He also just went on his own blog and complained about how stupid flames fans were

He also just went on his own blog and complained about how stupid flames fans were
- FLAM3SFAN

What a knob.

Are you guys just realizing how much of a joke this james guy is?
I'll put it this way, last year he wrote a rant blog about how ovi should've gotten MVP votes...
- FLAM3SFAN

Corsi is not a great metric. It is one that you can use to make some simple comparisons. However, if corsi was an accurate determination of "Play" there would be a couple things that would need to remain constant:
Shooting percentage
Save Percentage
% of shots blocked
% of shots hitting the net

This would need to stay accurate between all players regardless of roles or positions.

To evaluate a game by a measure of statistics is based on the measurement or repeatable events. Unfortunately hockey does not have very many of them. At least the shots aren't broken up into enough categories to accurately depict a game.

I love statistics. And one day the NHL will have so many of them we can debate them forever.

Right now corsi is just the new fancy way for people to debate things on the internet.

And if anyone uses the toronto argument about corsi it is the obvious one. They were getting outplayed every game and corsi just happened to reflect that.

Calling corsi a possession statistic is not correct at all. If you call it a shooting statistic it makes way more sense.

[quote=Flamesfan_34]

Take a look at my comment on the first page. I agree with you 100%

Take a look at my comment on the first page. I agree with you 100%
- tmurph

Reading ur comments on what James Tanner had to say made me smile, Why does he hate Gio so much... I mean he mentioned he was 31, which is not old at all considering MTL just made a move for Gonchar who is 41 and is just there for pp duty, nor is Gio playing out of his mind like he says. Gio has been playing this way for a couple seasons now, and is on the first pairing with another complimentary (severely underrated) player in Brodie. They are obviously going to get points as our forwards currently arent amounting to much, but the collective effort is nice and to see Byron step up and getting a breakaway per game is a sigh of relief. If Hartley has given the green light to Gio Brodie Wides and Russell and its working then why not!

HockeyBuzz Hotstove: Hotstove: Will The Calgary Flames Make The Playoffs?
- ToddCordellVAN

Blah blah blah...thats what I read. The Flames have just as much chance of making the playoffs as any other team..remember these guys are NHL players, they didn' just fluke a spot on the team. This is a team lacking star power who come to play a team game every game. They are scoring goals and skating hard...the same thing elite teams do. The problem I think most of the hockey world has is they look at the fact there are no real star players like Ovi or Sid....who cares. You don't need star auets when you have a star team. I may eat my words but it's time for everyone to take this team for what it is.....a good team!!

Holy crap guys.

Way to keep it classy. The best part is how completely out of context you took virtually everything I said.


Anyways, you guys really did your fan base proud today. Congrats.

The example used above demonstrates the disconnect going on with people who don't understand the point of using shots as a proxy for goals.

While the example could occur in any given game, it is an actual impossibility that that situation could occur more than occasionally. Given a large enough set of data, the team that outshoots the other team will have had the better and more frequent chances. Yes, there are weird games, but the reason they're weird is because they rarely ever happen.

Stats are not meant to be conclusive. Even given a massive sample size, anomalies will occur. Teams who "shouldn't" succeed will succeed. It doesn't make this kind analysis useless as some would have you believe.

Still, people always point to one example - "Colorado made the playoffs" as proof the whole thing is flawed. But it's not. That's the equivalent of saying a guy is on pace for 82 goals because he scored in the first game.

Stats are an indicator. They are not meant to predict the future as much as give you a more educated understanding of the past. However, once you do understand the past, you now have a much better chance of guessing correctly about the future. You're still guessing because anything can happen.

However, there is rock solid data that says over enough time possessing the put correlates with winning that at this point saying "advanced stats are dumb" is a lot like arguing the earth is flat, global warming is a myth or 2+2= 11. If that's your take, you're welcome to it, but why not just spend an hour or two and educate yourself'? The term "advanced" is thrown around pretty loosely, this isn't physics.

And what's with you guys ripping me about what I said about Giordano? I called him a star, I just said he wasn't the best defenseman in hockey. Everyone knows he's good and has been for years. No one who isn't biased for the Flames/related to him thinks that he is the best D in the NHL going forward.

You don't just suddenly wake up 10 years into your career and become the best player in hockey. Yeah, he is excellent, but if you can't admit he's playing over his head, you're not being honest. Hell, he could even win the Norris. But is he going to start a three year reign as the NHL's best defenseman? No, because unless Shea Weber retires tomorrow, this is a ridiculous conversation to be having.


In closing, the Flames could very well make the playoffs - just, given their penchant for having the puck for a considerable amount of time less than their opponents, it is extremely unlikely.

But not impossible.
- James_Tanner

Tough crowd.....and apparently a bit sensitive, especially on criticism on Giordano

Holy crap guys.

Way to keep it classy. The best part is how completely out of context you took virtually everything I said.


Anyways, you guys really did your fan base proud today. Congrats.
- James_Tanner

Maybe re-read what you wrote. How are your all mighty Yotes playing, the team you guaranteed would make the playoffs?

With that prediction I'll take what you said about the Flames as nothing more than someone who knows fck all about the team they're commenting on.

Classy enough for you????

I'll say this re: Gio, some people (players) when forced with pressure to lead will crumble and fall. Others will intensify their focus and gain strength from it and keep getting better.

Gio is a late bloomer but I think this situation and the timing worked into a perfect storm for him.

Maybe re-read what you wrote. How are your all mighty Yotes playing, the team you guaranteed would make the playoffs?

With that prediction I'll take what you said about the Flames as nothing more than someone who knows fck all about the team they're commenting on.

