As many of you active in Twitterville Sunday afternoon may have noticed, there was a bit of activity using the #BBGSports tag. By this point, you probably have heard that there was a debut of Bloomberg Sports’ consumer and professional analytics tools, something they were kind enough to invite me to. Aside from getting to check out the very impressive Bloomberg HQ (which is incredible) and get a sneak preview of these two products, it was a good time to get to meet many of the people you read on a daily basis (more on that in a bit).

The first part of the demo was showcasing their “consumer” product, a fantasy draft and in-season analytics tool. This is part of a working relationship with MLB and represents Bloomberg’s first foray into sports analytics. For those who don’t really know what Bloomberg does, they are the leader in info and analytics for the financial services industry. Every firm who works with the Street in some capacity – from brokerages, to M&A advisory, to law firms, etc. – all have at least a few Bloomberg terminals…these ubiquitous flat screens pumping out reams of news and data on the stocks and stories affecting the companies. Data analytics. It’s what they do and what they do best. Expanding into sports analytics is a natural extension, even if the market isn’t as large. After all, data is data and for all intents and purposes, a player is very similar to a stock. The trick is using the underlying data in order to help the user make the best decision using the best available information.

What Bloomberg conveyed best of all is that they are here to listen to our feedback. They want to know what works and what doesn’t and seem genuinely interested in making a product that people can get the most out of. Given their pedigree in financial services, this is not to be discounted. This is their corporate mantra. And if they are hiring…(raises hand)

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To close out January, Buster Olney does a nice job in outlining the Damon Drama and draws a good parallel:

Think of this like trying to get a date for the senior prom, and Johnny Damon as the target who keeps saying no. The Yankees wanted Damon more than anybody else has wanted Damon, and Damon has repeatedly turned them down — for a time essentially telling them to not even bother calling.

So they got another date.

Is that their fault?

Dateless Damon. Sad, unfortunate but true.