Sports Statistics Conference Features Sabermetrics As Part of National, Global Focus on Influences of Stats

Connecticut-based ESPN is among the sponsors for the upcoming New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports, to be held on September 21 at Harvard University, that will include a panel discussion to feature Eric Van, sabermetric baseball operations consultant for the Boston Red Sox, Ben Baumer, who handled statistical analysis for the New York Mets from 2004 through 2012, and Vince Gennnaro, a consultant to a number of Major League Baseball teams during the past decade.

Panel moderator is Andy Andres, head coach and lead instructor of the MIT Science of Baseball program and Fenway Park datacaster/stringer for mlb.com.    Featured speakers are Jim Albert of Bowling Green State University, on “Assessing Streakiness in Home Run Hitting,” and Richard Smith, of the University of North Carolina, who will present for the first-time a statistical model for predicting the finish times of individuals who were running in the 2013 Boston Marathon but were unable to complete the race, as previously reported by Connecticut by the Numbers.

The Symposium is a meeting of statisticians and quantitative analysts connected with sports teams, sports media, and universities to discuss common problems of interest in statistical modeling and analysis of sports data. The symposium is part of a year-long series of programs and events around the world during the International Year of Statistics.

In addition to the featured presentations, the scheduled presentations at the Sept. 21 Symposium will focus on statistical research and analysis conducted in areas including:

• statistics-based revisions to defensive alignments in the NBA,
• how weather affects the knuckleball,
• whether crossing helps or hurts scoring in premier soccer, and
• trends such as match time and game duration in professional tennis.

Co-chairs of the conference are Mark Glickman, Senior Statistician at Boston University and Scott Evans, Senior Research Scientist at Harvard.   Registration is now open for the day-long symposium.

ESPN operates a Stats & Info blog that shares with fans the information that the ESPN Stats & Information Group provides to its production teams around the company. The Stats & Info blog's content is a must-read at ESPN - on-camera talent, producers, bloggers, columnists and editors use Stats & Info insight on a daily basis. Individuals can subscribe to the blog for around-the-clock notes, stats and trends, using a blend of traditional statistics and the advanced metrics that the network describes as  the "next level."

Industry sponsors Sports Data Hub, ESPN Stats & Info, RStudio and Revolution Analytics, as well as the Harvard Statistics Department, the Boston Chapter of the American Statistical Association, and the Section in Sports of the American Statistical Association are providing support for the conference.

National Outreach Symposium in November

Sports are but one aspect of the growing use of statistics throughout everyday life.  The U.S. government’s Bureau of Labor Statistics is working with other federal agencies to host an outreach symposium November 13 and 14, 2013 to celebrate the International Year of Statistics 2013.

The goal of this two-day event is to present an overview of statistical methodologies and how they can be applied to diverse applications in econometrics, demography, medicine, agriculture, energy, transportation, and more. The audience for the planned symposium, to be held in Washington, D.C., will come from a diverse background of users and consumers of government statistics, data, and analyses.

The objectives of the International Year of Statistics initiative and  awareness campaign are to increase public understanding of the power and impact of statistics on all aspects of society, and nurture statistics as a profession, especially among high school and college students.

Organizers of the year-long effort – with than 2,000 participating organizations world-wide - note that “statistics have powerful and far-reaching effects on everyone, yet most people are unaware of their connection—from the foods they eat to the medicines they take—and how statistics improve their lives.” In Connecticut, participating organizations include the University of Connecticut and Connecticut by the Numbers.

Statistics Conference to Hear Projection of 2013 Boston Marathon Finishes

An analysis by a specially-convened team of academic researchers to project the finish times of runners at the 2013 Boston Marathon, will be presented publicly for the first time at the New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports, to be held on September 21 at Harvard University in Cambridge, MA.

The Symposium is a meeting of statisticians and quantitative analysts connected with sports teams, sports media, and universities to discuss common problems of interest in statistical modeling and analysis of sports data. The symposium is part of a year-long series of programs and events around the world during the International Year of Statistics. 

The scheduled presentations include a statistical model for predicting the finish times of individuals who were running in the 2013 Boston Marathon but were unable to complete the race when it was abruptly halted after bombs exploded near the finish line last April.  That research was done at the request of the Boston Athletic Association, organizer of the Boston Marathon.

