Embed from Getty Images Seattle Seahawks fans don’t need an astrophysicist to tell them that quarterback Russell Wilson is capable of otherworldly heroics on the football field. But coach Pete Carroll did reach out to one this week for help in explaining a play in Sunday night’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles. During a fourth-quarter scramble, Wilson avoided getting creamed by defenders when he pitched the ball to running back Mike Davis, trailing to Wilson’s right. Because the play happened beyond the line of scrimmage, rules dictate that that pitch must travel backwards. When the ball left Wilson’s hand it… Read More
Amazon is poised to become a live sports powerhouse as soon as next year, a new report predicts, as more tech companies are seeking out streaming rights for top leagues in the U.S. and abroad. The report from Juniper Research covers 10 tech trends for 2018. The presence of Amazon, and to a lesser extent Facebook, as top contenders for major sports packages is the firm’s number one trend to watch for next year. Amazon’s biggest foray into live sports so far came when it dropped a reported $50 million to stream 11 NFL Thursday Night Football games. Amazon beat… Read More
[Love sports and technology? Sign up for our sports tech newsletter to receive this rundown from GeekWire’s Taylor Soper via email every week.] TAYLOR’S TAKE ON THE WEEK IN SPORTS TECH: Amazon Web Services, the massive cloud computing arm of Amazon that made $4.6 billion last quarter, held its big annual conference in Las Vegas this week — and there were quite a few sports-related announcements. I wrote about the new partnership between AWS and the NFL here. The league will use machine learning and data analytics services built by AWS for Next Gen Stats, a new platform that uses data from player and… Read More
Brooks is partnering with a tech giant and tapping into your biomechanics for its latest running shoe innovation. The Seattle-based athletic company today announced that it will work with HP and Superfeet to sell the Brooks Levitate RS, “the first performance running shoe created based on an individual’s unique biomechanics.” Using a platform called FitStation developed by HP, Brooks will combine 3D foot scanning with gait analysis and foot pressure measurements to create a personalized running shoe that matches a runner’s unique motion and experience. Brooks CEO Jim Weber said using biomechanics to develop a shoe is a “game-changer.” “It is… Read More
The National Football League is tapping Amazon Web Services to help power its “Next Gen Stats” platform. The NFL announced Wednesday that it will use machine learning and data analytics services built by AWS for Next Gen Stats, a new platform that uses data from player and ball tracking devices to produce new advanced statistics like distance covered, speed, and acceleration — the idea is to better show a receiver’s ability to get open, for example, or how well the offensive line protects the quarterback. The information is shown to fans online and on TV broadcasts; teams also leverage the… Read More
