Recent Press
The best damned sports app: Sportacular Pro
"Sportacular gives live, up-to-the-minute scores, standings, schedules, stats and news for pro and college sports. It’s able to monitor NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, NCAAFB, NCAABB, Soccer/Football, PGA, LPGA, PGA and the list goes on."
ZDNet
December 6, 2009
"Sportacular gives live, up-to-the-minute scores, standings, schedules, stats and news for pro and college sports. It’s able to monitor NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL, MLS, NCAAFB, NCAABB, Soccer/Football, PGA, LPGA, PGA and the list goes on."
ZDNet
December 6, 2009
U.S. sports to social media: show me the money!
"Citizen Sports offers some of the biggest and fastest-growing fantasy sports games on Facebook, allowing people to play fantasy football or soccer with their friends without going to a separate sports site."
Reuters
November 18, 2009
"Citizen Sports offers some of the biggest and fastest-growing fantasy sports games on Facebook, allowing people to play fantasy football or soccer with their friends without going to a separate sports site."
Reuters
November 18, 2009
Who Is The Ultimate Game Changer In Sports?
"Citizen Sports will end 2009 as the third largest fantasy sports provider, trailing only Yahoo! and ESPN. The Sportacular app is second only to ESPN's ScoreCenter on the iPhone, distinguishing itself by offering instant push notifications every time the score changes in the games played by your favorite teams. "
The Huffington Post
October 27, 2009
"Citizen Sports will end 2009 as the third largest fantasy sports provider, trailing only Yahoo! and ESPN. The Sportacular app is second only to ESPN's ScoreCenter on the iPhone, distinguishing itself by offering instant push notifications every time the score changes in the games played by your favorite teams. "
The Huffington Post
October 27, 2009
Facebook and Fantasy Football Finally Intersect
"Good news, Facebook users: You can now poke your commissioner during your draft. And, hey, fantasy football players: You can scroll through vacation pictures of your ex in Cancun on the same site you check your live scoring. Two of pop culture's largest phenomena – fantasy football and Facebook – seem to have finally found a way to make their union work. "
The Wall Street Journal
October 9, 2009
"Good news, Facebook users: You can now poke your commissioner during your draft. And, hey, fantasy football players: You can scroll through vacation pictures of your ex in Cancun on the same site you check your live scoring. Two of pop culture's largest phenomena – fantasy football and Facebook – seem to have finally found a way to make their union work. "
The Wall Street Journal
October 9, 2009
Are You Ready for Some Football?…Not Unless You Have These Apps
"Sportacular is the best sports app, and more particularly the best football app. You get quick load times, live updated scores, news, and push notifications all for FREE."
AppAdvice
September 10, 2009
"Sportacular is the best sports app, and more particularly the best football app. You get quick load times, live updated scores, news, and push notifications all for FREE."
AppAdvice
September 10, 2009
Citizen Sports’ iPhone App Is Better Than ESPN’s, But They’re Not Named ESPN
"As a startup in the sports sphere, Citizen Sports has a simple, but annoying problem: They’re not ESPN. And it’s simply hard to compete with the name that has basically become synonymous with sports. Yahoo might be able to do it because, well, they’re Yahoo, but for a startup, it can be frustrating when, on many levels, you’re beating your competitors in innovation, but still trailing by so much."
TechCrunch
August 28, 2009
"As a startup in the sports sphere, Citizen Sports has a simple, but annoying problem: They’re not ESPN. And it’s simply hard to compete with the name that has basically become synonymous with sports. Yahoo might be able to do it because, well, they’re Yahoo, but for a startup, it can be frustrating when, on many levels, you’re beating your competitors in innovation, but still trailing by so much."
TechCrunch
August 28, 2009
Citizen Sports Network Releases Fantasy Football iPhone App
"Citizen Sports Network (CSN) yesterday released its planned free iPhone application devoted to fantasy football featuring live scoring, push notifications and news alerts, and Facebook Connect functionality that will allow users to manage their CSN fantasy leagues on Facebook from their iPhone."
Sports Business Journal
August 27, 2009
"Citizen Sports Network (CSN) yesterday released its planned free iPhone application devoted to fantasy football featuring live scoring, push notifications and news alerts, and Facebook Connect functionality that will allow users to manage their CSN fantasy leagues on Facebook from their iPhone."
