Good morning, RVA: This weekend is bananas

Super cold out this morning, but dress in layers, because things start to heat up in the afternoon.

March 27, 2014; 6:58 AM • by Ross Catrow

Good morning, RVA! OK, so. It’s 25 °F, which is certainly colder than any day this week thus far. I promise it’ll get warmer today, up to the mid-50s, but you’re going to have to wait until the commute home. Layer up for a freezing morning so you can disrobe in stages later this afternoon.

Monument 10k weather watch: If you’re running the 10k this weekend, there’s a 60% chance of rain Saturday morning with temperatures in the mid-50s.

Water cooler

Today’s the last day to vote in the 2014 i.e.* Start-Up Competition. Around 15 finalist will be chosen, which will then pitch to a panel of experts at a public event. The winner receives $10,000 and a few other things a growing start-up would love to get their hands on.

The French Film Festival begins today. Tickets are $115 for a weekend pass ($65 for students) and are still on sale. Tickets to individual showings are $15.

The UVA student who was (wrongly) arrested by gun-toting ABC agents after picking up a 12-pack of sparkling water is now suing the ABC for $40 million.

Remember: the Monument 10k is this weekend. If you have plans in and around The Fan on Saturday morning, know that more than 40,000 other humans do as well. We’ll have road closing and parking options posted tomorrow. God speed Fan residents.

The National Labor Relations Board in Chicago ruled that college football players are school employees and can unionize. While unionizing brings with it a bunch of (unintended?) consequences like strikes, lockouts, and taxes, the ruling is certainly a step towards changing the way collegiate athletes are compensated.

This morning’s longread

The Hidden Value of the NBA Steal

I watch zero NBA basketball, but I found this article on stat “irreplaceability” fascinating.

Most people vastly underestimate how much a player’s box score stats are a function of that player’s role and style of play, as opposed to his tangible contribution to his team’s performance. A player averaging one more point per game than another doesn’t actually mean his team scores one more point per game as a result of his presence. He may be shooting more than he should and hurting his team’s offense. Similarly, one player getting a lot of rebounds doesn’t make his team a good rebounding team: He may be getting rebounds that his team could have gotten without him.

What we are looking for is a kind of statistical “irreplaceability.” If a player produces one more X (point, rebound, steal, etc.) for his team, and is then taken from the team (by injury, suspension, trade, etc.), how much of that stat does his team really lose? How much of it can be replaced?

This morning’s Instagram

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Photo by: danielfarrell

March 27, 2014 6:58 AM 0