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Thread: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

  1. #1
    Reigning Black & Gold Array title="venom has a reputation beyond repute"> venom's Avatar

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    Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

    The brain of the world's largest sports media company is the ESPN Stats & Information Group, the behind-the-scenes crew of impossibly dedicated experts responsible for every stat, trend, and non-stupid talking point that makes it onto an ESPN platform. Here's your chance to see if your sports knowledge is even in the same ballpark.

    Below, you'll find a test taken by all job applicants to the Stats & Info Group. It gauges your proficiency in: 1) Calculating basic statistics; 2) Proofreading box scores for errors; 3) Spelling athletes' names; 4) Scoring plays; 5) Naming major sporting events; 6) Matching athletes to their sports; 7) Matching pro athletes to their colleges; and 8) Matching athletes to their teams.
    Real applicants have 45 minutes to complete and return the exam, which is handed out via email. They are allowed to use the internet, which is remarkably logical—no Stats & Info employee is expected to know everything by heart. But if you'd like a true challenge, give it a shot without looking things up.

    Instructions:

    1. Make sure you have received all sections
    2. Once we go over the directions, you have 45 minutes to complete the assessment.
    3. Let's say in one section there are five questions and you only answer one question and leave the other four questions blank, we are going to count the other four questions in that section as wrong. So if you answer one question in one section, make sure you answer all the questions in that section.
    4. We are looking for you to complete as many correct responses as possible; obviously we will grade you on any incorrect responses as well.
    5. You can use a calculator, the Internet, resources and reference materials. Make sure the source is reliable. If the source is wrong and you enter a wrong answer, you will get docked for a wrong answer.
    6. Each section has different instructions and different expectations. Make sure you read the directions in each section.
    7. You can either reply this email right back to me or you can cut & paste this document into a word format. Doesn’t matter, just so long as we know what answers go to what sections.
    8. After going through all of these instructions we will agree upon a 45 minute deadline.
    9. Email your responses before your deadline and good luck!


    Section 1

    THE NUMBERS GAME

    The Data Group deals with statistics and statistical formulas. In order to ensure 100% accuracy, we must understand the formulas to get the stats correct. Compute the following stats:

    Baseball

    1. Who has the BETTER ERA and what is their ERA?

    Randy Wilson 100.1 IP, 54 ER
    Mike Scott 30 IP, 15 ER

    ANSWER:



    Basketball

    1. Mike Scott shoots 8-for-19 from the field, 3-for-5 from 3 point range, and goes 5-for-6 from the free throw line. How many points does he have, and what is his field goal percentage?

    ANSWER:


    Football

    1. Green Bay scored 42 touchdowns, made 35 extra points, made six 2-point conversions, made 36 field goals and had 2 safeties … Miami scored 40 touchdowns, made 36 extra points, made two 2-point conversions, made 41 field goals and had 3 safeties. How many points did each team score and which team scored more points?


    ANSWER:


    Hockey

    1. Philadelphia scored 263 goals and allowed 253 goals in a season. What is team’s Goals for Average and Goals against Average?

    ANSWER:




    Section 2

    PROOFREADING BOXSCORES

    Box scores from most major leagues (NBA, NFL, NHL, MLB) and colleges are usually correct, but we must always verify their accuracy. For the final boxes to be complete, we must find any inaccurate stat(s) and modify accordingly.

    Find the three mistakes in each box score

    NBA BOX SCORE

    TORONTO (104)

    Bosh 7-15 4-4 18, Peterson 2-5 2-2 7, Bonner 5-12 0-0 12,
    James 10-15 0-2 26, Rose 3-11 11-12 17, Villanueva 6-10 1-2 13,
    Calderon 1-4 2-2 4, Graham 1-2 0-0 3, Sow 1-2 2-3 4,
    E. Williams 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 36-76 22-27 104.

    LA LAKERS (122)

    Brown 1-5 1-2 3, Odom 1-7 5-6 8, Mihm 5-8 2-3 12, Parker
    5-11 2-2 13, Bryant 28-46 18-20 81, George 0-4 0-0 0, Vujacic
    1-5 0-0 2, Walton 0-1 0-0 0, Cook 1-1 0-0 2, Green 0-0 0-0 0.
    Totals 42-88 28-33 122.

