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      Findings from Fiesta Bowl investigation forthcoming

      March 21, 2011 /
      Connecticut Huskies quarterback Zach Frazer looks to pass against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half of the Fiesta Bowl college football game at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, January 1, 2011. REUTERS/Joshua Lott (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      The Fiesta Bowl might be on the verge of suffering an even bigger embarrassment than Oklahoma 48, Connecticut 20. (Yikes – remember that game on New Year’s Day? Me either.)

      According to a report by the AP, the results from an internal investigation covering the “political and financial” dealings of the Fiesta Bowl could be released as early as next week. And officials are apparently bracing for the worst.

      For those unaware of the backstory, prior to the 2010 matchup between TCU and Boise State, past and present Fiesta Bowl employees alleged that they were encouraged to make financial contributions to state political figures and were subsequently reimbursed by the bowl. If true, this would be a violation of both state and Federal campaign finance laws.

      The Fiesta Bowl is a non-profit organization and thus, is prohibited from making political contributions of any kind. It’s alleged that Fiesta Bowl officials (which includes CEO John Junker) have spent a reported $4 million since 2000 in order to gain favor from BCS decision makers and elected officials. Junker was placed on indefinite administrative leave roughly a month ago.

      The good news for the Fiesta Bowl is that because of its contract with the BCS, it will remain a BCS game for the next three years regardless of the findings from the investigation. But in three years, this scandal could open the door for other sponsors to gain BCS favor (uh, legally of course). The bowl that might make the most logical sense is the AT&T Cotton Bowl, which is now played at the brand new, luxurious Cowboys Stadium.

      College Football, External Sports

      Barry Bonds’ trial begins – does anyone care?

      March 21, 2011 /
      Former Major League Baseball player Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants arrives for the jury selection portion of his perjury trial at the United States District Courthouse in San Francisco, California March 21, 2011. The slugger is accused of lying to a grand jury and hampering investigation of a steroid distribution ring in professional athletics. If convicted, Bonds would still face a maximum of a decade in jail on each count, though U.S. District Judge Susan Illston could decide to sentence him to far less time. REUTERS/Beck Diefenbach (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT BASEBALL CRIME LAW)

      Did you know that Barry Bonds’ trial begins today? Better yet, do you even care?

      Oh, you care that he took steroids and tarnished baseball’s record books (or at least you act like you care because everyone else does). But do you really care whether or not this man goes to jail for four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice?

      I can tell you one thing: Giants fans don’t care. Dude is nothing but a distant memory now that their G-Men are defending World Series champions. Ask 10 SF fans if they’re at least somewhat glad that the Bonds-led ’02 Giants lost because it made the victory in 2010 that much sweeter, I’d be willing to bet that at least eight of them would answer “yes.” Fans have fully embraced the Bearded Panda Freaks and hardly mutter Bonds’ name these days.

      But what about non-Giant fans – do they care if Bonds goes to jail for lying under oath about steroids? Will they follow the story on a daily basis and keep up with the latest news? Do they know that the case has started and that close to 40 jurors have already been dismissed? Will bloggers follow this case as extensively as they did Roger Clemens and Brian McNamee’s trial?

      Because I hardly doubt it. Again, fans care that Bonds tarnished the game by ballooning to the size of the Incredible Hulk in order to hit a bunch of home runs. But I find it hard to believe that the majority of people want to see “justice served” here (key word is “majority,” I realize that some, even many people want to see him go to prison but does the majority?). When you take Hammerin’ Hank’s fallen record and baseball out of the equation, Bonds took steroids. He didn’t kill anybody, he didn’t set a school on fire and he didn’t steal anyone’s money. He injected himself with steroids so that he could play long enough to break Hammerin’ Hank’s home run record and hopefully be remembered as one of the best ever.

      Hey, wrong is wrong. If you lie under oath, you pay the consequences like everyone else. But the ironic part is that he’s not remembered like he had hoped he would. To me, that’s his true punishment. At this point, I couldn’t care less if he’s hauled off to prison and maybe I’m wrong but something tells me that the majority of fans don’t either. He simply isn’t news anymore.

      External Sports, MLB

      Sweet 16 Sagarin & Pomeroy data

      March 21, 2011 /

      If you’ve read my annual March Madness bracket column or if you are a stathead in general, you’ll know what the title of this post means. If you don’t, check out my column and come back.

      Here are the next eight matchups representing Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The Sagarin advantage represents the spread in Jeff Sagarin’s predictor ratings. If the number is positive, it means that Team A is the Sagarin favorite. If the number is negative, then it means Team B (and the lower seed) is actually the favorite.

      The Pomeroy % represents the chances that Team A will win the game according to Ken Pomeroy’s Pythagorean calculation.

      Over the last four years, teams with a 2+ point advantage in Sagarin’s “predictor” rating have won 156 of 198 games (78.7%). Over the last two years, if a team had at least a 65% expected win rate according to Pomeroy’s Pythagorean calculation, they won 61 of 76 games (80.2%).

      I’ve also included the spread for each game at the World Sports Exchange. Oftentimes the spread is very close to the Sagarin spread.

      Team ATeam BSag AdvPom %Spread
      San Diego StateConnecticut1.459.4%+1
      FloridaBYU-2.543.7%-2.5
      DukeArizona8.983.8%-9
      WisconsinButler7.480.0%-4
      North CarolinaMarquette3.063.6%-5
      KansasRichmond9.782.0%-10.5
      Ohio StateKentucky6.276.0%-5
      Florida StateVCU3.964.7%-4

      It’s interesting that Florida is a 2.5-point favorite according to the sportsbook even though they are a 2.5-point underdog according to Sagarin. That probably has to do with the sportsbook trying to take into account the loss of Brandon Davies, but his absence sure didn’t hurt BYU against Gonzaga.

      Conversely, SDSU is a 1.0-point underdog despite being a Sagarin favorite.

      College Basketball, External Sports, March Madness

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