I wonder if these two G&M stories are connected.
Oct 20: Canada has earned a dubious distinction as a world hub for illegitimate file-sharing websites and a leader in Internet piracy. Canada now hosts five of the most popular pirate sites in the world.
Oct 21: If you've ever tried to access popular video-streaming sites Hulu and BBC iPlayer and music-streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, you've probably been greeted with an apologetic – yet blunt – message telling you that, sorry, the service isn't available in Canada.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Monday, October 5, 2009
MLB Player Awards 2009
The MLB regular season is over, so it's time to hand out the individual awards for this past year of big league baseball.
MVP
American League: Joe Mauer, MIN. The consensus pick among baseball writers appears to be Joe Mauer and I can't say I disagree. He will lead the AL in batting, OBP and SLG%, a feat that has not been replicated since George Brett's MVP-winning 1980 season. Consider Mauer's excellent defence at catcher and his team's improbable run without Justin Morneau, and he becomes a heavy favourite.
Runners-Up: Mark Teixeira, NYY; Miguel Cabrera, DET
Pre-season rankings: 1. Justin Morneau, MIN; 2. Miguel Cabrera, DET; 3. Mark Teixeira, NYY.
National League: Albert Pujols, STL. As I predicted in April, Pujols will win his third MVP award in five years. Among other categories, he leads the league in home runs, runs scored, OBP, SLG%, and extra base hits. While his most recent attempt at the triple crown will fall short, Pujols will still rank in the top 3 for RBI and batting average. I could go on but no further evidence is necesssary.
Runners-Up: Hanley Ramirez, FLA; Chase Utley, PHI.
Pre-season rankings: 1. Albert Pujols, STL; 2. David Wright, NYM; 3. Manny Ramirez, LAD.
Cy Young
American League: Zach Greinke, KC. Greinke leads the league in ERA (2.06) and sports an incredible strikeout-to-walk ratio (237 K, 49 BB). Moreover, his solid 16-8 record should not be a drawback when no pitcher reached the 20-win plateau. But the real reason Greinke should win this award is that unlike the other candidtates, he dominated all season. Felix Hernandez didn't heat up until June and Roy Halladay swooned briefly in August. C.C. Sabathia also had less than stellar moments. Greinke, on the other hand, started the season with an incredible 40+ inning run and ended it the same way, with barely a bump in between.
Runners-Up: Felix Hernandez, SEA; Roy Halladay, TOR.
Pre-season rankings: 1. Roy Halladay, TOR; 2. Jon Lester, BOS; 3. C.C. Sabathia, NYY.
National League: Chris Carpenter, STL.The NL Cy Young will probably have the tightest voting of all the individual awards this year. But Carpenter's league-leading ERA (2.24), his 81% winning percentage (17-4 record), and his incredible stretch run give him the edge over team-mate Adam Wainwright (19-8, 2.63 ERA) and strikeout machine Tim Lincecum (15-7, 2.48 ERA).
Runners-Up: Adam Wainwright, STL; Tim Lincecum, SF.
Pre-season rankings: 1. Johan Santana, NYM; 2. Brandon Webb, ARI; 3. Tim Lincecum, SF.
In hindsight, my pre-season projections were undone by injuries to David Wright, Johan Santana, Brandon Webb, and Justin Morneau. Man-Ram's suspension was also costly. On the plus side, I did predict that Greinke would be among the AL leaders in both ERA and Ks, although I didn't expect enough wins for him to seriously contend for the Cy Young.
MVP
American League: Joe Mauer, MIN. The consensus pick among baseball writers appears to be Joe Mauer and I can't say I disagree. He will lead the AL in batting, OBP and SLG%, a feat that has not been replicated since George Brett's MVP-winning 1980 season. Consider Mauer's excellent defence at catcher and his team's improbable run without Justin Morneau, and he becomes a heavy favourite.
Runners-Up: Mark Teixeira, NYY; Miguel Cabrera, DET
Pre-season rankings: 1. Justin Morneau, MIN; 2. Miguel Cabrera, DET; 3. Mark Teixeira, NYY.
National League: Albert Pujols, STL. As I predicted in April, Pujols will win his third MVP award in five years. Among other categories, he leads the league in home runs, runs scored, OBP, SLG%, and extra base hits. While his most recent attempt at the triple crown will fall short, Pujols will still rank in the top 3 for RBI and batting average. I could go on but no further evidence is necesssary.
