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Friday Grab Bag: New U.S. Olympics Basketball Coach?

August 17, 2012 by

US wins Olympic gold in 2012

After winning Olympic gold this year with the U.S. basketball team, head coach Mike Krzyzewski has said that he is stepping down. This has already led to speculation about who will helm the U.S. teams through the next round of international competition.

While it looks like the powers that be will try and retain Krzyzewski if at all possible they are already making contingency plans that include Boston Celtics coach Doc Rivers and San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich as the leading candidates, according to Sports Illustrated.

Nokia and Microsoft expected to launch Windows 8 phone soon
It appears that in an attempt to steal Apple’s thunder Microsoft and smartphone ally Nokia will be introducing Nokia’s next generation smartphone powered by Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system for smartphones on Sept. 5.

The two companies have sent out press invites for an event in New York City that indicates that Windows Phone and Nokia smartphones are the topic. Apple is expected to release the next generation iPhone, currently called iPhone5, a few weeks later.

Would you use Twitter if it was ad-free?
That is what one start-up is hoping. App.net has raised $600,000 in seed money with the idea that it can build a better Twitter, one without ads. Using crowd funding favorite Kickstarter, App.net seeks to offer an alternative.

The goal is to have a messaging system that is paid for by users, $50 per year, and developers who will pay an annual fee of $100 for access to the API. It has already received donations from over 10,000 potential users to the tune of $676,000, and was only seeking $500,000.

San Diego Padres

Did MLBAM raise Padres’ selling price?
The San Diego Padres recently sold for $800 million to a consortium that was led by Peter O’Malley along with others including golfer Phil Mickelson. Amid the various components of the deal is the increased role that MLKB’s Advanced Media group plays in team value.

In a nice piece in Forbes, assignment writing

-for-one-quarter-of-padres-800-million-sale/”>Mike Ozanian traces the growing impact that MLBAM has on team value, and the revenue stream that it brings in for teams, now valued at $6 billion. I thought that it just helped create nice games and contests!

Microsoft divulges the Windows RT Developers
Microsoft has said that it has finished Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 that is designed to run on tablets that are powered by processors built using ARM technology. While Microsoft has already said that it will deliver Surface tablets that support RT when it debuts Windows 8 it now has said who else is supporting that version of the operating system.

The fellow travelers will include Dell, Asus, Lenovo and Samsung. Microsoft provided some general guidelines a few of the tablets’ features including saying they will be 11% thinner than Apple’s iPad and weigh 20% less than an iPad.

RECAPP updates in time for NFL season
If you have not tried the sports news aggregator RECAPP app and are a fan of the NFL now might be the time to try it. The program has had some enhancements added in order to make it easier to use and have enhanced performance.

The program brings together articles from top news and sport sites together according to a users stated preference. So a fan of the NFL can get general articles on the topic while fans of the Miami Dolphins get articles centered on the team.

Love the Surface rumors
A few weeks ago there were a few articles that claimed that the upcoming Surface tablet from Microsoft would cost in the range of $1,000. Now the worm has turned and rumors are emerging that it will be released at a $199 price point.

While I discounted the $1,000 projection, the $199 might have legs. According to Endgadget, Microsoft is preparing a Surface tablet that will run its Windows RT operating system and have it available at the formal introduction of Windows 8 on October 26th.

That would likely mean that it is being sold for less than cost, as its price would put it in line with the breakdown estimates for the 7-in Google Nexus 7 tablets. However it seems that Microsoft was saying that RT version of Windows 8 would trail Windows 8 by a few weeks so is the company going to release a version prior to its OEMs that are also making RT tablets?

The Rams drop London from schedule
The St. Louis Rams have dropped plans to play two home games in London that were scheduled to be played in 2013 and 2014 although the team still plans to play New England there this year on October 28th.

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Filed Under: Apps, Asus, Baseball, Basketball, Dell, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, NFL, Olympics, Samsung Tagged With: , ,

Little League World Series Starts – Plenty of Games Available to View on Mobile Devices

August 15, 2012 by

Little League World Series

The Little League World Series starts in earnest this week. Over the last few weeks I have caught parts of the various regional games as the field has been narrowed down to the 16 teams that get invited to play in the championship rounds in South Williamsport, Pa.

Now the two fields, US and International, have been filled out and the teams will start to play for the glory that is winning the championship an event that virtually every baseball fan I know wishes that they had the opportunity to play in. Where I grew up one of the local teams made it (but lost 2-0) when I was young and the younger brothers and sisters of the players got reflected glory for even being related.

