StatSheet: Where Sport Stat Geeks Go To Play

Years ago I had a friend named Terry that was positively obsessed with baseball stats. Understand, dear reader, that this was before there were online fantasy sports sites and whatnot. He just loved the data, and spent hours and hours and hours every week tracking every possible baseball stat there was.

Now, he is not alone, o'course, and the advent of fantasy sports online has surely increased the numbers 100 fold from when Terry was devouring the old Sporting News newspaper.

And for such geeks, now there is StatSheet, a mindbogglingly rich environment packed with stats -- and here's the interesting bit -- great ways to visualize them. Better yet for those who share my penchant for a good story, the site was created and is operated by one person. Here's the text from their about us page that tells the rich beginning to this story:

My name is Robbie Allen and I'm the sole founder and developer of StatSheet.com and creator of the StatSheet Network (which includes StatFix.com and StatTweets.com). I'm a long-time sports fanatic and web entrepreneur, and I want to change the face of sports on the web.

The major sports websites have yet to embrace the web as a platform for presenting and visualizing stats. It is time for a fresh perspective and my answer is the StatSheet Network, which comprises sites I've created as well as partnerships I've formed with other companies and organizations. The feedback I've received so far has been very positive, which is great because I've barely scratched the surface.

All the sites in the StatSheet Network have the singular goal of doing something interesting related to sports stats. Three sites are publicly available, three others are in development, and three more are at the "notes on a napkin" stage. There is no shortage of interesting things to do with sports stats on the web.

Yep, one person made this powerful site. One. let me say that again. One.

And here he is, the star of the show:



And it is the charting that makes this quite cool. These little minis don't do the functionality justice, but they will give you a teeny taste of the incredible range of data presentation available on StatSheet.



One he's also a one man network, with a site for college hoops, StatSheet itself, and StatTweets, which I am guessing you can figure out just from the name.

His vid (if you didn't watch it) claims that he got a sub prime mortgage to get his seed money. Let's hope he was kidding, or at least that the Obama package passes fast so he can continue his great work on this fascinating and intriguing offering.

So leave that pad and paper at home. Cancel the sub to Sporting News (if it even still exists.) And get your b-ball shorts over to StatSheet and check it out!

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.

Yardbarker Promises to Connect The World of Sportsfans

I've sometimes wondered about the need for special interest communities -- as in, do we need them when we all have a profile on FaceBook and MySpace and Bebo and and and.

But there are passions that perhaps cannot be satisfied in general purpose social worlds. And a love of pro sports is most assuredly one of them. Is there anything...anything at all...that so captivates so many people. Well, OK, in American, religion probably outranks it, not so in the EU or Asia. But you get the point.

As you know, I am a believer in sports passion as a surrogate indicator of life passion, despite the fact that I myself am not overly interested in pro sports myself. But I see its relevance, and I see how caring about one thing probably translates into caring bigtime for other things. Which is why I like the Sportgenic network so much.

But this is a post about Yardbarker, a site the promises to connect fans and athletes alike in a freeform community that collects the best web content about sports and parses in ways that let you see the most relevant info and really participate in the conversation.

Here's their bark from their site:

About Yardbarker

Yardbarker breaks down traditional barriers, allowing fans and athletes to debate sports, read and write articles, and watch videos. In the Yard, even the famous athletes are treated like fans.

We feature thousands of sports websites and blogs, so you'll get news, rumors, photos and videos that you won't find elsewhere. We make it easier to follow your favorite teams, talk sports, and submit links to interesting articles found elsewhere on the web.

You don't need your own sports blog to join the discussion on Yardbarker. All you need is an opinion. But if you do have your own blog, join the Yardbarker Network. We will promote your site, increase your traffic, and put money in your pocket.

This is an ad network play targeting MEN ONLY that promises to offer sports fans with media presences, as well as niche sites, the opportunity to monetize their content and earn more money. Additionally, they offer ways for publishers to get publicity and traffic in addition to revenue.

The tough bit for them is that on the pro sports side there are already some very entrenched players like ESPN and SI, and Sportgenic, with its 20MM reach. Others have definitely struggled. They are trying to break down the walls between web properties, which makes sense in a world which is increasingly about bringing content to the user instead of making them come to you.

Sports is a tough slog for all the media players. But the site is growing, and is worth watching to see if they continue to grow eyeballs and keep them around for the long haul. Their secret sauce is the involvement of pro players. Which may be compelling, if they really participate.

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to write.