The researchers will explain how multi-year data was analyzed “to create projected times for this year's runners and discuss some features of the resulting projections.”  The BAA opted not to use the statistical model that was developed and provided to the race organizers, choosing instead to use a direct extrapolation of an individual’s time at the point the race was stopped - a result that was, in most cases, more favorable to the runners than the more complex analytical model developed by the research team.  Runners were provided those times within two months of the Marathon.

Just over 5,600 official entrants who were unable to cross the Boylston Street finish line on April 15 when the race was stopped at 2:50 p.m.  Of those, 2,611 are from Massachusetts and 726 are international participants, according to the Boston Athletic Association. In total, residents of all 50 U.S. States (and four U.S. territories), and 47 countries are among this group. 

The lead researcher was Richard L. Smith, the Mark L. Reed III Distinguished Professor of Statistics and Professor of Biostatistics at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. He is also Director of the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute, which is supported by the National Science Foundation.  Smith has previously run in the Boston Marathon, as have three members of his research team.

The researchers included Dorit Hammerling of the Statistical and Applied Mathematical Sciences Institute, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina;  Matthew Cefalu and Francesca Dominici of the Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health; Jessi Cisewski of the Department of Statistics, Carnegie Mellon University; Amy Grady of the Department of Statistics and Operations Research, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; Charles Paulson of Puffinware LLC, State College, PA; and Giovanni Parmigiani of the Department of Biostatistics, Harvard School of Public Health  and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, Boston.

Smith said that while the BAA decision is “perfectly understandable,” the statistical model his team developed has been credited by the BAA as being helpful in their decision-making, and has both merit and validity that would be of interest to statisticians, runners and sports fans. The model has potential for future use in projecting runners’ finish times from intermediate times during the race, and the research team intends to focus their Symposium presentation on that potential.

The research team analyzed the times of individual runners from the 2010 and 2011 Marathons (2012 data was not used because the day was unusually hot, unlike 2013) at various points of the 26-mile course and developed a statistical model the projected the finish for every 2013 runner based on how similar runners finished in the previous years.  Many runners, for example, tend to slow, but at differing rates, in the race’s final miles.  Others have a strong finish.  The “sophisticated” analysis was developed to offer a more elaborate extrapolation of what individual finish times might have been.  The researchers provided the BAA with a “complete file” indicating a projected finish for each runner.

“It was an interesting challenge, and we were pleased to be asked by the BAA to work on this project,” Smith said.  “Their decision makes perfect sense, but we are proud of our work and the way in which it came together.”  Smith said that in addition to the first-time presentation at the Symposium, the team plans to publish their work in a professional journal.

The group of official entrants who were prevented from completing the race includes 2,983 women and 2,650 men, and ages range from 18 to 82.  A month after the race, the B.A.A. announced that all of the official entrants who did not finish would be invited back to participate in the 2014 Boston Marathon, to be held on April 21.  A special registration period for those individual closed last Thursday, and more than 4,500 runners have signed up.  As part of a rolling registration process, registration for runners who have qualifying times opens on September 9.

The BAA has also announced that the 118th Boston Marathon field will be increased to 36,000 due to increased interest in next year’s race.  Traditionally, the field numbers about 25,000.  Last year, just over 400 participants from Connecticut were registered for the race.  The largest field in recent years was in 1996, for the 100^th anniversary of the race, when 38,708 individuals registered.

“We understand many marathoners and qualifiers want to run Boston in 2014, and we appreciate the support and patience that the running community has demonstrated because of the bombings that occurred this past Spring,” said B.A.A. Executive Director Tom Grilk.

The conference co-chairs of the New England Symposium on Statistics in Sports are Mark Glickman and Scott Evans.  Glickman is Senior Statistician at the Center for Healthcare Organization and Implementation Research and a Research Professor in the Department of Health Policy and Management at Boston University.  Evans is a Senior Research Scientist in the Department of Biostatistics at Harvard’s School of Public Health.   Registration is now open for the Sept. 21 symposium.

© 2013 CT by the Numbers

Little, Robustelli, Strong: Connecticut's Triple-Threat in NFL's Hall of Fame

Three members of professional football's Hall of Fame roster began their illustrious careers in Connecticut.  Floyd Little, inducted in 2010, and subsequently honored by his hometown of New Haven, is among 280 gridiron stand-outs included in a new interactive internet feature that allows fans to see where  inductees in the Pro Football Hall of Fame are from, and learn the highlights of their careers.

