Posts tagged Football at Switched

Posts with tag football

Sprint Prepares to Phone-cast Full NFL Games, Starting Tonight

by Darren Murph, posted Nov 6th 2008 at 9:26AM

The National Football League and Sprint have been tied up in one form or fashion for years now, but the relationship is finally rounding third and heading for home. All mixed analogies aside, what we're saying is that the feature you've been clamoring for has finally arrived, and beginning tonight, select Sprint subscribers will be able to watch the entire Cleveland Browns vs. Denver Broncos tilt on their handset.

Obviously, you'll need a Sprint TV-capable handset and an Everything Plan (or a $15 per month add-on) in order to tune in, but tonight's game -- which kicks off at 8:00PM ET on the NFL Network -- will be the first of eight games (televised solely on that network) to air via Sprint. Whether or not The Now Network can keep up with the action, however, remains to be seen.

Cell Phone Vibration Makes Soccer Games More Visceral

by Evan Shamoon, posted Nov 1st 2008 at 11:29AM

Here's a concept for you: Researchers in Sweden have managed to synchronize a cell phone's vibrations with a soccer ball on a field, and have thereby designed a way for cell phone users to experience soccer games a bit more physically.

Essentially, the phone vibrates whenever the ball is kicked, and different variations of vibrations let users know the ball's location on the field, and which team has possession of it.

The idea is that you'd use it while not watching the events on television, to keep track of the game while, say, sitting in a meeting. In focus tests, the researchers found that participants could follow the game with sufficient ease. But it's something to be considered while actually watching the game as well: the synchronized vibrations add to the experience (not unlike vibration in video game controllers), and participants demonstrated greater accuracy at following the games.

Truly, we are a bizarre species. [From: Textually}

NFL Games Streaming Online at NBC Sports, Starting Tonight

by Tim Stevens, posted Sep 5th 2008 at 4:41PM

Last night, the 2008 NFL season kicked off and along with it came NBC Sports' first ever streaming of live football games -- sure, you can plop down on the couch for the game just as you've done for years, but now you'll be able to tune in live from your computer. Thursday night's entry to live online football was the New York Giants stomping the Washington Redskins, and, according to reports, the online experience was good, but not great.

The service offers four user-selectable camera angles, which is a nice feature, but sadly it seems that every time you pick a new camera angle, you have to sit through a commercial! NewTeeVee said that although the video quality was alright, it looked worse than the online Olympics footage.

The site uses Adobe's Flash to handle the streaming, which contrasts to NBC's use of Microsoft's competing Silverlight technology for the 2008 Olympic Games.

Looks like NFL players aren't the only one playing the field. [From: NewTeeVee, and Adobe.com]

Madden 09 Marks 20 Years of Digital Football

by Tim Stevens, posted Aug 12th 2008 at 5:40PM

It's Madden day, the most anticipated day of the year for many gaming sports fans, when the latest installment of the hugely popular NFL game is released for just about every gaming platform out there -- even the aged PlayStation 2. With publisher EA's lock on the NFL license, it's basically the only game in town, and with no competition, it gets only incrementally better and better every year.

This year's edition, 'Madden 09,' follows that trend by delivering a little more polish here (improved graphics) and a few extra features there (the ability to retry plays), but hardly anything groundbreaking. Here's a roundup of the reviews we've seen posted thus-far.

Gamespot loves the improved graphics and the backtrack feature that lets you rewind a play and try it again, but laments the disappointing online league play.
IGN echoes most of those comments, indicating there isn't all that much new here.
1UP is rather more positive, gushing that the game is "so visually impressive that it's likely to stick in your system all season long."

Beyond the game, this year's cover has become a bit of a story in itself. Every year there's the so-called "Madden Curse," which casts doom and gloom for whichever unlucky soul happens to appear on the cover. This year, though, it was the athlete that cursed the cover, with the game shipping to retailers featuring Brett Favre in a Packers uniform. Brett, of course, is a Jet now, and while EA won't be re-releasing the game for obvious reasons, it has released a downloadable cover that you can print out on your own if you like.

For more on Madden 09, check out the coverage at Joystiq.

Soccer Star Accidentally Reveals Team Change Via Facebook

by Terrence O'Brien, posted Jul 10th 2008 at 5:52PM

Soccer Star Accidentally Reveals Potential New Team Via Facebook

Where will the madness end? We've seen people dumped on Facebook, fired because of Facebook, and now one football (that's what they call soccer across the pond) player has inadvertently revealed, thanks for Facebook, that he was trying out for a different team, unbeknownst to his current club.

UK soccer player Ashley-Paul Robinson, currently a member of the Crystal Palace team, updated his Facebook status recently to say "Ashley-Paul is goin fulham on monday. If i pull dis off im on dis ting," revealing his trial with a rival club. Robinson was apparently unaware that his status would be shared not just with his 194 Facebook friends, but with the entire London network. Worse still, it took Robinson a few days to realize his error. The next day he updated with "Ashley-Paul is travling 2 Bath With Fulham Fingers Crossed."

