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Celtics To Add Advanced Stats To TV Broadcasts

Jason Barrett

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The science and stats side of Mike Gorman’s brain could use a special app when he’s out to breakfast with Brian Scalabrine.

The Celtics TV announcer hears a fount of advanced analytical jargon when his Comcast partner builds steam. Out pour the numbers, categories and above all the philosophy, lots of emerging philosophy.

Even someone as connected to the sport for as long as Gorman admits that you have to start thinking a little differently under the circumstances.

“It’s hard to have breakfast with Scal without hearing it,” Gorman said recently. “He really believes in this, and a lot of people believe in it.”

Count the Celtics of coach Brad Stevens and assistant general manager Michael Zarren, who heads the team’s blooming analytical wing, in that group. Comcast, with an offer of help from the team, is delving deeper into advanced stats analysis this season.

Scalabrine tapped into a handful of popular categories during the C’s preseason trip through Milan and Madrid. Offensive and defensive rating (both measuring points per 100 possessions) were his two main reference points. Comcast also plans to draw from the categories of rebound percentage and pace (possessions per game).

For now the truly deep stuff — exotic numbers like player efficiency rating and usage rate — will be left alone. But Scalabrine, in particular, has been flashed a green light that used to be yellow on the broadcast.

“I did it all a bit last year, and they didn’t really want to do it,” he said. “They wanted me to dumb it down a bit.

“But now the stats I’m using, I’m going to use all year long. I’ll really get into points per possession. It’s the most relevant stat. It gives me a chance to illustrate just how effective Isaiah Thomas is on the pick-and-roll, for example. But that’s the extent of it,” he said. “Maybe as we move on we’ll use more (advanced statistics), but for the layman it also has to be clear enough to be understood.”

The Celtics have held at least two meetings with Comcast to discuss what will and what won’t work, with Zarren the sounding board. He’s one of the better-versed executives in the league in advanced stats, to the point where his reputation has spread beyond the NBA. He’s one of the annual stars at MIT’s Sloan Sports Analytics Conference.

He considers it natural to share that knowledge with the C’s broadcast partner.

“We won’t do stats research for them, but if they want to run things by us, we’re happy to work with them,” Zarren said. “But I can’t see them getting into something their viewers can’t latch onto.”

At dinner in a restaurant near the Milan Central Train Station last week, Zarren, director of player personnel Austin Ainge, Gorman and Scalabrine were in deep conversation. This time even Scal asked questions, because wherever Zarren goes, so does his classroom.

“Sure. It’s a way to help our broadcast team,” Zarren said. “But we also have to keep it on a certain level. I don’t want to minimize any of it, but at the same time it’s still basketball.

“But if you’re going to talk about the best team in the league, then you have to go to points per possession.”

That’s points per 100 possessions, to be precise. For example, the NBA champion Golden State Warriors topped the offensive and defensive ratings last season. Their defensive excellence to the contrary, the Warriors finished in the middle of the league in scoring defense, with opponents scoring an average of 99.6 points per game. An utterly useless stat, as far as Ainge is concerned. The better number is possessions per game, which measures pace.

“If you score more, because of your pace you’re going to give up more,” Ainge said, also skewering another traditional stat for its inability to reflect 3-point shooting in a league that has gone downtown. “Field goal percentage is one of the most irrelevant stats there is.”

Gorman, though, knows that modern statistics can be equally irrelevant, simply because they don’t translate.

“We still have to communicate with the average guy,” Gorman said. “It’s a good thing, though, and it reflects what’s changing. You can’t watch a game now without seeing an ad for a place like DraftKings.”

Scalabrine, in the meantime, is looking for new and accessible ways to introduce the numbers.

“When the Celtics started talking to us about it, it was right up my alley,” he said. “You never move away from the traditional stuff. You just add more.”

Scalabrine’s analytics education was like that — a matter of radically adding more.

“I first got into it (playing) in Chicago,” he said. “If I wanted to have a conversation with (coach) Tom Thibodeau, then I had to know what he was talking about.”

To read the rest of the article visit the Boston Herald where it was originally published

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Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

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The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

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Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

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Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

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Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

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FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

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