Andy Rooney on Sports and Technology

As Andy Rooney once said, “I don't pick subjects as much as they pick me.” Well, after what seems like 250 years on TV, Andy Rooney is retiring from 60 Minutes this weekend. I was hoping to find a video of his opinion of sports technology. Unfortunately through my research I could only find his take on technology independent of sports and his take on sports somewhat independent of rational.

This week, in honor of one of the most traditionally-minded journalist of our time, I am embedding videos of Andy Rooney’s thoughts on sports and his thoughts on technology. For those who follow me on Kindle, you will unfortunately not be able to see these videos, but I will summarize the content for you. Ref. brainyquote.com

This first video is of Rooney discussing technology, or at least computers. In essence, Rooney does not like how long it takes for computers to start up.



This second video is Rooney’s take on sports, specifically the Super Bowl. Rooney loves football, and also observes that some people eat carrots and some people hate carrots.

Nike’s Dri-FIT ‘Technology’ All Wet

Barcelona soccer team recently met with Nike to complain about their Dri-FIT shirts. The shirts are supposed to wick away moisture (sweat) to help keep the players cool and dry. The problem is that the shirts are absorbing so much moisture, they are actually weighing down the players. One source actually said the shirts weigh nearly double by halftime.

Nike Dri-FIT is “a high-performance, microfiber, polyester fabric that wicks sweat away from the body and moves it to the fabric surface, where it [supposedly] evaporates.” These shirts are not available to be purchased by the public and are only worn by Nike sponsored teams.

Nike said they are "working to find a solution to the problem with the shirts along with the club.'' They hope to have a solution for Barcelona within a few weeks. No other teams have complained yet, but tennis player Rafael Nadal had a similar issue this year at the Australian Open. Ref. undershirtguy.com, si.com Pic. Ref soccergolazo.com

Favre? LeBron? Now Enjoy The Sweet Sound of Silence

A huge problem with 24 hour sports coverage is that big stories tend to get over covered. Matt Richardson may have come up with a solution for the annoyed sports fan. Richardson hacked his TV remote to automatically mute the TV when a certain celebrity name was mentioned. The inspiration for his invention was not actually sports but celebrities that have crept their way into mainstream news.

To create his remote, Richardson “combined a couple of Arduino circuit boards with an infrared LED light -- that little red bubble on the front of your TV remote -- and programmed the whole thing to interact with a TV's closed-captioning system. [It] reads the closed-captioning transcript as it's aired and then automatically mutes the television for 30 seconds when it picks up certain words.” Arduino is “a piece of computer hardware that can be programmed to do anything you want.”

Unlike Richardson I'm less irritated by the Kardashians and Snooki. So instead I looked back over the past few years and below is my list of sports topics I would have liked to mute during their reign of media terror.

1. Brett Favre - Every summer before training camp.
2. LeBron James - Summer of 2010
3. Tiger Woods - Nov. 2009 - Apr 2010
4. “NFL Lockout” – March 2011 – August 2011
5. Michael Vick - All of 2007

Ref. cnn.com, Pic Ref. cnn.com

New English Premier League Club Security System Raises the Bar

English Premier League club Fulham Football Club has deployed a new physical security system that will enable their security team to monitor crowds and improve stadium security. This new solution will incorporate “VMware virtualization and cloud infrastructure framework to set up a private cloud environment.” This solution will not only allow the security team to better monitor fan safety, it also gives them and the police streaming access to videos from any location and on mobile devices. This new system will save Fulham money on operational costs by integrating 36 servers into just 6 servers.

Nicolas Pendlebury, Head of IT Projects at Fulham F. C, said in a release, "We were incredibly impressed by EMC's proposal, which presented us with an entire security package from storage to cameras. In addition, it was based on an open-architecture model, allowing us to choose best-of-breed products. The cloud environment is key to the success of the new system, which we estimate will pay for itself in two years. It has enabled us to increase the agility, speed and functionality with which the security team can monitor our sites remotely and safely, and new cameras can be connected to the network at any time." Ref. sports.tmcnet.com, Pic Ref. foot-team.webou.net

What's Social Media Got To Do With It?

“Monday Morning Quarterback” author Peter King recently discussed his career in sports journalism with students at Marquette University. He talked about his work experience at Sports Illustrated and commented on how journalism and the entire industry of sharing sports information has changed over the years due to technology. With an audience of soon-to-be college graduates, he explained that the world is very different from the one he entered into as a young professional 30+ years ago.

King’s advice to aspiring journalists is that they need to have experience in all forms of media instead of an exclusive expertise in just one. He suggests young students spend time working for the school newspaper, TV and radio stations. Concluding that all forms tend to roll together because information sharing is an evolving and changing process. He sighted an interview he had with Brett Favre about Favre's 1996 trip to rehab. King said he met with Favre 8 days before the story was shared with the public. Today, likely that story would have been leaked via Twitter/blogs/TV/radio in a matter of minutes.

King recognizes how technology has completely changed the journalism aspect of the sports world. No longer does a journalist have the luxury of time to frame a story and release it on their own terms. All information is time sensitive because essentially any person with a computer or smart phone can scoop a story at any time. Beyond that, social media has created an unavoidable matrix dynamic intertwining different ways people digest information. The sports journalist becomes trapped in the center of the media web making it no longer sufficient for journalists to simply write a great story; they need to be able to adapt themselves across all forms of medium to stay relevant. Ref. marquettetribune.org Pic Ref. marquettetribune.org

L8R Obnoxious Fans

If you have been to a major sporting event recently you might have noticed signs around the stadium with an interesting message, “If you have any security issues, text #### with the issue and your location.” This service allows fans to anonymously report unruly or disturbing behavior without having to leave their seat (or out themselves as the whistleblower).

