Rick talks tennis… and pickleball with tennis legend, turned pickleball instructor, JoAnne Russell
JoAnne Russell is a former Major Doubles Champion (1977) and had an incredibly successful career in tennis before discovering pickleball.
With playing partner Helen Gourlay Cawley, she won the Wimbledon ladies’ doubles title in 1977. They beat the team of Chris Evert and Rosie Casals in the first round and the top-ranked team of Martina Navratilova and Betty Stöve in the final (6–3, 6–3). Russell reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 11.
As soon as she picked up a paddle, JoAnne fell in love with the sport as both a player and an instructor. Having risen through the ranks to the top tier of tennis, Russell understands what it takes to improve and works diligently with her students to share with them what it takes to be a champion. JoAnne currently resides in Naples, FL where she gives pickleball lessons full-time.
Joanne represents Selkirk when it comes to pickleball. A great time catching up with JoAnne.
Kiswe—the interactive video tech company, one of TIME’s most important inventions of 2021 and a Deloitte 500 top 20 company—has powered the world’s largest virtual concerts and events, including Josh Groban, BTS, Justin Bieber, Queen + Adam Lambert, Smosh, The Try Guys, The Rolling Stones and many others.
Kiswe also works with major sports teams and events including the NBA, PPV.COM, ESPN and most recently with the LA Clippers to bring alternative broadcasts to their fans via Clippervision, which allows for fans to watch the games in Korean, Spanish, or English.
Most recently, Kiswe has partnered with Times Square to bring the annual NYE festivities to people across the world. Viewers could upload reaction videos and selfies – allowing them to connect with each other all over the globe.
There is a lot going on here and much to discuss with Glenn. What a great discussion!
Veritone, creator of aiWARE, a hyper-expansive enterprise AI platform, partnered with former pro footballer Alan Smith will use AI voice to cover the most prestigious football tournament in the world. Opta Voice by Stats Perform, powered by award-winning aiWARE™ solution Veritone Voice, brings life to the sport stats and game details to fans around the world. Alan is currently a regular co-commentator and sometime studio pundit for Sky Sports for the Premier League coverage.
Rick talks about that and more with Veritone SVP, Sean King.
“Broadcasters and sports organizations can now leverage lifelike voice options in a wide range of languages for their stats reporting, reaching new fan bases around the globe, and providing better services to those who may not speak the host language, as well as those with visual impairments.”
Now, through AI voice, passionate fans can hear real-time game updates from the announcer on their phone or computer in their local language. Veritone Voice gives commentators the ability to enhance and personalize fan engagement and even bring their unique voice and cadence in multiple languages to a number of concurrent events.
“The ability to reach audiences around the world in their local language opens up a host of new opportunities for broadcasters and provides the best possible experience for the passionate fans,” shared Sport Commentator Alan Smith. “Providing one voice creates consistency for audiences and it’s a privilege that the selected voice will be the AI version of mine.”
A recent strategic partnership combines Veritone’s synthetic voice AI technology to provide voice commentary with Stats Perform’s Opta sports data, designed to provide real-time play-by-play, pre-game, in-game and post-game updates.
“We’re thrilled to already see the impact of our recent partnership with Veritone coming to life,” said Stats Perform Chief Revenue Officer Steve Xeller. “Broadcasters and sports organizations can now leverage lifelike voice options in a wide range of languages for their stats reporting, reaching new fan bases around the globe, and providing better services to those who may not speak the host language, as well as those with visual impairments.”
“We continue to expand our offerings and capabilities in sport and to help broadcasters and other organizations scale their reach and best engage their audiences,” said Veritone President Ryan Steelberg. “We’re excited to help Alan Smith reach fans around the world with his beloved sports commentary and insights.”
Veritone also recently launched SPORTX, a new intelligent marketplace for sports federations and content producers from around the globe to license short-form sports video directly to media buyers. Sports rights holders on board with SPORTX include ATP Media, Euroleague Basketball and Extreme E, with many others in advanced discussions. In addition, SPORTX plans to host content from SNTV, the world’s biggest sports news video outlet, which will include content from this year’s tournament in Qatar, including press conferences, stadium profiles, fan zones, game reviews and profiles of all 32 teams.
Rick talks with Makaela Bryant this week on “Tech of Sports.”