It is interesting to note that in the 66th playing of the LLWS, US teams have won 33 times and international have won 32 times. Will an international squad even the score this year?

There are eight regional sections in the US Pool:
1) Mid-Atlantic: Par Troy East Little League, Parsippany, N.J.
2) West: Petaluma National Little League, Petaluma, Ca.
3) Southwest: McAllister Park, San Antonio, Texas
4) Great Lakes: New Castle Little League, New Castle, Ind.
5) New England: Fairfield Little League, Fairfield, Conn.
6) Midwest: Kearney Little League, Kearney, Neb.
7) Southwest: Goodlettsville Little League, Goodlettsville, Tenn.
8 ) Northwe

st: Gresham Little League, Gresham, Or.

As well as eight in the International Pool:
1) Caribbean: Pariba Little League, Willemstad, Curacao
2) Japan: Kitasuna Little League, Tokyo,
3) Mexico: Oriente Little League, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
4) Europe: Kaiserslautern Military Command (KMC) American Little League
5) MEA (Mideast & Africa) Lugazi Little League, Lugazi, Uganda
6) Latin America: Aguadulce Cabezera Little League, Aguadulce, Panama
7) Canada: Hastings Community Little League, Vancouver, British Columbia
8 ) Asia-Pacific: Kuei-Shan Little League, Taoyuan County, Taipei

The first round is a double elimination round that starts on August 16 with Japan vs. Caribbean and then an additional three games, all broadcast on a variety of ESPN outlets including ABC, ESPN HD, ESPN3.com and ESPN 3D. I think that with mid-day starts fans will appreciate the ability to use ESPN3.com’s watchESPN and view the games live on their work computer or mobile device.

I did not realize the scope to which the tournament and others related to it has grown over the years. While this article mostly mentions the Little League Baseball World Series, the 66th annual, there are seven additional tournaments in all.

The other seven Little League World Series dates and sites are: Big League Baseball (15-18-year-olds; Easley, S.C.; July 25-Aug. 1); Big League Softball (14-18-year-olds; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Aug. 1-8); Senior League Softball (13-16-year-olds; Lower Sussex, Del.; Aug. 5-11); Little League Softball (11-12-year-olds; Portland, Ore.; Aug. 9-15); Junior League Softball (12-14-year-olds; Kirkland, Wash.; Aug. 12-18); Junior League Baseball (12-14-year-olds; Taylor, Mich.; Aug. 12-18); and Senior League Baseball (13-16-year-olds; Bangor, Maine; Aug. 12-18).

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Filed Under: ABC, Baseball, ESPN, ESPN3, Little League World Series, WatchESPN Tagged With: ,

SF Giants Catcher Buster Posey Launches Own Mobile Game

August 7, 2012 by

Buster Bash

The Giants’ catcher Buster Posey has just entered the company of a rarified few, an athlete still in their prime who gets a video game with his name plastered all across the cover, as he has with the Buster Bash app available at Apple’s App store.

Now the game does not have the elegance or complexity of EA’s Madden 13, but then a game that is designed to play on Apple’s iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad cannot really support that type of subtle game playing. Instead think of the more mainstream, easy to play and hopefully addictive games that populate the top 10 lists or games in the iOS market, or even in the Android space as well.

The game also does not have sophisticated animation but rather a very cartoon approach, but it is also simple and fun to play. Its basic premise is to follow Buster’s rise from a kid playing in his backyard in Leesburg, Ga. to his current position with the Giants in MLB.

As you play you can earn sunflower seeds that can be used to buy equipment and power-ups as you move from his early wiffle ball and tennis ball hitting days to where he faces major league pitching. In all there are five levels of play and participants swipe the screen as they attempt to hit the ball out of the park.

An interesting aspect of the game is that it will be primarily promoted via social media, according to a piece in Mashable. Info on the app has already been posted on Posey’s Facebook page, which has 325,000 followers and on Twitter, where he is followed by 50,000. Then the apps have their own Twitter and Facebook pages as well and will alert fans to upgrades and rewards that can be earned playing the game.

The free app seems to be hitting it off with his fans, which have already given it a 4 ½ star rating on iTunes, where it has only been available since Monday. I expect this is just the start of a trend in this area as popular athletes in baseball and elsewhere will likely see this as an extension of promoting themselves, and I can see a few of the attempts as being rather funny. How about a T.O. app?

