Alec Hogg: Moneyball heads for English Premier League

Only once did I get close enough in person to see the whites of Bill Gates' eyes. It was at a carefully staged event in Davos some years ago where a few media people were invited to a midnight "fireside chat" (yes, 12am). Fears that my invitation had been sent by mistake were confirmed on arrival as my name wasn't on the official list. But a kind gatekeeper let me in anyway to witness an eloquent Gates in his prime. That's all unravelling fast as Bill's divorce from Melinda becomes turns increasingly ugly. Super-nerd, it appears, also possesses a super-libido. First it was disclosures of an apparent relationship with sex fiend Jeffrey Epstein. Now we hear Gates resigned from the Microsoft and Berkshire directorate because of an undisclosed extramarital affair. Which goes to show – truth always emerges, no matter how powerful those who attempt to hide it. This morning's exclusive from the Wall Street Journal is republished below..On a happier note, another famous American, baseball's Billy Beane, has been quietly applying his mathematical theories to English Football – with great success. This week tiny Barnsley FC will compete in the Championship playoffs for a place in the English Premier League. Beane, whose algorythms transformed baseball's Oakland As, has together with a group of countrymen used data science catapult the 134 year old Cinderella club to within two games of the sporting world's richest league. Click here to read this inspirational story in today's WSJ.I received an email from Discovery CEO Adrian Gore this morning, one of millions sent to members of South Africa's largest medical aid fund. Well written, it is an excellent summary of where we are and what is going to happen next. Worth sharing. So I have. Click here to read it.Another instructive piece from our partners at the WSJ this morning covers how massive innovation in power storage is transforming the energy equation. In typical Moore's Law fashion, batteries (above) are becoming cheaper and more efficient – helping to turn renewable energy into the obvious economic alternative. Read the story by clicking here. Along a similar line, investigative journalists at amaBhungane have produced the most comprehensive report yet on SA's Powerships debacle – read it here. ___STEADY_PAYWALL___.NB FOR YOUR WALL STREET JOURNAL ACCESS….As a Premium subscriber you are entitled to full membership of wsj.com (normal price $29 a month). Be sure to action your access through the Premium link on the BizNews website. Because of The Wall Street Journal's credential requirements, be sure to create a password which has at least 8 characters and includes at least one letter and one number – NB it MAY NOT contain any special characters (ie #, !, @ etc). To maintain access to WSJ.com, you MUST enter our partner's website via BizNews Premium at least once a month. A final PS, if you had previously signed up for WSJ you'll need to clear the cookies from your device. Our help desk can assist – support@biznews.com.Catch the BizNews shows live (or later).Go to BizNewsradio.com for all the latest podcasts, including the recording of last night's BizNews Power Hour..On the site you'll also find a live stream which enables you catch our flagship programme as it happens at 5:30pm weeknights..Even more fun is watching our flagship show via the live studio-cam – simply hit the subscribe button on our YouTube channel – BizNews TV – and every evening we'll send you the link to the livestream. There's also a useful chat function in the livestream for posing questions during the show…..please use it.

Alec Hogg: Moneyball heads for English Premier League

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