Eovaldi Delivers More Than Heat Against Rangers

Nathan Eovaldi is no stranger to maxing out the radar gun as he consistently hits 100 mph or higher. Monday night was no different, but he added on a no-hitter into the seventh. He had 7 shutout IP allowing just 2 hits on the night. The Ranger's hitters were 0-for-12 against his split-fingered fastball striking out 6 times. So, not only was his velocity on point but so was his command; and when you have those two things working you are going to dominate any hitter. This was the kind of performance the Yanks needed and could just be the kick-start for the rest of the rotation.

http://espn.go.com/blog/statsinfo/post/_/id/117263/nathan-eovaldi-dominates-with-more-than-just-the-heat   

Tom Brady's Suspension has Been Reinflated

Tom Brady's 4-game suspension has been reinstated by the appeals court. They ruled that the NFL does have the authority to suspend Tom Brady. The league found last year that it was more probable than not that Brady told the equipment staff to deflate the footballs. I believe that the suspension should not have been lifted in the first place and I am glad that he is suspended again, however, I do not believe this is over yet. For now, the NFL has won and the Patriots appear set to start the season without their star QB.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/04/25/nfl-wins-deflategate-appeal-tom-brady-suspension-back-on/ 

NFL Draft Expected to Move Again

Just two years after moving from New York City to Chicago, the NFL Draft is expected to be taking over another city in 2017. Roger Goodell said that seeing the success of the draft in Chicago has only increased the competition to host the event next. The Broncos have already started planning on bidding to host the draft in 2019. Canton, Ohio has also applied to host the draft in 2019 or 2020. The site for the 2017 draft will more than likely be announced over the summer. This is very weird that the draft is probably leaving Chicago just two years later, considering that before the move to Chicago the draft had been held at Radio City Music Hall for 50 years.


http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000655508/article/roger-goodell-nfl-draft-very-likely-to-leave-chicago-for-2017 

Panthers Rescind Franchise Tag On All-Pro Norman

The Carolina Panthers rescinded the franchise tag that they placed on Josh Norman. Panthers GM Dave Gettleman said that the flexibility he got in removing Norman's cap number and the fact that a long-term deal could not be reached lead to the decision. The All-Pro CB was seeking between $15 million and $16 million a year, but that was clearly an issue with Carolina. The Panthers now have approximately $31 million in cap space, and with that flexibility they can now sign All-Pro DT Kawann Short to a long-term deal. As a Panthers fan I am disappointed that they could not work out a deal and that they felt the need to remove the franchise tag. I hope there is some way that Norman comes to his senses and comes back with a more reasonable number for Dave Gettleman to work with, but it is not looking good right now. This will be a huge loss because Norman was such an integral part in the Panthers Super Bowl run last season and without him it puts the Panthers defensive backfield in a scary position due to the lack of experience and quality depth at the corner spot.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/15288337/panthers-gm-dave-gettleman-discusses-decision-rescind-tag-josh-norman

Mamba Out

Kobe Bryant made a statement in his last game of his 20-year career on Wednesday night. He scored 60 points in his finale, which is the most ever in a player's last game! He scored 23 points in the final quarter, helping his team rally back from a 15-point deficit to beat the Jazz 101-96. Kobe is now the third-leading scorer in NBA history behind Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone. He took a career-high 50 shots and became the oldest player ever to score 50+. "The perfect ending would have been a championship," Bryant said with a smile. "But tonight was (me) trying to go out, play hard, and try to put on a show as much as I possibly could. It felt good to be able to do that one last time." It may not have been the perfect ending, but Kobe put on one heck of a show and performances like the one last night are the reason we all grew up yelling "KOBE" when we threw something into a trash can.

