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This is Sparta: Spartan Races Catching On.

July 11, 2012 by

A buddy of mine wandered into the local pub a week ago and the left side of his face was a solid bruise. When I asked about it he said that it occurred during a Spartan Race that he had participated in over the weekend.

I really had no idea what he was talking about and after he explained it I realized that I had seen this type of event mentioned in Outside Magazine and elsewhere, I just had never figured that a programmer for IBM would be one of the participants.

The race is against the clock, against the set distance, and the obstacles that are in your path, which can vary from site to site. The obstacles can be mud, water, fire, people hitting you, barbed wire and apparently a host of others that the web site politely declines to spell out.

The layout of the race is a surprise, but you can participate in it as a team, allowing your friends the opportunity to get bruised and battered right alongside of you. At select races there is a cash prize for the top finishers.

I always sort of believed there was just a subset of athletes that participated around the globe, sort of like MLB but with barb wire added for flavor. On wandering over to the Spartan Race web site I was amazed at how many events, and participants, the sport has.

It appears to be a well thought out sport seeking to engage as many as want to try it. At many if not all of the races there are multiple events for different skill levels, thus keeping the interest of athletes that might not be ready for the big leagues of Spartan Racing.

The next race is this weekend, being held July 14 & 15 at the Blue Mountain Ski Area in Palmerton, Pa. with a track distance of 5 miles. However it appears that it is sold out so you will have to wait for the London event in a few weeks to try your hand. Images from past races can be found here.

Filed Under: Outdoor Activities, Spartan Race Tagged With:

Golf GameBook Launches USA vs Europe Competition

July 11, 2012 by

Golfers are very competitive people- not a news flash I know, and Golf GameBook is seeking to leverage that, along with nationalistic pride, in its latest contest that is a virtual Ryder Cup in which any registered user can participate.

I guess I should have said any American or European registered user since the event is a mobile version of the Ryder Cup, at least in terms of the geographic roots of the players. However rather than a one week event this one, called The GameBook Cup: USA vs Europe, will take six weeks.

Starting on July 30, 2012 and concluding on September 9, 2012 the contest will allow participants to compete on a wide variety of categories that will have five different ones, one each week with the one in the first week being most birdies. Each week new categories will be revealed and weekly prizes will be drawn among the winning continent’s golfers who participated in the Cup.

For the last week there will all five of the previous categories to compete in, and the side that wins that week will win the Cup. Despite the geographic requirement of the continent of origin for the players, any golf course around the globe can be played in the competition.

To play you need the company’s app, which is available for both Android and iPhones. Rounds are automatically after completion when using the app. For those of you that are interested in the real Ryder Cup, it will be played at Medinah Country Club, Medinah, Ill., September 25-30, 2012. Team USA has British Open Champion Stewart Cink as the Captain, and Team Europe is led by European Tour golfer Johan Edfors.

Filed Under: Android, Apple, Apps, Golf, Golf GameBook, iOS Tagged With:

MLB Looks at More Replays, Changes to Home Run Derby Selection

July 11, 2012 by

For any fan that tuned into MLB’s Home Run Derby on Monday night they might have wondered about all of the booing. It seems that every time that Robinson Cano, captain of the American Leagues’ team of home run hitters came to bat the Kansas City crowd booed.

This was basically a repeat, albeit with different players, from last year when Prince Fielder, then the captain of the National League team was booed often and loudly by the Diamondback partisans at the event in Phoenix.

In both cases the captain’s sins in the eyes of the fans was in not picking a home town favorite among the selection for the home run hitting squad. While it might make sense to go with the strongest team the derby really is an individual event, with no team win but rather an individual player taking home the title.

MLB’s commissioner, Bud Selig, obviously does not like to hear booing at an event designed to showcase baseball and so told the Baseball Writers Association of America (BBWAA) that he was looking at changing the selection process by simply adding a “Hometown” all-star to the hitting squad.

The fact that next years’ game will be in the Met’s Citi Field in New York and without a Met on the team might cause a new record in boo volume to be set might have had something to do with his decision. Still it is not yet final and so we will have to wait and see if this becomes permanent.

The commissioner also talked about the future of replay in baseball during the All-Star break and said that it will be expanded, but not by much. Baseball is looking to add balls hit down the foul line and balls that are trapped in the outfield. This expansion is already covered in the basic agreement between MLB and the players association.

Filed Under: All Star Game, Baseball, Major League Baseball Tagged With:

All Wimbledon All the Time Pays off for ESPN: Digital Viewership Soars

July 10, 2012 by

ESPN’s decision to make available all of the recent Wimbledon’s matches has paid off with record viewership both for broadcast and online as the company cashed in on its bet to broadcast the entire tournament.

The digital demand saw a massive increase, just as ESPN’s broadcast of the recent Euro 2012 Tournament, showing the strong growth in interest in watching sports via more than just traditional broadcast medium.

Viewership for the Ladies’ Championship was up 5% from the previous year while for the Gentlemen’s it was up 39% over 2011’s match, and there were many additional highlights over the course of the two week tournament.

