You are here: Home / Archives for Major League Baseball

Wednesday Wi-Fi Whispers: DAS, but no Wi-Fi, for Niners at Candlestick

August 22, 2012 by

There’s already buzz building in Silicon Valley for the new Niners stadium being constructed in Santa Clara, as the team is already out front saying the facility will be an example of how to do stadium technology right.

Unfortunately for Niners fans, the next two home seasons will still be played in San Francisco’s Candlestick Park, which has historically been one of the worst places to try to get a cellular signal. Though a new Distributed Antenna System (DAS) deployment should help matters some this season, there is no stadium-wide Wi-Fi in the cards, a bit of a bummer since the team’s new game-day app features lots of video — which you need Wi-Fi to watch.

With an edict from the commish Roger Goodell to put Wi-Fi into every stadium, teams across the league are moving quickly to figure out how to get that done (see the second part of this post about Carolina’s new spiffy network). Caught in the middle of this deployment strategy is Candlestick, which has to be one of the worst geographic locations for wireless traffic. Not only is the stadium hidden by a small hill directly to the west (which can block signals from nearby cell towers), it is surrounded on its three other sides by the San Francisco Bay — in case you weren’t aware, wide open spaces of water also play havoc with wireless signals, and you don’t see too many antenna towers floating around.

The historically terrible cellular situation at Candlestick was brought even more to light by last year’s “blackout” game, a Monday night tilt against the Steelers that saw the stadium lose power not once but twice. Though we didn’t hear any reports of fan panic (no shaking) we did hear from a lot of folks about how nobody knew what was going on because nobody could get a cell signal to check Twitter.

To help alleivate the problem the Niners and the top three wireless carriers — Verizon Wireless, AT&T Mobility and Sprint Nextel — collaborated on the installment of a DAS system at Candlestick, essentially a bunch of small cellular antennas mounted inside the stadium to make it easier for fans to connect. Apparently there is also a day-of-game Wi-Fi network in service at Niners games, though we haven’t been able to find any press material telling us where the service can be accessed. While we wait for the Niners’ reps to get back to us we will take a wild guess and post that it is a parking-lot or concession-area only network, and not something you can use at your seat.

So, Niners fans — even though there is a spiffy new game-day app, you probably aren’t going to get much use out of the video component at Candlestick. And since it doesn’t make sense to drop a few million bucks on a Wi-Fi network that will only be used less than a couple dozen times before the team moves south, unless the Niners can figure out how to bring in a portable Wi-Fi network the Candlestick fans are probably stuck with the DAS deployment as their best connection. Though DAS deployments are better than nothing, they simply don’t have the bandwidth that a robust Wi-Fi network can bring to the table.

Carolina Gets Stadium-Wide Wi-Fi, Courtesy of AT&T

In stark contrast to the situation at Candlestick is the news from the Carolina Panthers, who will have a powerful new Wi-Fi network at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte this year, courtesy of Ma Bell.

You can read the press release and from it what jumps out at us is the 460 Wi-Fi access points, a huge number that should keep everyone there connected. According to the release the Wi-Fi access is free and easy for AT&T customers, with users of other carrier systems having to connect via a “simple login.” Anyone out there in Panther land sample the new network yet? If so give us some SpeedTest results in the comments.

NFL’s Mobile Device Stadium Strategy Slowly Coming into View

There is no official announcement we have seen but if you peruse any NFL team web page you will see a bunch of little widgets popping up saying things like “Watch 49ers games online” with a link to the new preseason and rewind tablet apps that Greg Quick wrote about last week. There are also several teams, like the Niners, who apparently have some kind of GameDay Live-branded app — if this reminds you at all of MLB.com and its AtBat app strategy, it’s not a coincidence. You don’t need a press release to see what is happening, albeit a bit slowly — the NFL, like baseball, is moving to a single app for live mobile-device action, and it will cost you a bunch of extra dollars to watch it.

I think the fly in the ointment right now is the NFL’s current exclusive deal with Verizon for the NFL Mobile app, but I think that contract is up soon and I would be surprised if the NFL renews it. More likely we will see an MLB.com strategy emerge, where you purchase mobile-device access on a monthly or season-long basis. For the current year the NFL will take baby steps as it tries to help teams get networks put into stadiums. But I bet by next year there is a cohesive digital device content strategy that will cost fans a few more bucks. Might be worth it though, to get other games and RedZone while you are tailgating or waiting through halftime.

Filed Under: 4G LTE, Apps, AT&T, DAS, iPad, iPhone, Live sports via mobile, Live Sports Video Consumption, Major League Baseball, NFL, NFL Mobile, Sprint, Verizon Wireless, Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Video Streaming Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Sports Illustrated and Instagram team up on NFL Preseason Camp Photos

August 21, 2012 by

Peter King interviews Andrew Luck

Ever wonder what a preseason NFL camp looks like? There are always plenty of reports on the players but if a photographer accompanies a reporter there may be two photos, at most, to accompany the article.

Now Sports Illustrated has taken a step in providing a better image for fans by promoting images, 20 in all, along with columnist Peter King’s report from the camps in the Aug. 20 issue according to a piece in Mashable.