Sports Business Journal
August 27, 2009
Fantasy sports site looks overseas
"Citizen Sports thinks it has a winning game plan in a crowded field of social-networking sports sites. Its strategy? Create a network of fantasy sports games for play on Facebook and the iPhone, and aggressively expand overseas."
USA Today
August 24, 2009
"Citizen Sports thinks it has a winning game plan in a crowded field of social-networking sports sites. Its strategy? Create a network of fantasy sports games for play on Facebook and the iPhone, and aggressively expand overseas."
USA Today
August 24, 2009
Sportacular Still #1
"Sportacular is still my app of choice when it comes to finding out the score of a ballgame."
Macworld
July 30, 2009
"Sportacular is still my app of choice when it comes to finding out the score of a ballgame."
Macworld
July 30, 2009
Citizen Sports Sees Quick Response To New EPL Fantasy Offering
"Citizen Sports Network said it has garnered more than 200,000 registrants of its new Facebook-oriented fantasy game for EPL soccer after just a week of availability."
Sports Business Journal
July 30, 2009
"Citizen Sports Network said it has garnered more than 200,000 registrants of its new Facebook-oriented fantasy game for EPL soccer after just a week of availability."
Sports Business Journal
July 30, 2009
Facebook Finally Gives Apps Some Love
"On Wednesday, Facebook is overhauling its application listings and rolling out its long-awaited “verified apps program."
New York Times
May 20, 2009
"On Wednesday, Facebook is overhauling its application listings and rolling out its long-awaited “verified apps program."
New York Times
May 20, 2009
MLBAM Strikes Partnership with S.F.-Based Citizen Sports Network
"MLBAM has struck a partnership with S.F.-Based Citizen Sports Network in which MLBAM will sell ad inventory within CSN's MLB team communities, baseball fantasy games and game-tracker pages on Facebook."
Sports Business Journal
April 22, 2009
"MLBAM has struck a partnership with S.F.-Based Citizen Sports Network in which MLBAM will sell ad inventory within CSN's MLB team communities, baseball fantasy games and game-tracker pages on Facebook."
Sports Business Journal
April 22, 2009
Facebook’s fbFund incubator program looks to cash in on the site’s growth
"This year, Facebook and two of its venture investors, Accel Partners and the Founders Fund, are changing up their fbFund incubator-style program from handing out grants to making equity investments."
VentureBeat
April 16, 2009
"This year, Facebook and two of its venture investors, Accel Partners and the Founders Fund, are changing up their fbFund incubator-style program from handing out grants to making equity investments."
VentureBeat
April 16, 2009
Fantasy gaming firm Citizen creates app for Facebook
"Citizen Sports Network has developed a centralized hub application for Facebook users that collates scores, news, fantasy gaming, trivia and a wide range of social-networking features in one spot."
Sports Business Journal
March 16, 2009
"Citizen Sports Network has developed a centralized hub application for Facebook users that collates scores, news, fantasy gaming, trivia and a wide range of social-networking features in one spot."
Sports Business Journal
March 16, 2009
Citizen Sports Acquires Sportacular, Sport Interactiva and FantasyBook
"Citizen Sports, the industry leader in social sports media, has announced the acquisition of sports application developers Sportacular, Sport Interactiva, and FantasyBook."
Press Release
Nov 10, 2008
"Citizen Sports, the industry leader in social sports media, has announced the acquisition of sports application developers Sportacular, Sport Interactiva, and FantasyBook."
Press Release
Nov 10, 2008
Social Networking With Citizen Sports
"This week features my interview with Mike Kerns, CEO of Citizens Sports Network. The company has developed applications for social networks, including one initiative that makes it possible for sports fans to participate in fantasy football games with friends."
ClickZ
September 16, 2008
"This week features my interview with Mike Kerns, CEO of Citizens Sports Network. The company has developed applications for social networks, including one initiative that makes it possible for sports fans to participate in fantasy football games with friends."
