MIT Sports Analytics Conference

I was in Boston last weekend for Daryl Morey's MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference at the Boston Convention Center. It was a really cool thing to be a part of. It was a great event. I met a lot of cool people, got to see what some of these guys are like up close, and got a lot out of the topics and discussions that were held throughout the course of the day. It was a very well run event.

Just to backtrack a bit, this conference is about the discussion of the emerging presence of analytics in sports. In English, to give a few examples, it's looking at little things like Rashard Lewis' 3 point percentage in the right side corner when he's unguarded, or the amount of deflections Trevor Ariza makes during a game. Same goes for baseball and football. Looking at small things like the ground Grady Sizemore can cover coming in on a ball, or Joe Thomas' matchup on the Browns bread and butter run play on 2nd and 9. Analytics is aimed at trying to find new and different measurements and statistics that can create value and advantages for a team. And they hope to transcend those advantages to encompass much more than the night to night happenings of a game. They can be used to evaluate personnel decsions, drafting players, measuring a certain lineups effectiveness, etc. I'm losing my point here, let's move on.

Guys I Met at the Conference (shook their hand and had a meaningful 1-2 minute talk with them)

Bill Simmons, The Sports Guy

Steve Kerr, GM Phoenix Suns

Daryl Morey, Host, GM of the Houston Rockets

Ric Bucher, NBA Writer, ESPN.com

Mark Stein (Steiny Mo), NBA Writer, ESPN.com

Henry Abbot, NBA Writer, TrueHoop, ESPN.com

Bill Polian, President, Indianapolis Colts

John Hollinger, NBA Writer, ESPN.com

Mike Zarren, Assistant GM, Boston Celtics

Brent Barry, Former NBA player

Aaron Shatz, Editor, Football Outsiders

Brian Kenny, ESPN Sportscenter Anchor

David Thorpe, NBA Player Skill Developer

Guys Hands I Shook at the Conference (Just a quick "what's up)

Mark Cuban, Owner, Dallas Mavericks

Avery Johnson, Former NBA Coach

Michael Lewis, Author, Moneyball, The Blind Side

Kevin Pritchard, GM Portland Trail Blazers

Darren Rovell, CNBC Sports Business

Dean Oliver, Denver Nuggets Analytics Guy

Buck Showalter, Former MLB Skipper