Thuuz Moneyball
November 25th, 2011The film Moneyball describes how a small market Major League Baseball club was able to build a contending team on a minimal budget. With the help of advanced statistics designed to reveal the true value of each player's contributions to winning, the Oakland A's and their GM Billy Beane were able to select players who might be overlooked in traditional scouting. This controversial approach inspired radical changes to professional baseball, turning scouting into less of an art and more of a science, as management learned that wins could be had much more cheaply if money were spent on the most productive types of players.
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Top Ten Most Exciting Games of the 2011 Major League Baseball Season
November 1st, 2011Pitch-By-Pitch Results From 2466 Games Numerically Analyzed for Pace of Game, Parity of Teams, Novelty of Action, Shifts in Momentum, and Overall Context
PALO ALTO, CA--(Marketwire - Nov 1, 2011) - Thuuz Inc., platform provider of real-time sports excitement apps and alerts, today announced the Top Ten Most Exciting Games of the 2011 Major League Baseball Season and Postseason. Thuuz has rated the most exciting games of the season based on formulas that take into account not only what happens, but when it happens, rewarding the teams who come through in the critical moments, who turn the tide of a game with the key hit, pitch or steal at the key moment, who amaze us when the game is on the line. Late rallies, big comebacks, commanding performances on the mound and critical blow ups make this countdown of the Top Ten games not to be missed by any baseball fan.
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Rugby Final Four Preview by Someone Who Knows the Rules
October 13th, 2011If you're a rugby enthusiast, or just a fan of compelling, historic sports action, it's worth staying up late (or getting up early) to watch the Rugby World Cup semifinals this weekend.
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NFL Season Preview: Rat, Race, and the Fantasy Phenomenon
September 9th, 2011Many of those who are old enough to have been alive in 2003 will remember it as the year I fell back in love with football. When Steve Young retired in 1999 and the 49ers fell from grace, I had very little to live for. Jeff Garcia was no replacement for the white Michael Vick. I repeat, the white Michael Vick. If neither of those gave you goosebumps, you are soulless.
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Sixteen Scandals, Ryan Gosling, and 2011 NCAA Football
September 2nd, 2011So I have never actually seen Sixteen Candles or The Notebook, but my girlfriend tells me they are a sort of holy writ for college football fans. Is she lying? Am I lying? Of course I have seen The Notebook. And agree it was handed down directly to Ryan Gosling by God of College Football and Thunder, hear his cry.
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Dominating The MLB Trade Deadline
August 10th, 2011For the last couple weeks, the primary topic of conversation around Major League Baseball has not been the surprising Pittsburgh Pirates, who look poised to finish the season with a winning record for the first time in 18 years, or the Texas Rangers finally playing like the team who went to the World Series last year, or the Seattle Mariners losing 17 in a row. No, at this time of year, what's happening on the field is secondary to what we can only speculate is happening off of it: trade talk.
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Thuuz's MLB Mid-Season Awards
August 10th, 2011In light of Wednesday's ESPY awards, and the general lack of baseball we've had to suffer through the past few days, Thuuz is giving out our own awards honoring the best performances from the first half of the season.
Before getting to the winners, I'd like to note that these rankings are not subjective (except in the case of ties); they come directly from our excitement data. We'll be handing out awards for the most exciting team, game, individual pitching performance, individual hitting performance, as well as the most exciting pitcher and hitter from both the American and National League. So without further ado, I present the first annual THUUZY Awards.
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Fixing All-Star Weekend
August 10th, 2011The 82nd All-Star Game is set to take place in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday July 12th. What started off as merely a game between the best players from the American League and National League has evolved into quite the extravaganza, with events such as the MLB Future's game, Celebrity Softball, and the Homerun Derby all taking place before Tuesday's Midsummer Classic.
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WWC Final: US vs. Japan
August 10th, 2011Two very different teams, two very different styles. One team is a fresh fledgling, the other a wise, experienced mother hen. Japan rides fearlessy into the final on a wave of emotion. They upset tournament favorite Germany in the quarters and the physical Swedes in the semis. Despite an average height of 5'3". They have never been to a World Cup Final and will be playing free of any expectation. The United States' years of experience come with a measure of pressure.
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Women's World Cup in 30 Minutes: Week 3
July 14th, 2011The most exciting 30 minutes of World Cup soccer from each day's matches in Germany:
USA vs France - Watch for free at ESPN3.com
Watch these exciting moments:
8th minute - 10th minute
54th minute - 82nd minute
Grab your muskets because this one was an old-fashioned shootout. Shots from distance, shots from point-blank, French shots (25 of them), American shots, shots, shots, and more shots. The US were physically and emotionally exhausted from their miracle comeback against Brazil, but stayed inspired by captain Abby Wambach. The French tested Hope Solo 25 times. Hint: she didn't save all of them.