The interactive map was developed by Esri, a technology company in the state of Washington that “inspires and enables people to positively impact the future through a deeper, geographic understanding of the changing world around them.”

Inducted in 2010, New Haven native Floyd Little’s multidimensional talents quickly translated into success at the pro level. As a rookie he led the American Football League in punt returns with a 16.9 average on 16 returns. Little also returned a career-high 35 kickoffs for 942 yards. His combined rushing and receiving yardage total that first season was just shy of 400 yards.

In 1971, he became the first 1,000-yard rusher in Denver Broncos history. He won the NFL rushing title that year as he finished with 1,133 yards on 284 carries and scored 6 touchdowns. Little was named to two AFL All-Star Games and three AFC-NFC Pro Bowls. He was also named All-AFL/NFL twice and All-AFC first- or second-team four straight years.

In all, Little amassed more than 12,000 all-purpose yards and scored 54 touchdowns during his career that spanned from 1967 to 1975. He gained 6,323 yards on 1,641 career carries and scored 43 touchdowns. He added 215 receptions for 2,418 yards and 9 TDs. Little totaled 893 yards on 81 career punt returns and a pair of scores; and returned 104 kickoffs for 2,523 yards in his nine-season career.

The New Haven Athletic Center was officially renamed the Floyd Little Athletic Center in an impressive, two-hour ceremony in October 2011 that attracted some 200 people. A trophy showcase featuring uniforms, helmets and pictures from Little’s playing days at Hillhouse, Syracuse, Bordentown Military Institute and with the Broncos was unveiled, along with a wall plaque and, of course, the building’s new name.

“The Hall of Fame is one thing,” Little told the New Haven Register. “But having your name on a building is something different. It’s a great joy to have. No one could ever believe that a guy who came from this area, with very little means, could rise up to be an all-city, all-state, all-American, all-pro, College Football Hall of Fame and Pro Football Hall of Fame. It’s an unbelievable story, but I feel that I’ve been truly blessed.”

In addition to Little, Connecticut residents to reach the NFL and the Canton, Ohio Hall of Fame  are Ken Strong, who played in the 1930s and Andy Robustelli, a league standout during the 1950’s.

Halfback Ken Strong's most publicized performance in 14 years of pro football came in the 1934 National Football League Championship Game. In that now historic game, Strong contributed 17 points on two touchdowns, two extra points and a field goal to lead his New York Giants to a 30-13 victory over the Chicago Bears. He was born in 1906 in West Haven and died in 1979 at age 73.

The Los Angeles Rams drafted Andy Robustelli, an end from tiny Arnold College, in the nineteenth round of the 1951 National Football League draft. A long shot to make the team as an offensive end since the Rams already had such stars as Tom Fears and Elroy "Crazylegs" Hirsch, Robustelli responded in the only way he knew how - to go all out to make good at what was available to him, the defensive unit.

He went on to become one of the finest defensive ends in pro football history, playing five years with the Rams and then nine years with the New York Giants. He was a regular for the Rams’ 1951 championship team, and the one game he missed that season was the only one he missed in 14 NFL seasons.  He is credited with molding together the 1956 Giants team that won the NFL championship.

He was named All-Pro seven times and was named to the Pro Bowl seven times. In 1962 the Maxwell Club selected Robustelli as the NFL’s outstanding player, an honor that up until then was generally reserved for an offensive player. The honor was indicative of the high regard that fans, teammates and opponents all held for the future Hall of Fame defensive end.  A Stamford native born in 1925, Robustelli died in 2011 at age 85.

UConn the Latest to Proceed with Scoreboard Replacement; Controversy Erupts at Penn State

When the State Bond Commission voted last week to approve $2.8 million for repairs to Rentschler Field in East Hartford, home of the newly rebranded Connecticut Huskies, it was said that about $1.67 million of that money will be used to replace scoreboards at the stadium.

The Hartford Courant reported that Kim Hart, the venue director for the Capital Regional Development Authority, which overssees the state-owned facility, said that scoreboards like the main one at Rentschler are typically replaced every 7 to 8 years.  The main scoreboard at the Rent has been in place since the facility opened, a decade ago.

“It’s outlined its useful life and we’ve squeezed a few years out of it,” she was quoted as saying.

