Comments on "Measuring Parity"
Rodney Fort*
Washington State University
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: rodfort{at}adelphia.net.
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Abstract |
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From historical odds Cain and Haddock assign the probability of a tie at 25% and offer
functional forms for the standard deviation of a league with equal chances of a win for
each team under different point assignment schemes. They then track the ratio of actual
to these idealized standard deviations and argue against using an approximation that
assigns half a win to both teams in a tie game or match. Their article contains some confusing
use of nomenclature and there are some important lapses in scholarship. But perhaps
more important, they ignore the fact (after acknowledging it) that if one uses
percentages rather than absolute points, their measures of competitive balance are
invariant to the point system actually used. Although their point is well-taken for competitive
balance questions where absolute points might prove informative, for other competitive
balance questions their point is not.