Runners-Up: Hanley Ramirez, FLA; Chase Utley, PHI.
Pre-season rankings: 1. Albert Pujols, STL; 2. David Wright, NYM; 3. Manny Ramirez, LAD.
Cy Young
American League: Zach Greinke, KC. Greinke leads the league in ERA (2.06) and sports an incredible strikeout-to-walk ratio (237 K, 49 BB). Moreover, his solid 16-8 record should not be a drawback when no pitcher reached the 20-win plateau. But the real reason Greinke should win this award is that unlike the other candidtates, he dominated all season. Felix Hernandez didn't heat up until June and Roy Halladay swooned briefly in August. C.C. Sabathia also had less than stellar moments. Greinke, on the other hand, started the season with an incredible 40+ inning run and ended it the same way, with barely a bump in between.
Runners-Up: Felix Hernandez, SEA; Roy Halladay, TOR.
Pre-season rankings: 1. Roy Halladay, TOR; 2. Jon Lester, BOS; 3. C.C. Sabathia, NYY.
National League: Chris Carpenter, STL.The NL Cy Young will probably have the tightest voting of all the individual awards this year. But Carpenter's league-leading ERA (2.24), his 81% winning percentage (17-4 record), and his incredible stretch run give him the edge over team-mate Adam Wainwright (19-8, 2.63 ERA) and strikeout machine Tim Lincecum (15-7, 2.48 ERA).
Runners-Up: Adam Wainwright, STL; Tim Lincecum, SF.
Pre-season rankings: 1. Johan Santana, NYM; 2. Brandon Webb, ARI; 3. Tim Lincecum, SF.
In hindsight, my pre-season projections were undone by injuries to David Wright, Johan Santana, Brandon Webb, and Justin Morneau. Man-Ram's suspension was also costly. On the plus side, I did predict that Greinke would be among the AL leaders in both ERA and Ks, although I didn't expect enough wins for him to seriously contend for the Cy Young.
Thursday, October 1, 2009
NHL Regular Season 2009-10: Part II
Sometimes sports projections are tedious. Like now, when we can pretty much count on a third straight MVP-calibre season from Alexander Ovechkin. And until oldtimes like Brodeur and Lidstrom actually slow down, they will remain strong contenders for end-of-year hardware.
In the MVP category, I forecast Ryan Getzlaf and Rick Nash to take big steps forward and put themselves in the mix alongside the perennial candidates.
Chris Pronger will make his strongest case for the Norris trophy in years. His assignment in Philly will be to shut down the East's top stars, namely guys like Crosby, Ovechkin and Parise. This is a tougher assignment than in the West, where rosters are balanced rather than top-heavy. Look for Duncan Keith to finally be recognized as an elite defenceman, and for Bouwmeester to finally make good on his potential.
Here are my five top choices for the major trophies:
Hart Memorial
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Sidney Crosby, PIT; 3. Ryan Getzlaf, ANA; 4. Evgeni Malkin, PIT; 5. Rich Nash, CLB.
Art Ross
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Evgeni Malkin, PIT; 3. Sidney Crosby, PIT; 4. Pavel Datsyuk, DET; 5. Joe Thornton, SJ.
Maurice Richard
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL; 3. Rick Nash, CLB; 4. Dany Heatley, SJ; 5. Marian Gaborik, NYR.
James Norris
1. Chris Pronger, PHI; 2. Duncan Keith, CHI; 3. Jay Bouwmeester, CGY; 4. Nicklas Lidstrom, DET; 5. Zdeno Chara, BOS.
Georges Vezina
1. Roberto Luongo, VCR; 2. Martin Brodeur, NJ; 3. Tim Thomas, BOS; 4. Cam Ward, CAR; 5. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR.
Frank J. Selke
1. Mike Richards, PHI; 2. Mikko Koivu, MIN; 3. Ryan Kesler, VCR; 4. Sami Pahlsson, CLB; 5. Joe Pavelski, SJ.
Jack Adams
1. Brent Sutter, CHI; 2. Andy Murray, STL; 3. Mike Babcock, DET; 4. Bruce Boudreau, WSH; 5. Todd McLellan, SJ.
Calder Memorial
1. John Tavares, NYI; 2. James van Riemsdyk, PHI; 3. Victor Hedman, TB; 4. Viktor Stalberg, TOR; 5. Matt Gilroy, NYR.
In the MVP category, I forecast Ryan Getzlaf and Rick Nash to take big steps forward and put themselves in the mix alongside the perennial candidates.
