Entries tagged with “Sports” from Global Sports Buzz

The National Hockey League has been worried about television ratings for a couple years now. They have not been receiving the type of attention they want, but the NHL's ratings are now improving. There are mainly five reasons as to why the ratings have improved. First, the Olympics helped the ratings. The Canadian and American showed how exciting hockey can be and introduced everyone to key players in the NHL. Secondly, there have been a lot more close games this year. A closer game brings a lot more excitement and more people wanting to watch. The third are two people who even non-hockey fans could know, Crosby and Ovechkin. They both have so much talent and make the game of hockey so exciting to watch. They bring a new type of energy to the game. The fourth are how many more goals are being scored. When there are only 1 or 2 goal games, the thrill of game is gone. Goals are what make hockey interesting to watch. When there are no goals, there are going to be fewer viewers. The last reason is the website. The NHL's website is one of the best around. It is very easy to navigate and has a lot of visitors. The ratings keep increasing and they do not seem to be stopping.

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  Have you watched PGA golf game and noticed all the people in the background at every different hole?  The fans have always had problem with getting information from different holes because the coarse is so wide spread.  With a devices like WiseDV made by Livis and In-Your-Ear made by DevTech, getting information on the coarse will not be a problem anymore.  WiseDV is an audio, video and data handheld device that gives the fan a current update on what's happening.  Fans are able to see live video footage, stats, listen to music, look at photographs, and the most fascinating thing is that you can even order food!  In-Your-Ear is a device that literally sits in your ear.  It gives updated information to the fans on the golf coarse. The device has a comfortable ear clip that adds stability.  It's hands free and has about ten hours of battery life.  The beautiful thing about this product is that it is completely disposable after the event is all over with.

       The reason for these two devices to be born was rules on electronic devices on the coarse.  Fans have been restricted from using their cell phones due to the distractions they endure.  Also, because of how wide spread a golf coarse is, the fans can not be at numerous places at the same time.  The fans were in high demand of something that would keep them updated at all times. 

Skycam is the trademarked brandname of a patented, computer-controlled, stablizied, flying camera system. The camera is moved through three dimentions in open space over a playing area of a stadium or arena by a computer-controlled cable-drive system. The camera is responsible for bringing video game-like camera angles to televised sports coverage. The camera weighs less than 30 pounds and can travel as fast as 30 mph. Skycam was first debuted in 2001 during NBC's coverage of the XFL, a league that does not exist anymore. ESPN first used the camera in 2001 preseason games and then continued to use it for their Sunday Night Football broadcasts and now Monday Night Football broadcasts since 2002. Skycam has been used for NCAA football, Monday Night Football, and Superbowl XXXVII, as well as the NHL, NBA, and NASCAR. The Skycam has also been used at the 17th hole at The Players Championship at Sawgrass. The camera consists of 3 parts, the reel, spar, and central control. They all play a key role in the operation of the camera and the production of the television coverage. Since its introduction, Skycams have been used really well and have had little to no problems, except for one game in 2007 where an NFL game between the Seahawks and the Saints had to be delayed because the camera was flown into the field.

                Fans have been misbehaving since games first started being played.  The difference is that we are starting to notice the effect that their misbehavior is having on the remaining, well-behaved spectators.  Rules have been put in place because these events are meant to be family oriented, and out of control fans are crossing the line. 

                The "fan code of conduct" is one step that stadiums have taken to change the way that fans behave while at their stadium.  These codes require that fans refrain from unruly behavior, intoxication, foul language, interference with the progress of the game, etc.  Some venues have begun sending rules home to season ticket holders as well as advertising the rules in their venue.   Complaints about unruly fans are often handled over the phone.  Many teams have their own hotline that spectators can call if there is a problem and they will receive an instant response from ushers and security.  Pregame announcements are put up on video boards warning fans to behave.  As for alcohol sales, many facilities have alcohol-free sections, and most events stop serving alcohol at a certain point during the game.  All of these precautions have done a fantastic job to reduce problems in arenas, stadiums and other venues.

                Websites such as youtube.com are relatively new.  Nowadays, fans are able to videotape fights in the stands and put them on such websites.  Venues are currently attempting to confiscate these videos so that they do not leak out for the public to see, but doing so brings up many legal issues.  For example, the creator of a video has copyright privileges which can only be transferred through a written contract.  Venues have a couple of options in this situation, but not very many.  They can either place a restriction on all videotaping in their facility, or appeal directly to the website that these videos are being posted on so that the website will not allow them anymore. 

                Another new technology in sporting facilities is that fans now have the ability to report problems via text.  Fans can now alert stadium officials to a problem in the venue without having to leave their seat to find an usher or security guard.  This is also completely confidential, so the fan does not have to worry about another person getting mad about being reported.  Currently, twenty-six of the thirty-two NFL teams use this texting system.  It is expected to be used by all NFL teams by the end of this season. 

                All of these new technologies have helped sporting venues to keep fans safe while inside the venue.  They have also helped to maintain the family values of sporting events so that a parent can bring their children to such an event without worrying about what their child will hear or see while at the game.          