ESPN reports that its overall audience grew, that it grew younger (a good sign for the sport) and that overall it had five of the top ten most viewed Wimbledon matches that it has broadcast in a decade this year.
The overall ratings matched last year’s shared broadcast, when the tournament broadcast was shared with NBC and shown on ESPN2. For this year as the sole broadcaster ESPN’s ratings were up an average 40%.

The Gentlemen’s Championship lead the way with Roger Federer’s four match victory over Andy Murray bringing in ESPN’s all time highest rated match with a 2.9 coverage rating.

ESPN reported that across all of its digital platforms demand was nearly triple compared to last year. ESPN3/WatchESPN registered 126 million live minutes of viewing across all platforms, up 182 percent from 2011 lead by the Federer vs. Murray match which drew in 23.6 million live minutes watched, significantly better than the second best numbers ported on Friday, July 7 of 16.2 million.

Filed Under: ESPN, ESPN Radio, ESPN3, Tennis, WatchESPN, Wimbledon Tagged With: ,

Phil Liggett, Paul Sherwen Leading the NBC Tour de France Broadcast, Teammates Need Rest

July 10, 2012 by

The first rest day of the Tour de France is good for many reasons. The riders and the race’s huge entourage all need rest.

But the one-day break (the event continues July 11 with stage 10) also allows event fans to collectively catch their breath and assess what’s happened in the race to date.

For those watching on television and online in the United States or accessing Twitter and cycling forums, it’s a near 24/7 proposition. And for Tour de France enthusiasts, that’s cycling nirvana.

Phil Liggett (L) and Paul Sherwen , NBC Sports Network broadcasters

But not everything about the constant information flow of Tour de France news is great.

The difference on Twitter between the Tour de France and other sports, I believe, is that as a once-a-year event, there’s too much on Twitter that’s simply play-by-play. Following followers of the Tour de France is often the modern day version of a phonograph stuck in a groove.

Knowing Peter Sagan won a stage is great, knowing it 20 times, isn’t interesting. Sometimes it seems those tweeting from the event or watching a live broadcast think they’re the only one telling the Twitter Nation that Peter Sagan won again.

The NBC Sports Network is broadcasting an unprecedented amount of Tour de France programming, the live content of which is again highlighted by the much-appreciated tandem of Phil Liggett and Paul Sherwen.

Like any longstanding broadcasting team, Liggett and Sherwen have detractors. But Liggett, now attending his 40th Tour de France, and Sherwen, who’s been at it a quarter century, are still terrific.

Does Liggett misidentify riders? Yes. Does Sherwen repeat his “go-to” phrases a lot? Yes. But the two broadcasters know each other so well and work together so well, their near limitless knowledge of cycling overshadow the mistakes and repetition.

Sherwen corrects Liggett gently; Liggett gives Sherwen plenty of time to reminisce about his time in the pro peloton, his friendships with team directors and his knowledge of French history. The marriage just works.

The evening broadcast of the race, a condensed rebroadcast of the day’s already concluded stage, isn’t as smooth. Bob Roll, the former pro, is unique. He knows the sport, provides insight and is also refreshing because he’s the antithesis of every pretty boy, slick-haired broadcaster type.

What doesn’t work as well is NBC’s three-broadcaster approach. Scott Moninger, the now-retired long-time rider, is the newcomer and it shows.

If Bob Roll makes a comment about team strategy, for example, Moninger often adds the same information. It’s not that Moninger isn’t trying, but with his quiet persona, Moninger hasn’t figuratively or literally found his voice and where and how it fits best. Wouldn’t another broadcast tandem work better for the network than having three broadcasters working hard just to find a way to share the airtime?

Like the event itself, the NBC broadcast team gets a rest from live stage reporting and quick stage analysis until Wednesday. Sherwen and Liggett still seem eternally fresh, but the night crew needs the time to recoup and re-evaluate its tactics.

Note: To watch live Tour de France video online, you can sign up for the $29.99 package for the entire race, or $4.99 per stage. Plus, you need to sign up for a Map My Ride account.

Filed Under: Cycling, iPhone, NBC Sports, Tour de France Tagged With: , , , , ,

Timeout Tuesday: X Games Video Clips Overload

July 10, 2012 by

If you missed the Summer X Games a week or so ago, don’t fret. Of course it was all captured on video, and thanks to the wonder of YouTube we have a few clips to share with you. I can’t claim to know what the individual events really are (though it’s pretty easy to figure out something called “moto x freestyle”) but you don’t really need to know… just watch.

First up, Taka Higashino’s winning run in Moto X Freestyle:

Then from the folks at GoPro the “day 1 highlights” which are mainly cool for the point-of-view shots:

Not everything lands smoothly at the X Games. Here Toomas Heikkinen doesn’t get enough lift during RallyCross racing practice:

But then when tricks work… if you ever had these cars as a kid, like I did… you know it doesn’t always work. But you gotta love a real-world version of the Hot Wheels double-loop dare:

First, the live shot in real time:

Then, the edited version with in-car cams:

And… I know this isn’t from this year’s X Games but… Shaun White is one crazy skilled dude. Whatever that move is at :56 in… I don’t know its technical description, but… DAMN

(clips courtesy of X Games, ESPN and YouTube. Thanks!)

Filed Under: ESPN, GoPro, Outdoor Activities, Skateboarding, X Games, YouTube Tagged With: , , , , ,
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