ClickZ
September 16, 2008
Citizen Sports Fantasy Football for Facebook to Test Ability to Build
Major Business in Social Network Application Category
Sports Illustrated Support, Seven-Figure Partnerships with AT&T, FinishLine and others Give Facebook’s First Major Fantasy App and Most Robust App Ever A Leg-up in Building Audience Quickly
Press Release
August 25, 2008
Sports Illustrated Support, Seven-Figure Partnerships with AT&T, FinishLine and others Give Facebook’s First Major Fantasy App and Most Robust App Ever A Leg-up in Building Audience Quickly
Press Release
August 25, 2008
It's First and 10 For Fantasy Football on Facebook
"Are Facebook users ready for some football? This fall, a couple of start-up software companies are trying to make a business out of melding two popular online activities: social networking and fantasy football. "
Washington Post
August 24, 2008
"Are Facebook users ready for some football? This fall, a couple of start-up software companies are trying to make a business out of melding two popular online activities: social networking and fantasy football. "
Washington Post
August 24, 2008
Card-counting whiz eyes Facebook football fantasy (Associated Press)
"By the time he graduated from MIT, Jeff Ma already had led a life many guys dream about. His card-counting prowess at blackjack tables during wild weekends in Las Vegas and Atlantic City won him and his college buddies millions of dollars, inspiring a best-selling book and the recent movie 21.
Now 35 years old, Ma thinks he can hit his next jackpot in a different fantasy land — the fanciful football leagues that will preoccupy millions of people during the next four months as they accumulate points based on the statistics of NFL players picked for their imaginary teams."
Associated Press
August 10, 2007
"By the time he graduated from MIT, Jeff Ma already had led a life many guys dream about. His card-counting prowess at blackjack tables during wild weekends in Las Vegas and Atlantic City won him and his college buddies millions of dollars, inspiring a best-selling book and the recent movie 21.
Now 35 years old, Ma thinks he can hit his next jackpot in a different fantasy land — the fanciful football leagues that will preoccupy millions of people during the next four months as they accumulate points based on the statistics of NFL players picked for their imaginary teams."
Associated Press
August 10, 2007
No fantasy: Big numbers expected
"…Perhaps the most dramatic change in the fantasy football landscape this year is the broad use of social networks to develop and distribute games. Citizen Sports Network, the corporate outgrowth of ProTrade, is partnering with Sports Illustrated to develop a free commissioner-style game on Facebook…."
Sports Business Journal
July 14, 2008
"…Perhaps the most dramatic change in the fantasy football landscape this year is the broad use of social networks to develop and distribute games. Citizen Sports Network, the corporate outgrowth of ProTrade, is partnering with Sports Illustrated to develop a free commissioner-style game on Facebook…."
Sports Business Journal
July 14, 2008
SI Digital New Preferred Ad Sales Agent for Citizen Sports
"SI Digital, which this week struck a multi-year deal with Bay Area-based Citizen Sports Network to develop sports content on social media, has supplanted Federated Media Inc as the preferred advertising sales agent for Citizen Sports, which until recently was called ProTrade."
Sports Business Journal
May 6, 2008
"SI Digital, which this week struck a multi-year deal with Bay Area-based Citizen Sports Network to develop sports content on social media, has supplanted Federated Media Inc as the preferred advertising sales agent for Citizen Sports, which until recently was called ProTrade."
Sports Business Journal
May 6, 2008
SI Teams With MIT Blackjack Ace to Make Facebook Apps
"You already know Jeff Mat’s story….Now Ma’s company Citizen Sports has teamed up with Sports Illustrated to bring a set of feature-rich fantasy sports apps to Facebook that Ma hopes will rival the likes of CBS Sportsline and Yahoo Sports."
TechCrunch
May 5, 2008
"You already know Jeff Mat’s story….Now Ma’s company Citizen Sports has teamed up with Sports Illustrated to bring a set of feature-rich fantasy sports apps to Facebook that Ma hopes will rival the likes of CBS Sportsline and Yahoo Sports."
TechCrunch
May 5, 2008
Sports Illustrated to Take Fantasy Game to Facebook
"Sports Illustrated Group has reached an agreement with Citizen Sports Inc. to develop and promote sports-related Web content, including a fantasy-football game that will be played on the Facebook Inc. Web site."
Wall Street Journal
May 5, 2008
"Sports Illustrated Group has reached an agreement with Citizen Sports Inc. to develop and promote sports-related Web content, including a fantasy-football game that will be played on the Facebook Inc. Web site."
Wall Street Journal
May 5, 2008
ProTrade adds social networking, rebrands
"ProTrade, the stock-market-inspired fantasy gaming outfit, has expanded its corporate focus into social networking and rebranded itself as Citizen Sports Network.
