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.
Rick is joined this week by Catherine Rotman, the marketing and golf director at the Inlet Sports Lodge in Murrells Inlet, South Carolina.
Located in the heart of Murrells Inlet, The Inlet Sports Lodge is a boutique hotel catering to golf lovers, fishing, boating and outdoor enthusiasts, or anyone simply looking to relax. Just 1 mile north at the Murrells Inlet Marshwalk and Marina, enjoy a variety of award winning fresh Lowcountry dining and a variety of watersports. Minutes away from many of the area’s most recognized golf courses – including our very own affiliated courses – Caledonia Golf and Fish Club and True Blue Plantation and all the courses of the Waccamaw Golf Trail, plus dozens of boutique shops, beaches and historical area attractions.
If you are into sports and heading to the South Carolina coast, there is no better place to base your travels than the Inlet Sports Lodge. Catherine gives us a in depth view… Thanks to Catherine for coming on and in my opinion, the Inlet Sports Lodge is the only choice to stay when in the Myrtle Beach, Murrells Inlet, Pawley’s Island area.
It is according to Rick’s guest this week, Brent Huigens, CEO of PWCC. Since 1998, PWCC has provided buyers and sellers of investment-caliber trading cards with an efficient, honest, and predictable marketplace. And we’re just getting started. Trading cards are an emerging real asset class poised for growth as the market better recognizes the inherent supply/demand mismatch inherent to the industry. Compared to traditional brick-and-mortar auction environments, PWCC offers buyers and sellers a superior marketplace, principled in reduced transaction costs, faster turn- times, increased liquidity, and greater transparency. This isn’t just a hobby. It’s an investment.
Does your dad really need another tie? This Father’s Day, what if you could get your father a gift that not only represents a timeless slice of Americana art but also one that has above-average investment returns?
Sports trading cards are giving other asset classes a run for their money as alternative investments. Recently, there have been headlines of high-end cards selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars, but you can buy historic cards from well-known players that will provide a nice return on investment for a few hundred dollars.
PWCC Marketplace is the largest seller of investment-caliber trading cards with thousands of available cards on auction. A great show this week as Rick is speaking with PWCC’s CEO, Brent Huigens, to talk about great card options for Father’s Day and the hobby/industry in general.
PWCC auctions hundreds of new cards every month from all different types of sports and genres. Have a listen to Rick and Brent and see their site at www.pwccmarketplace.com.
Rick is joined by Jason Rose, founder of the Scottsdale Beat the Heat 10/5 K Race – The Hottest Race on Earth
After a five year hiatus, the hottest race on earth, Scottsdale’s Beat the Heat is returning to WestWorld of Scottsdale as part of the new Scottsdale Fahrenheit Festival: Arms, Legs and Kegs event on June 16th. Runners will traverse a combination of hard-packed dirt, asphalt, off-road and concrete paths, polo field and grass. Runners will end inside the air conditioning in the North Hall of the Barrett-Jackson Collector Car Auction site. A true test for runners in the 100 degree+ heat of Arizona.
Jason talks about the origin of the race, what’s new this time around and the true endurance test that it is for competitors.
The race is taking place proximate to the hottest day ever recorded in the Phoenix metro area (June 26, 1990), with total prize money of over $8,000.
The amounts for the Scottsdale Beat the Heat are also steeped in symbolism. It will be available for the Top 5 finishers in the 10.22 kilometer for both male and female categories, as follows:
First Place: $1990: To celebrate the year of the hottest day ever recorded in the Phoenix metropolitan area.
Second Place: $1022: In honor of the distance of the race to beat the heat.
Third Place: $626: In recognition of the hottest day recorded in Phoenix.
Fourth Place: $247: The time when it hit the record heat and when runners launch.
Fifth Place: $122: The highest temperature ever recorded in Phoenix.
The entry fee for the 10.22 kilometer is $62.60 per person and includes a souvenir t-shirt and commemorative medal. The entry fee for the shorter 5K distance is 51.00 and also includes a souvenir t-shirt and medal.
To register for Beat the Heat and to read more details on the race, visit http://scottsdalefahrenheitfestival.com/scottsdale-beat-the-heat/.
About:
Streets of Scottsdale
Scottsdale, AZ
June 16, 2018
NASCAR’s Jeffrey Earnhardt is partnering with veteran-owned Nine Line Apparel to raise money for Angels of America’s Fallen which provides services for the children of soldiers who died in war or committed suicide as a result of PTSD. The NASCAR star who is the grandson of Hall of Famer, Dale Earnhardt, and Nine Line CEO Army (ret.) CPT Tyler Merritt will present a check to the organization Memorial Day Weekend at one of NASCAR’s premier events – the Coca Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Earnhardt has 63 career Cup starts with his best result coming in the 2018 Daytona 500 where he finished 21st. The car will carry sponsorship from the Black Rifle Coffee Company and Nine Line Apparel. Additionally, in the spirit of Memorial Day Weekend, the names of 617 men and women who lost their lives in service to the USA will adorn the hood of the race car.