    Toronto 36 27 22 19 - 104
    LA Lakers 29 20 42 31 - 121

    3-Point Goals - Toronto 11-20 (Peterson 1-3, Bonner 2-6,
    James 6-8, Rose 0-2, Graham 1-1), LA Lakers 10-23 (Odom 1-2,
    Parker 1-5, Bryant 7-13, Vujacic 1-3). Fouled Out - Bosh.
    Rebounds - Toronto 27 (Bosh , LA Lakers 51 (Brown, Odom 10).
    Assists - Toronto 20 (James 10), LA Lakers 18 (Odom 7). Total
    fouls - Toronto 27, LA Lakers 24

    MISTAKES:

    1)


    2)


    3)




    NCAA BOX SCORE


    FLORIDA (73)

    fg ft rb
    min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
    C Brewer 37 4-12 1-3 3-7 4 3 11
    J Noah 33 7-9 2-2 2-9 3 2 16
    A Hoford 24 5-8 4-5 2-7 3 2 14
    T Green 36 1-9 0-1 0-4 8 1 2
    L Humphrey 36 4-8 3-3 0-1 2 1 15
    A Moss 10 3-6 3-4 2-6 0 0 9
    W Hodge 12 0-3 0-0 0-1 1 1 0
    C Richard 12 2-3 2-2 0-0 0 3 6
    __________________________________________________ ___
    TOTALS 201 26-58 15-20 9-35 21 13 73
    __________________________________________________ ___

    Percentages: FG-.448, FT-.750. 3-Point Goals: 5-19, .263
    (C Brewer 2-3, T Green 0-7, L Humphrey 4-8, W Hodge 0-1).
    Team Rebounds: 0. Blocked Shots: 10 (J Noah 6, A Hoford 2,
    C Richard, C Brewer). Turnovers: 6 (J Noah 2, C Brewer 2,
    A Hoford, T Green). Steals: 7 (C Brewer 3, W Hodge 2,
    J Noah, T Green).

    UCLA (57)
    fg ft rb
    min m-a m-a o-t a pf tp
    C Bozeman 25 2-3 5-6 0-3 3 2 9
    L Mbah a Moute 32 3-9 0-0 3-10 1 4 6
    R Hollins 26 4-10 2-2 5-10 0 2 10
    J Farmar 34 8-21 1-2 0-2 4 2 18
    A Afflalo 32 3-10 2-2 0-2 1 2 10
    D Collison 21 0-3 0-0 1-3 1 3 0
    A Aboya 14 1-1 0-2 2-3 1 2 2
    L Mata 9 1-4 0-0 2-5 0 3 2
    M Roll 7 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 2 0
    __________________________________________________ ___
    TOTALS 200 22-61 10-14 13-38 12 22 57
    __________________________________________________ ___

    Percentages: FG-.361, FT-.714. 3-Point Goals: 3-17, .176
    (L Mbah a Moute 0-2, J Farmar 1-8, A Afflalo 2-7). Team
    Rebounds: 2. Blocked Shots: 1 (R Hollins). Turnovers: 12
    (A Afflalo 3, D Collison 3, C Bozeman 2, J Farmar 2,
    R Hollins, L Mata). Steals: 3 (J Farmar 2, A Afflalo).
    -----------------------------------
    FLORIDA 36 37 - 73
    UCLA 25 32 - 57
    -----------------------------------
    Technical fouls: None. A: 43,168. Officials: James
    Burr, John Cahill, Tony Greene

    MISTAKES:

    1)


    2)


    3)






    Section 3

    SPELLING

    There are rare times when a name is misspelled. If this occurs, we must know what looks different, especially when entering rosters.

    WRITE “YES” OR “NO” IF THE ATHLETE’S NAMES ARE SPELLED CORRECTLY. IF NO, THEN PLEASE WRITE THE CORRECT SPELLING.

    Johnny Peralta

    Amare Stoudemire

    Ashley Lelie

    Dwayne Wade

    Sheldon Williams

    Scott Niedermayer

    Mark Buerhle

    T.J. Houshmandzadeh

    Joe Nemecheck

    Tony Kanaan

    Garrett Anderson

    Teddy Bruschi

    Helio Castronieves


    Section 4

    SCORING PLAYS

    Part of the job is scoring a game. Read the examples and score the plays:

    Baseball

    Runners are on first and third base with one out. Ground ball to third base, third basemen throws home and catcher tags out runner from third base. Catcher throws to first base where the batter is called out at first base. Score the play …

    ANSWER:


    Football

    New York punts the ball from its own 35-yard line. The ball is caught at the Dallas 18-yard line and is returned to the Dallas 27-yard line. How many yards did the ball travel and what is the NET average?