Chris Pronger will make his strongest case for the Norris trophy in years. His assignment in Philly will be to shut down the East's top stars, namely guys like Crosby, Ovechkin and Parise. This is a tougher assignment than in the West, where rosters are balanced rather than top-heavy. Look for Duncan Keith to finally be recognized as an elite defenceman, and for Bouwmeester to finally make good on his potential.
Here are my five top choices for the major trophies:
Hart Memorial
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Sidney Crosby, PIT; 3. Ryan Getzlaf, ANA; 4. Evgeni Malkin, PIT; 5. Rich Nash, CLB.
Art Ross
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Evgeni Malkin, PIT; 3. Sidney Crosby, PIT; 4. Pavel Datsyuk, DET; 5. Joe Thornton, SJ.
Maurice Richard
1. Alexander Ovechkin, WSH; 2. Ilya Kovalchuk, ATL; 3. Rick Nash, CLB; 4. Dany Heatley, SJ; 5. Marian Gaborik, NYR.
James Norris
1. Chris Pronger, PHI; 2. Duncan Keith, CHI; 3. Jay Bouwmeester, CGY; 4. Nicklas Lidstrom, DET; 5. Zdeno Chara, BOS.
Georges Vezina
1. Roberto Luongo, VCR; 2. Martin Brodeur, NJ; 3. Tim Thomas, BOS; 4. Cam Ward, CAR; 5. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR.
Frank J. Selke
1. Mike Richards, PHI; 2. Mikko Koivu, MIN; 3. Ryan Kesler, VCR; 4. Sami Pahlsson, CLB; 5. Joe Pavelski, SJ.
Jack Adams
1. Brent Sutter, CHI; 2. Andy Murray, STL; 3. Mike Babcock, DET; 4. Bruce Boudreau, WSH; 5. Todd McLellan, SJ.
Calder Memorial
1. John Tavares, NYI; 2. James van Riemsdyk, PHI; 3. Victor Hedman, TB; 4. Viktor Stalberg, TOR; 5. Matt Gilroy, NYR.
NHL Regular Season 2009-10: Part I
The puck drops tonight so it's time for my pre-season predictions. I have built a sophisticated mathematical model which incorporates thousands of variables including natural skills progression/regression, injury risk, overall team talent, and divisional difficulty. Using a few exogenous assumptions, the model will generate expected performances for every player and team in the league. However, it's more fun if I just use my intuition so the projection reported here are based not on my dynamic model, but on my own hockey sense.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington (President's Trophy)
2. Pittsburgh
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. Carolina
6. New Jersey
7. Montreal
8. New York Rangers
9. Ottawa
10. Florida
11. Toronto
12. Tampa Bay
13. Buffalo
14. Atlanta
15. New York Islanders
Western Conference
1. San Jose
2. Detroit
3. Calgary
4. Chicago
5. Anaheim
6. Vancouver
7. St. Louis
8. Columbus
9. Edmonton
10. Nashville
11. Dallas
12. Los Angeles
13. Minnesota
14. Phoenix
15. Colorado
Stanley Cup Champion: Chicago Blackhawks
Runner-up: Philadelphia Flyers
Individal projections to follow.
Eastern Conference
1. Washington (President's Trophy)
2. Pittsburgh
3. Boston
4. Philadelphia
5. Carolina
6. New Jersey
7. Montreal
8. New York Rangers
9. Ottawa
10. Florida
11. Toronto
12. Tampa Bay
13. Buffalo
14. Atlanta
15. New York Islanders
Western Conference
1. San Jose
2. Detroit
3. Calgary
4. Chicago
5. Anaheim
6. Vancouver
7. St. Louis
8. Columbus
9. Edmonton
10. Nashville
11. Dallas
12. Los Angeles
13. Minnesota
14. Phoenix
15. Colorado
Stanley Cup Champion: Chicago Blackhawks
Runner-up: Philadelphia Flyers
Individal projections to follow.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)