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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: , ,

Friday Grab Bag: 30 on 30 Returns, Arena Bowl Tonight

August 10, 2012 by

Avitae Arena Bowl XXV

The Arena Football League will crown a champion this weekend when the Arizona Rattlers take on the Philadelphia Soul in New Orleans at 10:30 ET on Aug. 10 for all of the marbles.

Philadelphia reached the championship game by decisively defeating the Jacksonville Sharks 89-34 while the Rattlers reached the final round with a much closer victory over the Utah Blaze, 75-69. The Rattlers will be playing in their second consecutive championship and seventh overall, quite an accomplishment in a 25-year-old league.


What do the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL and NCAA have in common?
Apparently it is an extreme hatred of a new sports betting lottery game that has been long talked about in New Jersey. The bill would permit gambling on both pro and college sports, and that is something that has the said sports leagues very upset.

From a look at the discussion at ProFootballTalk it looks like New Jersey has a very tough challenge ahead of it. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Trenton, New Jersey, relies on the Professional and Amateur Sports Protection Act, and the window that would enable New Jersey to allow gambling has long since closed. In addition the state of Delaware has already tried this and lost.

It seems that if the bill does make it past the courts the NFL will retaliate by “punishing” New Jersey by not allowing it to host another Super Bowl. I wonder if a win would open the floodgates to other states also allowing sports betting and what the NFL will try and do about that?

Apple expected to exclude YouTube in iOS 6
Apple is expected to no longer include the popular video viewing app YouTube in the next version of its mobile operating system iOS 6 when that OS is released. The app has been a standard feature included with Apple’s products for the past five years.

Apple said that its license to include the standalone version of YouTube app in its operating system has ended. It can still be used via the Chrome browser and Google is working on a version for the App store. What will the world do without its morning fix of cute animal videos?

Will NBA backpedal on Under-23 rule for Olympics?
NBA Commissioner David Stern had advocated that future Summer Olympics only allow players that are under 23 into the competition. This move would have the affect of saving the NBA’s team owners the angst of worrying about their star players’ health prior to the start of the season.

However it appears that there is a great deal of pushback from the rest of the basketball playing world. It seems that many nations want to send their best athletes, not just the ones that are convenient for the NBA. Who would have guessed?

Anyway it now sounds as if the NBA may just leave well enough alone, at least until a new commissioner replaces Stern, who is running out his term as commissioner.

AT&T Shared data plan on the horizon
AT&T has said that it will launch its mobile share plans, which allow a user to have a data plan that can be used with multiple devices, eliminating the need for a separate plan for each device, on Aug. 23.

The plans will range in size from 1GB to 20GB each and requires at least one smartphone with a unlimited talk and text plan as part of the overall bundle. A user can have a maximum of nine devices on a single plan.

ESPN re-ups 30 for 30 for second season
ESPN’s 30 for 30 series will make a reappearance this year as the sports giant has a new slate of topics that will get a full blown film treatment. The series is scheduled to start on Oct. 2, 8 pm ET with an episode entitled “Broke” about athletes who have burned through their fortunes. The series will run through December and you can head over to ESPN to get the synopsis for the fall offerings.

Google to add voice activated services
Google is once again firing a shot across Apple’s bow as it launches a voice activated service that will run on Apple’s iPhones and so directly compete with Apple’s Siri. The company will also be pushing the app, called “voice search” on the Android platform.

The company expects to release the app for iPhones within the next few weeks and then it will release it for the Android at a later, unspecified date.

Instagram on your camera?
It makes sense on the face of it. You might have a camera that has much greater capabilities compared to the one in your smartphone. Now at least one camera manufacturer is working to deliver both Android in its cameras, but Instagram along with the operating system.

Mashable has reported that Nikon is working on just this solution in its next generation cameras and that one could be available soon. While the vast majority of apps would be relatively worthless, unless the camera is a hybrid of some sort, image apps such as Instagram should find an instant home.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Arena Football League, Basketball, ESPN, Facebook, FIBA, Google, Instagram, iOS, iPhone, Major League Baseball, Mashable, NBA, NCAA Football, NFL, Nokia, ProFootballTalk, Smartphone, Tablets 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: , ,

New York Times Hosts Google+ Hangout with Olympic Athletes — Carmelo and Chris Paul up Tonight

July 11, 2012 by

Yes, it’s going to be a social media Olympics — and the fun is starting well before the games kick off later this month. This afternoon the New York Times will hold its first of a series of Google+ hangouts with Olympic athletes, with USA Basketball players Carmelo Anthony and Chris Paul interacting live starting at 6 p.m. Eastern time.

