Category Archives: Tech of Sports

From the shoes we wear on our feet to the high definition televisions in our living room, wearable devices, the sports universe is a breeding ground for technology. Writer and Photographer Rick Limpert will examine this each week on The Tech of Sports – With guests which include athletes, inventors and journalists that cover the intersection of sports and technology.

Steve Grad, Autographs, Grad Collection and Pawn Stars

Tech of Sports, ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Beckett Principal Autograph authenticator Steve Grad is now bringing some of his own collection to market.

An autograph collector long before his job was to examine them, Grad has gained plenty of notoriety in recent years for his appearances on the hit show Pawn Stars.

Now, he’s excited to let some of it go to fellow collectors. He had much of it for sale at the National Sports Collectors Convention. Rick talks to Steve about that and more, including well over 100 appearances on the hit TV show, Pawn Stars.

Phil Dalhausser, AVP Beach Volleyball Pro, Four-time Olympian

Tech of Sports, ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick is joined by AVP beach volleyball pro, Phil Dalhausser this segment. The 6’9″ hitter is still going strong in 2023 on the AVP Tour.

He and his former playing partner, Todd Rogers, were the 2007 AVP Tour and FIVB world champions.

Dalhausser and Rogers dominated both the domestic US tour and now the FIVB international tour winning #1 team honors on both tours in 2010. Dalhausser and Rogers were Olympic gold medalists at the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics.

Dalhausser and Rogers failed to defend their gold medal at the London 2012 Summer Olympics. The pair was ousted in the round of 16 by the young Italian team of Paolo Nicolai and Daniele Lupo, losing in straight sets for the first time in their Olympic careers.

He paired up with Nick Lucena for the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, winning their debut match against Tunisia in straight sets.

At the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, Phil Dalhausser and Nick Lucena made it into the quarterfinals match where they played against Brazil’s top-ranked team of 6-foot-8 Alison “The Mammoth” Cerutti and Bruno Oscar Schmidt. There they were eliminated by a 2-1 (21-14, 12–21, 15-9) scoreline, by the hometown’s favorite team.

Dalhausser and Lucena made it again to the 2020 Olympics where they finished 9th after a 1-2 against Cherif/Ahmed from Qatar.

Mike Moynihan, Baseball Collector on YouTube

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick talks with “Baseball Collector” from YouTube.

Mike Moynihan, Baseball Collector on YouTube took in the lead in organizing the Unofficial Content Creators Night at the 43rd National in Chicago. The gathering was attended by men, women and kids, all looking to share ideas about their thoughts on YouTube and podcasting and just have a great night talking sports collecting and more.

Mike has a great YouTube channel where he keeps viewers updated on his collection and many projects he has ongoing. He and other content creators are doing a great service promoting the hobby and educating those that tune in multiple times a week.

Here’s a two-minute segment with Mike, Baseball Collector.

Zana Muno, AVP Pro Beach Volleyball Player

Tech of Sports, ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

The AVP comes to Atlanta, the first week in August and Rick is joined by AVP pro, Zana Muno this week.

Some notes on Zana:

She’s made an AVP semifinal five times with four different partners
Partners overall have included Kerri Walsh Jennings, Kelley Kolinske, Brandie Wilkerson, Crissy Jones, Toni Rodriguez, Allie Wheeler, Delaney Mewhirter, Sarah Schermerhorn, Savannah Simo, etc. All very different from her personality and style

First FIVB Title: 2021 in Leuven – Gold with Crissy Jones

NCAA: She competed in both indoor and beach volleyball at UCLA – winning back-to-back beach national titles

2016 FIVB U21 World Championships

Youth Olympic Games in 2014

She played soccer, track, softball, etc. in high school. Interest in fashion and swimsuits

We also talk about chicken ranching!

Morgan Wrublik, Illinois State Hammer Thrower and More

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Caught on with Morgan Wrublik at the NIL Summit in Atlanta back in June.

Morgan throws the hammer and shot put for the Illinois State Redbirds and is big on social media.

She competed in seven meets during the outdoor season where she finished third in the hammer throw with 48.35m (158′ 7″) at the 2023 EIU Big Blue…Set a personal-best in the hammer throw with 55.16m (181′ 0″) at the Wisconsin Classic and competed in the 2023 MVC Outdoor Track & Field Championship in the hammer throw and shot put.

2022-2023 INDOOR (Jr.) Competed in four meets during the indoor season where she finished third in the weight throw with 15.37m (50′ 5.25″) and finished third in the shot put with 12.68m (41′ 7.25″) at the John Couglan Invite. She set a personal-best in the weight throw with 16.27m (53′ 5.25″) while finishing fourth…Finished second at the 2023 EIU Friday Night Special in the shot put with 13.42m (44′ 0.5″)…

Morgan has aspirations of going to medical school to become a doctor…Member of NHS, 4.0 GPA Award Recipient, 4.5 GPA Award Recipient, four-year Honor Roll member, Illinois State Scholar and AP Scholar at Lemont HS

 

 

Kaimon Rucker, University of North Carolina Linebacker

Tech of Sports, , ,

Podcast: Play in new window | Download | Embed

Subscribe: Email | RSS

Rick is joined by a linebacker from the North Carolina Tar Heels Football Team, Kaimon Rucker.

They talk NIL, football and how he approaches life as a student athlete.

He appeared in 13 games and made 10 starts on the defensive line in 2023. Tied for second on the team with four sacks and tied third with 5.5 TFL. Had 31 total tackles, three hurries and one forced fumble. Had a single tackle and a half sack in season opener at Virginia Tech. Had a pair of stops and one TFL against Georgia State. Had a monster night against Virginia with five tackles, two sacks, two TFL and a forced fumble. Registered five stops and a half TFL at Georgia Tech. Made three tackles against Duke. Had three tackles against Florida State. He had a sack and two tackles at Notre Dame. Registered one tackle and one hurry against Wake Forest. Had three tackles, a half sack and a hurry at Pittsburgh. Made a pair of tackles against Wofford. Made three tackles in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl against South Carolina.

Position
Jack

Height
6-1.5

Weight
260

Class
Senior

Hometown
Hartwell, Ga.

High School
Hart County

Twitter
_kruck75_

Instagram
ruckthebutcher

TikTok
_krucker1_