I love when there’s a stats question in Bill Simmons’ mailbag. This one is as good as the 3 point shooting percentage stat from a couple months ago.
Q: As long as I have watched sports, the term “games over .500” has perplexed me. A 61-21 team is regarded as 40 games over .500, when in reality, it’s only 20! Is there someone I can complain to that will fix this and prevent everyone from continuing to make this error and bothering me again?
–Mike U., Norwood, Mass.SG: I get this e-mail all the time, and it never ceases being dumb. The 61-21 team is considered “40 games over 500” because it would need to lose 40 straight games to drop back down to .500. Also, I’m doing the Dikembe Finger Wag at you.