Nothing particularly new (or actuarial)
about this, but starting in 2013, San Diego State will be in the Big East conference for football and the Big West conference for all other sports.
I’ve heard all publicity is good, but I wonder if State Farm is slowly shaking its head over its poster child, Aaron Rodgers, today.
In case you slept through football season, State Farm turned the Green Bay QB’s signature TD move into a marketing campaign, the Discount Double-Check. In the ads, agents and customers do the TD move to show what a good job State Farm is doing.
Well, Green Bay lost yesterday, and the venom turns on the campaign, towit:
Mr. Discount Double-Check had his worst EPA game and his 2nd-worst WPA game of the year Sunday. He totaled 0.02 WPA and -0.4 EPA, averaging just 3.9 AYPA with 264 net passing yds and an interception.
Also saw a lineman break into the Discount Double-Check after he sacked Rodgers. Note the negative connotation to both actions. Heard similar snide comments on the NFL Network after the game.
(All those TLAs, by the way, are stat numbers from Advanced NFL Stats, sort of a footballers Sabermetrics, which is probably worth a look for number geeks.)
Another hockey shot, another fiasco:
The 11-year-old won a raffle to try to knock a puck across the ice and into a three-inch slot. He did it! He wins $50K!
Not so fast, I guess. His twin brother actually bought the ticket. But that lad couldn’t be found when the ticket was drawn, so the substitute brother gave it a go, with the remarkable result.
Since the raffle winner didn’t take the shot, Odds On Promotions and its insurer, Praetorian Insurance, denied the claim. I guess they have to protect themselves against next time some twin brothers try the ol’ raffle-ticket switcheroo.
Seriously, though, I don’t have a strong feeling on this denial – unlike here and here – other than to note these claims seem to be best honored in their breach. But maybe these one-shot miracles are more common than they seem.
Full disclosure: I used to work for Praetorian’s parent, QBE, but that was before QBE owned Praetorian.
The video’s gone viral, but perhaps you haven’t seen the remarkable shot that has given a bit of a black eye to Allstate Insurance:
Before the shot, contestant Richard Marsh had agreed to donate the money to St. Vincent’s Heart Center and the American Heart Association.
As I’ve mentioned before, these contests are underwritten by an insurance company, a fact that spreads far and wide when the claim is denied. Which happened here.
Turns out the insurance the Indiana Ice purchased calls for the shot to take place behind the red line and Mr. Marsh was a good three feet in front of it. Meaning it was only a 175-foot shot. Claim denied!
The hockey team’s owners have made a donation to both charities.
(This could all be avoided if large blue mascots took their risk management role seriously and directed shooters to the proper spot.)
The big loser here is Allstate Insurance. It sponsors the shot every night.
Today’s New York Times laments the woeful situation in New York sports:
¶The Knicks were founding members of the N.B.A. They play in Madison Square Garden — the world’s most famous arena, or so the slogan goes. But their record goes like this: two titles in 64 seasons, the last in 1973. So much for the Knicks as the embodiment of the sport known as the city game.
¶The Mets have won exactly two World Series in half a century, their last a tidy 25 years back.
¶When the Rangers won the Stanley Cup in 1994, it had been an epochal 54 years since their last one. Now, they are 16 years and counting into a new losing streak.
So New York is a failure in the sports world, a veritable No-Titletown. It would pose for its avatar wearing a paper bag, except for:
The Times article acknowledges these successes, but asks you to look past them. Otherwise, the story isn’t much of a story.
Pricing actuaries should recognize the ploy, though we’re asked to exclude the defeats not the victories.
Underwriters constantly ask us to look past bad experience, as in, “That was a large loss. That could’ve happened to anybody,” or “You’re going to penalize them for ONE BAD YEAR?”
If you look past all the crummy experience, the argument goes, the experience is good.
Of course, if you remove all of the exceptions, nothing is exceptional. That’s what the Times is doing here, and what the desperate underwriter is trying, too.
So now you can be ready the next time you’re told, “Take away those big losses and the program is doing well.”
Respond, “Take away the Yankees, and New York doesn’t win much.”
UConn’s women’s BB team lost to Stanford, ending its record 90-game winning streak. Its previous loss, two years ago, was also to Stanford.
UCLA has the men’s record, 88 games. Again, the same team bookended the streak. Notre Dame was the last team to beat UCLA before the streak and was the team that ended it.
And in football, Oklahoma has the longest major-college winning streak, 47 games. That streak began after a loss to Notre Dame and ended with a loss to Notre Dame.
So each streak ended and began with the same opponent.
What do you think it means when a stability ball is ‘burst resistant’?
The Sacramento Kings basketball team is suing three companies in federal court over an exercise ball that burst and injured one of their players.
Roger Dreyer, the lawyer representing the team, said on Wednesday that Francisco Garcia broke his right wrist after the ball known as the Gymnic “Burst Resistant” Plus Stability Ball did indeed burst while he was laying on it and lifting weights.
The Kings seek $4 million. Via Insurance Journal.
I don’t follow the sport closely, thus always wondered how soccer players could sign with a league team, then play for national teams. The answer: insurance. The insurance protects the team in case a player gets hurt playing for the country. Thus:
The UK’s Football [Soccer] Association’s insurers will pay compensation to Liverpool after midfielder Steven Gerrard sustained a hamstring injury on England duty.
The FA confirmed Friday it has a comprehensive voluntary insurance scheme that covers for injuries to England players during international matches.The organization said the scheme will cover the wages of Gerrard, who will be out for a month after limping out of Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat to France at Wembley with a grade two hamstring tear.
So next time you enjoy the World Cup, thank the industry.
Former LSU lineman Ciron Black sues Lloyd’s of London for $4 million. He claims one of the syndicates refused to pay after he blew out his knee.
“This is probably the first time in my life I’m rooting for an American League team,” Mom tells me. She likes the pitching coach; she’s picking the Rangers.
She’s been right exactly half the time so far this post-season – not bad considering the three favorites – New York, Philadelphia, and Tampa – are all out.
“Sometimes you watch and you can tell some teams have more desire,” she says. Philly, she says, didn’t care.
As for never rooting for the AL before – come on, Mom. The Mets played in ’69, ’73 and ’86. You rooted against them! (To Mom, all New York teams are evil.)
Briefly, here’s Mom’s Rules on Rooting::
After that, who cares? Have a beer!
Me? As a son, I’ll remain prodigal and go with the Giants, who haven’t won since Willie Mays was the Say Hey Kid.
Actuarial Opinions 