[Miz]

I was considering purchasing a sportsdatabase. It has all sports opening and closing lines, as well as the scores (which is nice). It also has betting percentages, if line movement vs % is of interest to you. It is in .csv or .xls format.

It has the following sports:

MLB Data - April 2003 until Present
NBA Data - Oct 2003 until Present
NFL Data - Sept 2003 until Present
College Football Data - Sept 2003 until Present
College Basketball Data - Nov 2003 until Present
NHL Data – Oct 2003 until Present
WNBA Data – Oct June 2005 unit Present

Is there anyone that:

a) has this database they would consider sharing with or selling to me
b) go in on the purchase with me

If so please PM me. I would be willing to paypal the money to you.

Attached is the sample file

[egr99]

not sure... have you used sportsdatabase before? pretty good also and you can make custom queries.

[arwar]

I'm not an Excel pro, but it seems to me that anything over say 10,000 rows might be better represented as a MySQL or Access database, perhaps with an Excel front end for data display.

[Wrecktangle]

If you try haunting some of the forums you can get folks to swap dbs with you, but you usually have to have something to swap with. I for one, typically will not give you anything unless I get something back.

Hint: get more than one look at each sport, you'll e surprised at the errors folks carry around.

[Miz]

arwar, I am not sure if it is split up by sport, by year etc. I just plan to import it anyway though.

Wreck, thanks. yeah, I just don't have a good DB right now, so I have nothing to offer other than money. Unless someone chimes in with a good DB and a price, I plan to purchase the one mentioned above... then i will have a bargaining chip to trade others with.

[Justin7]

If you're only looking at spreads and scores, the database is only good for making conversion charts. You really need game stats if you want anything predictive.

[Miz]

Thanks Justin, I concur. I am spending my time now on a simple least squares regression that has a limited number of inputs, just so that I can learn the method in which to automate back testing. In other words I need to learn to add and subtract before I perform triple integrals... taking small steps first.

Honestly a nicely parsed set of lines and scores will go a long way for me right now; although in the future, I agree that I need game by game detail... as much as possible actually, down to the injuries of that game.

[Igetp2s]

What is the source of the data?

[Wrecktangle]

Following up on Justin's point: you are chasing your tail if you predict off scores and lines alone. Spending money for this is almost a complete waste of money. IMO, either scrape your own boxes, or find someone to swap with.

BTW, get ready for this to NOT work. You are very far away from any sort of reasonable results. At lot of folks do this and it is mostly pounded into the line.

[Miz]

Again, building an accurate predictive model is not yet my goal. Learning how to perform a least squares regression analysis, becoming comforable with the software and executing an automated back test is what i am aiming for here. A database of scores and lines will suffice for now, and if I can do that for a reasonable price of 50-200 bucks, then great. if someone has a more comprehensive DB to sell me, then that is even better.

I thought I would pose the question, and see what was out there.

I do appreciate the feedback though.

Thanks

[vyomguy]

@Miz,

The exact database you mentioned in the first comment can be purchased from sportsinsights.com for $200. It has the stats for all the sports from 2003. Go check it out.

[Wrecktangle]

Miz, if the only thing you really are looking to do is play with least squares, you need more data fields than what these "packages" will give you. You need multiple factors so you can get used to understanding which will come in and which go out according to test criteria. For score prediction you will always find the single best predictor of today's game will be today's line, bar none. So unless you only want a toy regression project, you need at least a short boxscore with, for example in football, 1st downs, yds rushing & passing fumbles, penalties, TO (both types), etc.

If nothing else, scrap one of the known sites for several weeks.

[arwar]

here son, this is free
the line in column i goes with the team in colum h

some of team names are a bit confusing, eg.
ARI obviously was not in ARI in 1983, but in ST Louis, but it's ok for what you are asking.

This is raw data meaning that it may a few holes in it, but you need to learn how to deal with that as well.

[Miz]

Thanks for the data arwar.

[arwar]

after looking over that sheet, those lines in column EYE go with the home team, so you probably need to change column H

[Miz]

Miz, if the only thing you really are looking to do is play with least squares, you need more data fields than what these "packages" will give you. You need multiple factors so you can get used to understanding which will come in and which go out according to test criteria. For score prediction you will always find the single best predictor of today's game will be today's line, bar none. So unless you only want a toy regression project, you need at least a short boxscore with, for example in football, 1st downs, yds rushing & passing fumbles, penalties, TO (both types), etc.

If nothing else, scrap one of the known sites for several weeks.

Thanks for the thoughts Wreck, I have a few different ideas analogous to some of what you mentioned, but right now I am really just focusing on learning efficient ways to manipulate data, scrape websites etc. Thanks for your input. Have a good night

[Miz]

Thanks arwar, I will take a look at that.

[runnershane14]

why are people so damn negative?

[Wrecktangle]

why are people so damn negative?

Because the NFL is so damn hard to beat. Actually most all sports are hard to beat and you only get a few decent shots at them.

Or should I say,"hey, no problems dude! Do a regressions and become a millionaire overnight. After all the touts do it, so how hard can it be?"

[runnershane14]

While I understand your frustrations of "the NFL is so damn hard to beat", I get tired of people asking questions and then giving negative responses to what they are doing/trying to do. I think everyone in this thread understand you cannot become a millionaire overnight, but do not try to convince people things they are doing are pointless, because that is their choice. Learning what not to do is as important and what to do. While that could have been your motive for the negative comments I don't believe that is what was asked for.

[jcross2013]

Did you ever get the data? I have a program that I will share with you as well.