Author Archives: Vipul Lugade

Neural Networks – A perceptron in Matlab

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Neural networks can be used to determine relationships and patterns between inputs and outputs. A simple single layer feed forward neural network which has a to ability to learn and differentiate data sets is known as a perceptron.

Single layer feed forward perceptron

By iteratively “learning” the weights, it is possible for the perceptron to find a solution to linearly separable data (data that can be separated by a hyperplane). In this example, we will run a simple perceptron to determine the solution to a 2-input OR.
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NFL team revenue, payroll and value

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While the NFL just finished its 2011 draft this weekend, it once again is in a lockout, with the owners and players fighting over revenue, season length, health care and other issues. The actual numbers for each of the teams are hard to come by, but thanks to Forbes, we wanted to see what kind of money is being fought over by the 32 owners (as a confession, I am a little biased towards the players).

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NFL draft – running the 40 and bench pressing

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Each year a player’s stock rises tremendously due to performance at the combine (or based on Al Davis’ fancy). While much of a prospects’ mock draft ranking is based on past performance, much is also based on “intangibles” and phsyical attributes. We decided to investigate the speed, agility and strength of the top 750 prospects over each of the last 7 years using data collected from CBS sports . As expected, skill position players are fast, and lineman are strong. Just how strong and how fast? Check out the following graphs to find out.

NFL Draft prospects by position and speed when running the 40 meters

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NFL Draft 2011 – How to evaluate quarterbacks?

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The NFL draft is upon us, and as usual, many teams are in desperate need of a franchise quarterback. Since the 2000 draft, 145 quarterbacks have been selected in the first 7 rounds, with 28 taken in the first round and an astounding 8 taken as the overall number one pick. This year, the talk has surrounded Gabbert, Newton and Mallett, and next year the consensus is Andrew Luck as the quarterback of the future. Based on intangibles, film and private workouts, some of these players will be pegged as the leader of their team, but how important is being drafted in the first round to overall success in the NFL? Using data collected from the Pro Football Reference and Draft History we look at where top performing quarterbacks are often selected.
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College Football and Basketball Performance and Expenses

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While Ohio State spends the most each year on their football program, they perform no better on the field than teams like USC, Texas and Florida who spend up to $10 million less. The team that spends the least per victory? Once again, Boise State leads the way.

In college basketball, the ACC coughs up the most money per year on their programs, but Memphis and Pittsburgh demonstrate the best victory/cost ratio. We investigated both big revenue sports programs and show which teams make the best use of their money, as based on winning percentage.
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NCAA expenses and revenue across gender and sport

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Take home message: Women’s sports lose money and only men’s basketball/football are profitable. As the great movie Starship Troopers probed: “Would you like to know more?”

Recently, there has been growing investigations into NCAA school impropriety in form of athlete payment, and while the amount of actual money changing hands might not be perfectly reported, we are continuing our own investigation on how much money college sports and their respective universities truly spend and generate. We compiled a list of 24 different sports across 135 colleges and universities that field at least one of the athletic activities. While this included many smaller schools that did not generate much revenue, the average amount of money spent per year by institutions is upwards of $30 million. While most of these schools investigated have an average of 15000 undergraduate students and assuming the money comes from their tuition, thats an approximately $2000 burden per student.
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