IRB Rugby World Cup Statistics

The International Rugby Board (IRB) report on the analysis of match statistics from the 2011 World Cup was released recently (see the report here). It paints a flattering picture of various game specifics in comparison to the 2007 and 2003 World Cups, including competitive balance (see my earlier post on this issue): ...Tier 2 teams were competitive for all 80 minutes of the game. The Tier 1 teams did not pull away over the last 20 minutes which was frequently the case in previous World Cups.   ...as well as tactical dynamics and aesthetic appeal of the games:   ...fewer set pieces, […]

Baltimore Grand Prix Update - 2012 edition

Over a year ago I posted about the agreement between the City of Baltimore and Baltimore Racing Development that brought Grand Prix racing to Baltimore. The event has come and gone, it was held Labor Day weekend, but the real excitement for a sports economist's point of view has all been post race. Because of the claimed benefits to the city, and because the event was in my backyard, Michael Friedman, from the University of Maryland, College Park sport management program, and I developed a survey that was then administered outside the gates at the Grand Prix. We asked basic […]

Hypotheticals under Arguably Better Systems

The Australian Football League (AFL) finals series (or playoffs in the US/Canadian lingo) kicks off this weekend, with betting markets indicating that the field of eight is more open than in most recent years. At the business end of the season, it is always worth considering how things would be different under alternative systems used to rank teams at the conclusion of the home-and-away (regular) season. One possibility here is if the AFL used a ‘bonus points' system analogous to that used in some Rugby (Union) competitions (see an earlier post). Niven Winchester (MIT) and I estimated a theoretical bonus point […]

Inter Milan 3 Manchester City 0

I attended the Inter Milan-Manchester City "friendly" last night at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore. Here is an article describing the game. From my somewhat jaded perspective, sitting among the Man City faithful, the referee ruined the game by 1) getting taken in by the unbelievable diving ability of the Inter Milan club, and 2) giving a red card to a Man City player at about the 20 minute mark after one of the aforementioned dives by the Inter Milan players. So Man City played a man down for 70 minutes and the Italian club took full advantage of that. […]

"Give the World Cup bid a red card"

That's the title of co-blogger Dennis Coates' piece in today's LA Times.  Dennis may be too proud to call attention to himself by pointing that out here, but I'm not!  Here's the first paragraph: This week, officials of FIFA, the world soccer federation, will be visiting the United States to examine America's bid to host the 2018 or 2022 World Cup, with Los Angeles remaining as one of the potential host cities. The U.S. Bid Committee has touted the tournament as a major moneymaker for the U.S. economy, predicting a financial benefit of up to $5 billion. Such a needed […]

The Sports Business in the Recession

Interesting piece here, based on a discussion with economist Dan Rascher.  It starts with the Texas Rangers' trip to bankruptcy court: “The Rangers are like a microcosm of how so many companies have fared in this credit crisis,” said Daniel Rascher, president of Sports Economics, a sports consulting firm. “Once the economy turned bad, their revenues flattened or declined and they realized they didn't have enough equity in their business.” You may recall earlier posts at TSE that noted the valuation and leverage skills in the world of private equity of Rangers owner Tom Hicks .  Perhaps his luck ran […]

Baltimore's World Cup Chances

Last summer, 72,000 fans packed M and T Bank Stadium in Baltimore to watch a "friendly" between Chelsea and AC Milan. This summer, with less than two weeks before Inter Milan and Manchester City take to the field at M and T Bank Stadium only 30,000 tickets have been sold. This worries local boosters of Baltimore as a site for games of the 2018 or 2022 World Cup. The idea is that of the 18 cities listed as finalists in the US bid, only those showing the strongest support for soccer will be selected to play host to games. Three […]

Wake Me Up When We Play Algeria

2-2 vs. Slovenia, and whew!  That was the most thrilling tie in American history.  We're still alive!! As for the commentary, Ian Darke's performance in the booth validated ESPN's decision to shake up their roster of announcers for the World Cup. But they need to do something similar with the post-game crew.  I could do with less Lalas & Tirico, and more of the brilliant Roberto Martinez, please.  English is the Spaniard's second (or perhaps third) language, and his eloquent analysis makes the usual crew look like schoolboys.  Hiring Martinez was a brilliant stroke.  For online play-by-play, Georgina Turner is fantastic.

If not for Iniesta...

With the dust settling on the World Cup Final last Sunday, we are still debating various aspects of the game and the tournament itself, such as those raised by Brian below on July 12.  One of the biggest issues is how to deal with imperfections in the sport, such as badly-designed balls, player simulation, the occasional 'howler' by referees and teams going out on penalty shoot-outs.  With this in mind, the good people at 'EZDzine'  invited me to produce a guest-post on the latter. The 2006 World Cup Final between Italy and France brought this 'tragedy' (as once […]

World Cup Notes

I think hosting the World Cup in South Africa may be too large a burden for a smallish developing country:  population 49 million, with per capita income $10,000.  With $6 billion invested in infrastructure, security, etc, the tab would come to about $122 per capita, which is not outrageously high, but is more than a trivial sum.  This is also a substantial sum relative to public revenues of about $75 billion.  Unlike Greece, however, South Africa's finances are in good shape, with public debt at about 36% of GDP in 2009.  The World Cup won't help matters on this score, but thus […]

South Africa and Good Publicity

Apparently holding one's nose isn't only required concerning the economic impact numbers that World Cup supporters tout. The New Zealand squad had troubles at its practice grounds in South Africa.

World Cup Betting

In a few days the world's biggest sporting event, the World Cup, will begin in South Africa.  In addition to being an immensely popular spectator sporting event, the World Cup is also a very popular gambling event.  The Wall Street Journal speculates that the 2010 World Cup will be the largest betting event in history and reports that between one and  three billion pounds sterling could be wagered in the UK alone.  Since much of the World Cup betting involves office pools and informal bets among individuals, it is impossible to estimate the actual amount of money wagered, but it […]