The iconic Abbott and Costello “Who’s on First” comedy sketch — which runs on a continuous loop at the Baseball Hall of Fame — is being commemorated with an NFT. The NFT was released through WhosOnFirstNFT.com before Game 1 of the Astros-Phillies World Series on Oct. 28th and can be purchased by the general public via credit card.
Produced by Power Up NFTs, each of the 8,791 digital collectibles will feature a still frame from the original “Who’s on First,” which first aired on the Kate Smith Radio Show in 1938 and has been called the best comedy skit of the 20th Century by Time Magazine.
Through the company Unforgettable Licensing, the NFTs were signed off on by the estates of comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello.
Formula 1 has renewed its partnership with Amazon Web Services and will expand its use of the company’s machine learning and cloud software to iterate future track designs, deliver regionalized media offerings, and develop new gaming experiences for fans around live events. The expanded deal will also support F1’s goal of being Net Zero Carbon by 2030 through helping the racing league reduce freight and personnel travel through remote production capabilities provided by AWS.
AWS has worked with F1 since 2018 but has now been named a global partner of the league. F1 has leveraged AWS machine learning to launch 20 new statistics since 2018 related to car performance, such as broadcast graphics for full throttle, heavy braking, and cornering percentages for drivers during races.
Design for the 2022 F1 car was also done in part through AWS’s high performance computing (HPC) enabled complex two-car Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) aerodynamic simulations. The renewed partnership will also focus Increase focus on offering F1-themed AWS Deep Racer and AWS Gameday programs to fans as part of online STEM learning to develop ML and AI skills.
Wearable soccer device Playermaker and Manchester City have partnered on the release of CityPlay, educational and training content developed by the Premier League powerhouse club.
Man City academy athletes are users of the Playermaker tracker, a shoeworn sensor that can collect data on the user’s physical, tactical and technical performance. The CityPlay membership includes video and feedback based on the playing philosophy of the reigning EPL champions. Among the learnings to be imparted are context for the importance of certain skills and insights specific to each position. All CityPlay members will also have access to connect in a social community.
This club-branded product follows a recent pairing of Arsenal and STATSports, as one example. Man City launched its digital CoachingHub last year as another initiative to democratize the club’s training education.
The Professional Fighters League has debuted a 24-hour streaming TV channel in conjunction with the Xumo, Local Now, Sports.TV and SportsTribal platforms.
The FAST distribution channel features video from the MMA league’s event library, PFL Vault episodes, archived shows, behind-the-scenes footage, weigh-ins and news conferences. Already live on Xumo and Local Now, the streams are scheduled to launch on Sports.TV and Europe-based SportsTribal sometime ahead of the PFL World Championship on Nov. 25.
Throughout November, the PFL FAST channel will show past PFL title fights and features on former PFL champions. Other programming will preview the upcoming World Championship at Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theatre.
Considered the No. 2 MMA company, PFL events air on ESPN and ESPN+ in the U.S. and are streamed to 160 countries via Channel 4, RMC Sport, Eurosport, Sky Sports and others. The league — which has raised up to $175 million in funding — features SmartCage, a proprietary data and analytics platform that enables real-time wagers and next-gen statistics. PFL had previously launched its own streaming service though the league’s app that offered similar behind-the-scenes footage, classic fights and fighter interviews.
Whoop has named Jaime Waydo as its new chief technology officer and Dr. Patrick Carroll as the human performance company’s first chief medical officer.
Waydo’s extensive experience includes 14 years at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, where she worked on the Mars Curiosity Rover, among other projects. She also spent nearly three years as a senior director at Apple and five years as a systems engineer at Waymo, working on autonomous-driving cars. Whoop’s previous CTO was co-founder John Capodilupo, who stepped down in April after 10 years with the Boston-based startup.
Carroll previously held the same title of chief medical officer at Walgreens, Vida Health, Hims & Hers, Integrated Care Partners and Granite Medical Group. He is charged with advising on health-related product features and helping expand the enterprise unit, Whoop Unite.
“We are thrilled to welcome these two leaders who will supercharge our efforts developing the world’s most advanced health monitoring technology,” Whoop founder and CEO Will Ahmed said in a statement. “Jaime has worked on some of the 21st century’s most ambitious projects from the Mars Curiosity Rover to vascular heart surgery robots to autonomous vehicles. Dr. Carroll has had an extraordinary career at the nexus of primary care and medical innovation. They will help us scale our business even further in the coming years.”
Swansea AFC has named KYMIRA Sport as its official recovery partner for the remainder of the 2022-23 season.
KYMIRA Sport makes textiles infused with Celliant fiber, consisting of a specific blend of natural minerals, that absorbs the body’s heat and return it via infrared energy that has been said to impart recovery benefits. The infrared energy boosts circulation and oxygenation in areas covered by the apparel. The FDA has labeled Celliant products as medical devices and general wellness products; Celliant is also an ingredient in Under Armour’s Rush line, as it was in Tom Brady’s TB12 recovery sleepwear.