The San Francisco-based company will continue to operate ProTrade…..the company, however, has also spent much of the last year developing a suite on online social-networking applications that now are available on Facebook.com and soon will become part of the offerings at MySpace.com."
Sports Business Journal
April 28, 2008
"ProTrade, the stock-market-inspired fantasy gaming outfit, has expanded its corporate focus into social networking and rebranded itself as Citizen Sports Network.
The San Francisco-based company will continue to operate ProTrade…..the company, however, has also spent much of the last year developing a suite on online social-networking applications that now are available on Facebook.com and soon will become part of the offerings at MySpace.com."
Sports Business Journal
April 28, 2008
Web Site Gives Fans a Say in Football Rankings (Associated Press)
"From the weekly media and coaches polls to the preseason rankings in a bevy of magazines to the annual end-of-season debate about the Bowl Championship Series, no sport is tied to polling as much as college football.
Now there's a Web site that is giving fans a chance to have their say in a virtual futures market for college football teams.
ProTrade.com recently added college football to its roster of sports this season, giving fans a chance to predict how well teams will do this season."
Associated Press
September 7, 2007
"From the weekly media and coaches polls to the preseason rankings in a bevy of magazines to the annual end-of-season debate about the Bowl Championship Series, no sport is tied to polling as much as college football.
Now there's a Web site that is giving fans a chance to have their say in a virtual futures market for college football teams.
ProTrade.com recently added college football to its roster of sports this season, giving fans a chance to predict how well teams will do this season."
Associated Press
September 7, 2007
The Fantasy Football Frenzy
"How big is this "sport"? So big that TV networks now cater football broadcasts specifically to those playing...
"We're amazed at how quickly fantasy football has evolved, from the niche it was in during the early-1990s-to-2000 period to where it is now," says 18-year fantasy-football veteran Jeff Ma, president and founder of Pro Trade, a San Francisco, California, company that lets fans trade on a sports stock market on its website. "The clearest sign is how much major media outlets cover the fantasy side of the N.F.L." "
Portfolio.com
September 6, 2007
"How big is this "sport"? So big that TV networks now cater football broadcasts specifically to those playing...
"We're amazed at how quickly fantasy football has evolved, from the niche it was in during the early-1990s-to-2000 period to where it is now," says 18-year fantasy-football veteran Jeff Ma, president and founder of Pro Trade, a San Francisco, California, company that lets fans trade on a sports stock market on its website. "The clearest sign is how much major media outlets cover the fantasy side of the N.F.L." "
Portfolio.com
September 6, 2007
The Jock Exchange
"Wall Street is about to launch a new way to trade professional athletes the way you trade stocks. A piece of Tiger, anyone?
When financial historians look back and ask why it took Wall Street so long to create the first public stock market that trades in professional athletes, they will see ours as an age of creative ferment. They'll see a new, extremely well-financed company in Silicon Valley that, or the moment, sells itself as a fantasy sports site but aims to become, as its co-founder Mike Kerns puts it, "the first real stock market in athletes." "
Conde Nast Porfolio
May 2007
"Wall Street is about to launch a new way to trade professional athletes the way you trade stocks. A piece of Tiger, anyone?
When financial historians look back and ask why it took Wall Street so long to create the first public stock market that trades in professional athletes, they will see ours as an age of creative ferment. They'll see a new, extremely well-financed company in Silicon Valley that, or the moment, sells itself as a fantasy sports site but aims to become, as its co-founder Mike Kerns puts it, "the first real stock market in athletes." "
Conde Nast Porfolio
May 2007
Pinpointing the Plays That Really Swing a Game
"Jeff Ma is best known as a card counter, a member of the rogue blackjack team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1990s that won millions of dollars. Then its elaborate and reckless - if legal - schemes were discovered, and casinos barred Ma and his group from their tables....
One of the principles behind card counting - knowing what has happened can inform what will happen - underlies Ma's current endeavor: using a six-year database of one million plays to show, on a real-time, play-by-play basis, the probability of one major league baseball team winning against another."
The New York Times
May 27, 2007
"Jeff Ma is best known as a card counter, a member of the rogue blackjack team from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1990s that won millions of dollars. Then its elaborate and reckless - if legal - schemes were discovered, and casinos barred Ma and his group from their tables....
