Paul Allen had many passions, ranging from technology to philanthropy to rock ‘n’ roll. But basketball and his beloved Trail Blazers were undoubtedly high on the list. “Nobody loved that team more than him,” former Blazers exec Chad Buchanan told The Oregonian this week. On Thursday night, as the Blazers kicked off their 2018-19 season, Rip City felt a little different. Paul’s seat pic.twitter.com/PYJGXgw8ib — Jason Quick (@jwquick) October 19, 2018 Allen passed away Monday at the age of 65, two weeks after announcing that he was diagnosed with a recurrence of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The Microsoft co-founder purchased Portland’s NBA franchise in… Read More
Thanks to ReachNow, this show was shot on location at the University of Washington’s Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering. Today’s featured stories Future of sports viewing? Steve Ballmer and L.A. Clippers debut new augmented reality NBA experience After struggling with their own drug addictions, these founders just raised $6M for a recovery app eBay sues Amazon, alleging tech giant illegally poached sellers from its platform Subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube. [Editor’s Note: TLDR is GeekWire’s tech news rundown show, hosted by Starla Sampaco. Watch today’s update above, subscribe to GeekWire on YouTube, and check back weekday afternoons for more.]
Jeff Tran, a former director of sports marketing and alliances at Microsoft, was indicted on five counts of wire fraud on Wednesday. Federal prosecutors allege that he attempted to steal more than $1.5 million from the tech giant via fraudulent invoices and selling Super Bowl tickets allocated for Microsoft employees. Tran oversaw the company’s promotional relationship with the NFL, which includes the use of Microsoft Surface tablets on the sidelines during games and other marketing-related initiatives. Prosecutors say Tran used his position to create fake third-party vendor invoices, then routing cash from Microsoft through the vendors to his own personal… Read More
Amazon is using Twitch and its Thursday Night Football live streams to test new gamification features that might change the way we watch live sports — particularly if legal sports betting spreads across the country. As part of a two-year deal with the NFL worth a reported $130 million, Amazon is streaming 11 Thursday Night Football games this season. It follows Amazon’s initial one-year deal with the NFL last season. New this season is Amazon’s decision to stream games not only on Prime Video but also Twitch, the popular live-streaming platform it acquired for nearly $1 billion in 2014. I tuned into… Read More
There were slick passes, booming shots, big saves, and tough tackles. But this time, Seattle Sounders soccer stars took their competition from the pitch to the game room, duking it out against each other in a FIFA 19 Faceoff. Microsoft hosted the tournament as a way to promote the Sounders new jersey kits advertising Mixer, the company’s game streaming platform that competes with Amazon’s Twitch. The action was live-streamed on Mixer’s page. Eight players — Stefan Frei, Nico Lodeiro, Chad Marshall, Bryan Meredith, Lamar Neagle, Jordan Morris, Cristian Roldan, and Victor Rodriguez — hung out at The Ninety in Seattle for an… Read More