Makaela is up-and-coming in Hollywood, even landing multiple film roles during the pandemic. Following her acting debut in the hit show Manifest, she went on to grace high fashion magazine covers for Dolce Spain and Selin Magazine, alongside her growing film career.
At the moment, Bryant has several projects lined up for the coming year. One of her film credits will include Streaming Sarah, a film based on the best-selling novel of the same name by Joyce Kostakis about a medium who channels spirits to solve cases. Bryant will play the role of Cassidy Bishop, a major supporting character in the film. In addition to this impressive role, Bryant is humbled to be working with industry talents like director Michael Coulombe (American Horror Stories) and actor/producer Sebastien Large.
While she can easily be found on the big screen in full-length films, she is no stranger to TV. Breed, a soon-to-be action/drama series, will start screening in 2023, and The Devil Comes Dressed is set to film in 2023, in which she will play the reoccurring role of Mary Tuttle. Another impressive project Bryant is ready to shine in is an upcoming pilot entitled Beginning of the End written by James Joffrion, a well-known host of The Just Acting Up Show podcast. Lastly, be sure to look out for Circlings this year, during which you will get to see Bryant once more on the big screen. In all works, Bryant will aim to demonstrate her talent and range as an actress as she brings complex and interesting characters to life.
Bryant takes her craft seriously, and like all the greats, she takes classes and seminars to help her prepare for her roles. In addition to her emotional preparation, Bryant maintains her slim and trim figure by participating as a Bikini Athlete in the NPC/IFBB League in the amateur bikini sect. She is rigorously trained by Atinder Singh and TCEF, which is how she makes sure she’s always ready for the camera. Some are even beginning to call her “The Female Rock” due to her exceptional physique and ultimate talent on-screen.
Due to her dedication to her craft, her commitment to maintaining her appearance, and her excitement over film as an artform, Bryant is definitely poised for a long and successful career in Hollywood.
Rick is joined by wresting legend, Mickie James this week.
James is one of the most recognizable wrestlers in the world and a 10-time Women’s World Champion, Mickie James has been wrestling for more than two decades, including multiple title runs in WWE and IMPACT Wrestling. She has been wrestling since 1999 and has been a multi-time winner of the Woman Wrestler of the Year award. Away from the ring, James is a renowned country music singer, perhaps best known for her hit single “Hardcore Country.” She is an inductee into the Native American Music Awards Hall of Fame and is signed to Sony Music.
James is part of HARD TO KILL, one of IMPACT’s premier events of the year, every year – and the 2023 show is a blockbuster, on Friday, January 13. Then, on Saturday night, January 14, IMPACT Wrestling presents the Hard To Kill Fallout Show, also at Center Stage, as the company’s television trucks will capture all of the in-ring action for upcoming episodes of IMPACT’s flagship weekly TV show, #IMPACTonAXSTV (Thursday, 8 p.m. EST on AXS TV in the U.S., Fight Network in Canada and Impact Insiders on YouTube.
IMPACT Wrestling presents back-to-back nights of action-packed live pro wrestling in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday, January 13-14 – both nights originating from famed Center Stage in Atlanta.
(Some sound issues on Rick’s end… sorry for that!)
It’s CES week and that means the debut of 100’s of new products.
That includes iTOUCH Wearables– the leading US-based lifestyle tech brand known for producing innovative smartwatches, fitness trackers and fashion-forward tech accessories. They have a new product collaboration with World Renowned Health and Wellness Expert, Jillian Michaels that is being unveiled at CES.
The brand previously announced a multi-year partnership with Michaels in November sharing that they were working with the Wellness Expert to create a limited-edition collection of smartwatches and fitness trackers designed to streamline consumers’ professional, active and social lives while encouraging healthier habits in a user-friendly way. The brand recently announced that they have collaborated with Jillian on an exclusive line of smartwatches and fitness trackers.
She’s here to talk about that and more with Rick.
Michaels has dominated the health and wellness space in every realm of media –apps, podcasting, streaming, television, print, publishing, and social media with a collective community of over 100 million strong.
The Fitness App created by Jillian is the top-rated diet and exercise app for women, having won best-of awards from both Google and Apple. From her hit TV shows, live speaking engagements, eight New York Times bestselling books, and an award-winning podcast— Jillian continues to empower and produce results for millions around the world.