The NCAA has had numerous problems with college coaches and top high school recruits communicating. To try and stop these problems, a vote was passed that college coaches could no longer text high school recruits. Some recruits were receiving "roughly 20 text messages a week from coaches."  In todays' society is it right for them to ban text messaging? Text messaging is a major form of communication in this day of age. As long as they are not breaking any NCAA regulations, why shouldn't they be allowed to text a top high school recruit? That is their job to try and get these kids to their programs, and they are competing with hundreds and hundreds of other schools in the nation.

On one side were college coaches seeking the right to use modern technology to maintain a casual relationship with top prospects. On the other were high school athletes so inundated with text messages that their cell phone bills were skyrocketing and their phones were buzzing during classes.

So which side is right? As usual, the answer lies somewhere between the two extremes.

Instead of depriving coaches and kids of an effective communication tool, couldn't the NCAA have limited the number of text messages a coach can send per week, mirroring the rules already in place regarding calls to recruits? Or perhaps the organization could have implemented a ban on texting after 10 p.m. or during school hours?

                                                                                                                                                       
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Remember having your mother tell you that you need to step into someone elses shoes in order to understand a situation? Well, now is your chance! This coming July Nike is releasing products which will be worn by your favorite basketball players on TEAM USA. Nike has developed an "18 percent lighter than the average Nike basketball shoe and is the lightest and strongest basketball shoe Nike has ever created." Sports technology is not just for the pro's, it's now coming to a store nearest you! Save up, buy, and score!

"Key products inspired by the USA Basketball uniform and Hyperdunk footwear featuring Flywire technology will be available to consumers beginning July 26th. WHEN: Monday, June 30 12:30 pm - 1:30 pm Media check in at the top of the steps to the ice rink begins at 11:30 am WHERE: Rockefeller Center Ice Rink 30 Rockefeller Plaza MEDIA INFO: Media availability for Team USA will take place from 2:30 pm until 4:30 pm at the Plaza Hotel. Enter on 58th Street. Media check-in for interviews at the Plaza begins at 1:30 pm. Players will NOT be available individually, but in pool sessions. To view the entire USA Basketball player roster, please visit www.usabasketball.com....

 

 

 

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Have you received a call from a local sports team recently asking you to purchase tickets? If so, it was probably the same technology used by the Boston Celtics and the Boston college football team. It is an internet phone technology powered by the company Vontoo. The use of Vontoo only costs ten cents a call and has been extremely efficient.

"For about $10,000, Ryan's phone message helped the team sell more than 4,000 tickets in just two weeks, earning $200,000."

With the success of this technology start to expect more and more teams using Vontoo. You never know you might be getting a call from your team's star player sometime soon!

The calls are cheap - they cost about 10 cents each - and the technology can track how many people pick up the messages, which ones go to voice mail, and how many transfer immediately to a ticket agent. It's a far more cost-efficient tactic to reach fans than snail mail. And while e-mail has grown in popularity as a way to communicate with supporters, teams are increasingly finding their messages get lost in spam filters.

Even before the Boston Celtics added all-stars Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen and got off to their torrid start in the 2007-2008 season, the team got some off-the-court help last spring from players like center Kendrick Perkins, who left messages asking thousands of past season ticket holders to renew their purchases. On the day the team ran its phone message campaign, the Celtics nearly doubled the number of season ticket renewals purchased in the same day the previous year.

The Celtics are planning to use Vontoo again later this month, to send out playoff information and to get an early start on season tickets (which should be an easier sell, given the team's current success).




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Can olympic players win without technology? It seems that preforming in sports games without any type of sports enhancement technology is something of the colonial times. What ever happened to just good old plain jane competition? Has it officially died? Is sports now merely a competition of technology?

Technology is now an advantage in sports. Better equipment now means better preformance. But what if you don't have the money or the means for this technology? Are there still olympic compeditors who are without these technology means?

Yes! Alas! There are still compeditors doing things the "old fashion way"!!

"While in Cairo, Egyptian sprinter Amr Seoud says he trains without using any special technology. "There is no latest technology at all. I am just training. I have a track and some spiked shoes," says Seoud.

But coach Medhat Nabi points out that training methods and even the track are more modern than a generation ago.  "In the past, we used to run on a sand field. There was no 'tartan' synthetic track," he says, "and timing was done manually."

Technology has long been used in sports to improve athletic performance, even if it gives the winning edge to athletes and countries that are technologically advanced.
 
At the U.S. Olympic training facility in Colorado Springs, gymnast Todd Thornton uses a digital video system to improve his technique.

"For the majority of my career I have trained without this system. I can tell you, our coaches can tell  us all day long that we are doing something wrong, but if it feels right to us we are not going to kn  ow unless we see it," said Thornton. "It gives us that advantage to be able to see what we are doing...."

 

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Most people who are around sports believe clutch performers are born, it is not something you can teach. Players like Michael Jordan, and Derrick Jeter have always been clutch and that separates them from average players. But do not tell this to the European soccer team AC Milan, and the Sydney Swans' football department. AC Milan has created what they call a "mind room," which is used to help players remain calm and perform in the clutch.

In a Mind Room, athletes are connected to biofeedback sensors that measure brain wave activity, muscle tension, sweat response, heart and breathing rates while watching a video of a bad performance like missing a crucial goal.

Zaichkowsky says the athlete always tenses up, their blood pressure goes up and breathing rate becomes irregular - as usually happens on the field when they choke in the clutch.

Biofeedback trains the athlete's mind to maintain a meditative state to reduce the chances of a brain explosion during a game.

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