    ANSWER:


    Golf

    Tiger Woods starts the Par-5 18th Hole by hitting his first shot 325 yards. The second shot goes 175 yards into a bunker. His third shot out of the bunker goes 24 yards, or 3 feet from the hole. The fourth shot goes in the hole. What is his score relative to par for that hole and what is the specific terminology for his score?

    ANSWER:

    Tennis

    Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are tied 6-6 in the final set. In order for the set and match to be completed, they will play a tiebreaker. How many points will it take to decide a winner?

    ANSWER:
    Section 5

    MAJORS

    There are four majors for each of these sports. For tennis, name the event and the surface on which the event is played. For golf, just name the event.


    Tennis

    1.

    2.

    3.

    4.


    Golf

    1.

    2.

    3.

    4.

    Section 6

    WHAT SPORT DO I PLAY?

    Write the sport next to the athlete


    Martin Truex Jr.

    Jermain Taylor

    James Blake

    Andrea Bargnani

    Dawn Staley

    Miroslav Klose

    Lorena Ochoa

    Jeremy Sowers

    Duncan Keith

    Nick Barnett

    Chris Burke

    Jeff Halpern

    Dario Franchitti


    Section 7

    ESPNU


    WRITE THE NAME OF THE COLLEGE EACH ATHLETE ATTENDED BELOW

    Allen Iverson

    Brett Favre

    Vince Young

    Tamika Catchings

    Chris Drury

    Ray Lewis

    Grant Hill

    Kevin Garnett

    Reggie Bush

    Donovan McNabb

    Jason Kidd


    Section 8

    WHAT TEAM DO I PLAY FOR?

    Write the team most recently associated with the player

    Daunte Culpepper

    Charlie Villanueva

    Peter Forsberg

    Keith Brooking

    Jarome Iginla

    Leandro Barbosa

    Deron Williams

    Muhsin Muhammad

    Marion Barber III

    Larry Hughes



    --- END OF ASSESSMENT ---

  2. #2
    Administrator Array title="fansince'76 has a reputation beyond repute"> fansince'76's Avatar

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

    Don't forget the mandatory prerequisite - Brady Ballwashing 101...




    Not to mention the only other QB that seems to matter to them...



    And last but not least...the other mandatory prerequisite course, DBGY101: "A Survey in Douchebaggery"...


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    Ghost Poster Array title="ALLD has a reputation beyond repute"> ALLD's Avatar

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees



    All Defense!

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees





    All Defense!

  5. #5
    Administrator Array title="fansince'76 has a reputation beyond repute"> fansince'76's Avatar

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

    Quote Originally Posted by ALLD View Post


    Obviously hired solely due to an encyclopedic knowledge of all things sports...

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    Administrator Array title="fansince'76 has a reputation beyond repute"> fansince'76's Avatar

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

    The brain of the world's largest sports media company is the ESPN Stats & Information Group, the behind-the-scenes crew of impossibly dedicated experts responsible for every stat, trend, and non-stupid talking point that makes it onto an ESPN platform.
    It's called "Google." Back in the day when ESPN was still watchable (hint: before the Internet boom), that probably was a job that required some real knowledge and research skills. Now? Not so much...

  7. #7
    Spaghetti Time Array title="Chidi29 has a reputation beyond repute"> Chidi29's Avatar

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

    Quote Originally Posted by fansince'76 View Post
    It's called "Google." Back in the day when ESPN was still watchable (hint: before the Internet boom), that probably was a job that required some real knowledge and research skills. Now? Not so much...
    And that man was Howie Schwab. One of the most detail-oriented people in Bristol for a long time...who was let go last summer. Just shows where ESPN's priorities are now.

  8. #8
    Ghost Poster Array title="ALLD has a reputation beyond repute"> ALLD's Avatar

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    Re: Take The Sports Knowledge Test Given To Wannabe ESPN Employees

    You all mean sports journalism. Now it's a couple of fine broads, but mostly annoying women and douche' bag guys. I can only watch it at the gym.
    All Defense!

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