First the Super Bowl. Now NBA All-Star Weekend. Intel’s drones made another appearance on a big-time sports stage, just two weeks after appearing at Lady Gaga’s Super Bowl halftime show. During Saturday’s NBA Slam Dunk Contest, part of an annual NBA event that also includes the All Star Game and 3-point contest, Orlando Magic forward Aaron Gordon used Intel’s “AscTec Neo” drone to perform one of his dunks — the first ever to be completed with assistance from a drone. “There it is, the Intel drone!” TNT announcer Kevin Harlan said on the national live broadcast as an Intel logo appeared on screen.… Read More
Bryson DeChambeau is clearly the PGA Tour’s geekiest golfer. The 23-year-old California native who earned a physics degree from Southern Methodist University has brought his data-driven, science-influenced, and exceptionally eccentric philosophy to the world’s top professional golf circuit in a big way. GeekWire had a chance to catch up with DeChambeau last month at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where the PGA Tour pro was helping promote a new smartphone app from Bridgestone that helps golfers find the best golf ball for their game. “I would say I’m at the leading edge of technology in regard to the game… Read More
If you’re an eSports skeptic, hold onto your hats: the NBA announced this week that it is adding eSports teams to every NBA franchise in the country, in partnership with Take-Two, makers of the popular NBA 2K video game series. Yes, each NBA team will soon have its own professional gamers in addition to pro ballers. While it might not get hardcore NBA fans excited, the move could be a major-money maker for the league and a boost for the still-emerging world of professional video game playing. And as you’ll hear on this episode of GeekWire’s Week in Geek podcast, at least one Seattleite… Read More
Twitter is looking to grow its partnership with the NFL after what it described as a win-win deal this past season. As part of the company’s letter to shareholders following its Q4 earnings report posted Thursday, Twitter highlighted its live streaming NFL product that debuted this past season, calling it “the major highlight of the fourth quarter.” Millions of football fans around the world had a new, free option for streaming NFL games thanks to Twitter after the company paid the NFL a reported $10 million to stream 10 Thursday Night Football games this past fall. Twitter said today that it had an average audience of 3.5 million unique viewers… Read More
The NBA is going big with eSports. The league is creating the first-ever NBA eSports league in partnership with Take-Two, makers of the popular NBA 2K series. ESPN reported the news late Wednesday. Launching next year, the NBA 2K eLeague will eventually feature 30 NBA 2K teams, each owned by the 30 real-live NBA franchises. The teams will feature five human gamers who will play a full five-month season on NBA 2K, along with playoffs and a championship. The gamers will earn salaries and train throughout the season. They won’t play with real NBA players in the game. ESPN reported that the eLeague could be a “huge potential money-maker,” and… Read More
