Back to the scene of the earthquake

My guess would be that there is ever so slight a possibility that a certain coin, the right coin, could land on it's edge. Sorta' like the zero/double zero on a Roulette wheel. That's what gives "the House" it's edge.

This is going to be a G-R-E-A-T game .......WDE

"You're either mentally strong or you're mentally weak" "You're either mentally strong or you're mentally weak"
- John Gruden

 

Because there is no such thing as a "fair coin" which is often usen in theory when determining the probability in certain events involving coin flipping. A "fair coin" does, in fact, have a 50/50 chance of landing on either side. With a real coin, it is still only possible that in land on one of two sides, but there are other factors that would affect the outcome. Because of differing weight and drag on either side of the coin, combined with the fact that a real coin flip involves human involvement which cannot be consistent, the actual probability is more like 0.4899 for heads and 0.5101 for tails.

 

Are we a little Technical tonight????

 

Well dammit! No wonder Auburn was on a 9 game losing streak on coin tosses until last week!! Has anyone notified the SEC head office about this??

 

I don't know but you could be right about that as far as coins of US or other nations currency that may be slighly weighted on either the heads or tails side due to the engraving. I don't know what kind of coin that NCAA referees use and of what denomination but at least as of 10 or 12 years ago I knew that the NFL used a special coin that was not official US currency. To constuct a truly "fair coin" it would be necessary to mint a coin perfectly smooth on both sides and then mark the sides of the coin with a sharpie with an H on one site and a T on the other. Since the letter H has two vertical bars and one shorter horizontal bar and the letter T has a single vertical bar and a single shorter horizontal bar it would be necessary to make the horizontal bar on the T the exact equivilent of the extra vertical bar in the H so that the weight of the ink in the sharpie markings would be the same on both sides of the coin.

In most instances of friendly coin flips between friend the coin is a randomly selected quarter, nickel, dime or penny from the pockets of one of the coin flip participants. Normally no one checks to see it the coin is placed in the heads up or tails up position in the traditional and time accepted manner of placing the coin upon the thumb of the designated flipper of the coin with the flippers index finger used to steady the coin and ready it for flipping. The difference between a football coin flip and most friendly coin flips is that the coin is allowed to hit the ground or artificial turf of the playing field before an official determination of heads or tails is made. In the majority of friendly coin flips the flipper propels the coin upwardly with an upward thust of the coin holding thumb and the flipee calls heads or tails as the coin rapidly revolves end over end until it is caught by the flipper, usually with both hands. If the flipper is right thumbed he will catch the coin in his left hand and cover it with his right hand to ensure a good catch and not drop the coin. In grade school I once encountered a pre pubescent coin flip hustler who had developed the ability to trap the coin in an on edge position in his hands and then give a quick peek so he always knew which way to lay the coin down before he opened his hands to reveal the coins upward side. Flipping for pennies and nickels earned the Junior con artist about a dollar and a half before one of his victims caught on and beat the crap out of him.

And then there is always the posibility of a referee of the player calling the winning coin flip having a sudden brain dead moment. In the second ever professional football overtime game in the 1962 AFL championship game between the Houston Oilers and the Kansas City Chiefs the Chiefs won the overtime flip. Since there was a strong wind on the field the Chiefs intended to choose to take the side of the field with the wind in their favor and let the Oilers choose to receive the overtime kickoff but Abner Haynes, the Chiefs captain trusted with making the call blurted out "We'll kick to the clock" By the Chiefs having inadverdantly chosen to kick off the Oilers not only got to receive but got the wind advantage too. In another game 2 or 3 years ago between the Detroit Lions and the Pittsburgh Steelers the coin flipping referee made the wrong flip call in an overtime flip and awarded the choice to the Lions instead of the Steelers who had won the toss. The Chiefs ended up winning their game but the Steelers lost when the Lions drove close enough for the winning field goal on the first overtime possession

 

Geeze....the coin flip dissertation thread. Who's next?

 

Hey, you asked.

Actually, I remember hearing that in a statistics class or something, and I couldnt remember what the actual probability was. I looked it up right before cadillac posted about flipping the coin, so it was fresh in my head.

 

Well, anyway, back to the games......

I'll be watching the LSU-USC matchup with keen interest this weekend to see what my AU Tigers will be in store for. I believe LSU will show alot of heart this weekend and bounce back from the UF loss. USC is a dangerous team and played well enough to win the UT game, and played beter than the score indicated against UGA - they are not to be taken lightly - especially at Columbia.

LSU must stop the 'Cocks rushing attack, and they must not turn the ball over. Probably two things that LSU can do if they are focused on this game.

I'll say LSU 24 - USC 17, and Geaux Tigers (but just for this week - *grin*)

 

One week is just the beginning...you say it once and you'll be hooked. :geaux:

 

Yes, I feel the Acadian Force pulling at my soul, but alas, I cannot pull but for one Tiger.....and that is, the Auburn Tigers. Sorry, but it's been the way I wuz raised.

I must admit that I felt torn in deciding who to root for this weekend, LSU or USC. On the one hand, if USC won , then Auburn could still represent the West if they subsequently lost to LSU. (assuming it is AU's only conference loss, because we WILL beat Georgia).

But on the other hand, if LSU wins, they could be a higher ranked opponent next Saturday - something that appeals to my competitive nature. In the end, it has been the numerous good experiences I've had when visiting Baton Rouge that inspires me to root for LSU this weekend. Geaux Tigers !