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/apr/14/kobe-bryant-scores-60-points-in-storybook-farewell-victory 

Castro And Yanks Are Hitting It Off

The Yankees traded with the Cubs for Starlin Castro in December and they aren't looking back. On Saturday he went 2-for-4 and got to 1,000 hits at the age of 26. Before the age of 24 he was a 3x All-Star; and just 5 games in pinstripes his slash line is .450/.476/.850 to go along with 2 HR and 8 RBI. "One thousand hits feels good, I feel excited, but I came to New York to win a championship," Castro said. The way he is playing right now, he could very well be a major reason why the Yankees do win the World Series!


http://www.newsday.com/sports/baseball/yankees/yankees-starlin-castro-goes-2-for-4-to-get-1-000th-career-hit-1.11672430

Las Vegas Is Showcasing It's Prestige To Pro Sports Franchises

The brand new state-of-the-art T-Mobile Arena just opened on April 6th in Las Vegas. After spending $375 million over the last two years the arena will be able to host a multitude of events, from concerts to sports. A brand new 3-story scoreboard will hang above the venue, while fans get to enjoy a great wireless network, with T-Mobile’s 4G LTE network optimized in the arena, along with Wi-Fi and phone charging stations throughout. All of this money was spent in hopes that a professional sport franchise from the NHL or NBA comes to Las Vegas. One of the first prime time sporting events that T-Mobile Arena will host is the highly anticipated boxing match between Canelo Alvarez and Amir Khan, on May 7th. I think this arena is absolutely amazing and I have no doubt in my mind that this will be very enticing to any NBA or NHL team. I also believe that we could see a franchise in Las Vegas within the next five years. 

http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/04/07/brand-new-t-mobile-arena-ready-to-bring-las-vegas-live-sports-like-never-before/   

Royals Are Taking The Game Of Catch To A Whole New Level

  

The Kansas City Royals are finding a new way to contribute to a great cause. They are doing a charity event that benefits the Kansas City MLB Urban Youth Academy. This event is called, "Relay the Way," where 2,500 Kansas City residents will relay a baseball all the way from Union Station to Kauffman Stadium, which is a 9.49-mile stretch. But this is not just any normal baseball; VML, the ad agency funding the event, has created a “smart baseball” that will be thrown from Union Station to Kauffman Stadium, and then used for the Opening Day game’s first pitch. This “smart baseball” will store 100,000 – 200,000 pieces of text that have been sent in from not just the 2,500 people throwing the ball, but also from anyone that wishes to have their words forever inside of a high-tech baseball. The only fee for having a message stored in the ball is a donation of at least $1, and all proceeds given for messages will be relayed to the urban youth academy. This baseball will be put on display in the Royals' Hall of Fame, where anyone with a smartphone can access the text stored in the baseball. I think this is such a cool and innovative way to bring a community together for a home run of a cause!

http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/04/03/royals-using-smart-baseball-make-donating-charity-simple-as-playing-catch/

The Lady Huskies Are A Shining Star In This Technological Generation

The Lady Huskies streak of 70+ wins is very impressive considering the technological advances within the sport industry. “You have technology now that can help you figure out how to improve your shot. You don’t need to go to a certain place to get that kind of instruction. You can go to YouTube, watch on Instagram and try to mimic things.”Chiney Ogwumike, the 2014 WNBA No. 1 pick out of Stanford, who has won many awards of her own, recently stated. ESPN and its family networks aired more Women's College basketball regular season games than ever before! The ratings were also up 36% from last year. At a time when there are so many technological tools and training is so easy to obtain, UConn's dominance this year, and over the past 4 years, is truly a special sight.



http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/03/29/how-technology-can-lead-to-more-parity-in-womens-basketball/  

