WhatIfSports.com - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

WhatIfSports.com is a company based in Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati, Ohio

Cincinnati is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio. Cincinnati is the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located to north of the Ohio River at the Ohio-Kentucky border, near Indiana. The population within city limits is 296,943 according to the 2010 census, making it Ohio's...

, U.S. that specializes in online

ONLINE

ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....

sports simulations and fantasy

Fantasy sport

A fantasy sport is a game where participants act as owners to build a team that competes against other fantasy owners based on the statistics generated by the real individual players or teams of a professional sport...

-style games. It uses custom sports simulators to allow users to match teams from any era and generate a complete play-by-play of a game. Simulations can be run for free, or users can build custom teams consisting of players from any generation and join leagues with their friends for a fee. Results are based on each player's combined stats from previous seasons.

The site won the 2005 Webby

Webby Awards

A Webby Award is an international award presented annually by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences for excellence on the Internet with categories in websites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile....

award as the best sports website

Website

A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet...

and claims more than 600,000 users as of 2009.

Company history

Founded in 1999, WhatIfSports was a side project of a couple of sports fans working for a computer

Computer

A computer is a programmable machine designed to sequentially and automatically carry out a sequence of arithmetic or logical operations. The particular sequence of operations can be changed readily, allowing the computer to solve more than one kind of problem...

consulting

Information technology consulting

Information technology consulting is a field that focuses on advising businesses on how best to use information technology to meet their business objectives...

company in Cincinnati, Ohio. After numerous lunchroom debates on which great historical baseball

Baseball

Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...

teams would win if they could play each other, a few guys decided to up the ante. At the height of the dot-com bubble

Dot-com bubble

The dot-com bubble was a speculative bubble covering roughly 1995–2000 during which stock markets in industrialized nations saw their equity value rise rapidly from growth in the more...

, they decided to undertake the challenge of trying to write an advanced baseball simulator (along the lines of Strat-O-Matic

Strat-o-Matic

Strat-O-Matic is a game company based in Glen Head, New York, that develops and publishes sports simulation games. It produces tabletop baseball, football, basketball, and ice hockey simulations, as well as personal computer adaptations of each, but it is primarily known for its baseball...

and APBA

APBA

APBA is a game company founded in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. It was created in 1951 by J. Richard Seitz. The game company on their official website states that the letters stood for "American Professional Baseball Association" which was the name of a boyhood league Mr. Seitz participated in with his...

) that would work on a website.

An early version of the baseball simulator was up and running by fall of 1999. The next project was college basketball

College basketball

College basketball most often refers to the USA basketball competitive governance structure established by the National Collegiate Athletic Association . Basketball in the NCAA is divided into three divisions: Division I, Division II and Division III....

. Just in time for March Madness

NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship

The NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Championship is a single-elimination tournament held each spring in the United States, featuring 68 college basketball teams, to determine the national championship in the top tier of college basketball...

in spring of 2000, the college basketball simulator went online. This caught the attention of the local media when the simulator said the University of Cincinnati

University of Cincinnati

The University of Cincinnati is a comprehensive public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio, and a part of the University System of Ohio....

would have made the Final Four

Final four

Final Four isa sports term that is commonly applied to the last four teams remaining in a playoff tournament, most notably NCAA Division I college basketball tournaments. The term usually refers to the four teams who compete in the two games of a single-elimination tournament's semi-final round...

if one of its players, power forward Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Martin

Kenyon Lee Martin is an American professional basketball player. Nicknamed "K-Mart", he plays for the Xinjiang Flying Tigers in China. He was selected first overall in the 2000 NBA Draft, and has played in the NBA for the New Jersey Nets and Denver Nuggets...

, had not broken his leg.

While continuing with the consulting work to pay the bills, WhatIfSports remained a side project until the company landed its first major license with Major League Baseball in 2001. The license put the baseball simulator on MLB.com

MLB.com

MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...

and put WhatIfSports on the map.

In the years that followed, the WhatIfSports project began earning more money than the computer consulting work, as more and more companies began trimming back their information technology

Information technology

Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...

budgets. In 2003 WhatIfSports was officially incorporated

Incorporation (business)

Incorporation is the forming of a new corporation . The corporation may be a business, a non-profit organisation, sports club, or a government of a new city or town...

