From Hall of Fame athletes to up-and-coming startups to big tech giants, sports will once again be a focus at CES in Las Vegas next week. The growing intersection of sports and technology will be front-and-center at the annual tech show, where GeekWire will be covering all the action from Vegas. Last year at CES, we reported on several sports-tech topics. At Intel’s big keynote, the company spent nearly one hour talking about sports, bringing folks like Ironman World Champion Craig Alexander and ESPN president John Skipper on stage in front of thousands of attendees. Major League Baseball also had a presence, hosting a… Read More
There’s only one “Beast Mode” in Seattle. But Marshawn Lynch, the well-known former running back for the Seattle Seahawks, might have a little competition around the “Beast Mode” brand. Filings with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office indicate that Samsung — the giant South Korean electronics maker known for its Galaxy smartphone line — submitted a trademark application on December 16th for Beast Mode. It’s not entirely clear how Beast Mode would be activated on Samsung devices, or what it might do. But the trademark application indicates that it could be applied to “Smartphones; Mobile phones; Mobile phone with pre-installed… Read More
Calling all sports tech startups: The NFL wants to hear your ideas. The league is hosting 1st and Future, its annual Super Bowl startup competition, next month in Houston on Feb. 4, the day before Super Bowl LI. Accepted companies will be put into three categories — Communicating with the Athlete, Training the Athlete, and Materials to Protect the Athlete — and pitch their ideas to a group of judges that includes former NFL players, entrepreneurs, investors, and medical professionals. Winners from each category will receive $50,000, two tickets to the Super Bowl in Houston, and acceptance into TMCx, a startup accelerator housed… Read More
Ex-Microsoft CEO and current Los Angeles Clippers owner Steve Ballmer is nothing short of a fun interview, as he’s proven everywhere from late-night television to the stage at the GeekWire Sports Tech Summit. On Tuesday, the charismatic NBA boss stopped by Conan O’Brien’s show to talk about everything from Bill Gates to slam dunks to hot dog guns and more. Much of it was delivered with the volume and energy we’ve come to know and love. Does this add up? “I hope this stirs up animosity between the two of you,” O’Brien said as he asked Ballmer about beating his… Read More
The NFL season ends in early February, but that doesn’t mean the competition will stop. The league announced Friday that eight NFL teams will hold Madden NFL 17 video game competitions in their respective cities this February and March. Fans can start qualifying on Jan. 9 via online ladder tournaments to determine the top eight players that will compete in each city. The club tournaments will be played in front of live audiences and stream on NFL team websites and apps, along with the Madden NFL Twitch channel. Gamers will have a chance to win $10,000 in total prizes at each… Read More
