u/gottapeenow2

In case you were wondering

In case you are unaware, the World Cup features a 3rd place game (AKA the "cuck chair") tomorrow between France and England. Both teams lost in the semis and are devastated to not be competing in the final Sunday so the quality of play will most likely be terrible.

However.... people will watch. People will attend. Money will be made. One team will eventually be given a 3rd place trophy! Better than a no place trophy right?

The NFL has a two week break between the Conference Championships and the Super Bowl. Why not have the AFC and NFC championship losers play for 3rd place the weekend in between? Sure, the teams would hate it and people would question the crap out of WHY it was even being played, but the hate watching and weird vibes would make for great social media engagement. Think of the podcasts, think of the memes, think of the unbridled capitalism.

2026 would have featured the beat up Broncos vs the Rams

2025 would have had the bummed out Bills vs the happy to be there Commanders

2024 would have been Detroit vs Baltimore!

Interesting article from Jeremias Engelmann:

>Building from that data, machine learning found one specific action that turned out to be a very strong indicator of negative impact on both offense and defense: Taking a high number of contested midrange 2s early in the shot clock.

> It seems pretty obvious why it lowers offensive impact. The 3-point revolution has been built on the insight that a long 2 — the midrange shot — is the least efficient type of shot. On top of that, contested shots are even more questionable than open ones. And taking them early in the shot clock — without looking for a better shot — only compounds the issue.

> It also hints at why poor shot selection is connected with negative defensive impact.

> The players who take these shots tend to have a poor grasp of what efficient team offense is about, and/or they are willing to sacrifice efficient team offense to increase their own opportunities and scoring totals.

> In this category, Dybantsa ranks in the 99th percentile for draft prospects from 2010 to 2026.

> Which prospects had a similar rate of unassisted midrange 2s?

> Draft busts Markelle Fultz, Evan Turner, and Johnny Davis.

> Harrison Barnes, who’s not the typical bust but who has been a disappointment with a negative career impact.

> Brice Sensabaugh, Terry Rozier and Ace Bailey, three gunners with anemic defensive impact.

> The team drafting Dybantsa surely doesn’t want him joining this group.

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