Swansea is currently competing in the Championship, the second tier of English soccer, and was in the Premier League as recently as 2018. KYMIRA outfits other clubs competing in the EPL, international rugby, the NFL, MLS, MLB and Power 5 NCAA schools.
T-Mobile will install and operate its 5G Advanced Network Solutions for Formula 1’s Las Vegas Grand Prix when the race debuts in November 2023.
The telecom provider will make the infrastructure upgrade necessary to permanently boost its 5G network around the 3.8-mile course as well as in the new paddock, garages and pits. As part of a race launch party this Saturday, T-Mobile’s network will help operate a show with 400 drones illuminating the sky. (T-Mobile is also a partner of and investor in the Drone Racing League.)
T-Mobile also pledges to offer fans immersive, 5G-powered experiences, although details have not yet been announced. Verizon deployed its 5G ultra-wideband network in similar fashion for the inaugural Miami F1 Grand Prix last May.
Professional cycling club UAE Team Emirates has decided to sign Michael Vink to its 2023 roster after being impressed with his results on the virtual cycling app MyWhoosh. Vink, 30, has biked professionally since 2013 with some success in his native New Zealand, but purportedly caught the attention of UAE Team management after his stationary indoor finishes on MyWhoosh.
“While [Vink] has had some good results on the road before, we really became more aware of him through his performances on MyWhoosh,” Mauro Gianetti, Team Principal and CEO of UAE Team Emirates, said in a statement. “Throughout the year our riders use MyWhoosh as depending on the weather it’s not always possible or practical to train outside. In some of these races we began to see Michael’s name popping up at the top of the results and contact was made.”
The cycling team put Vink through further training tests before signing him to a contract for next season. MyWhoosh, which was founded in the UAE, has existing sponsorships with UAE Team Emirates and the World Triathlon Championship Finals in Abu Dhabi. The MyWhoosh app connects to indoor bike trainers for users to pick from over 700 workouts and digital cycling courses streamed on a screen in front of them as they ride their stationary bike.
Mobile-tech conglomerate vivo, the official smart phone of the upcoming FIFA World Cup Qatar, has launched a “Give It a Shot” campaign that will reward fans who post the most creative soccer-centric photos or videos on social media.
Entrants must use vivo smart phones to create their posts on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Facebook along with the tag line: #vivogiveitashot. The contest will run from now until Nov. 16, with the 10 winners being awarded a new vivo smart phone and an official FIFA football.
The actual FIFA World Cup Qatar runs from Nov. 20 through Dec. 18. Based in China, vivo’s new X Fold+ — scheduled to launch on the mainland of China in conjunction with the tournament — is being touted as the first official foldable smart phone in FIFA’s history. FIFA first signed a six-year sponsorship deal with vivo in 2017, and the company’s innovative X Fold + will be utilized by organizers during the preparation and staging of World Cup matches.
Phoenix Raceway will open its first Amazon Just Walk Out concession store for this week’s NASCAR Championship Weekend, marking the debut of Amazon Just Walk Out shopping and Amazon One palm-recognition payments at a professional racetrack. The store will be located at the track’s Section 151 Pit Stop and will sell snacks and beverages for fans.
Fans enter the store by inserting their credit card at a kiosk or by hovering their palm over Amazon’s entry device if they previously registered their palm with their Amazon ID. Computer vision cameras and sensors in the store enable shoppers to grab items off shelves and walk out as their credit card is charged for the items they picked up. Fans can register for Amazon One at enrollment kiosks located outside the store at Phoenix Raceway.
Amazon Just Walk Out stores are in sports venues such as Crypto.com Arena, Climate Pledge Arena, TD Garden, UBS Arena, Kyle Field, United Center, Minute Maid Park, T-Mobile Park, and Lumen Field. A few of those checkout-free stores also offer Amazon One palm-recognition, including Climate Pledge Arena’s recent expansion of Amazon One to three concession stands in addition to its existing presence inside four Just Walk Out stores. The deployment marks the first time Amazon One has been used outside a Just Walk Out store in a sports and entertainment setting.
Premier League club Brentford FC has partnered with Sega to support this month’s launch of Football Manager 23.
Football Manager, which is published by Sega’s wholly-owned subsidiary Sports Interactive, is a leading simulation game that has attracted significant crossover interest with professional clubs, most notably back in 2008 when Everton signed a deal to receive full access to the game’s player database. Brentford is among the sport’s most data-driven clubs, having ascended from fourth-division League Two up to the EPL over the past 14 years. Its home venue, Gtech Community Stadium, is adjacent to Sega’s European head office.
“Just like at Brentford FC, the Football Manager game allows the user to understand data and analytics to advise on their decision-making around player trading, talent development and matchday team selection,” Brentford commercial director James Parkinson said in a statement.
Added Richard Trafford, the head of partnerships and business development at Sports Interactive, “The Club’s strategic approach to player recruitment is a model all Football Manager players attempt to emulate. The partnership is a natural fit and we will be working with the Club across a number of fan-led activations in the coming months including a FM Matchday Predictor Game and training ground experience.”
