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.

Jordyn Barratt, Skateboarder, US Olympic Hopeful

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Rick talks to skateboarder, Jordyn Barratt about the Tokyo Olympics, and how she is training under new restrictions, staying focused and staying sharp! She has a great sponsor along for the ride in Clif Bar.

The 2020 Olympics was set to be the first games to include skateboarding and where 21-year-old Barratt was ready to fulfill a lifelong dream. She competed in her first professional competition in 2017 and was the first woman to compete in the extreme sports circuit. But while disappointed about the delay of the games due to the pandemic Jordyn, like other Americans is taking this time to improve her energy and focus on the 2021 games.

According to a new survey, 89% of Americans say it has been hard to focus this year. With the extra stress, close to half (47%) of Americans report having less energy than usual in the past few months. Because of the events in 2020, 64% of Americans say they will be taking new or greater action in their own mental and physical health. Clif can help you stay on course and stay focused.

Jordyn discusses how she is training for the 2021 Olympics, the addition of skateboarding to the games, provide inspiration tips to young women skateboarders, and share how she keeps her energy and focus during this unprecedented time.

Matt Hassett, CEO and Founder of Loftie

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Rick has an interesting talk with Matt Hassett, CEO and founder of Loftie, this week. Matt and his team are releasing the Loftie Alarm Clock.

Yes, an alarm clock is still relevant in this age of smartphones and tablets.

Matt is the founder and CEO of Loftie, a New York based company dedicated to creating better tech-life balance for people everywhere. Matt began working on the project that eventually became Loftie at the design firm IDEO where he was an Entrepreneur in Residence. Before founding Loftie, Matt worked in communications, policy, and program design at the Center for NYC Neighborhoods, Morgan Stanley’s Global Sustainable Finance group, and the City of New York. Matt is a graduate of Brown University and the Harvard Kennedy School.

Loftie is a recently launched wellness company that has revolutionized the outdated alarm clock and created a sleep/wake system based on science that decreases screen time, giving you a healthier tech life balance and ultimately overall improved mental health. The founding team at Loftie are leading a movement to take back the bedroom with a smart device that doesn’t depend on a smartphone.

The Loftie Alarm Clock

Unlike other alarm clocks or sleep devices, Loftie doesn’t need a smartphone to operate so it won’t connect to email, apps or social media, therefore removing the anxiety those apps bring along. That’s one step in the tech life balance, but Loftie offers so much more. Matt and his team have gone through rounds of IDEO method testing gathering information on people’s nighttime routine and sleep habits. Based on their findings they were able to determine what is missing in other alarm clocks and build Loftie to match customer desires. Features like a dimmable display, nightlight, two-phase alarm, and custom content playable right on the device, including guided meditations, sound baths, breathwork exercises, sleep playlists, plus a variety of relaxing sounds, all of which are built into the Loftie Alarm Clock.

See more at: https://byloftie.com

 

Chris Madden, Co-Founder of Matchnode

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Rick talks with Chris Madden of Matchnode this week on “Tech of Sports.”

Sports and paid social media go together like peanut butter and jelly.

But it’s a tricky mix.

Matchnode is a digital marketing agency that specializes in paid social advertising. Through his agency Chris has worked on digital ad campaigns for Chicago sports franchises like the Bulls and Blackhawks, helping drive their digital strategy and increase ticket and merchandise sales.

Chris is always a wealth of insight on all things social media marketing, but throughout his recent marketing work for the Bulls he’s become a true force of knowledge on the future of digital strategy in sports (and he’s set on paving the new digital way forward for pro sports franchises.)

Chris has appeared on shows like Business Innovators Radio and Hollywood Branded where he voiced his expertise on social media ad campaigns and improving digital strategy. He’s a personable guy a big sports fan and gives his take on the current situation in sports during a pandemic.

Madden is Co-Founder of Matchnode, which specializes in paid social to drive revenue for brands via strategy, traffic, and optimization. Clients include the Chicago Bulls, Chicago Blackhawks, Indiana University, and LendingTree. A seasoned entrepreneur and sales executive with a deep knowledge of digital marketing as it relates to sports.

Great to talk with Chris and hope to catch up with him soon.

 

Taylor Blotske, US Navy Officer Candidate Live from Officer Training School

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Intriguing this week as Rick talks with US Navy Officer Candidate, Taylor Blotske, from Officer Training School in Newport, Rhode Island. Taylor is in the middle of this 13-week training school. He and Rick talk about what training school is like, where he wants to be in 5 years and some of the tech he uses.