The use of a text messaging reporting system has been implemented by many professional and college programs as a way to better manage fan security and safety. At the 2011 National Sports Safety and Security Conference & Exhibition, held in August, texting systems were a hot topic for discussion. Everything from ways to inform fans of the service to what the expected volume increase in incidents reported was discussed. A final (and perhaps most interesting) lesson shared was that there are great benefits to extending the texting system to cater guest services. This means allowing fans to not only text for security issues, but also guest services questions/issues such as ‘my seat is broke’ ‘where is an ATM?’ ‘where can my kid meet the mascot?’

My reaction, as a sports fan, is that this type of program is fantastic. Anyone who goes to sporting events knows that a great day at the ball park/stadium/arena etc. can easily be destroyed by drunk or foul-mouthed fans. For adults, thist type of fan is usually just a minor annoyance. However families with little kids should not have to deal with belligerence. The reaction from the other side (that is, the stadium managers who are on the receiving end of the texts) is similarly positive. Jeff Miller, director of security for the NFL, said, "Text messaging has been a huge bonus to us. It is an early warning system. Fans in the stands are going to pick up on those [security incident] indicators before police or our security people might know. That allows us to intervene on the early side. We can send someone down to talk to that fan so that we don't have to get to the point where they need to be ejected or arrested." Everyone wins….except those mutha &$*#ing fans who must be BLIND or took @$%&ing STUPID PILLS that morning because they can’t show some %*&# respect for the other people around them. Ref. sumotext.com

Challenging The Challenge In Tennis

An interesting article titled "Why Tennis' Challenge System Has To Go" was posted on Women Talk Sports this week. The author challenges the use of instant replay in professional tennis. The author argues that challenges are not fair because the technology is not available at every venue. Additionally, the author suggests that preferential priority is given to more famous athletes, allowing them to play more matches on the replay-equipped courts. Finally, the author insinuates that less experienced athletes (who are not accustomed to playing on courts with this technology) may forget about the challenge rule, and therefore are at a disadvantage.

I disagree with these arguments. There are many points (and for that matter games) that may have been lost on a mistaken call. The challenge rule was established to allow a player to make up to 3 incorrect challenges per set. Therefore they can challenge as many times as they want, as long as they correct. According to Wikipedia, during the 2006 US Open, 30.5% of men’s and 35.85% of women’s challenges were overturned. The next year at the US Open, 30.6% were overturned. While slightly older data, it still equates to roughly 1 in every 3 challenges where the line judge got the call wrong! Without a challenge system, those go uncorrected. It is true that the more seasoned players will have the advantage of ‘being used to the rule.’ However all athletes on the court are allowed the same number of incorrect challenges. As with anything, it is up to the athlete to be prepared and knowledgeable about the rules.

Technology is a progressive movement, especially in sports. It is virtually impossible to have all venues around the world equipped with the latest, greatest technology at all times. The “Why Tennis’ Challenge System Has To Go” author does not state issue with the actual technology. The technology, it seems, is not the problem. It appears the issue is more with the availability of this technology in different matches. This is where I disagree. As long as all athletes in the given match are on a level playing field (meaning given equal opportunity to challenge), I see no problem with some venues using the technology, and others not. I take issue when one athlete in a match is given a definite advantage not afforded to their competitor. Ref. wikipedia.org, womentalksports.com

My Virtual Golf Lesson

In a July article I discussed the use of video review to improve a pitcher's throw. Don Cooper, pitching coach for the White Sox, invited young pitchers to send him a video of themselves pitching and (for a fee) will send them tips for improvement. To read the full Cooper pitching article click here.

I had the opportunity last week to have my golf swing reviewed and videoed by the PGA Golf Professional Staff at Makray Memorial Golf Club located in Barrington, Illinois. They came to my fitness center at work, discussed my swing and videotaped it for further analysis. Below is the result (note: despite 6+ years as a caddy, I am beginner golfer---so no judgment). Having the opportunity to see my swing in action allowed me to visually understand exactly where I can improve. This is amazingly basic but effective technology in action.

Who’s On First: How Umpires Are Scheduled

Coaches, managers, players and fans all scrutinize and complain about the ‘fairness’ of scheduling. Professional sports leverage different technologies and human expertise to create these schedules. Organizations ranging from the NBA (click here to read about the NBA process) to the MLB (click here to read about the MLB process) have fascinating scheduling techniques. However a team’s schedule is only a part of what it takes to plan a sports season.

There are very strict rules for assigning umpires to MLB games. An assistant business professor at Michigan State University, Hakan Yildiz, along with a team of researchers, decided to tackle this complex scheduling process with the aid of technology. The result? The MLB has used their proposed umpire schedule 5 of the last 6 seasons. Scheduling 4 umpires for 2,430 games is nothing short of a complicated process. This is especially true considering a slew of restrictions including union-mandated vacations, the rule that umpires must travel to all 30 ballparks at least once every season all while avoiding any one umpire disproportionately umpiring any given team.

Yildiz’s team began designing and testing their scheduling methods by first examining the top key constraints (like the rules listed above) and overlooking less critical ones (like an umpire’s preferred vacation days). From this they leveraged their technology to test various test data. Once tested, they determined the fairest schedule for the umps, all restrictions considered. While specifics about this and other scheduling technology are kept pretty secret, it is clear that scheduling a season for teams and umpires is no easy task. Ref. espn.com, sciencedaily.com, sports.espn.com