; a growing staff was able to introduce new simulators for football

American football

American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...

, NBA basketball, hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

, and stock car racing

Stock car racing

Stock car racing is a form of automobile racing found mainly in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britain, Brazil and Argentina. Traditionally, races are run on oval tracks measuring approximately in length...

.

After two more years of continuous growth, WhatIfSports was acquired by Fox Interactive Media

News Corporation

News Corporation or News Corp. is an American multinational media conglomerate. It is the world's second-largest media conglomerate as of 2011 in terms of revenue, and the world's third largest in entertainment as of 2009, although the BBC remains the world's largest broadcaster...

in the fall of 2005. This was around the same time Fox bought other properties such as MySpace

MySpace

Myspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....

, IGN

IGN

IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...

and Scout.com

Scout.com

Scout.com is an integrated sports publishing company that produces both an Internet and print product. Scout has more than 2.1 million visitors...

SimMatchup

WhatIfSports offers anyone a "test drive" of their simulators at no cost in a section called SimMatchUp. Users choose to play any two MLB baseball teams against each other going back to the 1885, NFL football teams back to 1941, NHL hockey teams back to 1917, NBA basketball teams back to 1950, and NCAA basketball teams dating back to different years depending on the team. All simulators produce complete box score

Box score

A box score is a structured summary of the results from a sport competition. The box score lists the game score as well as individual and team achievements in the game....

s and full play-by-play.

SimLeagues

For a fee varying between $8USD to $12.95USD depending on the sport, users can draft their own teams consisting of any player in MLB, NBA, NFL and NHL history and join leagues

Sports league

League is a term commonly used to describe a group of sports teams or individual athletes that compete against each other in a specific sport. At its simplest, it may be a local group of amateur athletes who form teams among themselves and compete on weekends; at its most complex, it can be an...

with other people. All leagues play full seasons (by today's standards) with playoffs. Complete stats are tracked for all players and teams.

SimLeague Baseball

Acting as manager and GM, users can assemble their own “Murderers’ Row” lineup with legends like Mickey Mantle

Mickey Mantle

Mickey Charles Mantle was an American professional baseball player. Mantle is regarded by many to be the greatest switch hitter of all time, and one of the greatest players in baseball history. Mantle was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.Mantle was noted for his hitting...

, Ernie Banks

Ernie Banks

Ernest "Ernie" Banks , nicknamed "Mr. Cub", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and first baseman. He played his entire 19-year baseball career with the Chicago Cubs . He was elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1977.-High school years:Banks was a letterman and standout in football,...

, and Johnny Bench

Johnny Bench

Johnny Lee Bench is a former professional baseball catcher who played in the Major Leagues for the Cincinnati Reds from 1967 to 1983 and is a member of the National Baseball Hall of Fame...

. With a 162-game season, users control features such as pitch count limits, line-up orders, pinch-hitters, trade and waiver transactions, and more.

The baseball

Baseball

simleague can offer the opportunity for World Series

World Series

The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball, played between the American League and National League champions since 1903. The winner of the World Series championship is determined through a best-of-seven playoff and awarded the Commissioner's Trophy...

champions and losers to compete in a monthly tournament of champions based on salary cap used for the team. Each tournament winner receives $250USD in prizes.

SimLeague Basketball

SimLeague Basketball is an online basketball simulation game that puts the user in the dual role of GM and coach. One can build their own personal “Dream Team” with stars like Michael Jordan

Michael Jordan

Michael Jeffrey Jordan is a former American professional basketball player, active entrepreneur, and majority owner of the Charlotte Bobcats...

, Wilt Chamberlain

Wilt Chamberlain

Wilton Norman "Wilt" Chamberlain was an American professional NBA basketball player for the Philadelphia/San Francisco Warriors, the Philadelphia 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers; he also played for the Harlem Globetrotters prior to playing in the NBA...

, and Larry Bird

Larry Bird

Larry Joe Bird is a former American NBA basketball player and coach. Drafted into the NBA sixth overall by the Boston Celtics in 1978, Bird started at small forward and power forward for thirteen seasons, spearheading one of the NBA's most formidable frontcourts that included center Robert Parish...

. An 82-game season presents many decisions to the user, such as setting depth charts, target minutes, defensive sets, double-teams, offensive tempo, dealing with player fatigue and more.

