Thursday, September 5, 2013

Guts, Experts or Vegas?


Picking sports games seems like it's more of an art than a science.  Our modern day oracles fill the airwaves and cyberspace try to consistently predict the future for how each game will turn out using stats, insider access and who knows what else.  Given that this is the night of the official kickoff of the NFL season - I think it's fitting to use this as test for art v science.  The NFL is a league built on parity and equality like none other and I wonder if Paul could do as well in this league as European football when it comes to picking winners.  My goal is to track picks each week based on the following four methods:
  • My own intuition and experience that has been honed from years of sports dedication
  • ESPN Power Rankings for week one where I pick the higher ranked team according to the ESPN "experts"
  • Vegas odds for week one games
  • My wife's picks - based on her intuition and experience that has been honed from years of watching Law & Order, Gilmore Girls and yelling at Tony Romo

I'm hoping I can do better than the experts - but if Starr wins out this season - I'm taking her to Vegas.  As for week one - games with varying picks are highlighted below in blue.

Game My Pick Power Ranking Odds Starr
Ravens v Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos Broncos
Patriots v Bills Patriots Patriots Patriots Patriots
Titans v Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers Steelers
Falcons v Saints SaintsFalconsSaints Saints
Buccaneers v JetsBuccaneersBuccaneersBuccaneersJets
Chiefs v Jaguars Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs Chiefs
Seahawks v Panthers Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks Seahawks
Bengals v BearsBengalsBengalsBearsBengals
Dolphins v BrownsDolphinsDolphinsDolphinsBrowns
Vikings v LionsLionsVikingsLionsVikings
Raiders v Colts Colts Colts Colts Colts
Packers v 49ers49ers49ers49ersPackers
Cardinals v Rams Rams Rams Rams Rams
Giants v CowboysCowboysGiantsCowboysGiants
Eagles v Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins Redskins
Texans v Chargers Texans Texas Texans Texans

3 comments:

The Doob said...

Updating from last week - I was 12/16, Power Rankings went 9/16, Vegas was 13/16 and Starr went 9/16. Not the best outing for her - but she tie with the experts doing power rankings.

Mister Pro said...

Never doubt the casino.

Mister Pro said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
 
Watch the latest videos on YouTube.com