One of the principles behind card counting - knowing what has happened can inform what will happen - underlies Ma's current endeavor: using a six-year database of one million plays to show, on a real-time, play-by-play basis, the probability of one major league baseball team winning against another."
The New York Times
May 27, 2007
Find your sleeper
"Mothers have been lobbying against groupthink for eons. Hence the rhetorical question about whether you would jump in a lake if your friend Bobby did.
Turns out, though, that following the herd is a very efficient way of predicting future events, from U.S. presidential elections to Oscar winners to really important stuff such as the NCAA Tournament.
So this is a good a time as any to mention the Web site ProTrade.com, which among other things offers an ever-changing ranking of college basketball teams that is formulated not by experts but by convential wisdom."
Newsday.com
March 10, 2007
"Mothers have been lobbying against groupthink for eons. Hence the rhetorical question about whether you would jump in a lake if your friend Bobby did.
Turns out, though, that following the herd is a very efficient way of predicting future events, from U.S. presidential elections to Oscar winners to really important stuff such as the NCAA Tournament.
So this is a good a time as any to mention the Web site ProTrade.com, which among other things offers an ever-changing ranking of college basketball teams that is formulated not by experts but by convential wisdom."
Newsday.com
March 10, 2007
ProTrade market will become more lucrative
"ProTrade, which launched 18 months ago as a stock market-inspired fantasy gaming outfit, this week is expected to begin a rewards system that seeks to lessen the seasonality common to the industry.
The new program was inspired by hotel and airline rewards programs as well as the online virtual world Second Life. The system will let ProTrade users redeem totals from their virtual portfolios for real-world prizes, such as TV's, retailer gift cards, autographed memorabilia and one-of-a-kind events, such as a round of golf with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger."
Sports Business Journal
March 5, 2007
"ProTrade, which launched 18 months ago as a stock market-inspired fantasy gaming outfit, this week is expected to begin a rewards system that seeks to lessen the seasonality common to the industry.
The new program was inspired by hotel and airline rewards programs as well as the online virtual world Second Life. The system will let ProTrade users redeem totals from their virtual portfolios for real-world prizes, such as TV's, retailer gift cards, autographed memorabilia and one-of-a-kind events, such as a round of golf with Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger."
Sports Business Journal
March 5, 2007
Picking Winners
"Two young stats-obsessed fans are out to change the way we experience professional sports. Derek Jeter is having a great year. The New York Yankees' seven-time All-Star shortstop is heading into the playoffs batting .339 with 110 runs scored and stands a good chance of winning his first American League Most Valuable Player award. But on Protrade.com, the year-old online stock market where thousands of traders set the price of athletes like shares of Dell or General Electric, Jeter is rated a "sell."
According to the elaborate statistical formulas created by Protrade, Jeter's $79 share price far exceeds his impressive offensive and defensive contributions. The numbers say the 32-year-old Jeter doesn't get to as many ground balls as he used to and at bat lacks the power of players who earn less money."
Forbes
October 16, 2006
"Two young stats-obsessed fans are out to change the way we experience professional sports. Derek Jeter is having a great year. The New York Yankees' seven-time All-Star shortstop is heading into the playoffs batting .339 with 110 runs scored and stands a good chance of winning his first American League Most Valuable Player award. But on Protrade.com, the year-old online stock market where thousands of traders set the price of athletes like shares of Dell or General Electric, Jeter is rated a "sell."
According to the elaborate statistical formulas created by Protrade, Jeter's $79 share price far exceeds his impressive offensive and defensive contributions. The numbers say the 32-year-old Jeter doesn't get to as many ground balls as he used to and at bat lacks the power of players who earn less money."
Forbes
October 16, 2006
Baseball Confronts The Luck Factor
"Melky Cabrera, a highly touted 21-year-old outfielder for the New York Yankees, started off the season well, batting over .300 through early June. Now he is in a slump, hitting .189 in his last 10 games. For fans and the Yankees, the question is simple: How much of the rookie's impressive start was dumb luck?
A lot of it, according to some baseball number-crunchers. Using new statistical methods, they calculated that the equivalent of one in four of Mr. Cabrera's early-season hits resulted from chance, not skill. Subtracting out good luck, his early season batting average should have been .231 -- nearly 80 points lower than what showed up in the box scores."
The Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2006
"Melky Cabrera, a highly touted 21-year-old outfielder for the New York Yankees, started off the season well, batting over .300 through early June. Now he is in a slump, hitting .189 in his last 10 games. For fans and the Yankees, the question is simple: How much of the rookie's impressive start was dumb luck?
A lot of it, according to some baseball number-crunchers. Using new statistical methods, they calculated that the equivalent of one in four of Mr. Cabrera's early-season hits resulted from chance, not skill. Subtracting out good luck, his early season batting average should have been .231 -- nearly 80 points lower than what showed up in the box scores."
The Wall Street Journal
June 24, 2006
Internet game deals jocks like stocks
"No offense to the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, but Steve Nash is like a 50-year Treasury bond in the mind of Troy Baker.
The 32-year-old used-car manager from Higley views Nash as an ultrasafe investment for his portfolio in the upstart protrade.com, an online Wall Street-style game where sports fans like Baker use fictional money to buy and sell players like commodities."
The Arizona Republic
May 4, 2006
"No offense to the NBA's reigning Most Valuable Player, but Steve Nash is like a 50-year Treasury bond in the mind of Troy Baker.
The 32-year-old used-car manager from Higley views Nash as an ultrasafe investment for his portfolio in the upstart protrade.com, an online Wall Street-style game where sports fans like Baker use fictional money to buy and sell players like commodities."
The Arizona Republic
May 4, 2006
Bringing Moneyball to the NFL draft
"This weekend's biggest sporting event requires no physical exertion, only mental activity. But are enough mental gymnastics being performed in preparation for the National Football League draft?
As general managers and scouting staffs huddle up to try and find the best player, they'll pore over players' 40-yard dash times and stats collected during college football games against opponents who aren't of the caliber of even the weakest of the NFL teams."
CNN Money
Apr. 28, 2006
"This weekend's biggest sporting event requires no physical exertion, only mental activity. But are enough mental gymnastics being performed in preparation for the National Football League draft?
As general managers and scouting staffs huddle up to try and find the best player, they'll pore over players' 40-yard dash times and stats collected during college football games against opponents who aren't of the caliber of even the weakest of the NFL teams."
CNN Money
Apr. 28, 2006
PROTRADE and Major League Baseball Advanced Media Announce Multi-Year Licensing Agreement (Press Release)
"Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, announced today that it has reached a three-year licensing agreement with PROTRADE, a sports entertainment company committed to reshaping the way people think about sports through its unique virtual sports stock market.
PROTRADE joins MLBAM's line-up of online partners licensed to deliver exciting fantasy sports offerings for 2006. MLBAM recently announced similar agreements with ESPN, CBS SportsLine and Yahoo! Sports for the online operation, distribution, marketing and promotion of PC-based Internet fantasy baseball games."
Yahoo! Finance
Apr. 4, 2006
"Major League Baseball Advanced Media, LP (MLBAM), the interactive media and Internet company of Major League Baseball, announced today that it has reached a three-year licensing agreement with PROTRADE, a sports entertainment company committed to reshaping the way people think about sports through its unique virtual sports stock market.
PROTRADE joins MLBAM's line-up of online partners licensed to deliver exciting fantasy sports offerings for 2006. MLBAM recently announced similar agreements with ESPN, CBS SportsLine and Yahoo! Sports for the online operation, distribution, marketing and promotion of PC-based Internet fantasy baseball games."
Yahoo! Finance
Apr. 4, 2006
Trading baseball players like stocks
"Who's the best player in baseball — Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira, or Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee?
There's no need to start a bar fight over it. According to a statistical analysis, it's Lee with a "net expected run value" of $61.64 trumping Texieria's "NERV" of $58.05. Those figures come from ProTrade, a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup which is making a market out of sports performance statistics. The company, co-founded by former sports agent Mike Kerns and blackjack whiz Jeff Ma, analyzes a player's moves to come up with a stock price-like valuation, which ProTrade users can then buy or sell using a virtual currency."
CNN Money
Apr. 1, 2006
"Who's the best player in baseball — Texas Rangers first baseman Mark Teixeira, or Chicago Cubs first baseman Derrek Lee?
There's no need to start a bar fight over it. According to a statistical analysis, it's Lee with a "net expected run value" of $61.64 trumping Texieria's "NERV" of $58.05. Those figures come from ProTrade, a San Mateo, Calif.-based startup which is making a market out of sports performance statistics. The company, co-founded by former sports agent Mike Kerns and blackjack whiz Jeff Ma, analyzes a player's moves to come up with a stock price-like valuation, which ProTrade users can then buy or sell using a virtual currency."
