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Kevin Love’s Insider’s View of the Olympic experience via Twitter, Instagram

August 4, 2012 by 2 Comments

If the 156-73 victory by the USA over Nigeria didn’t quite stimulate your appetite to watch more of the Summer Olympics basketball competition, Kevin Love is here to assist.

As he’s done on Twitter, the Minnesota Timberwolves’ forward and USA Olympic team reserve is thriving in London via social media. He’s chronicling the Olympics in his own personal way via Instagram, the image application.

Love has nearly 382,000 followers on Twitter and more than 56,000 followers on Instgram.

Sweet Dreams, Fellas

During the Summer Olympics, Love is posting an insider’s view of the U.S. team. It’s not network style, like replays of dunks or sweet passes. It’s more like Candid Camera. Love takes compromising, often funny pictures of his teammates with Instagram and also posts the shots to Twitter.

How about a picture of teammates sleeping on the airline with eyeshades on? Or how about teammates with their faces smashed into pillows? Or how about teammates looking prim and proper in their official Olympic attire?

Love’s playing role on the Olympic team may still be undefined. But his roles as the team’s unofficial photographer and official team prankster are well established.

The Summer Olympic basketball competition continues through Aug. 12. Stayed tune for more of Love’s zany Olympic view.

Love’s Twitter handle is @KevinLove and his Instagram signature is KevinLove.

James Raia is an editor and publisher in Sacramento, California. Visit his site: www.tourdefrancelife.com

Filed Under: Instagram, iPhone, Olympics, Social Media, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , , ,

New York Times Comes Full Circle With Online Olympic Track Cycling Video

August 4, 2012 by Leave a Comment

Like other Olympic sports with global popularity but only in niche locales, track cycling comes to the masses every four years at the Summer Olympics.

There were few sports more prominent in the United States in the early 1900s when six-day races were all the rage for celebrities and high society theater patrons who made bets on riders competing in Madison Square Garden.

London Olympics' track cycling venue

Bobby Walthour, a track cycling champion at the time, was among the country’s highest paid athletes and made more than $100,000 a year. His exploits on and off the track were prominently displayed in the New York Times — including his image in a display advertisement for Camel cigarettes.

How ironic is it that it’s the online edition of the New York Times’ (Page 1, Aug. 3) that  featured a video, detailed charts and accompanying audio explaining the nuances of the sport’s most well-known event — the match sprint?

The video, “A Simple Bicycle Race,” begins with the description: “In the track cycling match sprint, riders go around a 250-meter track three times. Typically, they go slowly at the start, until someone makes a move.”

The narration of the video describes the event’s strategy and takes viewers around the track in animation and via the perspective of two riders’ head cameras via a split screen.

In addition to the Olympics, track cycling has a yearly World Cup circuit and a World Championship, the latter of which was last held in the United States in 2005 at California State University, Dominguez Hills in Carson, California.

The Olympic track cycling competition continues through Aug. 6.

To view the New York Times’ video, visit: Olympic Track Cycling

James Raia is an editor and publisher in Sacramento, California. Visit his site: www.tourdefrancelife.com

Filed Under: Cycling, NBC Sports, Olympics, Sports Social Media Tagged With: , ,

USA Today and MLB to Launch SportsOnEarth Web Site with Top Writing Talent

August 1, 2012 by 2 Comments

If imitation is the greatest form of flattery then ESPN and Grantland must be very happy with the latest effort from USA Today Sports Media Group and MLB Advanced Media which is launching Sports on Earth, a web site that will also focus on long form sports writing.

The site already has lined up a solid team of writers including Joe Posnanski, Tommy Tomlinson, Gwen Knapp, Shaun Powell and Mike Tanier. Some I have followed for a while others are new to me but it looks to be more than just a baseball site.

The site is sort of open, primarily with Posnanski writing from the Olympics but the site is expected top officially go live later this month. Of course, Posnanski also has a book soon to come off the presses, but it is already getting some heat. It will be interesting to see how the last chapter works out on his pending Joe Paterno biography.

The site is the first tangible result of the teaming of USA Today and MLBAM, a partnership announced at the start of the year. The plan when it was announced was to develop and deliver new content and products for sports fans and to be able to deliver the content to mobile and digital users as well as more traditional outlets.

I have high hopes. I have always found Posnanski a top writer and Tanier has the right combination of knowledge and snark in his writings on the NFL to always amuse me and he also thoughtful thoughtful. I also like longer-form stories that have substance rather than the three paragraph ‘get it out there now’ mantra that seems to prevalent in many online and print publications.

Filed Under: ESPN, Joe Paterno, Major League Baseball, Sports Social Media, USA Today Tagged With: ,

Hope Solo Plays Nasty On Twitter With Double Gold Medalist, NBC Soccer Analyst Brandi Chastain

July 30, 2012 by 1 Comment

It wasn’t too long ago when media organizations were deciding if quoting athletes’ from their Twitter feeds was appropriate. Now the Associated Press, the international news service, has dedicated multiple 600-word articles about athletes criticizing each other on Twitter during the Summer Olympics.

