I've heard that before, but that's where the War on Ice link comes in handy. In the PNL category (no points for losses or ties), the standings barely move; if anything, the biggest change is in seeding for teams that are already making the postseason. This makes sense if you think about it and look at baseball as a…

Don't get me wrong, the work you did here is great, but typically when formulating policy it's best to first look at what already has a large empirical data set than to run a ton of hypothetical analyses. With the 3-1-0 system, all the NHL has to do is look at a myriad of soccer leagues to see its impacts on scoring…

Great, thanks! From a statistical perspective, is there some reason for creating an OTL point? The 3-2-1-0 system had been bandied about, but if they adopted the standard soccer scoring (3-1-0) system and reinstated ties it would seem to to work best: 3 points for a win offers plenty of incentive for teams, as they…

This is great stuff, but I'm curious if there'd be a way to run an analysis on what points/standings would look like if they got rid of the OTL. Isn't that the biggest source of this problem? Teams are guaranteed a point if they make it to the extra period, and therefore have much less incentive to go for the win. In…

This. I teach college, and at my previous institution - an SEC school - I once had an offensive lineman confide that he couldn't remember the last time he played a game where his head wasn't "floatin" afterwards. But he shrugged and said football was the only reason why he was here and got out of his poor-ass Southern…

Nah, it's the opposite. People who talk up the superiority of 90s NBA ball either a) are holding onto nostalgia more than reality or b) are hoopsters who wear vintage jerseys and think the personalities back then were cooler without any real substance to back it up or c) are fans who simply pined for the days when…

See, that first point about post-season success would be fascinating and one I hadn't considered. Could Gonzaga in basketball or Boise State in football lure away top-notch talent with the promise of playing in the biggest games, without having to fight as hard to crack the starting lineup? A 4* or 5* recruit could…

Sure, but that's where the B1G scenario would come into play. Right now, all B1G schools can say they're on a national cable network watched by millions, have a partnership with ESPN, etc. If an athlete can make money off endorsements, however, major media market programs could make a more specific pitch. Appearing in…

Excellent point, but for the sake of argument, would allowing athletes to financially gain from their likeness alter the competitive landscape at all? I'm all in favor of it, but I've wondered if it would influence athletes to pick schools with more established brands, more connections to major media outlets, and/or…

Less so the Bulls, as they've employed a walking meat grinder as their coach and been too cheap to invest in substantive depth for years. D-Rose's injuries have been unfortunate, but they've made plenty of choices that have exacerbated their situation.

So, there was a public event held at the University of Utah this last fall about this very issue. It was pretty interesting stuff, as we had the SLC Police Chief, an ACLU representative, a member of the Utah State Legislature and a civil rights attorney present. There was pretty unanimous consensus on using body…

This is why you should tip well for any type of business you only visit once - to be a decent human being - and over-tip for businesses you use often. I've lived in 4 different states the last 5 years and it doesn't matter the city or if it's delivery, restaurant, salon, drycleaner/tailor, coffee shop...a few extra…

What if you had a ranch for Ranchers? Like, you could take all of the people who compulsively add ranch to everything and corralled them. (Given ranch's gastrointestinal effects, methods for herding bovine would seem to be appropriate here). Is that the new livestock trade of the future? Will ranch ranching become…

The entire American Southwest needs to do better about water conservation. Here in Utah, we're the second driest state in the Union, but the second-highest consumers of water, putting a huge strain on the Colorado River. Households in St. George use nearly 10 times the amount of water than in Brisbane, Australia, yet…

Edison's Actual Test:

Sadly, some of those Angels players will still end up as Bees by the end of Spring Training.

Oh, and one more thing (comment save fail kept this out of original post): I want to address this claim: As an unvaccinated person I present a danger to the community (I don't).

Thanks for turning this into a classic Internet Argument: moving the goalpasts, a boatload of uncited assertions expected to be taken at face value, vituperative insults in lieu of arguments, and this gem: "Until you understand that, you understand nothing, and you will ever remain a dull, ignorant mark for every new…

No, you do not understand the scientific method or Occam's Razor for that matter. OR is simply a logical method that stipulates the correct answer is typically the one that involves the fewest number of assumed premises (or, why conspiracy theories are usually bullshit). That's it. Even if something is PAINFULLY…

As a college educator, to see FERPA abused in this way is disgusting. The law was one of several policies from the 1960s and 70s that ended en loco parentis at universities so that students could be treated as autonomous adults and hold their schools accountable. Not to mention, it gave administrators and professors a…