'


Mister Stats' visits Shalom Torah Academy

By Dan Newman
Nov. 23, 2007

Elliott Kalb has always been very deep into sports and statisitics.

Starting as a sports announcer in high school, he eventually he made it all the way to working with major network television networks as a writer and researcher. In between, he wrote numerous books including his most recent work, The 25 Greatest Sports Conspiracy Theories of All-Time: Ranking Sports' Most Notorious Fixes, Coverups and Scandals.

Becoming known in the industry as "Mister Stats" for his deep knowledge of sports and, as the nickname implies, statistics, Kalb, a South Brunswick resident currently working as a writer and researcher for HBO Sports and as an editorial consultant for NBC's Football Night in America, took his game on the road to Shalom Torah Academy in Marlboro on Oct. 26, pitching sports careers to its students. He also fielded questions from about 60 attentive pupils likewise interested in eventually going into the sports game.

"A big part of my job is to know statistics," Kalb explained. "I'm glad that I have the ability to remember and recall so many stats."

Risa Gold, outreach coordinator at Shalom Torah Academy, said that one of the teachers at the school brought Kalb and his work to her attention.

"The whole thing worked out great," Gold said. "He really is proof that if you work hard enough and follow your dreams, you really can make it a reality. What he was speaking about really tied into the education of our students. I think they were able to relate to him."

Kalb also told students another benefit about his job is that, unlike most normal jobs, doesn't have any set hours.

"I'm always thinking of things that I can use for my job, and that's a really interesting thing about what I do," Kalb said. "I get good ideas that I can use at all times of the day and night. That's one reason why I like my job so much."

Beyond sports careers, students wanted to know about the superstar athletes that Kalb has been fortunate enough to meet throughout his long and vast career, including many members of the New York Yankees. This got the students’ attention.