For sports fans accustomed to seeing stadium scoreboards in place for well over a decade at venues across the nation, the statement may have been jarring.  But apparently, new technology is driving new scoreboard purchases at colleges coast-to-coast – and at costs considerably higher than in Connecticut.

In 2012, Ohio State University announced plans to install a larger high-definition scoreboard screen and improved audio equipment as part of $7 million in upgrades at its football stadium.  The school said that the new 42-by-124-foot scoreboard at Ohio Stadium would  replace an 11-year-old board that measures 30 feet by 90 feet, the CBS affiliate in Cleveland reported.   When the new scoreboard debuted in August 2012, the school’s Lantern newspaper website reported that Don Patko, associate athletic director of Facilities Management, said the improvements were necessary and well worth the cost.  “It was time for the video board to be replaced,” Patko said. “The usual life for a scoreboard is 12 to 15 years, and the last one was 12 years old.”

When Brigham Young University announced plans for a new scoreboard in 2012, to be paid by corporate donations, it was noted that  “In 1996, a video wall was added to the south end zone and a matrix scoreboard to the north end zone. The north end zone scoreboard was updated in 2008 to include a small video board. The project will include state-of-art LED video walls in the north and south end zones, as well as LED ribbon boards across the top of both end zones.”

When North Carolina State University embarked on a fundraising drive for scoreboard replacement in 2011, Mark Steinkamp, a senior marketing director at Brookings, S.D.-based scoreboard provider Daktronics, told the StateFansNation that “large college football scoreboards can cost as much as several million dollars. Schools typically will replace them every seven to 10 years as new control and display technologies come along.”

Also in 2011, Penn State University launched a scoreboard replacement initiative.  In a letter to prospective design professionals, University Architect David Zenghut pointed out that “The existing main end zone scoreboards were installed prior to the 2001 football season and operational maintenance is becoming increasingly challenging and costly. In addition, there have been dramatic advances in the audio/video technology of these products. In order to address the operational issue and enhance the game day spectator experience, we intend to replace both scoreboards with state-of-the-art, HD video boards that will complement the character of the stadium.”

Penn State assumed a construction budget of $5.5 million, according to the document.  A year later, it was reported by StateCollege.com that the completion of the scoreboard replacement was pushed back from 2012 to 2014. And this week, with the projected cost now pegged at nearly $10 million, a local newspaper is calling for the project to be scaled back or scrapped.

The Centre Daily Times, in an editorial published on July 28, 2013, said “We question the decision to install a new scoreboard, approved at last week’s board of trustees meetings, … while costs tied to the Jerry Sandusky abuse scandal reached nearly $47 million. We wonder what the scoreboard decision says about the school’s priorities,” The newspaper continued “We’re surprised Penn State thought this was the right time to take an expensive step toward enhancing its athletics brand, the stated goal with the scoreboard, given criticism hurled at the university during the Sandusky scandal. Those same trustees meetings approved yet-another tuition hike — this one nearly 4 percent ...”

Just last month, progress in construction of a new scoreboard at the University of Iowa’s Kinnick Stadium was reported by the local ABC affiliate, which explained that “The video board/sound upgrades will be up and running for Iowa’s home football schedule this fall. The financing package the board approved for that Kinnick project totals $8 million, but they expect the total cost of everything will be $9 million because of the increase in bids on a portion of the project.  The existing video walls, control room equipment and sound system at Kinnick are eight years old, UI officials told The Gazette.  The company handling the project is Daktronics, Inc. As per usual, the Iowa athletics department will foot this bill using no tax or tuition cash.”

And earlier this year, Virginia Tech issued an RFP for a new scoreboard, which would be among the largest in college sports.

University of Hartford Student Athletes Win Conference in Academic Performance

Reporting on the academic performance of its student athletes with a level of statistical precision normally reserved for sporting events, the University of Hartford announced that it has clinched its second-straight America East Academic Cup in 2012-13 after posting the highest grade point average of any school in the 18-year history of the award, according to data from by the America East conference.

Compiling a 3.24 GPA in 2012-13, the Hawks' winning GPA was six points higher than the next highest mark, which belonged to New Hampshire (3.18 GPA). Binghamton University and University of Vermont tied for third (3.12 GPA), followed by University of Maine (3.11), Stony Brook University (3.08), Boston University (3.07), University at Albany (3.01) and UMBC (2.83), the university reported.