SimLeague Football

With a 16-game season, users have the option of building a running game with Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders

Barry Sanders is a former American football running back who spent all of his professional career with the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Sanders left the game just short of the all-time rushing record...

and Walter Payton

Walter Payton

Walter Jerry Payton was an American football running back who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League for thirteen seasons. Walter Payton was known around the NFL as "Sweetness". He is remembered as one of the most prolific running backs in the history of American football...

, an aerial attack with Joe Montana

Joe Montana

Joseph Clifford "Joe" Montana, Jr. , nicknamed Joe Cool, Golden Joe, The Golden Great and Comeback Joe, is a retired American football player. Montana started his NFL career in 1979 with the San Francisco 49ers, where he played quarterback for the next 14 seasons...

and Randy Moss

Randy Moss

Randy Gene Moss is a former American football wide receiver. He was drafted by the Minnesota Vikings in the first round of the 1998 NFL Draft...

, or a tenacious defense with the 1985 Chicago Bears. Users set depth charts, game plans, offensive and defensive settings, deal with player fatigue and more.

SimLeague Hockey

Users can create squads featuring Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Gretzky

Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...

and Brett Hull

Brett Hull

Brett Andrew Hull is a former Canadian-American NHL player and the former Executive Vice President of the Dallas Stars. He is the son of Bobby Hull and nephew of Dennis Hull, both former NHL players. Hull is also known as "The Golden Brett," which is a play off of his father's nickname, "The...

on the same line, or a defense of Bobby Orr

Bobby Orr

Robert Gordon "Bobby" Orr, OC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Orr played in the National Hockey League for his entire career, the first ten seasons with the Boston Bruins, joining the Chicago Black Hawks for two more. Orr is widely acknowledged to be one of the greatest...

and Denis Potvin

Denis Potvin

Denis Charles Potvin is a former defenseman and team captain for the New York Islanders in the National Hockey League and cornerstone for the Islanders' four Stanley Cup championship teams in the early 1980s. His brother, Jean Potvin, was also an NHL defenseman and the brothers were teammates for...

with Bernie Parent

Bernie Parent

Bernard Marcel Parent , better known as Bernie Parent, is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 13 National Hockey League seasons with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins, and Toronto Maple Leafs, and also spent one season in the World Hockey Association with the...

in the net. An 82-game season presents decisions such as focusing on scoring or defense, which lines to use when, and what goalie to use for “Game 7.”

Hoops Dynasty

This game gives users a taste of what it's like to coach college basketball at an American university

University

A university is an institution of higher education and research, which grants academic degrees in a variety of subjects. A university is an organisation that provides both undergraduate education and postgraduate education...

. The user takes over in Division III and can recruit players, hand out scholarships, control practice

Practice (learning method)

Practice is the act of rehearsing a behavior over and over, or engaging in an activity again and again, for the purpose of improving or mastering it, as in the phrase "practice makes perfect". Sports teams practice to prepare for actual games. Playing a musical instrument well takes a lot of...

s and coach

Coach (sport)

In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...

games. The user tries to build a successful program to attract job offers from Division II and Division I schools. For most users, the ultimate goal is to get a Division I job and win the national title, although users can stay in lower divisions and build a dynasty there, as well.

Gridiron Dynasty

This game simulates what it's like to coach college football

College football

College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...

. The simulation works much the same as Hoops Dynasty, with the user starting in Division III and trying to move up to higher divisions by building a successful program through recruiting, coaching and administration. Also, like Hoops Dynasty, there are users that stay in the lower divisions and build dynasties with their respective school.

Hardball Dynasty

Hardball Dynasty was introduced to the site in 2005. It gives users the ability to run a baseball franchise (from the major league

Major League Baseball

Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...

level all the way down to rookie league

Minor league baseball

Minor league baseball is a hierarchy of professional baseball leagues in the Americas that compete at levels below Major League Baseball and provide opportunities for player development. All of the minor leagues are operated as independent businesses...

) and have complete control over personnel decisions, lineups

Batting order (baseball)

The batting order, or batting lineup, in baseball is the sequence in which the nine members of the offense take their turns in batting against the pitcher. The batting order is the main component of a team's offensive strategy. The batting order is set by the manager before the game begins...