Samsung Is Getting into Concussions

Samsung has created a prototype device called the BrainBand to help athletes, referees, and coaches better understand the impact of concussions.The BrainBand is a headband equipped with sensors on the back that measure the force of an impact. Lights embedded into the band also show the severity of a blow to the head: yellow, orange and red, the latter which signals high alert and that a player should be pulled from the field. Data is transmitted to medics, coaches and referees in real time via Samsung devices. Nothing has come close to the practicality and efficiency of the BrainBand and it does not appear to impede the playing conditions. This could truly be the answer that we have all been looking for when it comes to the concussion problem. I think that this could save a lot of lives and careers, especially if it can detect a concussion right away. Medical personnel getting real-time data could end up making all the difference.  

http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/03/28/samsung-brainband/ 

LinkedIn is the Link to Life After the NFL

Many NFL players are using LinkedIn to search for careers after football. It is incredibly smart to do this before their playing career is over, because they could possibly land a job right out of retirement from the league. Matt Hasselbeck listed the Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans, and Greenbay Packers. Josh Brown, kicker for the New York Giants, also noted his off-season internship at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. and uses his LinkedIn account to connect with real-estate clients. These players are planning ahead to put themselves in a great position after they are done playing. LinkedIn allows players to talk to companies while they are still popular and have the title of being an NFL player. In a 2011 study, the NFL found that the average career was only 6.86 years, so there is obviously need to find another source of income when it comes time to retire.

  http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/03/23/transitioning-professional-sports-nfl-players-use-linkedin/

Nike Is Stepping Up Their Game

Nike has debuted their HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes.The HyperAdapt 1.0 shoes are the first mass produced power-lacing shoes.These shoes have a sensor in the heel that automatically tightens and adjusts the shoe as soon as you step in them.The shoe also has plus/minus buttons that allow for self-adjustment. Nike believes as their technology progresses, their shoes will be able to make reactive adjustments by themselves based on biometric data from the user.There is no price yet, but they will not be in stores until the 2016 holiday season.The shoes are battery operated, so they take 3 hours to fully charge, but the charge lasts for 2 weeks.The HyperAdapt 1.0's have a LED light that starts off as blue and slowly transitions to red letting you know it needs charged.The article also talks about new Olympic team uniforms that they will use in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio.

 




 http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/03/19/dnike-debuts-hyperadapt-1-0-power-lacing-shoe-and-new-high-tech-olympic-gear/ 

Shorter Lines Means Happier Fans

No one likes waiting to go to the bathroom or waiting to get food. Also, depending on how long the lines are, sometimes you end up missing part of the game as well. The Detroit Pistons have partnered with WaitTime to remedy the anguish of waiting in line. WaitTime uses “patent-pending crowd-science technology that provides real-time information on fan traffic to major entertainment and sports venues,” and does so to ultimately eliminate the majority of long lines to get food or go to the bathroom at all venues. The Detroit Pistons are the first team in any sport to implement line-shortening technology and fans in attendance at Pistons’ games will be able to access WaitTime’s data either from 30 screens located around seating sections, or from the Pistons Mobile App on their smartphone. This is is a big step up for fan experience and hopefully this technology will be shortening lines in every sporting venue across the U.S.

         

http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/03/16/detroit-pistons-become-first-team-to-implement-line-shortening-technology/

Tennis Meets Virtual Reality

LiveLike, a virtual reality company, and ATP World Tour just secured a partnership to bring virtualreality to Tennis. The first big test for this company will come at BNP Paribas Open, a tennis tournament, in Indian Wells, California. LiveLike puts you into a virtual box seat and straps on a virtual reality headset making you feel like you are in the stadium. The virtual box suite also includes stats on players and a backroom that has replays of the match. This will change sport forever and literally change the way we view sports in the 21st Century!

http://www.sporttechie.com/2016/03/17/livelike-test-innovative-virtual-reality-platform-bnp-paribas-open/ 

Introduction

Hi,


My name is Michael Costanzo and I will post about the new advances in technology and how it pertains to sport. I will discuss new apps, new on-field technologies, and new electronics used to enhance the fan experience. Most of my posts will contain video clips and/or pictures as well. Each post will contain a link to the article I write about, so you can read more about the technology.