Blotske, a Stockbridge, GA native and 2015 graduate of Woodland High School is hoping to launch off the flight deck of an aircraft carrier as a Naval Aviator. A true American patriot, Blotske joined the Navy for three short and simple reason, “to join an amazing community, see the world and serve my country.”

Officer Candidate School, located in Newport, Rhode Island is a grueling 13 week long program that will put Blotske and her classmates to the test morally, mentally, and physically. If she passes and graduates with his class at the end of September, she’ll be commissioned as an Ensign and join the ranks of our Navy’s leadership.

Young men and women like this Officer Candidate deserve to be recognized in their community for the service and sacrifice they are providing to our Navy and our Nation.

Noah Syken, IBM on New Technology at the 2020 US Open

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Rick is joined by Noah Syken of IBM this week on iHeartRadio to talk about what IBM is doing at the 2020 US Open.

We all know the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted every aspect of daily life, and sports for both fans and players have not been spared. As we adjust to a new reality, some sports are finding ways to slowly return under new rules and circumstances. At the same time, fans are looking for ways to engage with their favorite leagues, tournaments, teams and players. In fact, a recent IBM survey on sports and technology showed that nearly half of sports fans said having an interactive digital experience has become more important to them since the COVID-19 outbreak, highlighting the importance of creating new technology for fans.

Listen to Rick and Noah as they talk technology, tennis and more…

Here is some of what is going on:

Open Questions with Watson Discovery: To give fans a way to engage remotely in iconic sports rivalries, IBM will facilitate debates among fans on USOpen.org. Starting with questions like who is the best player of all time, who is the top US Open Champion and more, IBM will use Watson’s natural language processing (NLP) capabilities to scour millions of online sources and then, using IBM Research technology, it will deliver a debate-like pro/con argument. Fans will also be able to share their opinions on the questions, adding to the debate.

USOpen.org Match Insights presented by IBM: Match Insights with Watson Discovery is an AI-powered “cheat sheet” available to fans for every match. Match Insights uses NLP technology to search for and understand millions of articles, blogs, statistics and more. It pulls key insights from that mountain of data and converts it into a brief narrative form, enabling every fan to get insights from information ahead of matches.

Crowd Sounds: When faced with the prospect of no fans in attendance, the USTA, ESPN and IBM embarked on a collaborative journey to bring authentic crowd sounds into the presentation of matches. IBM leveraged its AI Highlights technology to recreate crowd sounds gleaned from hundreds of hours of video footage captured during previous US Opens. AI Highlights uses Watson technology to digest match footage and rank the excitement level of each point to create highlights in near-real time and classify specific crowd reactions. That insight has been reimagined to deliver real crowd sounds to the stadium and broadcast producers’ arsenals.

Todd Zeile, Former Major Leaguer, Executive at Game Developer, Bit Fry

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16-year MLB player, Todd Zeile, is part of the indie game developer, Bit Fry, based in New Hampshire. They are the first company to ever create a new, officially licensed sports gaming franchise that features star athletes from all the major sports leagues. Rick talks to Todd on this episode of “Tech of Sports”.

You might have thought a huge developer (such as an EA) would have been the first to do this, but it is Bit Fry. The first game in the franchise is called Ultimate Rivals: The Rink and it has launched on Apple Arcade. Bit Fry is also growing in preparation for the next titles in the Ultimate Rivals franchise. Last week, Bit Fry announced a new license with the NFL Players Association (NFLPA) for a new football video game.

Zeile says they are filling an “open space” in the sports gaming world.

The company has secured groundbreaking licensing agreements with nine major professional sports organizations, including the NHL, NHL Players’ Association (NHLPA), NBA, National Basketball Players Association (NBPA), MLB, MLB Players Association (MLBPA), NFLPA, Women’s National Basketball Players Association (WNBPA), USWNTPA, as well as Wayne Gretzky.

In Ultimate Rivals: The Rink, different combos of heroes unlock unique ways to play and win against the AI or other gamers in online multiplayer matches. Some of the 58 athletes include LeBron James, Mike Trout, Alex Ovechkin, Alex Morgan, Clayton Kershaw, Mookie Betts, James Harden, Zion Williamson, JJ Watt and Wayne Gretzky. The game is addictive and spans sports with athletes everyone knows.

Have a listen to Rick and Todd and see what Bit Fry is working on.