Amazon is bringing back Hannah Storm and Andrea Kremer to commentate its Thursday Night Football streams on Prime Video next season. The veteran broadcasting duo became the first all-female team to call an entire NFL game this season as part of Amazon’s deal to stream 11 Thursday Night Football games. Now they’ll return for another slate of games that kick off later this year. “Hannah and Andrea raised the bar last year as they became the first all-woman team to call NFL games,” Marie Donoghue, vice president of global sports video at Amazon, said in a statement. “Customer feedback has been great… Read More
Two Microsoft veterans are building apps to help people put down their mobile devices and engage with others in the real world through sports. Seattle-based Mavengo, which launched in 2016, helps sports enthusiasts find and communicate with other players and set up games and matches. The software uses artificial intelligence to manage the monotonous task of organizing and scheduling games and re-matching the winners and losers. Co-founder and CEO Imran Aziz calls it a “personal assistant for sports.” The startup last year raised $400,000 and has been testing an initial version of its app for squash players at three Seattle-area… Read More
Editor’s note: This story has been updated with details from the Sounders’ event announcing Zulily as its new jersey sponsor. [Follow up: From Microsoft to Zulily: Why the Sounders teamed up with Seattle e-commerce company that aims for rebrand] Microsoft Xbox may be out as the Seattle Sounders jersey sponsor, and rumors are swirling about which company will take its place. The Major League Soccer club is hosting an event on Thursday at noon to reveal an “important club announcement,” believed to be a new jersey sponsor. It teased the announcement on social media late Wednesday, and buzz points to another… Read More
The University of Washington is adding another sport to its competitive landscape in Seattle with the addition of the new Esports Arena & Gaming Lounge in the school’s Husky Union Building (HUB). According to a news release on Tuesday, the state-of-the-art, 1,000 square-foot gaming center, set to open this spring, will support both casual and competitive gaming and virtual reality. It will be partially funded by the Student Technology Fee. Tapping into the highly popular world of competitive video games will make the UW both the largest public, higher education institution in the nation and the first university in the state… Read More
Nike is disrupting shoelaces. The Beaverton, Ore.-based shoe giant unveiled its latest technological innovation on Tuesday, showing off the new Nike Adapt BB basketball shoes that use a power-lacing system designed to automatically tighten and loosen around a foot, depending on an athlete’s activity. Nike has been working on the shoe for years, and Fast Company said it “could change the trajectory” of a company that already dominates the shoe industry. Introducing Nike Adapt BB. Power laces for the perfect fit. Pre-order now for a limited time only on https://t.co/bowoctlxR0 in the U.S. Arriving globally February 17: https://t.co/5cm5ou0XQC #nikeadapt pic.twitter.com/UDbUBK7HvK… Read More