The current Twitter rant is between current U.S. soccer goalkeeper Hope Solo and NBC Sports analyst Brandi Chastain, the retired U.S. women’s soccer double gold medalist.

Hope Solo (L) and Brandi Chastain

Solo blasted Chastain following the Americans’ 3-0 win over Colombia last Saturday, saying the popular former player should “lay off commentating about defending” and goalkeeping “until you get more educated” and “the game has changed from a decade ago.”

Chastain has responded to Solo’s remarks only briefly, saying, according to the AP, she commenting as an “honest and objective journalist at the Olympics.”

NBC, Chastain’s employer, is apparently more sensitive. It believes the Twitter banter was important enough to issue a statement:

“We are thrilled to be able to offer such complete and compelling coverage of the entire Olympic soccer tournament, and Brandi has been doing an outstanding job,” NBC spokesman Adam Freifeld said. “We wish the U.S. women’s team the best of luck.”

When asked about her strong opinion, Soto commented:

“It’s not about what made me unhappy. It’s not about one game. I have my beliefs that the best commentators and the best analysts should be analyzing come Olympics, come World Cups, and it’s only my opinion. You can take it or leave it, to be honest, so it’s my opinion, and I think analysts and commentators should bring energy and excitement and passion for the game, and a lot of knowledge, and I think it’s important to help build the game, and I don’t think Brandi has that.

“It’s just my opinion, and nothing else really matters, to be honest. What matters is tomorrow’s game against North Korea, playing at Old Trafford. The team’s excited. It’s my birthday. I don’t really care to answer any other questions about Brandi.”

The Twitter exchanges also attracted concern and a subsequent meeting among the U.S. team’s coaching staff and team captains to discuss the team’s image. Solo is known for her strong opinions, and she was kicked off the 2007 World Cup team for criticizing former coach Greg Ryan.

The U.S. will play North Korea on Tuesday at Old Trafford, the home playing field famous men’s squad, Manchester United. The stadium hasn’t hosted a women’s match since 1989 and an estimated record-crowd of 35,000 is expected.

James Raia is an editor and publisher in Sacramento, California. Visit his site: www.tourdefrancelife.com

Filed Under: Olympics, Social Media, Sports Social Media, Twitter

NBC Criticized For Not Streaming London Olympics’ Opening Ceremonies

July 27, 2012 by 5 Comments

The first controversy in the first Social Media Olympics has already occurred before one medal has been awarded.

With Twitter, Facebook tablet use and social media phenoms Instagram to Pinterest abuzz with activities, what didn’t happen was streaming content of the spectacle of the Opening Ceremonies.

According to an Associated Press report, NBC has received its share of complaints for not streaming the traditional pageantry start to the Olympics online. Instead, the occasion was reserved for the network’s Friday telecast.

Deadspin, the irreverent sports site, posted the link the the BBC’s stream of the ceremony under the headline:

“How To Watch The London Olympics Opening Ceremony Live (And Give The Finger To NBC)”

Christopher McCloskey, an NBC spokesman, told the AP the network had no plans to stream the opening ceremonies because the spectacle doesn’t translate well online. NBC also didn’t stream the opening ceremonies in Beijing, China, in 2008.

James Raia is a freelance journalist in Sacramento, California. Visit his website: www.tourdefrancelife.com.

Filed Under: Olympics, Sports Social Media, SportsStream Tagged With: ,

Key Competition Dates For First 24/7 Digital Summer Olympics

July 24, 2012 by Leave a Comment

The Summer Olympics are so chock-full of events that the competition begins July 25 — two days before the Opening Ceremonies — and continues through the Closing Ceremonies on Aug. 12.

Olympic statistics are always numbing, but with the influx of digital broadcast offerings, the overwhelming statistic is that for the first time via multi-platform broadcasts available, sports fans have 24/7 access to competition during the London Games.

The official site of the Summer Olympics ideally details the schedule of each sport. Visit the complete schedule and results, here:

The official site of the Summer Olympics also details all of the official application option. Visit it here:

And here are the dates of the marquee competitions:

July 25 — Soccer matches begin and continue through Aug. 11 with the gold medal match

July 27 — Opening ceremonies. The pageantry and traditions of the Olympics begin.

July 28 — Basketball competition begins and continues through the bronze and gold medal games Aug. 12

July 28 — Gymnastics competition begins and continues the final four medal competitions on Aug. 7

July 29 — Hockey competition begins and continues through the bronze and gold medal games Aug. 11

July 29 — Swimming competition begins with two men’s and two women’s finals and continues through Aug. 10 with the men’s 10km.

Aug. 3 — Track & Field competition begins with final in the men’s shot put and women’s  10,000 meters and continues through Aug. 12 with the men’s marathon.

James Raia is an editor and publisher in Sacramento, California. Visit his site: www.tourdefrancelife.com

Filed Under: Galaxy Tab 2 10.1, Olympics, OnLive, Samsung, Soccer, Sports Social Media, Tablets
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