“We are all so proud of our student-athletes who have proven once again that we do things the right way: we excel on the field or court and in the classroom,” said University of Hartford President Walter Harrison. “Here at Hartford, the term student-athlete has meaning.”  Harrison has served as Chair of the National Collegiate Athletic Association's Committee on Academic Performance.

The Academic Cup, established by the America East Board of Directors in 1995, is presented to the institution whose student-athletes post the highest grade point averages during that academic year.  Last year, Hartford student-athletes earned a 3.17 GPA, edging out the University of Vermont by one one-hundredth of a point to clinch UHart's first Academic Cup since 1996-97. In 2012-13, the Hawks surpassed last year's mark by seven one-hundredths to take home back-to-back Academic Cups for the first time in school history.

The Hawks set a record in the classroom in the Spring 2013 semester, posting a combined 3.23 GPA, edging the previous school mark of 3.22 set one year ago. This past spring, Hartford boasted 252 student-athletes with GPAs of 3.0 or better, with 150 of those student-athletes notching at least a 3.5 and 20 out of 358 student-athletes earning a perfect 4.0 GPA for the semester.

“Congratulations to the University of Hartford, most notably its student-athletes, on this historic achievement,” said America East Commissioner Amy Huchthausen. “It is indicative of the hard work put in and the value placed on academics not only by Hartford, but by all nine of our institutions and student-athletes, who consistently excel academically year in and year out, which is a core pillar of this conference and what sets us apart from so many others.” After a season in which its mens basketball team was ineligible for post-season play because of substandard academic performance a few years ago, UConn received the news earlier this year that they would again be eligible for post season play in 2014.

According to the NCAA's explanation of the Academic Progress Rate (APR) system which determines eligibility, each athlete earns one retention point for staying in school and one eligibility point for remaining academically eligible. The team's total points are divided by the number of possible points, then multiplied by 1,000 to reach the APR.

UConn's score for the 2011-12 academic year was 947 out of 1,000, giving the program two consecutive years with scores surpassing the NCAA benchmark. With a two-year average of 964, UConn surpassed the NCAA's two-year standard of 930 and will be eligible for postseason play in 2014, The Hartford Courant reported.

Five Quinnipiac University teams have received a Public Recognition Award from the NCAA for earning high scores in the most recent Academic Progress Rate (APR) compilation, according to the school.

The Quinnipiac squads recognized by the NCAA include: men’s indoor track & field, women’s cross country, women’s golf, women’s indoor track & field and women’s outdoor track & field. All five teams are rewarded for scoring in the top 10 percent in each sport with respect to their Academic Progress Rates (APRs).

Top CT Trails Ranked for Hiking with Your Dog

Summer is officially underway, and Connecticut residents are responding to the great outdoors, hiking the state’s numerous scenic trails.  For those interested in bringing their dog along, the website bringfido.com has compiled the top 10 dog-friendly hiking trails in the state:

1.   The Cascades at Lake Mohigan (Fairfield)

2.       Housatonic Rail-Trail - Trumbull (Pequannock Valley Greenway) Trumbull

3.       Bear Mountain Reservation (Danbury)

4.       Farmington River Trail (Farmington)

5.       Timberlands (Guilford)

6.       Kettletown State Park (Southbury)

7.       Central Bark Dog Park at Copp Family Park (Groton)

8.       Winslow Park (Westport)

9.       Housatonic Valley Rail-Trail (Monroe)

10.   Hop River State Park Trail (Vernon-Rockville)

The publication “A Bark in the Park – Connecticut” lists the basics for taking your dog on a hike, including helpful hints on the collar, identification tags, bandanna, leash and water.  Also discussed are conditioning, trail hazards, and the perils of black bears, rattlesnakes and porcupines.

The basic do’s and don’t when hiking with your dog are also outlined by backpacker.com:

Find a canine-friendly trail Look for places that are "easy on the paws" -  shady trails with soft, leaf- or needle-covered terrain; avoid paths littered with sharp rocks, off-trail routes with steep drops, or any surface that gets very hot.

Fit & load his pack Adjust the harness on your dog so it's snug but won't chafe (remove saddlebags first, if the pack allows). You should be able to fit two fingers under it. Load the bags with dog food, treats, water (some packs come with hydration bladders), bowls, and extra gear for you–this is the time for beer or another pillow! Make sure both sides are weighted equally; total load shouldn't exceed one-third of your dog's body weight.

