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.

Jason Rose, Founder of Scottsdale Beat the Heat 10/5K Race aka The Hottest Race on Earth

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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 and Nine Line Apparel CEO, Army Ret. CPT Tyler Merritt

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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.”

Car scheme

Glenn Johnson of the Carolina Hurricanes and Kevin Wittnebert of Extreme Networks Talking Arena Wi-Fi

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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.”

PNC Arena

Dave Torromeo from the Sport Business Management Program at Manhattanville College on Sports Gambling

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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.

Dave Torromeo

Chris Caso, Personal Trainer on Getting Ready for a 10K

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Rick is joined by personal trainer, Chris Caso, this week on Tech of Sports. Caso, a certified personal trainer at OneLife Fitness Atlanta is here to provide a wealth of valuable tips for those who are training for Peachtree (or any other race, for that matter).

Chris is here to help and talks with Rick about:

How does one start training for a 10k?
What is the first thing you should do when you go out for a run?
What are some tips for someone to stay healthy over the next 12 weeks leading up to Peachtree?
What are some exercises that can be added to a workout routine to make someone a better runner?

Tens of thousands of Georgians are scrambling to get in shape for the biggest 10k in the United States, many will be doing so without a plan, which could lead to discouragement, or worse, injury.

About Chris Caso:

NSCA-CSCS certified strength and conditioning coach

USA Weightlifting Level Sports Performance Coach

West Virginia Undergrad- Track scholarship

Masters in Sports Health Science from Life University

Strength Coach jobs at Georgia State U. Football. Rugby and track Strength Coach at Life U.

Personal Trainerat OneLife Fitness-Crabapple.

Chris Caso

Mike Yagley, Director of Innovation, Research and Testing at Cobra PUMA Golf

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Rick is joined by a great guest this week, Mike Yagley, Director of Innovation, Research and Testing at Cobra PUMA Golf.

Cobra PUMA Golf makes some of the finest golf clubs in the world, but a new partnership with Arccos Golf has everyone paying attention to the unique technology one will find in the KING F8 line of irons.

Yagley talks about experiencing seamless COBRA CONNECT™ embedded sensor technology and automatic shot tracking Powered by Arccos®. The complete line of KING® F8 clubs pair with the Arccos 360® app for full bag shot tracking and the KING F8 Drivers pair with the Arccos Driver® app for driver shot tracking. Download the appropriate app from the Apple App Store or Google Play and get connected.

“Arccos is invested in building and refining the sensor technology, advanced analytics and artificial intelligence platforms that we’ve brought to consumers through Cobra Connect technology in the grip of our Cobra KING products. We believe the insights players gain about their games through this technology will make them smarter, better golfers,” said Mike Yagley, Sr. Director of Innovation / AI at Cobra Golf.

Rick is using the clubs and of course, enjoying all the data and shot tracking. have a listen to Rick and Mike talk about this unique technology and how it can help your golf game.

For more information, please visit: www.arccosgolf.com and www.cobragolf.com.

CobraConnect

Mike Yagley