Strike zone graphic on TBS playoff games
A brief look at the mathematics (and a little physics) behind the strike zone graphic TBS is using for the baseball playoff games.
Athletics
Peoria Journal-Star photographers deliver in football
Great shots from a high school football game published by the Peoria Journal-Star, including fireworks and the marching band at halftime.
Illinois high school football 'turnaround' teams
Teams in Illinois varsity football that turned a losing season last year into one (so far) with no losses or just one loss.
Upset: Minooka 45, Plainfield Central 14
A football game finished upside-down in terms of how our predictive stats said it should finish, and Chicago teachers and teachers everywhere need to learn a little something from this football game.
IHSA acted correctly by not granting strike waiver
The IHSA denied a waiver of its by-laws to Chicago Public Schools during their current teachers’ strike. Teams cannot compete, although practices can continue under certain conditions.
Chicago students have contingencies if teachers strike
Chicago Public Schools teachers may be on strike by Monday, leaving many students, student-athletes, and school officials wondering what they’ll do to keep up with the demands of school life, which don’t wait for a teachers strike to end.
Batavia hosts Geneva, 100 years of varsity football
Since 1924, it has been called the “biggest game of the season” for Geneva and Batavia. This Friday marks the 100th year of the rivalry in Illinois high school football.
Nat’l Assoc. of Basketball Coaches files amicus brief in affirmative action case
The National Association of Basketball Coaches has filed an amicus (“friend of the Court”) brief with the US Supreme Court in the case of a white girl who was denied admission to the University of Texas, Austin, but says she was more qualified than many of the African-American students who were admitted, because the university uses race as one of the factors in deciding admission.
Illinois, Maryland not among states to adopt heat acclimatization guidelines
New guidelines for heat illness, issued by an inter-agency task force, including the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, have been adopted by 7 states, not including Maryland or Illinois. But schools in those two states are still well aware of the need for improvements to the way the preseason works in terms of heat acclimatization.
An explanation of our box-and-whiskers plots for football
Our football stats are new and improved this year, but you might need a math teacher to explain how they work and what they show. (I hope so.) The box-and-whisker plots contain lots of information, just for fun.