CNN Money
Apr. 1, 2006
Football Gets Arbitraged
"ProTrade.com takes fantasy leagues to another level by introducing Wall Street-like trading and adding nuance with esoteric statistics.
To make the fantasy work, they decided to get real.
Mike Kerns and Jeff Ma wanted to create a fantasy sports game that reflected the nuances of team competition, rather than simple individual statistics such as points scored and yards gained.
The result was the upstart ProTrade.com, a Wall Street-style online trading network in which athletes are 'bought' and 'sold' like stocks."
Los Angeles Times
Jan. 1, 2006
"ProTrade.com takes fantasy leagues to another level by introducing Wall Street-like trading and adding nuance with esoteric statistics.
To make the fantasy work, they decided to get real.
Mike Kerns and Jeff Ma wanted to create a fantasy sports game that reflected the nuances of team competition, rather than simple individual statistics such as points scored and yards gained.
The result was the upstart ProTrade.com, a Wall Street-style online trading network in which athletes are 'bought' and 'sold' like stocks."
Los Angeles Times
Jan. 1, 2006
Heroes and Goats, Redefined
"In the second quarter of a relatively meaningless game against Dallas in September, Tim Rattay of the San Francisco 49ers lofted an 89-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Lloyd.
While it wasn't considered a candidate for the pantheon of classic football moments (the 49ers eventually lost), this forgotten pass has an interesting back story. According to a well-funded team of statisticians in California, it was the biggest play of the season.
This unorthodox conclusion is based on a concept called "expected scoring," which was developed by the staff of ProTrade, a new $12 million Web site based in San Mateo. The site's bread and butter is a fantasy-football game that's modeled after the stock market. Unlike traditional fantasy leagues, where people draft "teams" of players and count things like how many touchdowns they score, ProTrade treats players like individual stocks and challenges its contestants to assemble the best "portfolio.""
The Wall Street Journal
Dec. 9, 2005
"In the second quarter of a relatively meaningless game against Dallas in September, Tim Rattay of the San Francisco 49ers lofted an 89-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Lloyd.
While it wasn't considered a candidate for the pantheon of classic football moments (the 49ers eventually lost), this forgotten pass has an interesting back story. According to a well-funded team of statisticians in California, it was the biggest play of the season.
This unorthodox conclusion is based on a concept called "expected scoring," which was developed by the staff of ProTrade, a new $12 million Web site based in San Mateo. The site's bread and butter is a fantasy-football game that's modeled after the stock market. Unlike traditional fantasy leagues, where people draft "teams" of players and count things like how many touchdowns they score, ProTrade treats players like individual stocks and challenges its contestants to assemble the best "portfolio.""
The Wall Street Journal
Dec. 9, 2005
PROTRADE Secures $10 Million in Funding
(Press Release)
"PROTRADE, an innovative new athlete stock market entertainment company, announced today it has secured more than $10 million in financing from a top-notch group of investors. Leading the round are Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partners Kevin Compton and Doug Mackenzie through Radar Ventures. Additional investors in the round include fellow Kleiner Perkins partner Will Hearst as well as major sports figures, including former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champ Troy Aikman; Arizona Diamondbacks General Partner Jeff Moorad; legendary NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh; and Northgate Capital Venture founder Brent Jones, the former all-pro San Francisco 49ers tight end."
Yahoo! Finance
Nov. 10, 2005
"PROTRADE, an innovative new athlete stock market entertainment company, announced today it has secured more than $10 million in financing from a top-notch group of investors. Leading the round are Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers partners Kevin Compton and Doug Mackenzie through Radar Ventures. Additional investors in the round include fellow Kleiner Perkins partner Will Hearst as well as major sports figures, including former Dallas Cowboys quarterback and three-time Super Bowl champ Troy Aikman; Arizona Diamondbacks General Partner Jeff Moorad; legendary NFL Hall of Fame coach Bill Walsh; and Northgate Capital Venture founder Brent Jones, the former all-pro San Francisco 49ers tight end."