Camp with your dog

• Keep dogs leashed around other hikers, bikers, horses, and on steep or slippery terrain (so they don't knock anyone over). Step aside and yield the trail to all others.
• Pack out poop on dayhikes (double-bag it!). On longer trips, follow regulations and bury away from the trail and water sources.
• Bring a camp towel and brush to clean and dry dogs thoroughly before letting them in the tent. Trim nails pretrip to prevent rips in the tent floor.
• Pack a foam pad for sleeping, and a wool or down blanket in cold weather.
• Keep track of dogs at night with LED lights or glowstick bracelets on collars.

Two Minor League Baseball All-Star Games in Connecticut This Summer

It is an all-star summer in Connecticut, with the state hosting not one but two minor league all-star games.  The New Britain Rock Cats, the Double-A Eastern League affiliate of the Minnesota Twins, will host the annual Eastern League All-Star Game at New Britain Stadium on Wednesday, July 10, preceded by a series of fan events in Hartford and New Britain.  And the Connecticut Tigers of the New York – Penn. League (NYPL) will host that league’s all-star game at Dodd Stadium in Norwich on Tuesday, August 13.

The Rock Cats have planned community events for fans leading up to the game, both at the ballpark and in the state’s Capitol City. The community events include:

• NOTE:  There have been changes to the event schedule.  For the latest info, visit http://www.milb.com/content/page.jsp?ymd=20130612&content_id=50407276&fext=.jsp&sid=t538&vkey=

·         All-Star Fan Fest The Rock Cats along with MECA (Marketing, Events & Cultural Affairs for the City of Hartford) will host an All-Star Fanfest on Friday, July 5th at 5:00 PM at Bushnell Park in Downtown Hartford. This free event will be open to the public and include: A Ribbon Cutting ceremony, Vintage Baseball Exhibition, Beer Garden, Food Vendors, Wiffle ball games, inflatable games and mascots for the kids. The event will culminate with a public screening of A League of Their Own as part of Hartford Parks' "Movies After Dark Series."

·         Wiffle Ball Tournament for Charity  

The Rock Cats are creating a mini baseball park inside Bushnell Park in Downtown Hartford. The space will be used for a community Wiffle Ball tournament, Monday July 8th through Wednesday July 10th, sponsored by UnitedHealthcare. The Wiffle Ball Tournament will include teams from local companies and will benefit charities such as the YMCA of Greater Hartford.

·         Celebrity Skills Challenge The Rock Cats will host an All-Star Celebrity Skills Challenge at New Britain Stadium on Tuesday July 9th, the night before the game. This event will kick off 6:00 PM and include an autograph session with the All-Star players. Ticket prices range from $8 to $12 and a portion of event proceeds will benefit local charities.

The 2013 Eastern League All-Star Classic Presented by Dunkin Donuts will take place on Wednesday, July 10th at 7:05 PM at New Britain Stadium. The All-Star Game features the top players in the Eastern League from all 12 clubs as voted by fans, field managers and media. The Hartford Hilton will serve as the official host hotel and Dattco will serve as the official transportation supplier. Tickets range from $10 to $22 and are now on sale by calling the box office at 860-224-8383 or at www.rockcats.com. The Rock Cats last hosted the All-Star Game in 2003.

The 2013 New York-Penn League All-Star Game will take place on Tuesday, August 13 at 7:35 p.m. at Dodd Stadium in Norwich. The All-Star Celebration logo honors the community's rich maritime history and it's affiliation with the American League Champion Detroit Tigers. Maritime flags, an anchor and a dock rope make up the nautical logo, combined with classic Tigers old English lettering. Ticket prices for the All-Star Celebration Game are the same as the 2013 single game ticket prices: $10.00 for premium seat tickets, $9.00 for reserved seat tickets and $8.00 for grandstand seat tickets and are currently available online and at the ticket office at Dodd Stadium.  The Tigers home opener for the 2013 season is Monday, June 17.

For High School Stand-outs, Major League Baseball Draft Brings Tough Decision

When Masuk High School baseball standout Thomas Milone of Monroe was selected by the Tampa Bay Rays in the third round, 97th overall, in this week’s Major League Baseball draft, it instantly became decision time. His choice: sign with the Rays by July 12, or go to UConn, where he has signed a letter of intent.

