Latest Stories
Most recently published stories in Unbalanced.
Grading Every FBS Coaching Hire this Offseason
Chip Kelly – UCLA – A+ This is an out-of-the-park home run for the Bruins. Kelly’s record as a college head coach is exceptional. His offensive system was virtually unstoppable at Oregon, and his reputation will carry a lot of weight in recruiting. There was always going to be a mad scramble for the services of Kelly if he decided to come back to the college game. UCLA is the big winner of the sweepstakes and the college football offseason with this hire.
By Alec Lower8 years ago in Unbalanced
Lace 'Em up, Seattle. Top Story - December 2017.
Exactly 100 years ago, the first ever American-based hockey team won the Stanley Cup. This was before the days of the NHL proper, when the regular season champions in both the Pacific Coast Hockey League (PCHL) and the National Hockey Association (NHA) would square off in a contest for sports' most coveted prize. That fall, the NHL would be created, and by 1924, the PCHL was dissolved. But, that year—1917—saw an American team lift Lord Stanley's Cup for the first time. That team was the Seattle Metropolitans.
By Kyle Vandenberg8 years ago in Unbalanced
Who Is the Best Team in the NFC?
The NFC is filled with teams who all have a legitimate shot of making the playoffs, but only one can be the NFC champion. The Philadelphia Eagles are the only team so far to clinch their playoff spot, and in the case of the NFC South and West, the division may not be decided until the final game of the season. So, lets take a look at how each team will be able to get to the playoffs.
By Logan Kelleher8 years ago in Unbalanced
Ten Things I'm Thankful For This Week
This is the introduction of a new weekly segment called “Ten things I'm thankful for this week.” Every week there’s hundreds of fun and exciting stories happening in the world of sports and I’ve decided to break down my ten favorites.
By Koby Palimaka8 years ago in Unbalanced
Top Ten Ways Professional Sports Have Changed
1. NHL Implements 3v3 Overtime In 2015, NHL decided to do away with traditional 5v5 overtime. Instead, the league has initiated a 3v3 pond hockey style play in an attempt to finish games earlier, while also increasing excitement. Hockey is a fast pace game, but with five players on the ice for both teams systems and structure trump creativity for the majority of the game. Three versus three sudden death overtime is pure excitement. Both teams play their most skilled players to go head to head. By eliminating four total players, the ice is wide open with room for speed and creativity. Three versus three hockey is an excellent change of pace after watching 60 minutes of 5v5. The rule change has led to more goals in overtime and a steep increase in fan involvement and in game excitement and anticipation.
By Jack McDonough8 years ago in Unbalanced
The Association's New Villain
Personableness can carry a lot of weight. Whether or not someone likes a player can determine the trajectory of the player's career. In sports, being likable impacts the athlete's legacy. That is what the great ones are playing for. How guys are remembered, whether fair or unfair, in a lot of cases is determined by things that occur off the field of play.
By Kyle Jordan Ferguson8 years ago in Unbalanced
Analyzing the Henrique/Vatanen Trade
Early season trades involving big name players have that extra level of excitement attached to them. When a trade goes through at the deadline, we're sort of expecting it. We know it's coming. When a trade involving big names comes through in November, it catches us off guard, and carries with it a new wrinkle of expectation.
By Kyle Vandenberg8 years ago in Unbalanced
Rethinking Hitter's Counts, Continued
Last time around, I wrote about the general tendency of pitchers to throw more and more fastballs as they fell down in the count despite the fact that they can throw offspeed pitches for strikes nearly as often as they do fastballs. It's a case where pitchers often see better results throwing their offspeed pitches but there was a lot I couldn't address through xwOBA, Exit Velo, and pitch usage alone.
By Owen McGrattan8 years ago in Unbalanced
An Exercise in Generating Similarity Scores
In the process of writing an article, one of the more frustrating things to do is generate comparisons to a given player. Whether I am trying to figure out who most closely aligns with Rougned Odor or Miguel Sano, it is a time-consuming and inexact process to find good comparisons. So, I tried to simplify the process and make it more exact—using similarity scores.
By John Edwards8 years ago in Unbalanced
