A podcast of the 7:19-a.m. Sports report with Ric Hanson….

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An assistant professor of economics at Iowa State University is trying to use what he’s learned through statistical analysis to give sports fans a better breakdown of games and make projections on future matchups. Gray Calhoun created a website he calls VisualScoreboard.com.  The website has statistical graphs to visually represent scoring at points during a game. “So that way you can see if one team makes a big run and gets a big lead, and you can if the other team comes right back, or if they chip away for 15 minutes. So, you can see a lot more about what’s going on during the game,” Calhoun says. He started with calculations for N-F-L games as well as N-H-L at the request of a friend. Calhoun says his graphs use a number of variables.

“For different leagues instead of looking at win-loss percentage…just use statistics to keep track of what their opponents were. And so adjust the win loss percentage to kind of account for all the records of all the other teams that they’ve played,” he explains. While the website can give you an idea of the team that is statistically likely to win, there’s one factor that Calhoun says you can’t factor in. “If you follow sports then you kind of know this already — there’s a lot of luck,” Calhoun says. He cites the Baltimore Ravens which were a top 10 team, but not many people had them picked to win the N-F-L championship. Calhoun says the Ravens played well and they won. He says using statistics gets even tougher in the playoffs because most of the teams are usually pretty evenly matched. But Calhoun says the stats do give you an idea of past performance of teams and that can be an indicator of what they might do.

“So they tell you that about the stock market, past performance doesn’t predict the future, but if a fund has been doing badly, then you probably don’t want to invest in it. But you can still learn something,” Calhoun says. He says the website is something that’s a work in progress and he hopes to be able to do more with it in the future. Calhoun says the website for now is just a hobby, as the data collection and processing is very time consuming.

(Radio Iowa)

Baseball Scores… (PPD: Game postponed; CNX – Game cancelled due to weather)
A-H-S-T, Avoca 9, Tri-Center, Neola 3
Stanton 8, Essex 1
Treynor 11, Riverside, Oakland 4
Villisca 5, East Mills 3 (suspended in 3rd inning)
Missouri Valley vs. Audubon — PPD
IKM-Manning Coon Rapids-Bayard — CNX
Lenox vs. Southeast Warren — PPD
Mount Ayr vs. Central Decatur — PPD
Interstate-35 vs. Orient-Macksburg — CNX

Softball Scores…
Fort Dodge Tournament
Harlan 8 BCLUW 0
Ankeny 10 Atlantic 0
Webster City 2 Atlantic 0
Fort Dodge 8 Sioux City East 2
———————————–
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 6, Clarinda 4
East Mills 7, Villisca 1
IKM-Manning 10, Boyer Valley 3
Logan-Magnolia 9, Woodbine 3
Sidney 5, Fremont-Mills 4
Treynor 10, Riverside, Oakland 0
Tri-Center, Neola 8, A-H-S-T, Avoca 6
Underwood 5, Griswold 2

MIAMI (AP) – Rookie Jose Fernandez outpitched a rusty Jake Westbrook, and the team with the worst record in the majors beat the team with the best record. Fernandez had a career-high 10 strikeouts in seven innings Friday, and the Miami Marlins spoiled Westbrook’s return from an elbow injury by defeating the St. Louis Cardinals 5-4.
 
The 20-year-old Fernandez (4-3) became the first pitcher under the age of 21 to strike out 10 or more since Felix Hernandez with Seattle in 2007. Relying heavily on breaking balls, he threw a career-high 107 pitches and allowed three runs, two earned.
 
Westbrook (2-2), who had been sidelined with elbow inflammation, went five innings in his first game since May 8. He allowed five runs, two of them unearned because of a misplayed grounder by second baseman Matt Carpenter, and his ERA rose to 2.05.

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – The College World Series opens in Omaha, Neb., on Saturday with Mississippi State facing No. 3 national seed Oregon State in the afternoon and Indiana playing Louisville at night. Mississippi State (48-18) features All-America right fielder Hunter Renfroe. He’s the No. 13 overall draft pick of San Diego. The only higher draft choice in the CWS is North Carolina third baseman Colin Moran, taken sixth by Miami. Oregon State (50-11) has tied its record for wins.
 
Indiana (48-18) is making its CWS debut as the first Big Ten team in 29 years to reach Omaha. Louisville (51-12) is in the CWS for the second time (2007).
 
Sunday’s games have No. 1 seed North Carolina (57-10) against rival North Carolina State (49-14) and UCLA (44-17) against No. 4 seed LSU (57-9).

IOWA CITY, Iowa (AP) — Iowa linebacker Dalton Shaull was in stable condition Friday after his scooter ran into the back of another vehicle. Iowa City police Sgt. Brian Krei says Shaull was on a highway near the edge of Iowa City on Thursday afternoon when he rear-ended another vehicle.

The university says in a statement that Shaull, a redshirt freshman linebacker from Oskaloosa, Iowa, remains at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. No further details were provided.

With KJAN’s Ric Hanson….

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OMAHA, Neb. (AP) – Fans attending the College World Series at night will notice some new lighting on the Road to Omaha sculpture in front of the main gate at TD Ameritrade Park. Lighting fixtures and glass panels attached to the sculpture’s concrete backsplash, as well as a new spotlight, provide a different kind of illumination. 

CWS Inc. president Jack Diesing Jr. said the lighting is synchronized to provide an alternating spectrum of colors behind the sculpture.  The 1,500-pound bronze sculpture was created by John Lajba and depicts four baseball players celebrating victory at home plate. It was dedicated in 1999 and moved to the downtown ballpark from its original location at the old Rosenblatt Stadium.

Baseball Scores…

Adair-Casey 3, Orient-Macksburg 1
Ar-We-Va, Westside 2, EHK-Exira 1
Bishop Garrigan, Algona 15, Pocahontas Area 7
Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 2, Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 1
CAM, Anita 17, Iowa Christian Academy 9
Central Decatur, Leon 10, Corning 5
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 5, Bishop Heelan Catholic, Sioux City 4
Glenwood 11, Creston 6
Guthrie Center 8, Earlham 1
Harlan 4, Denison-Schleswig 2
Interstate 35, Truro 13, Nodaway Valley 6
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 9, Atlantic 1
Missouri Valley 10, IKM-Manning 8
Nishnabotna 8, Logan-Magnolia 5 (Lo-Ma Tournament)
OA-BCIG 4, St. Mary’s, Storm Lake 3
Red Oak 11, Clarinda 0
Treynor 16, Nishnabotna 5 (Lo-Ma Tournament)
Treynor 19, Logan-Magnolia 2
Van Meter 15, Panorama, Panora 0 (4 innings)
West Central Valley, Stuart 17, Woodward-Granger 3

Softball scores…

Central Decatur, Leon 5, Corning 1
Council Bluffs, Abraham Lincoln 6, Bishop Heelan, Sioux City 2
Creston 4, Glenwood 1
Essex 15, Villisca 9
Exira-EHK 6, Grandview Park Baptist 1
Kuemper Catholic, Carroll 8, Atlantic 2
Logan-Magnolia 14, Missouri Valley 4
Orient-Macksburg 12, Adair-Casey 0
Tri-Center, Neola 15, IKM-Manning 0
Villisca 7, East Mills 6
Winterset 1, Carroll 0
Winterset 7, Carroll 1
Woodward-Granger 11, West Central Valley, Stuart 6