Friday Grab Bag: Look at Android 4.0

Major League Baseball makes Two Moves- Hate them Both
MLB has made moving to the American League a condition for the purchase of the Houston Astros by Jim Crane, a deal that was unanimously approved by baseball owners The team will move in 2013 and so there will be two 15 team leagues, with interleague games starting at the beginning of the season.

The second move is the creation of two more Wild Card spots for the playoffs. Ohh boy, I will be on the edge of my seat waiting for that one game playoff between the wild card teams before the real playoffs begin.

I guess Selig wants this as his legacy prior to his long awaited retirement. I thought turning a blind eye to a decade of steroid usage and then crying crocodile tears was enough of a legacy for the man.

A good look at next generation Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich technology
The good folks at Slash Gear have uploaded a walk through on some of the latest features that will be included in the new Android 4.0 operating system that is just now reaching users hands. The operating system has a range of features that will continue to create a clear differentiation between it and Apple’s iOS technology.

The first feature highlighted is the Active Voice Diction feature that greatly enhances an already existing feature of the phone. It allows for pauses from the speaker and types out what you are saying as you go along.

Another feature is the Face Unlock and unlock to camera. This technology allows the phone to automatically unlock when it views a preregistered face. There are still issues to this and it can be deactivated by the user. The device will also have a quick method to unlock the camera so that you can quickly take photos. Head on over and see all of their coverage of ICS.

Klip Raises $8min Series B Round-App Popular with Sports Fans?
Klip, a startup app developer that is creating an iOS App that enables users to capture, share and view mobile videos has closed its Series B funding round after raising $8m led by Benchmark Capital with Matrix Partners and Klip founder Alain Rossman also participating. This brings the total funding for the company to $10m.

The company, which launched its first App in September, will now have Bruce Dunlevie of Benchmark join Josh Hannah of Matrix Partners and Klip Founder/CEO Alain Rossmann on the Board of Directors.

The program has a range of automated features that allow users to easily record, ports and resend klips. Video can be easily accelerated for a quick look. In an interview with TechCrunch, founder Rossmann said that the use of hashtags is very important especially among sports fans where its use is very prevalent.


A solid look at Tebow’s Throws

The ever solid Football Outsiders takes a look at how Tim Tebow has progressed as a NFL quarterback this season. Tebow baiting has been growing as a popular sport and this appears to be one of the few well researched pieces on his games.

One thing that leaped out at me was the amount of time between snap and throw, which in the Miami game was 4.4 seconds but declined every week and was 2.5 seconds by the Kansas City game five games later. It also breaks down his results according t how long he holds the ball. I would love to see a chart like this for every NFL quarterback.

PCWorld Writer Claims not too late for Windows Phone-Or Not.
A recent column by Tony Bradley in PCWorld talks about why it is not too late for Microsoft to establish Windows Phone 7 as a serious player in the smartphone arena. While acknowledging that it is late to the market he sees positives from the company.

Bradley lists the ability to take advantage of the Microsoft ecosystem, to seamlessly integrate with that ecosystem and that Microsoft, by scrapping Windows Mobile and developing Windows 7 from the ground up helped it integrate new features that will differentiate it from its rivals.

For a counter point look no further than PCWorld columnist Joseph Fieber who wrote a week earlier that Windows Phone 7 is too late and has missed the boat. Not yet having had the opportunity to try Windows Phone 7 I am staying out of this one.

A Last Laugh-Password Edition

PCMag has released a list of the 25 worst passwords. Does anybody really use 123456? Aside from my Dad?

Friday Grab Bag — Jocks Twittering Guide Issue

No M&M’s in NASCAR
Kyle Busch will be forced to race in the last two Sprint Cup races without his primary sponsor as M&M’s pulls out. This is more of the aftermath of his cheap shot of intentionally wrecking Ron Hornaday Jr. in the Truck Series two weeks ago. Busch was suspended from racing in the Sprint Cup last week and fined $50,000 by NASCAR. I had always thought that NASCAR encouraged this type of driving, who knew?


