Maybe it's not surprising. He's obsessed, after all.
Here at the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics conference, the Krossover company is demonstrating a fantastic app in which you can test your sports-viewer savvy by watching the first half of a play and trying to predict what happens in the second half. For example, you're shown the beginning of a fast break and asked to choose who you think will ultimately score, or shown pre-snap motion around the line of scrimmage and asked to guess how many defenders will rush the passer. It's incredibly simple, but has the potential to be endlessly complex. (Imagine having to guess between cover-3 and cover-2 coverage, or pick the cut a player should make using the guidelines of the Princeton offense.) The only downside to this game — which isn't yet available to the public — is the fact that it seems like once it's released it will, in short order, destroy the working productivity of the entire planet. (No reason it couldn't be used for soccer.)
One of the games available for testing here at the conference covers referees' calls. You see a clip of two basketball or football players colliding and have to guess: what was called, a block or a charge? Defensive pass interference or no flag?
Here's who's got the current high score.
Comment from David Stern?
