Lewandoski heading the ball to give Poland a 1- nil lead

                Poland and Greece were set up to begin Euro 2012 in front of a predominately Polish crowd which forced Greece to play in a very tough environment. This game was crucial in deciding who would advance from the group considering Russia and Czech Republic are the other members of the group and there is no clear favorite. The tone for the game was set when the Spanish referee Carlos Carballo called a foul for simple hand play on a long pass by Poland. This one call showed the difference in styles of football from country to country. Spain prefers a more strategic game with passing compared to countries that actually have testicles such as Germany and England where they are allowed to touch each other. Poland was able to control possession early and had very series of chances that ended with Maciej Rybus missing a shot and giving Greece a goal kick. 10 minutes later Poland missed another fantastic opportunity on a cross by Lukasz Piszczek skimmed by Robert Lewandowski’s head. Poland’s strategy of crossing finally paid off at the end of the 17^th minute when a goal by Lewandoski off of a fantastic cross by Eugen Polaski.

                Greece finally got their frist decent chance in the 26^th minute on a long shot by Katsouranis but he missed high and wide. After a brief attack by Poland, Greece was able to have its first sustained attack of the game which cultivated with them having a free kick. After Ninis attempted the free kick too soon they gave their plan a way(which may have worked) and were unable to capitalize on the second attempt. The missed free kick resulted in a brief Polish counter attack. In the 35^th minute Papastathopoulos was given a bull shit yellow card for winning a header, a second example of how Spanish refs should stay in the domestic league where they play touch soccer instead of a game that takes physical ability. After the card, Poland had another great opportunity when the free kick was redirected right to the feet of Damien Perquis inside the 18 but was unable to put the ball into the net.

                Polish captain Jakub Blaszczykowski outhustled the entire Greece defense to give Poland another attack on net. This may be the story of the first half in which Poland dominated the game through energy, even though possession was almost even Poland was able to get more attempts thorough hustle and focus. Greece did just not seem to be all there in the first half. They made many inaccurate passes and often just didn’t get all of the ball.  The officiating in the first half was atrocious as Papastathopoulos was sent off with his second yellow for just being there while a Polish player fell down. In the 47^th minute Carballo gave yellow cards to Greek players for arguing a close calls, he is simply out of his league. He was even awful in domestic play as he administered 16 red cards in 19 la Liga matches in Spain this past year.

"Salpy" provided much energy off the bench giving Greece
a goal and drawing a penalty

                The second half started the same way as the first with Poland able to get out on a quick attack. Greece was able to score in the 51^st minute when Marcin Wasilewski of Poland cut off his goalie Szczesny from a cross on the right side which redirected to the substitute Dimitris Salpingidis who put the ball into the net. In the 60^th minute Carballo made a questionable decision to not card Salpingidis when he performed a late tackle. Carballo has been booking people for not reason but when something seems worthy of a card he keeps it in his pocket. Greece’s second half was much more impressive as they had much more energy racing to loose balls that Poland would have easily had in the first half. Greece did start to dive around the 60^th minute which slowed down the game possibly hinting at them being tired.

Tyton stops the penalty to preserve the draw

                Carballo made his first good call of the night as he dismissed Szczesny from the game for his tackle of Salpingidis inside the 6 after Salpy missed the ball. That dismissal put substitute goalkeeper Tyton in a tough position but he comes up huge by saving Karagounis’ penalty and in the process saving his starter. Greece had another huge opportunity as Salpy put the ball in the net but it was taken back as one of his teammates was called for offsides. Poland had a great chance in the 80^th minute when they had the ball in the box but Ludovic Obraniak waited too long to do anything and dribbled right out of bounds. Greece responded with a great chance of their own but the long haired Samaras kicked the ball about 50 meters in the air. Poland had many attempts in the last 15 minutes but they have been sloppy, either getting no pace on the ball or crossing the ball to where no one is. With 10 on 10 soccer one would expect the game to open up but neither side was able to put the ball in the net during extra time. In extra time, Poland mustered one corner kick but both sided played much uninspired soccer which resulted in a 1-1 draw.

Idiot and Star of the game: Carlos Carballo

                In the end, both teams were most likely happy to come away with a draw as they both didn’t play very well. Poland had many chances on net but failed to capitalize on them other than one header in the first half. Greece played an awful in the first half with porous defense that allowed Poland constant strikes on net. The right side of the field was wide open for Poland in the first but when it came to the second, they either stopped trying to go to it or Greece was able to force Poland to the middle. Greece’s offense came out in the second half when they were able to get to the net through crosses and they were finally able to put one into the back of the net. This result put neither team in a good position to advance but doesn’t hurt. My favorites in this group are Russia and the Czech Republic  with the winner of their matchup being the winner.