Factors of Sports Statistics -- By Robert Dunn

An informative array of sports statistics itself doesn't have great value if you do not know how to extract really useful information from it and draw correct conclusions. Here are the main factors, that require special attention while working with sports statistics.

Current Form

The current form of the team is an abstract but very important concept. It includes the combined conditions of the team's players and their motivation for the game. From match to match, these factors change periodically. At this time the team plays at the peak of their conditions and after a while there comes a recession.

When we evaluate the results of the previous six matches of the team, we try to deduce some average understanding of its current form. It's easy to get confused. If a team demonstrates excellent results from match to match, we can conclude that it is in good or very good shape. Wanting to bet on this team, we are considering two options: a) players will also be in good conditions before next match, and b) the team was at its peak for a few matches, it means the period of recession may come soon. Experienced players have the golden rule: "If a trend is observed in team's results then the match is better to play on the continuation of this trend." So in our case, we assume that in the upcoming match the team will hold a high level. Again, this formula works only if the team shows an extremely good form in the previous six games. If the shape of the team is far from the peak, then other factors need to be evaluated (such as the coach, tournament problems, etc.)

One-time Factors

These include weather conditions, the absence of key players (injuries, suspensions), and the debut of a new coach. These factors cannot be estimated from previous games. The needed information can be obtained from news, weather forecasts, dedicated websites and so on. What conclusions can be drawn about the impact of one-time factors? Suppose we know that it will be rainy the day match is scheduled. Find the last 5-6 matches that were played in rainy weather and track results. In practice, it's very hard to do if you don't keep detailed statistics on all matches. It is better not to waste time and efforts, and be guided by the general estimates specific to each factor.

Field Factor

Evaluating the results of teams in the last six games, it is important to consider where and with whom the team was playing these matches. There are teams that appear more confident in their own stadiums, and others on the contrary feel free and more productive as a result. If the difference in the home and away performances of the team is not significantly different then the field factor for this exact team does not really matter.

Robert Dunn is a contributor at BonusBonusBonus - the most comprehensive gambling portal online, where you can find insightful information on the topic of online sports betting.

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Football Statistics === By Dipanwita Das Platinum Quality Author

Have you ever wandered how much your favorite sportsperson makes in a year? In fact, if one takes one's favorite sport, and maps the 100 major people who play, we can comprehensively map them on a flash map and include all kinds of information beginning with annual income, to largest sponsor and even personal details. Visual maps make this process both fascinating and easy.

Let us take football as an example. We know that footballers are almost notorious for the massive amounts they earn. With that in mind, we plot the major players all over the world encompassing the top ten clubs in the world. On a visual map, we use pin points to locate each individual and then add drill-down options to each point. Once that is done, clicking on each point lead us to a chart which rates the individual's income against others in the same club and also provides information such as age, main sponsor, position he plays in and also a link to his homepage. How does this help? For the average sports fan, statistics are vital to following the sport and studying all the data together is tough as well as boring. Put all the relevant on one easy-to-understand map and bingo, one has all the statistics on the click of a mouse to make all the comparisons he/she wants.

In the same vein if we take statistics such as goals scored, it would be interesting to study where the main goal scorers tend to come from. Although, we can safely say that there is no area-wise division for the highest goal scorer, it makes for fun studying to tabulate this data on a map and check for consistencies and anomalies in the data one has. On a flash map, we again plot the players using pin points and subsequently provide information such as match in which he's scored the highest number of goals and also statistics such as number of wins and years for which he's played in his current club as well as which his traditional playing position is. In addition to the usual statistical comparisons, another interesting fact to conclude from this data visualization would be which position the maximum number of goals are scored which is an analysis that is least expected from a mapping process.

Visual maps make football statistics an adventure in data visualization. Flash mapping software is easy to find and use and most of the software available even provide a GUI interface to aid the non-programmer section of charting software users. Football statistics can be now looked at from an altogether new perspective.

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