Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Here are a few Courier Journal articles from back when they were introducing their new "Dr. E.E. Litkenhous Difference By Score Ratings" back in September 1936. I know they're primarily talking about college football in the articles, but it's interesting to hear about the approach they took. Plus there are some cool vintage ads and pictures, haha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted October 1, 2019 Author Share Posted October 1, 2019 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tcjkbt Posted October 1, 2019 Share Posted October 1, 2019 I hate to see Dr. Lit go. He was one of the first to rank teams by mathematical formula. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roundsteak Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 That Stetson Ellington would cost around $136.00 today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Scribe Posted October 2, 2019 Share Posted October 2, 2019 I think we are giving newspapers too much credit here. With all of their ownership changes and technology changes, I'm sure Nick Burns the company's new computer guy came in and cleaned house from the server and didn't realize that by pressing F10, he was deleting the files associated with Lit and the formulas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theguru Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 I think we are giving newspapers too much credit here. With all of their ownership changes and technology changes, I'm sure Nick Burns the company's new computer guy came in and cleaned house from the server and didn't realize that by pressing F10, he was deleting the files associated with Lit and the formulas. I don't understand what you mean by giving newspapers too much credit here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ram Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 I thought the Lit ratings were fairly accurate by the end of the regular season. This is what everyone always said about the Lit Ratings. By the end of the season, we all know how good a team is. Do we really need a computer program to tell us who is good after all the games are played? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatz Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 This is what everyone always said about the Lit Ratings. By the end of the season, we all know how good a team is. Do we really need a computer program to tell us who is good after all the games are played? I had a lot of issues sometimes with Lit, even at the end of seasons. I recall in 1979 Boyle was listed behind four teams we had actually defeated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDEaston Posted October 4, 2019 Share Posted October 4, 2019 This is what everyone always said about the Lit Ratings. By the end of the season, we all know how good a team is. Do we really need a computer program to tell us who is good after all the games are played? The computer rankings in general aren't as accurate as BGP rankings or other rankings based on human judgment and teams passing the eye test. But to be fair they are pretty accurate the last third of a season. That said, it would be nice to see BGP rankings published in some of the statewide newspapers, though I doubt most newspapers would go for it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted February 10, 2020 Author Share Posted February 10, 2020 This is definitely the time of year I'm going to miss seeing the LIT ratings the most. Here's hoping they can revive them someday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet16 Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 The computer rankings in general aren't as accurate as BGP rankings or other rankings based on human judgment and teams passing the eye test. But to be fair they are pretty accurate the last third of a season. That said, it would be nice to see BGP rankings published in some of the statewide newspapers, though I doubt most newspapers would go for it. It’s usually better than the AP rankings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JDEaston Posted February 10, 2020 Share Posted February 10, 2020 It’s usually better than the AP rankings. For sure hah. My 8 year old could likely compile a comparable list as them and she would likely just put her favorite mascots in order for her list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigerpride94 Posted September 22, 2021 Share Posted September 22, 2021 My ratings are similar to Litkenhous ratings. I discovered in HS study hall that if you take the ratings of teams played and average it then add avg margin victory that it was same number in Litkenhous published ratings. The mystery is what was used as starting rating. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonels_Wear_Blue Posted December 21, 2021 Author Share Posted December 21, 2021 The CJ published an article this morning that explained what happened to the Litkenhous ratings.Remember those dang Litkenhous Ratings? Here's what happened to them. Long story short...the paper had at the ratings formula computerized in 2004. Then in 2016 the code needed to be re-written because of computer advances. There were some bugs in the system recognized sometime after the 2016 code translation, and it wasn't clear if the bugs were present in the original 2004 code or if they were part of the 2016 update, or both. The CJ threw money at trying to do some basic bug patching on the Litratings code, but it was only basically enough to stick their finger in the dam a handful of times over. Sounds like all of the code needs to be revamped and rewritten from scratch but the CJ doesn't have the means to fix that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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