Sweden vs Japan - Watch for free at ESPN3.com
Watch these exciting moments:
9th minute - 20th minute
58th minute - 65th minute
Japan: shorter, slower, craftier. They passed circles around Sweden and were at one point compared to Barcelona. High praise. Sweden was as fierce as ever. Either team will challenge the winner of US-France.
Set your DVR to record the World Cup every day or follow the links at Thuuz to access all the action, both live and archived, on ESPN3.com.
Fast forward or drag the video slider to the recommended Watch From time to get to the starting point of the most exciting segment or segments of action of each day.
Note: ESPN3.com is not available in all regions.
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Women's World Cup in 30 Minutes: Week 2
July 5th, 2011The most exciting 30 minutes of World Cup soccer from Week 2's matches in Germany:
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MLB Preview: Condoning Basebrawl
July 1st, 2011In a game last week against the Pirates, Red Sox second baseman Dustin Pedroia was nearly hit by a pitch on three separate occasions. When asked about it, he suggested that he was intentionally targeted (interview here). In today's game, Pedroia has no real recourse for taking out his frustration other than venting to the media. If Pedroia were to charge the mound, he'd almost certainly be suspended (and quite possibly injured. The dude is like 5'8, 170). Essentially, pitchers can target players like Pedroia with impunity.
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Women's World Cup in 30 Minutes: Week 1
June 28th, 2011The most exciting 30 minutes of World Cup soccer from each day's matches in Germany.
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Women's World Cup Preview
June 23rd, 2011Thuuz has the honor of introducing Maddie Thompson, our very own collegiate women's soccer player. For the next action packed month, Thuuz will be covering Women's World Cup and Maddie will writing accompanying previews.
Every day of the tournament, Thuuz will alert you to the most exciting thirty minutes of action that just took place that day in Germany without revealing the score or any spoilers.
Each evening, gather with family and friends to enjoy the athleticism, the energy, the emotion, and the build-up of the storyline that will define the 2011 Women's World Cup.
Whether this is your first or sixth WWC, Maddie will be your ball-bending, bicycle-kicking guide.
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MLB Preview: Thuuz Meets Moneyball
June 23rd, 2011Baseball is enjoying one of its most entertaining regular seasons in recent memory. As of Monday, fourteen teams are legitimately competing for playoff spots. This doesn't even include the recently surging Twins, the surprisingly successful Pirates, or the always dangerous Rockies. The fact is very few teams are out of it entirely, which is great news for baseball fans around the country.
Yet, while baseball is destined to dominate the headlines for what's happening on the field this summer, labor negotiations in the NFL and NBA are sure to be a hot topic in the coming months. The NBA is considering adding a hard salary cap, and whatever deal the NFL strikes will likely have a hard cap as well.
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MLB Preview: Re-Thinking Re-Alignment
June 17th, 2011Thuuz's resident baseball connoisseur will be writing once a week MLB previews for the rest of the season. These previews will highlight the week's best upcoming games and react to the latest in league news and gossip. You can always edit your subscription preferences at the bottom of each preview.
Let's...play ball!
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NBA Finals: LeBreakdown
June 9th, 2011Your favorite stuffed animal is on the guillotine. Babar doesn't have long to live. The executioner (David Stern) winks at you through the slits in his black hood and you realize you have one chance to save the king of your heart and the elephant kingdom.
Your objective: accurately pick the winner of this year's NBA Finals. Whether or not you originally predicted that the Big Three would outnumber Dirk, or that Dirk would unleash his inner David Hasselhoff (the inspiration for his free throws), you get a clean slate.
As a result of two (and almost three) miracle fourth quarter comebacks by the Mavericks, the series is tied 2-2. Everything comes down to a best of 3 series, the first game in Dallas, the final two in Miami.
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NBA Finals: Dirk Du Soleil
June 6th, 2011On the eve of Shaquille O'Neal's retirement, it's only appropriate that we consider which center is least suited for an acting role as a rapping genie: Shaq, Dirk, or Chris Bosh.
Dirk: the "German Moses" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VU6UHBYJOUw
Bosh: the Bostrich http://www.sportressofblogitude.com/
Shaq: Kazaam http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_D70cPxYHb0
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Barcelona vs. Manchester United
May 26th, 2011The Showdown.... Barcelona vs Manchester United
Once upon a time I coached a men's soccer team. Well okay, I wasn't the coach; I was the assistant coach. Second assistant. And maybe men's team is also a bit of an exaggeration. Technically they were men, young men, ten year old men.
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NHL - Game 5 of the Western Conference Final
May 24th, 2011FOR TONIGHT’S GAME #5 OF THE WESTERN CONFERENCE FINAL
BETWEEN VANCOUVER AND SAN JOSE
Tune in at 9 p.m. (ET) only on VERSUS in the USA, and CBC and RDS in Canada
NHL Network and NHL.com will offer full, live pre- and post-game coverage
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