Tuesday, January 24, 2012

As the Data Turns

Do you want to be a major league sport? Perhaps it's time to open that Al Gorian "lock box" we have on our data.

Wolfram Alpha, a possible google competitor, is called a "computational knowledge engine", and the queries are top notch. In Search Engine Land yesterday, it was shown how free NFL statistics help fans and searchers learn more.
  • I am a long time admirer of Wolfram|Alpha and I’m happy to report that my admiration continues to grow, as you can now access NFL (National Football League) statistics using Wolfram|Alpha.
Here's the query for "Tom Brady versus Joe Flacco passing yards". In the words of CDP track announcer Vance Cameron, "Boom, just like that."

Now, let's check the results for "Triple Crown Winners" via a query here.

Ugh.

This afternoon on twitter, o_crunk noticed Tennis is getting its act together too.
I remember in about 1982 when my cousin, a sports bettor, needed to know the score for the Falcons-Dallas game at Fulton County, because he bet on it. He called information, got the phone number of the stadium, and called. A nice sounding southern woman said "oh, it's 21-13 for us, honey". It seems racing is still a lot closer to the 1982 NFL, than it is to 2012 tennis or football.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I remember watching a standardbred race that one of my good friends' claimed horse was in (they were looking to claim her back), and she ended up being scratched. Of course the commentators said NOTHING as to why....so I called the racetrack. Much like your cousin, I got the number via Canada 411 and a nice paddock secretary not only gave me the reason why (the owner/trainer was in the hospital), but proceeded to ask me if I liked the horse in question and if I had ever been to their racetrack! True Story.

It kinda reminds me of the days when you would pull up to the gas station and there'd be 5 attendants looking after your car!

Standardbredgal

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