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An Interview with Bill Born YL: When did you begin rating sports teams? Bill: As A youngster I made up table games using dice and playing cards - I tried to create leagues that were realistic - so there was a need to rate the teams involved. To answer the question I have been rating teams about 50 years. YL: Then you really like toying around with numbers. Fifty years is a long time. Did this love of math carry into a chosen profession? Bill: They sure did - I'm a retired math teacher and coached basketball and football. It was while coaching basketball that I started to rate the teams that I would be playing. I had need to know what to expect from my opponents. YL: In determining this, what do you consider to be the most important factors? Bill: As you can imagine the Index is
multi-faceted - it considers home court (field), margin of victory ( to the
point that is no longer a contest ),what direction the team is moving ( how it
has been doing lately) and most importantly strength of opposition. YL: What is the future of computer ratings? And, while we're at it, what is the future of the BCS in your opinion? Bill: Computer ratings are just
scratching the surface - much the same as predicting the weather has come from
looking into the sky to see if it is going to rain to where we are today - I
believe we will become more and more accurate as the information we feed our
formulae becomes more accessible. YL: What are your favorite sports? Bill: I like baseball best, however, I really enjoyed coaching High School basketball. YL: So, if you're watching, you like something slow and easy, but if you're coaching, you want to go at it? Bill: I never watch more than an inning or so - I suppose I am more a doer than a watcher. I golf, never fish - I played baseball in college and professionally for a season many years ago. YL: Doing and watching are two different things. I keep telling my wife that baseball and soccer are things you play, not watch. She doesn't share my opinion. When you do watch sports of any kind, what teams or people hold your attention? Bill: My young life was spent in Western PA - So I am an incurable Pirate and Steeler fan. I really enjoyed watching Larry Bird when we was giving it his all. I enjoyed the John Wooden Teams of U.C.L.A. YL: What are your interests outside sports? Bill: Beyond the sports arena I enjoy cooking, hiking, reading (American history) and working in the great outdoors. I also golf three or four times a week when the weather in New Jersey is cooperative. YL: Where do you call home? Bill: I live in Berkeley Heights NJ. YL: Is
there anything else the sports fan needs to know about Bill Born? Bill: I just want to thank you for including me with this prestigious group of dedicated prognosticators. Only they truly realize the amount of effort this labor of love takes. YL: It certainly is a labor of love. Few get any benefits other than visitors to their site. These interviews are an effort to bring those who devote their time to such a thankless task out into the open so that people can better understand who we are and why we do it. We would like to thank Mr. Born for his
time. You can see his ratings at |
Go to the Speaking Out In my lifetime we have gone from politeness and common sense to political correctness. Ironically, the same people that want to organize manners want to de-organize religion. In other words, they are very confused. I am tired of the 85+ % liberal press and radical college professors putting crap into young people's heads. Here are some places and articles where you can hear common sense which is not regulated. Where to get real news from both sides. What a concept. Articles Gee, I wonder how young Arabs learn to hate Israel? If you don't get it yet, they are taught to hate in many places. Here's an example. What Do You Want Israel to Do? You Solve the Problem. What is the real goal of Arabs and "Palestininas"? Liberal politicians in general just do not get it. Just Another Group Promoting Racism and Hatred Someone is Defending our Freedom of Speech. CAIR is not my friend. If you like freedom of speech, CAIR is not your friend and they're spending your tax dollars in a deliberate lie. The Dishonest Reporting Awards are Out! I thought universities were "enlightened" and open-minded. Seems they are only open-minded to those with whom they agree. "Enlightened"? How about "in the dark"? Deconstructing the False Equation There is no apartheid in Israel. Deal with it. Common Sense Sources Media Myths Explained. Think you're getting accurate news about what's going on in the Middle East? If You Want to Use your Brain Instead of Being a Parrot, Research Both of These Sources: Since the hippies tried to save the world, every new generation thinks it has the solution to all the problems the current leaders have caused. It takes a long time to civilize a society. It doesn't take long for "idealists" to destroy it. I am conservative. I believe that our values and ideas should continue unless they are proved to be inferior over time. I do not like the liberal concept of trashing things that work and replacing them with things that sound good. Study both sides to find out what is true. Stop telling me I am a racist and hateful and more unless you have studied my side's viewpoint. I do not like watching the media cause problems so they can sell papers and airtime the next day while blaming those problems on the other side. Wise up. |
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