Fantasy sports are all about making the right calls—do you trust your gut, or do you trust the data? In fact, sports and data are a powerful combination and nowhere is that more evident than in the world of fantasy sports. Whether it's the excitement of the Premier League or
The world’s largest rugby tournament returns for the knockout stages. This blog post explores how probability and simulation can be used to predict likely winners in each of the knockout stages. Team sports are dynamic, time-varying and complex topics to model. When modeling regular competitions, such as domestic leagues, it
When the NBA’s Orlando Magic opened Amway Center in 2010, the team quickly realized they possessed a wealth of untapped data capabilities. Known as pioneers in introducing AI to the NBA, they’ve since expanded their analytics and data footprint in partnership with SAS. Outside of competing on the court, the
You’re down by 10 points in your NFL fantasy football league, and you need to choose a wide receiver from the free agency pool because your starter was injured. How do you decide to get the 11 points required for a win? What methods will you use to lead you
The SAS Batting Lab is a six-week program designed to help improve kids’ understanding of data while also helping them improve their baseball and softball swings. Using analytics in an interactive, AI-powered batting cage, kids can compare their swings to batting stars. During the program, the participants also became more
Sports leagues face a difficult task in creating a fair game schedule for their teams. Scheduling dates for sporting events is one of the first things that can go wrong in a season. By using optimization strategies, leagues can maximize their potential and fans can reap the benefits. Sports fans
Industries including sports and entertainment, travel, manufacturing, education and government benefit from analytical insights In the United States and other parts of the world, there are signs. Record automobile traffic. Surging demand for workers. And a continued push to vaccinate. The pandemic and its effects are still very much with
When people think about sports, many things may come to mind: Screaming fans, the intensity of the game and maybe even the food. Data doesn’t usually make the list. But what people may not realize is that data is behind everything people love about sports. It can help determine how
I previously blogged about the impact drafting offensive linemen has on winning and making the playoffs. Since I wrote that, we have new data points to add to the analysis and an exciting finale to this NFL season. In this blog post, I’ll explore a few more arguments both in
In recent years, we have seen some astronomical contracts given to professional athletes. Major League Baseball (MLB) has certainly had its share. One of its first notable “megadeals” was when Alex Rodriguez, the Seattle Mariners’ power-hitting shortstop, left the team to join the Texas Rangers in 2001. The Rangers committed