Twitter offers advice to Athletes on how to use Twitter

Twitter, which clearly understands how interesting athletes can be on Twitter, has issued an advisory for them on its developer site. The social media company tells them to talk about what they are passionate about, use hash tags, reply back to followers and mention your team mates among other tidbits of sage advice. Also it tells them that if something controversial happens on the field Twitter can help clear the air- no mention that it can also shorten a career, or is that just my take?

Apple releases iOS 5.01 battery fix
Apple has responded to complaints that the latest release of its iOS operating system, iOS 5.0, unnaturally drains batteries of iPhones. The company has released iOS 5.0.1 that has been designed to fix that issue as well as including several other bug fixes for both the phone and the iPad including document syncing via iCloud and improved voice recognition for Australian users.

Will ESPN’s Longhorn Network force a College Playoff?
An Interesting piece from Businessweek discusses how the $300 million, 20 year deal between the University of Texas and the Walt Disney Co. (parent to ESPN for those that are still unaware) was a major tipping point in collegiate athletics. The move led to the huge rash of conference realignments and movements as everybody tries to position themselves to get as much of the money that is on the table for themselves and tradition be damned. I think this line from the article says it all- “It’s greed,” said William E. Kirwan, chancellor of the University of Maryland system and co-chairman of the nonprofit Knight Commission on Intercollegiate Athletics. “There is so much money on the table that everyone is in a state of panic.”


This week in Lawsuit News

The patent wars continue unabated, which always makes for interesting watching as long as you are not personally at risk. First up is Microsoft which apparently has another target in its royalties pursuit, this time it has its eye on Huawei for Android patent license. Then there is the report that Google will be offering support to Android firms involved in lawsuits. Last but not least is the news that Apple continues Steve Jobs legal pursuit of Android developers for what it perceives as patent violations of its technology. Is this a great time to be a patent lawyer or what?

Major League Baseball to be Lockout Free?
The site MLBtraderumors.com covers a range of reports that indicate that MLB and the Players Union may be well on the road to reaching a new accord without the need for canceling the World Series or some other slap in the fans face. While the NBA is in lockout mode and the NFL just recovering from its labor war it is great news that at least one major league can work like adults well in advance of the expiration of the existing deal to forge a new one. I hope this does work out well.

Adobe throws in the towel on Mobile Flash
Adobe is facing the music and has announced that it will stop developing a version of its Flash technology for mobile devices. The technology has come under fire as Apple had banned its use in its iOS due to what it claimed was it did not meet the needs of a that space, a move that was later followed by Microsoft. At first Adobe fought back but now the company said it will turn its attention to HTML5 and will work with all of the major developers, Apple included, in that space.

From the “Just because it amuses me” Category
Nothing to do with sports, social media or technology but- Did you catch the photo in The Consumerist of a pig-shaped pork roast offered at Costco? Looks like it is ground and then molded pork scraps that are shaped like a baby piglet-somehow I am sure this will not make my dinner table anytime soon but who knows, it could make for a very interesting holiday gift!

Highlights, Verizon NFL Mobile Twitter Chat with Pittsburgh Steeler LaMarr Woodley

I’m getting a little bit addicted to these “Twitter chats” hosted by Verizon Wireless and its NFL Mobile app. However I do find them a little hard to follow in real time since the delay between the fan-tweeted question and the NFL player reply is often interrupted by a bunch of new tweets — meaning that you tend to lose the question before you get the answer. Our solution? Highlights! Call us the SportsCenter of Twitter chats. We don’t mind. Here’s some of the better exchanges between fans and Pittsburgh Steeler LaMarr Woodley, who is a Twitter animal — looks like he replied to every question posted.

Has anyone checked out #NFLMobile? Watch the @ from ur phone on Sunday 11/6 at 8:20pm EST. #NFLMobile

@LaMarrWoodley

Pharaoh Renegade


Here’s Woodley hyping NFL Mobile: Nice sponsor move LaMarr!

