MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Draws Record Crowd Of More Than 2,200 People

The sixth annual MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference, held Friday and Saturday in Boston, basked in a mainstream glow of the Oscar-nominated "Moneyball" film, drawing an event-record crowd of more than 2,200 people. The usefulness of advanced sabermetrics to measure player performance remained a subject of sharp debate, even at this event. "Have a parade, get a ring, and then write a book," said Maple Leafs President & GM Brian Burke, referencing "Moneyball," and the A's lack of October success. "Nobody has ever won a championship with 'Moneyball.' I can prove a player who is a statistical twin of a another player is twice the player, because of the other things that he brings." MLS Sounders investor and "The Price Is Right" host Drew Carey, who appeared on several panels and like Burke won raves for a his outspoken demeanor, made a similar point about the historically large success of the Sounders in Seattle. "The guy that owned the basketball team moved to Oklahoma City -- that helped us a lot," Carey said. "It was like meeting a hot girl that had an abusive boyfriend." Along similar lines, the meteoric rise of Knicks G Jeremy Lin was frequently discussed. MSG President Scott O'Neil presented Rockets GM and conference co-Chair Daryl Morey with an autographed Lin jersey as thanks for the team cutting Lin in December. ESPN NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, referencing other players who have taken much longer paths to reach the NBA than Lin, said "ESPN bludgeoned you with stories of Lin's struggle. Struggle compared to whom? Let the story breathe a little before you just make it up."

TAKING A SPORTS BUSINESS FOCUS: Similar to last year, the event took on a more overt sports business focus, with numerous sessions exploring ticketing, in-venue fan experience, overall franchise operations and media strategy. "The analytical people are more important than the lawyers themselves," said NBA Deputy Commissioner & COO Adam Silver, referencing the league's recent labor dispute. "I don't remember a time when analytics were so front and center (in labor talks), with often competing models, frankly." Red Sox Senior Advisor of Baseball Operations Bill James, considered the father of baseball sabermetrics, was presented with a lifetime achievement award for his work in analytics, and sat for a live podcast interview with Grantland.com Founder Bill Simmons. "This conference is a culmination of 30 years of my work," James said. In the podcast, James told his story of how he sold his statistical abstracts through ads in the back of The Sporting News, frequently selling less than 1,000 copies per year before a noted '81 SI feature on him and the rise of the Internet mushroomed his profile. "I was basically blogging before people were blogging," James said.