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Athlete to Follow, Baseball, Buster Posey, Contests, iOS, iPhone, Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants Tagged With: , ,

FIBA to push for 3 on 3 Basketball as Olympic Sport

August 6, 2012 by

The International Basketball Federation (FIBA), which governs international basketball competition, is seeking to establish its three on three (3×3) version of the sport as an Olympic event in the coming years, it has said. It is shooting for the 2020 games at the latest.

While you hear about plenty of sports seeking Olympic recognition, 3×3 looks like it has an inside track. It has been played competitively, and by this we mean on a world stage not the inner city asphalt courts of its birth, since 2007 and made its worldwide debut at the 2010 Youth Olympics.

It is a widely played version of the sports and FIBA has massive federation membership numbers, with over 213 national federations spread over five geographical zones; Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania. FIBA said that it sees the sports adoption much in the way that beach volleyball followed indoor volleyball in to the Olympic camp.

Currently FIBA is launching a new three on three tournament that will follow its 3×3 World Tour. The world tour will have teams playing in six cities this year with several of them have already been played: Sao Paulo (July 14-15); Vladivostok, Russia (July 21-22); N.Y. (Aug. 18-19); Istanbul (Sept. 1-2); Madrid (Sept. 8-9) and Miami (Sept. 22-23).

There was a series of 70 qualifiers that were held to hone down the teams that were allowed to play in the event. The event looks to have an informal feel to it as aside from players’ skill events it also invites local street artists and DJs to perform and has an open to the public contest as well.

The Miami games will be the finals and there are a variety of teams broken down by age and sex playing in the tournaments. Nike and Samsung are major sponsors for the events.

Filed Under: Baseball, FIBA, Olympics, Uncategorized Tagged With: , ,

Friday Grab Bag: Samsung, Lenovo Tablets-Seattle bickers about stadium

August 3, 2012 by

We mentioned last week that there is now an ongoing attempt to build a new basketball arena in Seattle and then land a new team. From this article in the Seattle PI it looks like the Seattle City Council could be a roadblock.

While the county commissioners are expected to give approval to an $80 million contribution to the building, the city looks like it might want a better deal for the $120 million that it is being asked to throw in as well. The city wants better protection from financial fallout among other issues.

Microsoft wants broad patent licensing deal with Motorola
After winning cases at home and abroad regarding its patent portfolio Microsoft has said that it wants to sign a deal with Motorola that will end the legal disputes between the two companies. Microsoft already licenses its ActiveSync technology to others including Samsung and HTC, according to IT World.

However in the case of Motorola, Microsoft is looking for a more all-encompassing deal, one that will include not just a select few patents but rather a great deal of their respective portfolios in order to achieve what Microsoft calls “A solid foundation for patent peace.”

Larger tablets can be heavy

Samsung thinking big with next-gen tablet?
Kudos to the Verge for digging into all of the documents from the ongoing Apple vs. Samsung trial in San Jose, Calif. Among the nuggets it has mined is the revelation that Samsung has a 11.8-inch tablet on the drawing board.

Code named P10 it would have the equivalent of Apple’s retina display with a 2560 x 1600 resolution and among its other features is LTE connectivity.

Google investing in YouTube effort
It looks like Google is going to invest $200 million in marketing its YouTube channels as it continues its transition of that platform from one in which the majority of content is user generated into one where there are a wide range of professionally created content.

It has over 100 channels now and currently is teamed with NBC to show the Summer Olympics. According to a piece in the Wall Street Journal, Google currently has already earned $150 million in ad commitments for this year.

Google to delay its Nexus Q digital streaming device
Google announced its Nexus Q music and video streaming platform to great fanfare a few weeks back at the company’s annual Google I/O conference in San Francisco. Expected to be quickly delivered to the market it looks like it has hit a bump in the road and its delivery is now delayed.

The people that preordered have been told that there is an indefinite delay but has offered them a free product. Multiple sources report that the device was beset by poor reviews and that the company will be seeking to enhance the device.

A Bikini Hockey League?
Sounds like the follow up ads after the Swedish Bikini Team that Old Milwaukee Beer ran years ago but no, someone is actually trying to launch a Bikini Hockey League. Actually it is a reality TV show that is based on a developer’s purported plan to create such a league.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet leaked
It appears that the ever vigilant Verge has scored again, this time with details on the upcoming Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 that will be using Microsoft’s Windows 8 operating system. The devices will feature an attachable keyboard and pen input as well as the usually features that users have come to expect.

