You can’t see it. It’s maddening difficult to measure, let alone explain. But it’s out there, and it’s real. Astronomers call it Dark Matter, the invisible stuff of the universe, stretching across space and mysteriously binding it together. Sports have their own Dark Matter – the forces of competition that cannot necessarily be quantified but appear to exert tremendous pull, further explored in the feature “The search for intelligent life,” by metrics guru Nate Silver ,who extrapolates on the concept of Dark Matter, the idea that various forces we can’t see or measure—potential, chemistry, toughness, momentum—are actually the keys to teams’ success. And that’s the next frontier of sports analytics: Quantifying the previously unquantifiable.
The Mag’s Analytics issue – on newsstands today – continues to explore this concept and others, featuring cover boy Paul George – a new-age NBA superstar: an uber-efficient, team-minded, two-way player on the best team in basketball. ESPN The Magazine’s Pablo Torre takes a multi-dimensional look at the parts of George’s game and personality that have led to this ascension to superstardom in “The Grand Unified Theory of Paul George.”For behind-the-scenes check out ESPN’s Front Row story here: https://bit.ly/MagGeorge.
Also in this issue is a follow up to last year’s package, “Crazy crap analytics can prove,” compiling more amazing claims backed up with advanced stats ranging from topics such as Dwyane Wade’s perimeter shooting and Carlos Beltran’s stealing to Bartolo Colon’s windup and Luis Suarez’s shot.
Note: ESPN The Magazine is sponsoring the Research Paper of the Year Award for the MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference. Fans can find links to each paper at espn.go.com/ssac then cast your vote for the best one. The fan favorite will be announced at this year’s conference, from Feb. 28 to March 1.
Analytics Issue Features:
Comfort zone
When Michael Sam felt ready to tell his teammates he was gay, most of the Tigers were ready to listen. Now their responses give NFL teams a blueprint on how to get the message. By Liz Merrill
Penn State right guard John Urschel writes that lineman try to up their stock at the combine. But the math genius determines that better numbers in Indy rarely add up to success.
You can’t oops your way to the front
The greatest motorsports debate is also the oldest: What matters more, the car or the driver? But Kurt Busch’s comeback proves who’s behind the wheel matters as much as what’s under the hood. By Ryan McGee
Additional Analytics Issue Highlights:
- MLB: In “The guide to sustainable farming,” The Mag’s Sam Miller writes that the Los Angeles Angels have an audacious plan to turn around the most barren system in baseball. Step one: Try anything.
- NHL: Two days after the flame goes out in Sochi, the NHL will begin its mad dash to the Stanley Cup playoffs. In “Working overtime,” The Mag explores teams that were on the outside looking in before the Olympic break will find it tough to make up ground, blaming the three-point game for allowing teams nursing leads in the standings to lock in at least one point every game by playing for the extra period. Indeed, teams that are behind are probably already out of time.
- NBA: If social media is a young person’s game, 20-year-old Andre Drummond is already a virtual All-Star. The Pistons’ second-year center deftly posts up in every platform from Twitter to Vine. He dishes with The Mag’s Sam Alipour on his sky-high Klout score and igniting Instagram romance with a Hollywood dime.
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Media Contact: Carrie Kreiswirth – 860-766-6042
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