Yahoo! Finance
Nov. 10, 2005
PROTRADE Unveils Innovative Athlete Stock Market Where Sports Fans
Compete for Cash and Prizes (Press Release)
"PROTRADE, a sports entertainment company committed to reshaping the way people think about sports, today unveiled its innovative athlete stock market. Under extensive development for more than two years by a "dream team" of MIT statisticians, leading sports figures, and economists, PROTRADE has created a predictive market for athletes where sports fans can buy and sell shares in players around the clock, competing for cash and prizes."
Yahoo! Finance
Sept. 19, 2005
Compete for Cash and Prizes (Press Release)
"PROTRADE, a sports entertainment company committed to reshaping the way people think about sports, today unveiled its innovative athlete stock market. Under extensive development for more than two years by a "dream team" of MIT statisticians, leading sports figures, and economists, PROTRADE has created a predictive market for athletes where sports fans can buy and sell shares in players around the clock, competing for cash and prizes."
Yahoo! Finance
Sept. 19, 2005
Online Sports Market Turns Athletes Into Stocks (Associated Press)
"Sports fans already invest considerable emotion and angst in professional athletes. Now they can take that obsession a step further, trading on the pros' performance in an online electronic market.
If the new Internet venture succeeds, it'll be a whole new ballgame for the gambling-driven pastime of fantasy sports, which already has up to 20 million players.
Launching Monday, ProTrade will treat professional athletes like stocks to be bought and sold, initially in a theoretical currency. Cash prizes will be awarded to the most successful investors."
USA Today, ABC News, Forbes, Sports Illustrated.com
Sept. 19, 2005
"Sports fans already invest considerable emotion and angst in professional athletes. Now they can take that obsession a step further, trading on the pros' performance in an online electronic market.
If the new Internet venture succeeds, it'll be a whole new ballgame for the gambling-driven pastime of fantasy sports, which already has up to 20 million players.
Launching Monday, ProTrade will treat professional athletes like stocks to be bought and sold, initially in a theoretical currency. Cash prizes will be awarded to the most successful investors."
USA Today, ABC News, Forbes, Sports Illustrated.com
Sept. 19, 2005
A Fantasy Sports Stock Market
"Protrade, a San Mateo startup, offers sports fans a new way to follow their favorite players with a stock market approach. Chronicle technology reporter Benny Evangelista interviews co-founders Mike Kerns and Jeff Ma. And Evangelista also talks to Protrade investor Brent Jones, the former San Francisco 49ers tight end and current CBS football analyst, about why he thinks Protrade is part of the next wave of interactive TV. "
The San Francisco Chronicle
Sept. 19, 2005
"Protrade, a San Mateo startup, offers sports fans a new way to follow their favorite players with a stock market approach. Chronicle technology reporter Benny Evangelista interviews co-founders Mike Kerns and Jeff Ma. And Evangelista also talks to Protrade investor Brent Jones, the former San Francisco 49ers tight end and current CBS football analyst, about why he thinks Protrade is part of the next wave of interactive TV. "
The San Francisco Chronicle
Sept. 19, 2005
NFL Notebook
"A new Internet venture known as ProTrade, which launches today, will treat professional athletes like stocks to be bought and sold, initially in a theoretical currency. Cash prizes will be awarded to the most successful investors. Teams are known as investment portfolios, and the real-life athletes get their own ticker symbols."
The Seattle Times
Sept. 19, 2005
"A new Internet venture known as ProTrade, which launches today, will treat professional athletes like stocks to be bought and sold, initially in a theoretical currency. Cash prizes will be awarded to the most successful investors. Teams are known as investment portfolios, and the real-life athletes get their own ticker symbols."
The Seattle Times
Sept. 19, 2005
In the market for a QB?
"Stock prices? For football player? They're on a new electronic market – Protrade – that goes live today and which allows you to buy and sell "shares'' in professional athletes based on how well you think they're going to do on the field."
The Boston Herald
Sept. 19, 2005
"Stock prices? For football player? They're on a new electronic market – Protrade – that goes live today and which allows you to buy and sell "shares'' in professional athletes based on how well you think they're going to do on the field."
The Boston Herald
Sept. 19, 2005
Online Athletes Stock Market
"It'll literally be a whole new ball-game for sports fanatics if a plan by a new company takes off."
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 19, 2005
"It'll literally be a whole new ball-game for sports fanatics if a plan by a new company takes off."
The Arizona Republic
Sept. 19, 2005