The interesting thing about the idea is its origin. The magazine noticed all of the great shots that reporters down at the camps were posting to their personal pages, and apparently the little light bulb went off at corporate headquarters.

I am surprised that this type of idea has not occurred earlier, I imagine that professional photographers must take hundreds of photos at camps and very few ever see the light of day in SI or anywhere else. Instagram is an image viewing venue that is increasingly well known and so a n

atural place to display this type of work.

NFL fans are avid for news about their teams including individual players, and a host of photos on them would be a magnet to many fans, increasing traffic to the web site as well as sating fans needs.

Sports Illustrated’s official Instagram page is a great place to stop, particularly if you are an older sports fans. It has a number of new images from the camps as well as baseball and other current sporting events. But it also runs some of its iconic older covers and older articles.

MLB has had something Instagram going for its teams and you can visit sites that have team supplied photos and while not all of the teams are on-board the program, the plan is to have them do so in the near future.

Athletes themselves have realized the power of the platform as well with a shining example of the use of both Instagram and other social media coming from the recent Summer Olympics. Kevin Love gave a great insider’s view of the US basketball team. Hopefully this is just the start and we see this as a standard operating procedure for all teams and many athletes.

zp8497586rq
Filed Under: Athlete to Follow, Facebook, Instagram, Major League Baseball, NFL, Olympics, Peter King, Sports Illustrated Tagged With: , , ,

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.

zp8497586rq
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: , , , , , ,

SF Giants Catcher Buster Posey Launches Own Mobile Game

August 7, 2012 by

Buster Bash

The Giants’ catcher Buster Posey has just entered the company of a rarified few, an athlete still in their prime who gets a video game with his name plastered all across the cover, as he has with the Buster Bash app available at Apple’s App store.

Now the game does not have the elegance or complexity of EA’s Madden 13, but then a game that is designed to play on Apple’s iOS devices such as the iPhone and iPad cannot really support that type of subtle game playing. Instead think of the more mainstream, easy to play and hopefully addictive games that populate the top 10 lists or games in the iOS market, or even in the Android space as well.

The game also does not have sophisticated animation but rather a very cartoon approach, but it is also simple and fun to play. Its basic premise is to follow Buster’s rise from a kid playing in his backyard in Leesburg, Ga. to his current position with the Giants in MLB.

As you play you can earn sunflower seeds that can be used to buy equipment and power-ups as you move from his early wiffle ball and tennis ball hitting days to where he faces major league pitching. In all there are five levels of play and participants swipe the screen as they attempt to hit the ball out of the park.

An interesting aspect of the game is that it will be primarily promoted via social media, according to a piece in Mashable. Info on the app has already been posted on Posey’s Facebook page, which has 325,000 followers and on Twitter, where he is followed by 50,000. Then the apps have their own Twitter and Facebook pages as well and will alert fans to upgrades and rewards that can be earned playing the game.

The free app seems to be hitting it off with his fans, which have already given it a 4 ½ star rating on iTunes, where it has only been available since Monday. I expect this is just the start of a trend in this area as popular athletes in baseball and elsewhere will likely see this as an extension of promoting themselves, and I can see a few of the attempts as being rather funny. How about a T.O. app?

Filed Under: Apple, Apps, Athlete to Follow, Baseball, Buster Posey, Contests, iOS, iPhone, Major League Baseball, San Francisco Giants Tagged With: , ,

PlayerLync expands its iPad playbooks to College

August 7, 2012 by

PlayerLync, a app developer that has captured five National Football League teams as customers for its electronic playbook app that runs on Apple’s iPad has now made the leap to college football with Stanford University using the technology for its players.

The school announced that it has ditched traditional paper notebook playbooks, which can often run to 500 pages and need to be reprinted on a weekly basis, in favor of PlayerLync’s tablet-based offering.

The move to iPad appears to bring significant advantages to the school. Aside from eliminating the need to print out new playbooks to match each opponent, the platform allows coaches a great deal of flexibility in customizing the playbooks for individual players as well as team units.

The technology permits coaches to prioritize plays and keep them at the front of the playbook so that players understand the importance of the selected plays. Other areas of customization include by opponent, situation, role and player, both home and opponent.

Overall the technology can show plays, formations, route trees and can display them in a chalkboard or audio/video mode, with the ability to toggle back and forth between the two modes.

Aside from the playbook aspect of the technology it also brings a range of other features into a unified, networked solution as well. It features a calendar that can be customized by an individual and shared throughout an organization.

The NFL has been moving ahead with using tablet-based playbooks, with at least nine teams having announced that they will be using them in the upcoming season. PlayeLync is the developer for 5 of these teams while a number of MLB teams are also starting to use tablets in a variety of areas including for scouting purposes.

The opening up of the college ranks presents a great new market for the company, as the number of Division A schools alone dwarfs the opportunity that the NFL presents. Once in a school it seems likely that the technology will find its way to others ports such as basketball, so PlayerLync has opened a huge new market for its products.

Filed Under: Apple, iOS, iPad, Major League Baseball, NBC Sports, NCAA Football, NFL, PlayerLync Tagged With: , , ,
« Previous Page
Next Page »