@ Are you a fan of the other Pittsburgh pro sports teams, the Pirates and Penguins? #NFLMobile

@AtoZSportsWPPJ

Zac Weiss

@ of course and the panthers and the power #NFLMobile

@LaMarrWoodley

Pharaoh Renegade

Here’s a radio show host asking if Woodley likes other Pittsburgh teams (and his reply):

@ Were you playing the year Penn State lost to you at the last second? #NFLMobile?

@Bnat66

Bryan Natusch

@ yup was fun to ruin their season lol #NFLMobile

@LaMarrWoodley

Pharaoh Renegade

A collegiate question, and Woodley’s Penn State smackdown w/LOL

@ Be honest. What feels better, hitt brady or flacco? #NFLMOBILE

@PeteyLee726

Petey Luckenbaugh

@ thats like asking whats better, eating filet or eating rib eye both are great #NFLMobile

@LaMarrWoodley

Pharaoh Renegade

One fan asks if it feels better to sack Brady or Flacco. Woodley replies with a menu selection.

@ What’s on the ipod before games? #NFLMobile

@captmrose

M Rose

@ varies sometimes hip hop sometimes gospel #NFLMobile

@LaMarrWoodley

Pharaoh Renegade

Then of course, the obligatory “what’s on yer iPod” question.

Also noticed that the spam questions with links to porn sites did not appear… is that some good editing performed by Twitter and Verizon?

Can We Just Kill the Tim Tebow News for a bit?

Is a third string QB really worth a daily update?

There seems to be one story that is dominating the preseason NFL news this year. It is not the question of if Green Bay can repeat, if the Eagles will play in the Superbowl, or will an NFC West team make the playoffs again with a losing record. No it revolves around a backup quarterback and where he will end up in the depth charts.

Poor Tim Tebow, everybody seems to be kicking him, and he does not even appear to be down. Highly successful and highly praised in college, things are different now that he is in the NFL and the drumbeat of negativity seems to be picking up as he prepares to start his second season in Denver.

His problems started before he was drafted, as most fans know, with industry experts claiming that he had a poor throwing motion, took too long to throw, could not really walk on water, the whole nine yards. They boldly predicted that he would be a mid second to third round draft choice and quickly moved to a running back position.

Josh McDaniels, then head coach for the Denver Broncos boldly proved everyone wrong, at least in regards to draft position, by taking Tebow in the first round. The draft position, his obvious display of his beliefs, his autobiography, his ESPN documentary, the rumor that the Broncos were going to move Orton so he could start etc… all seems to have created a backlash against him.

Maybe I should have waited a few years.

It seems that on a daily basis someone is saying that he cannot make it, that he is failing, and taking great joy in it. The latest is Boomer Esiason, former NFL quarterback who bluntly said that Tebow is not an NFL quarterback, “he can’t play, he can’t throw.” Even the comedy site The Onion has gotten in on the fun, saying that Jesus Christ claims that Tebow is not ready to start in the NFL.

I say, so what? There is no doubt in my mind that he brought some of this on himself, but you look at press stories on him in school were almost all positive, and now the opposite. I neither like nor dislike Tebow. Until he starts for the Broncos and beats a team I am rooting for, or possibly the point spread, I really do not care. Is it really that important to breathlessly talk about every preseason pass? I can barely stand to watch preseason games, and now I am inundated with this crap? Get a life for goodness sake.

I know that this is the NFL silly season, when real storylines are few and far between but I have heard more about him that the Colt’s quarterback situation, the 49ers quarterback situation, the Seahawks quarterback situation etc.. all of which seems to be a a bit more important in the overall scheme of things. There have been plenty of NFL QBs that failed with all of the tools-JaMarcus Russell anyone?-and ones that threw funny, were too short etc.. that succeeded. So lets just wait and see.

MLB to allow players to Tweet during Home Run Derby

Major League Baseball’s All-Star week is upon us once again and as usual I have mixed feelings about the event. I much preferred it when I was younger and not because of any nostalgia about players wanting it more but rather in those days I never saw American League players except in the playoffs and All-Star game.

Overall, games of this sort do not interest me that much because they do not really mean anything, home field advantage in the playoffs notwithstanding. The same goes for other sports — I have never made it past the first quarter of the NFL’s All-Pro game.