Classy enough for you????
- whipper334

Holy crap guys.

Way to keep it classy. The best part is how completely out of context you took virtually everything I said.


Anyways, you guys really did your fan base proud today. Congrats.
- James_Tanner

Don't even. You guys were all confronted with some very well thought out, balanced comments on the application of advanced stats in the context of this team. You chose to duck it and write a long winded answer to a question no one asked about a player you're obviously not very familiar with. It was a lot of words that said pretty much nothing and didn't add anything to the conversation.

It also wasn't just criticism it was ignorance bordering on insulting.

Maybe re-read what you wrote. How are your all mighty Yotes playing, the team you guaranteed would make the playoffs?

With that prediction I'll take what you said about the Flames as nothing more than someone who knows fck all about the team they're commenting on.

Classy enough for you????
- whipper334

I was just criticizing the comments because they all talked about how the stats prove that the flames wont make the playoffs. Reason why flames wont make the playoffs:
1. They are playing their best hockey right now. We have not seen their worst hockey yet.
2. We are way to reliant on our top 4 dmen. Our bottom pairing isn't NHL worthy.
3. We are missing experience up front. When the grind of January hockey comes around proves that the season is 82 games and not 60.
4. There are two many good teams in the west.
5. Other coaches will figure out how to play the flames.

Id say the flames have about a 30% chance they make the playoffs.

I was just criticizing the comments because they all talked about how the stats prove that the flames wont make the playoffs. Reason why flames wont make the playoffs:
1. They are playing their best hockey right now. We have not seen their worst hockey yet.
2. We are way to reliant on our top 4 dmen. Our bottom pairing isn't NHL worthy.
3. We are missing experience up front. When the grind of January hockey comes around proves that the season is 82 games and not 60.
4. There are two many good teams in the west.
5. Other coaches will figure out how to play the flames.

Id say the flames have about a 30% chance they make the playoffs.
- tmurph

1. How on earth can you possibly know that?
2. Uh what team doesn't rely on their top four dmen to play mos of the game?
3. They played their best hockey last year late in the season.
4. Dallas and the Avs are pretty close to falling out and san jose is on the decline. Really, The west is more top heavy than anything else.
5. Their speed is what's giving other teams fits. That isn't a strategy. That's a physical advantage.

What a silly post. I don't think they're a lock by any means but not for any of those reasons.

Okay Jabronis time for me to chime in.

The Flames will absolutely make the playoffs.
If Mark Giordano can continue to play even half as good as he has so far this year he should get the Norris, even with that retarded Eastern bias.
If the Flames get goaltending, they can win a lot of tough playoff games. They are built for it.

Also, I hate the Flames more than any other team and it kills me to see them do so well while MacTaint is still trying to find the toilet at the Oilers office.i think I'm gonna quit watching hockey.

1. How on earth can you possibly know that?
2. Uh what team doesn't rely on their top four dmen to play mos of the game?
3. They played their best hockey last year late in the season.
4. Dallas and the Avs are pretty close to falling out and san jose is on the decline. Really, The west is more top heavy than anything else.
5. Their speed is what's giving other teams fits. That isn't a strategy. That's a physical advantage.

What a silly post. I don't think they're a lock by any means but not for any of those reasons.
- PoketheBear

He was being sarcastic. Those comments were a compilation of silly things said in previous posts.

Don't even. You guys were all confronted with some very well thought out, balanced comments on the application of advanced stats in the context of this team. You chose to duck it and write a long winded answer to a question no one asked about a player you're obviously not very familiar with. It was a lot of words that said pretty much nothing and didn't add anything to the conversation.

It also wasn't just criticism it was ignorance bordering on insulting.
- PoketheBear

Thank you.

It's common sense. You can't get outshot by a decent margin regularly and win a lot of games over time. Just ask Colorado and Toronto.
- Todd.Cordell

Common sense??? Hahaha...it's not even close to common sense!

There are so many other factors. You're better than that Todd!

Don't even. You guys were all confronted with some very well thought out, balanced comments on the application of advanced stats in the context of this team. You chose to duck it and write a long winded answer to a question no one asked about a player you're obviously not very familiar with. It was a lot of words that said pretty much nothing and didn't add anything to the conversation.

It also wasn't just criticism it was ignorance bordering on insulting.
- PoketheBear

WELL FREAKING SAID!

I was just criticizing the comments because they all talked about how the stats prove that the flames wont make the playoffs. Reason why flames wont make the playoffs:
1. They are playing their best hockey right now. We have not seen their worst hockey yet.
2. We are way to reliant on our top 4 dmen. Our bottom pairing isn't NHL worthy.
3. We are missing experience up front. When the grind of January hockey comes around proves that the season is 82 games and not 60.
4. There are two many good teams in the west.
5. Other coaches will figure out how to play the flames.

Id say the flames have about a 30% chance they make the playoffs.
- tmurph

Exactly...but they can't say stuff like that because they haven't watched the Flames enough to know or think stuff like this and it shows they really don't have a clue! They just pull out their mighty stats sheet, form a quick opinion that is "safe" and move on to the next dumb blog, which was my whole complaint in the first place!

As far a James is concerned....take a walk buddy! You don't watch the Flames and don't have a CLUE about the team. Maybe you have some useful stats but without watching the team your opinion is no more useful than any other person on the planet who can read a stats sheet. Now you're all upset because people who do watch the team have called you out on your flawed opinion, so just take your ball and go home pal.

GFY!!!

Haha, no kidding. If sports analysis and prediction was as easy as looking at a piece of paper, we'd all be "experts".
- Kzak99

Dude this is how people become hockey bloggers. They are an expert as soon as the words Corsi and Fenwick cross the screen.