Among the listed features for the tablet are that it will be powered by an Intel Clover Trail microprocessor, have 2GB of RAM and a 64GBs of storage with a 10.1 inch WXGA display. It will have a fingerprint reader and they keyboard will have trackpoint navigation.

MLB’s Powers that be endorse Expanded use of Instant Replay
Bud Selig, the Commissioner of Major League Baseball said last Friday that the sport plans to implement the extended use of instant replay. It will now also be used for trapped balls in the outfield, and to determine if balls down the first and third base line are fair or foul.

The league is now assessing the camera angle issues in each park to see what, if any difficulties it will have in placing cameras that have the needed angles. It is not likely that the extended replay will make an appearance prior to the start of next season

Cleveland Browns sell for $1 billion
At least that is what ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeting yesterday. It seems that James Haslam will be buying the Browns from Randy Lerner for that figure, with a $700 million initial payment and then a second one sometime down the road for $300 million more.

The team just underwent a major shakeup in top management a few years ago, notably luring Mike Holmgren into the front office by giving him the position of team president. Usually new management likes its own people in place so he could be back looking over some other execs shoulder in the near future.

Cleveland Browns

I do like the comment on the tweet that questioned why anyone would pay that much for such a poor franchise noting that a Hawaiian island just sold for $600 million, implying that might have been the better deal.

Filed Under: Baseball, Cleveland Browns, ESPN, HTC, Lawsuit, Lenovo, Major League Baseball, Microsoft, NBA, NFL, NHL, Tablets, Twitter, Windows 8 Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Football (The US Version) Applying for Olympic Recognition?

July 30, 2012 by

I caught an interesting piece in ProFootballTalk that said that the International Federation of American Football (IFAF) was applying for Olympic recognition and looking to promote the game on the international stage at some point.

According to a piece at NFL.Com the application will be looked at next year and the article compared how the US once dominated basketball and now others have caught up. Really it often seems that the loss 2004 had other issues that cause the defeat and ultimate disappointing bronze.

I had never really considered football as a sport that fit well in the Olympics format, or one that would do well if selected, and that is not because of the possibility that it is not accepted by other nations. Rather the problem is that it seems to me that with all of the qualifying rounds and matches (assuming they do it like soccer), the sport would continue on from the end of the NFL season until the start of the Olympics.

Then once the Olympics started they would have to play a number of games within a two week period, unless they had already weeded out all of the teams but the final four. That just seems like it would not do for the players with the much higher risk that would entail.

Yet there is a much larger body of people playing football around the world that I had imagined as well. In perusing the IFAF web site I was astounded to see how many national federations there was in the organization. With 62 on six continents it is spread from Kuwait to Uruguay to New Zealand with Europe having by far the most nations represented.

They have an 19 and under league, a women’s league and a seniors league, and have played for at least four championships, one played every four years and the next one scheduled for play in Sweden in 2015.

Apparently football was played once as a spectator sport in the Olympics, back in 1932 at the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles seniors from three schools, California, Stanford and USC played a set against seniors from three schools from the East Coast, Harvard, Yale and Princeton. The West won 7-6.

While I have seen many people complain that one reason that the Olympics would never accept football is because of US domination and point to the dropping of baseball as an example, I think that reasoning is at least in part misguided.

Major League Baseball is never going to stop playing for several weeks in the middle of the season to allow its players to go to the games. The lost revenue, the impact on playoff games and a host of other issues would make that move a terrible idea.

If you look at the last 5 Olympics that allowed baseball, the US won the gold once, in 2000, along with two bronze medals while Cuba has won three gold medals and South Korea one. Without the top athletes, which it does not look like they will get, the US probably would not be considered the favorite if other nations managed to get their top people in.

Much the same logic can be applied to the NFL’s reaction. Lose players for a number of weeks at the start of training camp? Well they actually did that last year, and I am pretty sure that no one is happy with that or wants to repeat it.

The only way I could see the US participate is if they took one of the other leagues, the reborn USFL or the UFL and used the championship team from that league. While an all star team might make more sense to some it seems to me that a team that has already played a season together has a better chance of shining in an event such as this.

Filed Under: Baseball, IFAF, Major League Baseball, NFL, NFL Network, Olympics, UFL, USFL Tagged With: , , ,
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