While the mainstream golf media gave superstar Tiger Woods a hard time for hosting similar online interactive activities, it will be interesting to see how the Olympic-athlete ones unfold, since (other than the NBA stars) Olympic athletes by and large are removed from our general attention during the time between Olympics. Plus fans of the more obscure sports probably know more than most sportswriters, so maybe there will be some good questions and discussions generated.

Filed Under: Basketball, Google, NBA, Olympics Tagged With: , , ,

The NBA Draft is Tomorrow but ESPN Starts Tonight

June 27, 2012 by

The NBA draft is upon us once again and in some ways it has not achieved the overall hype level that the NFL has achieved, but it also often makes for a much better viewing spectacle as there is often a host of wildcards.

The official draft begins Thursday night at 7 pm ET and will be hosted, as it has for the last decade, by ESPN. A predraft show will be aired tonight at 7 pm ET for those of you that want to get an advanced look and see if you should despair or be elated over your following day prospects.

ESPN’ has said that it will have a specific focus for part of its broadcast that will be on the themes of determination and achievement and “climbing the ladder” to success. I think that this could be very interesting. It often seems to me that players that were stars in school and then disappear in the NBA, and NFL for that matter, are often the victims of being in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Getting stuck with a coach that does not use a players skill in his offense or defense, and yet when traded seem to bloom as their supporting cast improves, or their skills are used in a much better manner by the team.

The NBA’s 66th annual draft, held at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., will feature a horde of ESPN personnel and is hosted by Rece Davis along with and college basketball analyst Jay Bilas, NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy, NBA Insider Chris Broussard, college basketball reporter Andy Katz and NBA reporter Ric Bucher.

It does not appear that the network is taking its arguers in chief Skip Bayless and Stephen A. Smith on the road for the event, something they did do for the NBA Finals. I was hoping to once again hear the chants of ‘cheese doodles’ ringing from the rafters.

However ESPN is pulling out all of the stops with live news feeds from 15 cities to get head coaches and general managers’ feedback on selections, with live reporting from New Orleans, where the league owned team has the #1 choice and a reporter in Charlotte where the #2 pick resides.

ESPN will also be providing coverage over a wide range of its other media properties including ESPN Radio, ESPN Mobile TV and streaming live via WatchESPN on ESPN3.com. You can also look for NBA on ESPN Facebook page for updates of you are so inclined.

Filed Under: Basketball, ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN3, NBA, NBA Draft, NFL Draft Tagged With: , , ,

Is an Enhanced World Cup of Basketball on its Way?

June 20, 2012 by

The NBA is looking to alter the current World Cup of Basketball in a manner that will enable it to gain increased revenue from the event that is held every four years and is next scheduled to be played in 2014, according to a Yahoo Sports report.

The push is tied into an effort to discontinue sending star players to the Summer Olympics. While the Dream Team is one of the biggest broadcasting draws the NBA does not reap any revenue from the event and sees no reason to allow its stars to participate in an event where they might get injured.

For those who do not follow international basketball, there has been a World Cup tournament for some time, since 1950 to be exact, that is held every four years (with a few exemptions) and is played by the men’s national teams of members of the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The U.S. is the current champion, winning in 2010.

The idea appears to be that by partnering more with FIBA the NBA would bring its marketing might to the event and its superstars and in return, would get a piece of the financial pie, and a big slice at that. Yahoo reported that some owners want a new World Cup that is entirely controlled by the NBA.

It will be interesting to follow this, as I imagine that the loss of the dream team in the Olympics will likely mean a loss of any chance to win a gold medal, or possibly any medal, and so will result in a lot of pressure to start including the players once again. That was the reason the concept started in the first place.

Filed Under: Basketball, NBA, Olympics Tagged With: ,
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