His decision, yet to be announced, may impact UConn’s prospects to build on this year’s successful post-season, but will certainly affect the course of his own career, in baseball and beyond.

For Matt Harvey, now a standout pitcher on the New York Mets, a similar dichotomy awaited him after being drafted #118 overall by the Minnesota Twins in 2007 out of Fitch High School in Groton.   Harvey decided to head to college at North Carolina, went back in the baseball player draft after his junior year, and became the #7 pick overall when the NY Mets selected him.  He signed with the Mets, and his career trajectory has been upward ever since.

Among the top ten picks this year, 17 year old Phil Bickford of California will be deciding whether to sign with the Toronto Blue Jays or follow through on his commitment to Cal State Fullerton to begin college and a collegiate baseball career.  High school pitcher Kohl Stewart, selected at #4 by the Minnesota Twins, has said he will likely sign with the team and walk away from a football scholarship to Texas A&M.  In the seventh round, Avon Old Farms student Neil Kozikowski, a pitcher from Burlington, was selected by the Pittsburgh Pirates, the 239th player selected.

For two other Connecticut players were drafted this week, it was a stellar college career that contributed to their position in the draft:

• John Murphy, a former Seymour High and Sacred Heart University shortstop, was the sixth-round selection with the 194th pick for the New York Yankees.  He is the highest selection in SHU history and the 14th player from the school ever to be drafted, according to the Connecticut Post.
• University of Connecticut infielder L.J. Mazzilli, son of former major leaguer Lee Mazzilli, was drafted by the Mets in the fourth round -- 40 years after his dad was a first-round pick of the club.  L.J. Mazzilli helped lead the Huskies to the Big East tournament title and an automatic berth to the NCAA tournament this year.  He had been drafted by the Minnesota Twins a year ago, but opted to stay at UConn for his senior year.

Play college ball, or turn pro?  For Joseph Matthews, first vice president and senior investment management consultant with the Global Wealth Management Division of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management in Fairfield, the answer is in the numbers.

Matthews, writing in the Connecticut Post, notes that Georgetown University’s Center on Education and the Workforce has found that “people who hold a bachelor's degree have an 85 percent higher lifetime earning capacity than people with only a high school education.  With an undergraduate college degree, a person will average lifetime -- that is, from age 25 to 64 years -- earnings of $2.8 million. With a high school degree, that average plummets to $1.5 million.”  Here’s how Matthews breaks it down:

• Right now, there are 750 players on 30 major league teams. Additionally, there are 4,000 players on 160 teams in the minors.
• Less than three in 50, or only about 5.6 percent, of high school senior boys in interscholastic baseball programs will go on to play men's baseball at an NCAA member institution.
• Of those, fewer than 11 in 100 senior players in NCAA will be drafted into professional baseball. In all, only one in 200 (about 0.5 percent) high school seniors playing interscholastic baseball will eventually be drafted by an MLB team.

By way of comparison, data indicates that in basketball .03% of high school athletes are drafted by NBA teams; in football the percentage is .09% reacingh the NFL, in hockey it is 4% who achieve the NHL level.

The economics – for those who don’t make it to the major leagues – are stark.  “For the minor leagues, roughly 1,500 players are drafted per year, yet only 1,000 will actually get to play. These lower-level athletes are only paid a fraction of what their major league counterparts are paid: a first contract season pays only $850/month, maximum. Taking into account rent, food, utilities, transportation, entertainment and all the other expenses of independent living, it would be exceedingly difficult on a minor league salary to grow a nest egg for future use,” Matthews suggests.

Those whose careers don’t rise above the minors will be “cast out into the labor force, often with a wife and children, and no marketable skills to speak of,” Matthews says.  He concludes that “donning a cap and gown and stepping up to a podium -- to accept a college diploma -- is a far more realistic way to achieve their dreams.”

That is an opinion that Milone, and other freshly minted high school graduates drafted by a major league franchise this week, may well be pondering.

Rizzotti, Like Auriemma, Signs Through 2017-18 Season

Let the “Jen will succeed Geno” rumor mill begin.  Again.

A month ago, UConn women's basketball coach Geno Auriemma signed a new $10.86 million contract, a deal designed to keep him at the university through the 2017-18 season.

