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.
According to Markets N Research, youth sports is an estimated $38 billion industry that is expected to grow to $69 billion in 2030.
Satish Kumar is the Professional Sports Industry Leader at Orion Innovation, a leading digital transformation and products development firm. He and his team work with global sports teams and leagues to help them oversee an athlete’s journey from inception to a professional career. Orion is the Digital Transformation Partner for Liverpool Football Club.
He joins Rick to discuss the growing youth sports industry and how technology is helping to track, organize, and manage the different global leagues and clubs for young participants.
The Pennysleever is a family business, founded by hobbyists, who believe that collectors would rather spend their money on their collection than their supplies. The motto says, we strive to offer top quality supplies at fair prices.
Rick talks with Isaac Alpert of The Pennysleever this week.
Whether you collect vintage or modern, rip wax or buy singles, we want to provide the products that keep your collection safe and looking great.
It’s now more important than ever for collectors to protect their collection.
Team Pennysleever is getting out into the world more, setting up at card shows around New York and New England. It has been a real thrill meeting Sleeveheads (yes, I am going to try and make that a thing) face to face! We’ve had a lot of really interesting conversations with collectors, and heard about what supplies you are looking for. We are taking notes, and expect some exciting announcements in the not-too-distant future.
Rene and Casey Nezhoda have been married for 16 years and are the owners of a 7,000 square foot shop called Bargain Hunters Thrift Store in San Diego, California.
One of the first things people notice about Rene is his accent, but the second is his buying prowess. With a big bankroll and an extensive knowledge of secondhand sales, Rene is a veteran buyer who doesn’t back down for anyone. Rene’s been buying and selling storage units since the age of 11 but when he’s not at the storage lockers, Rene loves to play poker and collect.
With hundreds of episodes of “Storage Wars” in the can, is Nezhoda an actor, reality show star or a TV villain?
“I’m a collector,” laughed Nezhoda before he took the stage at the Ebay booth to conduct what he now does most of his days, a card break. “I’ve been collecting for 30 years and I’m really getting out there now with getting on sites like Ebay.”
Rick talks with Ken Goldin on ‘Tech of Sports’ this week.
Ken Goldin, TV personality?
Goldin may be the founder and CEO of Goldin Auctions, a leading marketplace for trading cards, collectibles and memorabilia, but he is reaching a new generation of people with the hit Netflix reality TV series, “King of Collectibles: The Goldin Touch”.
He was a popular guy on the floor of The National and thankful for the success of the show.
“I love Netflix and I loved doing the show. I like that it has touched so many people. They told me it would be a small niche show, so I never would’ve thought it would reach millions of people around the world, different languages and I enjoyed doing it.”
Goldin is one of the most recognized figures in the collectibles industry and over the course of his career has sold more than $1.3 billion in memorabilia from many of the biggest names in sports, history, and pop culture. Goldin routinely sets records for the most expensive trading cards and other memorabilia passing through his auctions.
Rick is joined for what is turning out to be an annual chat on the state of sports collecting and more from The National Sports Collectors Convention. This year it’s in Cleveland and it’s always a busy show, but how is Cleveland doing as a host? Great to be joined by “Baseball Collector,” Mike Moynihan.
Mike has opinions and is a straight shooter. He’s my go to guy when it comes to issues and topics in sports collecting. He’s also always willing to help new collectors and answer questions based on his experiences. He’s an avid collector and and a fun watch on Youtube.
Rick is joined this week by Todd Harple, the Olympics AI Innovation Program Lead at Intel.
Intel is leading innovation at the Paris Games.
In his role, he is working to enhance the way sporting events are produced and experienced through novel applications of AI. He has over 17 years of experience and has led product and research development efforts at the cutting-edge interface between people, technology and business, leading the establishment of services and experiences that shape how we use technology today–connecting the physical and digital worlds–on a global scale.
Topics they cover include:
Utilizing AI for athletic training & identifying potential athletes in rural or developing countries using an AI app to find the next big stars
There will also be an on-the-ground demo in Paris for fans to use the AI tech to see what Olympic sport they’d be best suited for and how they compare to Olympic athletes
Intel and the IOC partnered with Senegal (a country that has only won one medal) using this tool to uncover aspiring athletes across 5 villages in Senegal bringing together 1,000 children with 40 identified as having “significant talent”
Empowering those who are visually impaired, navigate event venues using lidar and AI camera vision
Providing all athletes with an AI-powered Chatbot, that can answer complex athlete queries like questions about the IOC’s doping policy (i.e. would cold medicine be illegal for me to take before the event?) and media rights usage.
