ESPN and their stats

[Flash3]

Always during SportsCenter or NFL Live or ESPNNEWs or w.ever show ESPN has, they always resort to random stats such as:

- X is the 2nd player to hit a 3 Pter in 10 consecutive games since Y did it

-X is the 1st player in 30 years to have a 50/6/6 game since Y did it

-X is the 6th player in history to hit .414 bat avg in a 25 game span, since Y did it in 1987

Etc.

How do the recall these stats? -- Do they have a database? Do they have analysts who research random stuff that happen during a game to bring up during the highlights of the game?

[Patterns]

they have a system/people

[Red Robot]

There are a couple companies that provide stats information. ESPN pays one of them to come up with this stuff. I imagine statistical services really took off when they started putting all this info into electronic databases.

Check out http://www.esb.com.

[blazersmaniac8]

Your a baseball fan judging by your sig? There are even more crazier of stats given throughout ball games. Like player x is the first player to throw 9 consecutive strikes from the end of a game in the 9th carried over to another games 1st 2 innings in the same ballpark in the month of June coming of an injury that lasted more than 8 weeks..

[Rasheeed!!!]

All they need is a database of cross-referenced stats and then they can type a query like "50pnts in a loss by at least 10pnts" and then you'll get all the games that match. You can start your own database using Microsoft Access.

[The Emcee]

Anyone remember that ESPN show "Stump the Swami" or something like that? That dude had like every sports stat, ever, memorized.