Upon realizing his faux-paux, he tried to make light of the situation with his status by posting "Ashley-Paul has been very naughty lol!" But his management wasn't laughing, and a source within the team is quoted as saying, "It's pretty embarrassing for the club that this guy is telling the world he's looking to leave the club." [Source: Shiny Shiny]

Electric Football Is Back!

by Joshua Fruhlinger, posted Jan 9th 2008 at 12:53PM

Back before Atari and Nintendo, when kids had to use their darn imaginations to play a game of football (we say while holding our canes outstretched), there was a game called vibrating (or "electric") football. All you older kids will be glad (or horrified) to learn that a company called Excalibur is bringing back the electric, buzzing table-top game, complete with an NFL license.

For you young'ns, electric football was originally created in 1947 when it was, clearly, one of the most high-tech games a kid could have. It was an electric game that consisted of a plug-in tin football field and a bunch of little football player figures. The vibration made the players move in all sorts of random directions, and the outstretched arms of the players made them "lock" in what we pretended was a tackle (though it looked more like a do-se-do). Yes, that's pretty much all it did. We got a chance to check it out at this year's Consumer Electronics Showcase and, yes, that's pretty much all it still does.

But we don't care. Low tech? Sure. In a world of polygons, real-time shading, and online Madden games, this is an exciting, refreshing kick in the pants, and we're psyched to see it make a return.

Live NCAA Games On Your Cell Phone

by Alon Avdi, posted Dec 19th 2007 at 2:32PM

In a move destined to give gadget heads with gridiron proclivities a reason to rejoice, Verizon has announced that its V Cast customers will have access to live, full-length NCAA college football bowl games on their cellular phones this season. While the major BCS championship bowls will not be offered, subscribers with V Cast-outfitted phones will be able to view 24 of the less-heralded contests, starting with the Poinsettia Bowl on December 20, which pits Utah versus Navy. BetaNews and the Silicon Alley Insider report that ESPN Mobile TV, CBS Mobile and Fox Mobile will provide live coverage of the games through Qualcomm's MediaFLO mobile broadcast service.

An indication that competition among service providers is in the streaming video sphere, the announcement is also another example of companies trying to outdo each other by offering exclusive, premium content. We also see it as a sign of the times, as consumers clamor for their cell phones to be do-it-all computers rather than relatively simple communication devices. But, alas, that notion is the stuff of a different post, as we leave you with a question: Will you be streaming the Auburn/Clemson Chic-fil-A Bowl or the Georgia Tech versus Fresno State Roady's Humanitarian Bowl?

From Verizon (via BetaNews and Silicon Alley Insider)

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Ten Best Football Gadgets for Gameday

by Dan Reilly, posted Sep 6th 2007 at 3:34PM

It's hard not to enjoy a day of kicking back and watching football, but there are always ways to make any given weekend day better. With the arrival of the college and NFL seasons, Switched presents 10 must-haves for any true pigskin fan. They're guaranteed to enhance your gameday experience even more than painting your face.

Ten Best Football Gadgets for Gameday: Distance Football

Virtual Distance Football
Dilemma: You bet you could throw a foam football at least 60 yards, but without a field around you have no way to back up your boast. Solution: the Discovery Channel's $20 Virtual Distance Football, which accurately measures your toss within a yard. Upon impact, the LCD screen displays your length -- the rest is up to your beer muscles.

Next >>

Future NFL Stars Talk Video Games

by Dan Reilly, posted Apr 30th 2007 at 6:26PM

Video game giant EA was in New York during the NFL Draft to celebrate the not-so-coincidentally-timed announcements of its 'Madden 08' and 'NCAA Football 08' cover athletes. Titans chucker Vince Young will ham it up on the 'Madden' cover when it's released in August, but college honors went to Boise State QB, Jared Zabransky. We caught up with Zabransky, as well as some his fellow NCAA cohorts, to ask them about the upcoming video game.

Jared Zabransky (QB, Boise State -- signed with Houston)

What was it like when you found out you were going to be on the cover of 'NCAA Football'?
I was in Hawaii at the time. I got a call telling me that I'm the front runner and I was totally ecstatic. It was something you never really think about when you're a kid because you see all these people on the cover, but when it happens it's like a dream come true. It's like a dream you never dreamt of.

When you play this game, how many times are you going to run the Statue of Liberty play?
Every play, if it works.

What's the whole experience been like for you?
It's been a whirlwind. Ever since the Fiesta Bowl it's been a total 180 for me. I was under the radar the whole time and then that happens, you know, and Boise State and myself blow up and I'm just kind of soaking it all in. I'm totally humbled by the entire experience.

What's it going to be like for Boise State next season?
I think they're going do well. Every year we get doubted because they say we lose too many players to be able to regroup. But, we're getting more and more like a top five program to where we can rebuild and reload. So, I think they're going to be good.

Next >>

Future NFL Stars Talk Video Games

by Dan Reilly, posted Apr 30th 2007 at 5:44PM

Dwayne Jarrett (WR, USC – drafted by Carolina)

Are you a player of 'NCAA' and 'Madden'?
Oh yeah, that's what I play all day. 'NCAA' and 'Madden' -- those are the games that I played growing up and I'm still playing to this day.

How do you feel about your ratings in the game?
I don't even know my ratings to tell you the truth. They weren't that bad from what I can recall, so I'm happy with it. I don't take that stuff to heart at all.

What's your go-to play?
Deep ball, throw it long.

Do you throw to yourself every time?
No, I don't play with USC when I play.

Who do you play with?
Florida State, Miami. You know, South schools.

Related Links:

NFL Pros Tackle 'Madden'

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