Complaints aside baseball continues to advance what happens for the game, and while many are aware of the home run derby (more on that in a second) there are a number of other baseball related events. Yesterday there was the All-Star Legends and Celebrity Softball game, which I somehow missed.

Today is of course the State Farm Home Run Derby, but MLB has added a new twist that should make it interesting to follow, at least online. Players will be allowed to use social media i.e. Twitter and Facebook, to comment on events live.

I think this is very interesting as some of the players already have large followings and often have very interesting things to say. Now it is sanctioned by MLB. Included in the lineup is David Ortiz (@davidortiz),Jose Bautista (@JoeyBats19) andMatt Kemp (@TheRealMattKemp), Heath Bell (@HeathBell21), Gio Gonzalez (@GioGonzalez47), Hunter Pence (@HunterPence9), Brandon Phillips (@DatDudeBP), Gaby Sanchez (@GabySanchez215), Justin Upton (@RealJustinUpton), C.J. Wilson (@str8edgeracer), Howie Kendrick (@HKendrick47) and Joel Hanrahan (@hanrahan4457).

In addition, but of less interest to me at least, is that there are now League captains with National League captain Prince Fielder choosing Matt Holliday, Matt Kemp and Rickie Weeks for his team, and American League captain David Ortiz choosing Jose Bautista, Robinson Cano and Adrian Gonzalez for his team. The two ‘leagues’ will face off against each other and there will be an individual overall winner as well from the contest.

Reds’ 2B Surges on Twitter, Asks for Extension

Picture of Brandon Phillips from his Twitter account

Brandon Phillips' photo from his @DatDudeBP Twitter account

He’s arrogant, famously calling the St. Louis Cardinals a bunch of “little bitches,” but Brandon Phillips is quickly establishing himself as Major League Baseball’s must-follow athlete on Twitter. Is it a tactic to get the Cincinnati Reds to grant him a rich extension, or trade him to a major market team that can pay him big coin?  

Phillips’ Twitter followers surging

Phillips’ followers surged from just over 50,000 to 65,000 in the three days ending June 19, after an ESPN.com story about the Cincinnati Reds second baseman’s use of Twitter to improve his image. Phillips tweets as @DatDudeBP, and is a Mobile Sports Report recommended athlete to follow.

Twitter as negotiating tactic? 

Favorable accounts of Phillips’ Twitter use comes at an auspicious time for the all-star second baseman. Days after the ESPN.com story broke, Phillips asked the Reds to negotiate a contract extension, according to an NBC Sports report.

Phillips told ESPN he will keep clubhouse talk off his Twitter account, but the timing of the ESPN story closely followed by a demand for a contract extension proves that he knows a large and favorable fan base will improve his chances of becoming one of baseball’s highest-paid athletes. Phillips has a $12 million team option for 2012, which ESPN said the Reds may not be able to pick up. Major League Baseball’s trading deadline is July 31.

Even if Phillips doesn’t start sending pay-me-or-trade-me tweets, the day is soon approaching when high-stakes contract negotiations become a part of an athlete’s online repertoire, and something fans will want to follow on smartphones and iPads.   

“The Ochocinco of baseball”

According to Phillips, Twitter is part of a more benign strategy. Twitter gives fans a chance to get to know him better, he told ESPN.

Phillips tweets occasional contests, which in the past have awarded fans spring training visits, dinner, and trips to San Francisco. According to ESPN, Phillips’ use of Twitter may have contributed to improved clubhouse maturity and leadership in 2011.

In addition to famously slurring the St. Louis Cardinals, which caused bench-clearing brawls the next time the two teams met, Phillips has been a controversial player in his seven-year major league career for failing to run out balls to first, laughing and joking when his team has trailed and other on-field lapses.

Phillips acknowledged that he’s after the celebrity athletes can get by being wired to their fans, including another famous Cincinnati pro.

“I want to be the Ochocinco of baseball,” Phillips told ESPN. Of course, Phillips was referring to the Cincinnati Bengals wide receiver who once threatened to be the first player to produce in-game tweets and has attracted greater than 2.13 million followers to his @ochocinco account.