, pitch counts, etc. In essence, it is a more sophisticated version of the MLB simulation. It has a yearly draft with both foreign and U.S. players as well as user interaction via trades and a league trash-talk

Trash-talk

Trash-talk is a form of boast or insult commonly heard in competitive situations , primarily in the US. It is often used to intimidate the opposition, but can also be used in a humorous spirit...

/message board. It is by far the most comprehensive and time-consuming game on the site and offers much that not even the baseball sim has at this point.

FC Dynasty

This game puts you in charge of a football club. You must build your squad by signing free-agents, upgrading your stadium to increase income, and negotiating transfer deals with other users. This is the most recently added game on the site and the only free dynasty.

Forums and other features

The site offers extensive user forums for each of the major sports, along with more general discussions and a section called "The Pit" for trash talk and more mature themes. Generally, the most active forum is Baseball (Sim Baseball and Hardball Dynasty, along with MLB talk.) On August 14, 2007 a soccer forum was introduced to talk about all things soccer.

The site also offers a section called "Beyond the Box Score" which are a series of columns which contain weekly NFL projections on games and individual fantasy football

Fantasy football (American)

Fantasy football is an interactive, virtual competition in which people manage professional football players versus one another and that allows people to act as general managers of a pseudo-football team. The players that an individual is able to manage are professional American Football players...

performers, as well as explorations of various "what if" scenarios. In March 2008, the simulator correctly predicted seven of the eight elite 8 teams, all Final Four teams, the runner-up Memphis and champion Kansas.

For a short period of time the site had a Legends Chat. Well-known coaches or athletes would receive questions from users. The questions were screened and had to be submitted the day before the chat. There were only seven of these chats: Davey Johnson

Davey Johnson

David Allen "Davey" Johnson is an American Major League Baseball player and current manager of the Washington Nationals. He was the starting second baseman for the Baltimore Orioles when they won four American League pennants and two World Series championships between 1965 and 1972...

(11/28/06), Dan Reeves

Dan Reeves

Daniel Edward Reeves is a former American football player and head coach. He has participated in more Super Bowls as player/assistant coach/Head Coach than anyone else...

(12/5/06), Bobby Cremins

Bobby Cremins

Bobby Cremins is an American college basketball coach and the current head coach of the College of Charleston's men's basketball team, and former head coach at Appalachian State and Georgia Tech.-Early years:...

(12/19/06), Jack Lengyel

Jack Lengyel

Jack Lengyel is a software executive and former American football coach, lacrosse coach, and college athletics administrator. He served as the head football coach at the College of Wooster from 1966 to 1970 and at Marshall University from 1971 until 1974, compiling a career college football...

(1/23/07), John Robinson

John Robinson (football coach)

John Alexander Robinson is a former American football player and coach best known for his two stints as head coach of the University of Southern California football team and for his tenure as head coach of the NFL's Los Angeles Rams...

(2/1/07), John Chaney (2/14/07) and Jud Heathcote

Jud Heathcote

George Melvin "Jud" Heathcote is a former college basketball coach. He was a head coach for 24 seasons at the collegiate level: five at Montana and 19 at Michigan State...

(3/7/07).

Controversy

Fox's acquisition of the site was controversial with some users. There was also a dispute involving copyright

Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...

issues about Major League Baseball logo

Logo

A logo is a graphic mark or emblem commonly used by commercial enterprises, organizations and even individuals to aid and promote instant public recognition...

s and player names and likenesses. When a lawsuit was filed by CDM Fantasy Sports against the Major League Baseball Players Association

Major League Baseball Players Association

The Major League Baseball Players Association is the union of professional major-league baseball players.-History of MLBPA:The MLBPA was not the first attempt to unionize baseball players...

and Major League Baseball Advanced Media

MLBAM

Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P., is a limited partnership of the club owners of Major League Baseball, and is the internet and interactive branch of the league. The company operates the official web site for the league and 30 Major League Baseball club web sites via MLB.com, which draws...

(MLB's new media unit) over the use of such material, WhatIfSports eliminated MLB logos and player names and images, substituting generic descriptions of the players. This move generated some controversy with users, though the player names were restored after a federal court decision in favor of CDM Fantasy Sports. The logos have not yet been restored due to continuing copyright concerns.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.