"This is just a unique place and a unique situation," Auriemma reportedly said at the time. "I'm fortunate that I'm here and that I've been here at the perfect time and the perfect place."

Speaking of timing, the University of Hartford has now announced that women's basketball coach Jennifer Rizzotti has agreed to a contract extension, which will run - you guessed it - through the 2017-18 women's basketball season.

Rizzotti, 38, first signed with Hartford in September of 1999 and has since led the Hawks to six NCAA Tournament appearances and the program's first win in the NCAA Tournament. Her previous contract was to last through the 2013-14 season and will now be folded into the new contract, the university said. The terms of the new extension were not disclosed.

Auriemma, the 59-year-old Hall of Famer, has coached at UConn since 1985.  He will make $1.95 million in salary, speaking fees and media fees in the next year, according to the Associated Press. That will gradually increase to $2.4 million in the final year of the five-year contract. The Huskies have played in 14 Finals Fours under Auriemma, including the last five, winning the National Championship for a record-tying eighth time earlier this month.

Rizzotti was one of the most highly recognized UConn stand-outs at the start of the Husky dynasty, and went on to a successful pro career before settling in at Hartford.  In recent years, the Hawks and Huskies have squared off in early season match-ups, first at the XL Center and last year at the Hartford campus.  With each match-up, the questions about Rizzotti’s future and Auriemma’s successor are rekindled.

UConn announced that Auriemma will receive a base salary of $400,000 for each year on the contract, which runs from April 15 to April 14 of each year. In 2013-14, he will receive $1,550,000 for institutional speaking engagements and media related appearances for a total of $1,950,000. The payment for institutional speaking engagements will increase by $110,000 each year, except in the final year when it will increase by $120,000.  Auriemma's total compensation for each year of the contract will be: 2013-14-$1,950,000; 2014-15-$2,060,000; 2015-16-$2,170,000; 2016-17-$2,280,000; 2017-18-$2,400,000.

A three-time America East Coach of the Year, Rizzotti has amassed a school-record 276 wins, which is the most among all current and former America East coaches. Her five America East Conference Championships and 23 league tournament victories are the most in the history of the conference. This June, Rizzotti will be inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, one of six members of the Class of 2013.   Rizzotti has also amassed a 13-1 record as a USA Basketball Head Coach, leading the United States to Gold Medals at the 2011 U-19 FIBA Championships and the 2010 U-18 FIBA Americas.

Photo Credit: Geoff Bolte / Southcreek Global

Movie Ticket Sales Up in 2012; Industry Cites Value vs. Sports, Theme Parks

Despite an increasing number of alternative forms of entertainment as technology continues to advance, the motion picture industry reminds us that movie theaters continue to draw more people than all theme parks and major U.S. sports combined. Noting that the average cinema ticket price increased by 3 cents in 2012, less than the 2% increase in inflation, the industry uses the comparisons to highlight the dollar value they provide to families nationwide.  Comparisons to other forms of entertainment, including video games and internet programming, was not included in the industry’s “Theatrical Market Statistics 2012” report.

A movie “still provides the most affordable entertainment option,” costing under $40 dollars for a family of four, according to the Motion Picture Association of America, as compared with $107.92 to attend a major league baseball game, $199.00 to attend one of the nation’s leading theme parks, $203.96 to go to an NBA game, $244.04 at an NHL arena, and $313.52 to attend an NFL game.

More than two-thirds of the population in the U.S. and Canada (age 2+) went to the cinema at least once in 2012, and the “typical moviegoer” bought six tickets during the year, a slight increase from the previous year.  A total of 1.4 billion tickets were sold during the year.

Among the nation’s 12 most populous states, 74 percent of the population of Illinois saw a movie in 2012, the highest share in any of those states.  Data pertaining to Connecticut was not released. Cinema ticket sales continue to be driven by frequent moviegoers –those who go to the movies once a month or more. Frequent moviegoers represent 13% of the population but purchased 57% of all tickets sold in 2012.

“I am happy to report that in 2012, both global and domestic box office were up and so were domestic admissions,” said former Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the MPAA. “It’s a powerful reminder of just how much movies matter – not just to our culture, but also to our economy. Our industry supports 2.1 million jobs in the United States and more than 120,000 of those jobs are in movie theaters.”

The  top movies of 2012, by attendance:  The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, The Hunger Games, Skyfall and Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2.