Through this initiative, Nine Line is selling “Remember the Fallen” t-shirts, the proceeds of which will be donated to the organization. With every t-shirt sold, donors will be given the opportunity to submit the name of a fallen hero. All of those names will be emblazoned on the hood of Jeffrey’s car during Coca Cola 600.
Rick is joined by both Jeffrey Earnhardt and Tyler Merritt for this patriotic and spirited conversation. We wish Jeffrey well in the Coca-Cola 600 this weekend and continued success for Nine Line.
Nine Line first came into contact with Angels of America’s Fallen after the company lost one of its own employees, an Army veteran, to the 22 a day veteran suicide epidemic. In lieu of flowers, his widow requested donations be made to the nonprofit organization, whose goal is to support the children of those lost due to military service – whether in combat as a result of injuries, or suicide related to PTSD.
“This is the first step in an exciting new partnership with Jeffrey’s team,” said CPT Merritt. “Our goal is to support an incredible nonprofit organization that honors the memory of those who have made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our nation. By partnering on this initiative, we’re joining forces so that we can raise as much funds and awareness as possible.”
Rick is joined in this episode by Glenn Johnson, the Carolina Hurricanes’ vice president of information technology, and Kevin Wittnebert, Extreme Networks associate director of sports and entertainment to talk about what fans want in arenas and stadiums- fast Wi-fi.
Today’s consumers expect to be able to text, post to Instagram, send a Snapchat, stream a video, check their sports apps and browse the internet without any delay or lag.
So what happens when an arena that can hold up to 20,000 people lacks a speedy network for attendees to connect to? The IT team at PNC Arena – home to the Carolina Hurricanes and NC State’s men’s basketball team – asked themselves this exact question when they started receiving poor feedback on the arena’s Wi-Fi experience. As the go-to venue for more than 150 annual events, and challenged with an IT team of only four people with 770,000 square feet to cover, they looked to Extreme Networks to partner and deploy its end-to-end Wi-Fi solution.
Together, the Carolina Hurricanes and Extreme Networks overhauled the Wi-Fi network ahead of the 2017 season. As a result of the deployment, the venue has seen a significant uptick in fan usage of the Wi-Fi network – posting to social, streaming videos and interacting with team centric content – in the 2017 season. Here are a few highlights:
Average unique Wi-Fi users grew from 18% in 2016 to 29% in 2017 to 35% so far in 2018.
Concurrent Wi-Fi users on the network grew from 22% in 2016 to 28% in 2017 to 30% so far in 2018.
Peak data transferred in 2016 averaged 587 GBs. That number grew to over 2 TB of data in 2017.
Have a listen as Rick talks with Glenn and Kevin about the latest in “fan experience.”
The big talk this week in legalizing gambling what a literal game changer it is for the sports industry. What this means is that not only legalized gambling will become a reality, it will change the operation and include new revenue streams for teams and leagues and will also increase the value of those teams.”
Rick is joined on this episode by Dave Torromeo, who has served as the head of the Sport Business Management Program at Manhattanville College since its inception in July 2006.
He has over 28 years of experience in sports business, including serving as VP of the National Football Foundation & College Hall of Fame, (NFF), 15 years in collegiate athletics and as an industry consultant. He has worked in nearly every capacity of the sports world, from a minor league team, to a D-I athletic program and the Football Foundation. He is also a consultant to the sports industry and the founder of Future Sports Business Executives (www.fsbe.org).
As the architect of the graduate sport business management program, he assembled the entire curriculum, hired all adjunct professors from the sport business field and installed a top-notch advisory board with senior executives from the sports industry. He devised and implemented a graduate level internship program, brought in outstanding guest speakers including senior executives from the sports world, provided on site field study at major sports venues and created a solid mission.
At the NFF he played a crucial role in awarding Jackie Robinson the Gold Medal Award, the highest honor that Foundation bestows. He was instrumental in spearheading the program that allowed athletes from colleges other than major college football entrance into the College Football Hall of Fame (players from Divisions I-AA, II, III and the NAIA) and was a catalyst behind the Foundation’s “PLAY IT SMART” program; an educational program that works to turn football teams from inner city environments into learning teams, while overseeing the scholar athlete program (and a 10M endowment) that honored players from all levels and included people such as Heisman Trophy winner Danny Wuerffel, Tiki Barber, Josh Bloom, Peyton Manning and many others.
Before joining the NFF, Torromeo served as a Sports Information Director (SID) and Assistant Athletic Director for Communications, Marketing, Promotions and Fund Raising for over 10 years including six at Iona College where he also received a Master’s Degree. He earned his undergraduate degree(s) from the University of Rhode Island and lives in New Canaan, CT with his wife Laurie and their two children, Stephanie a Junior at Colgate University and Jarrett a Senior at New Canaan High School.
(He is a lifelong New York Mets, Jets, Knicks and Islanders fan–but don’t hold that against him–it just proves he is loyal!)
Dave talks with Rick about the Supreme Court decision, who the decision will impact and the ever-changing world of sports.
