baseball

Does bad baseball look better in high-def?

As an apparent consolation to fans who still come out to watch their perennially poor home team, baseball's Kansas City Royals will install the largest high-definition LED (light-emitting diode) screen in the world next year, according to the team.

Provided by Daktronics, the screen will measure 100 feet by 85 feet, will feature 1,800 lines of resolution, and will be mounted in the outfield and capped with a golden crown, the team symbol.

The installation will take place prior to the beginning of the 2008 season, instantly putting Kansas City's Kauffman Stadium ahead of former screen size … Read more

Baseball robot will eventually sign with Yankees for $18 million per year

More video is rolling in from last week's Robo-One 12 competition, courtesy of Robots Dreams. One of the challenges of the recent bipedal robot competition in Japan was to have a robot play catch.

As this video shows, robot King Kizer took that challenge to another level altogether, also fisting an inside changeup to the opposite field, diving back to first base on a pickoff attempt, and stealing second with no throw. Let's watch.

This isn't the first time we've seen a robot with baseball skills, although King Kizer may have the most well-rounded game. This … Read more

Wii virtual console releases for this week

Glad to see another Nintendo 64 title has made it to the virtual console, although I'm anticipating some disappointment with the selection.

Yoshi's Story (1998, Nintendo 64, 1,000 Wii points)--After Baby Bowser casts a spell on Yoshi Island leaving it in the form of a storybook, six Yoshis must band together and dethrone the evil Baby Browser and restore happiness to Yoshi Island. Super Thunder Blade (1988, Genesis, 800 Wii points)--A Sega Genesis launch title, Super Thunder Blade is a helicopter combat game where you must fire upon all kinds of submarines, tanks, and more … Read more

HP announces DVD program so you can watch Barry Bonds over and over and over

At this week's Print 2.0 conference in New York, HP's Digital Entertainment Services group announced a new program called NextDayTV, which will make local TV coverage, events, broadcast programs, and televised sports games available on DVD soon after their original air dates. The inaugural partnership for the program is a deal with Major League Baseball, and you can now purchase a DVD of the game in which Barry Bonds hit his legendary 756th home run at San Francisco Giants Dugout stores as well as online at the Wal-Mart, Major League Baseball, FYE, and Suncoast Web sites.

Still … Read more

This watch has its game face on

During football season, there are really only two times of day: game time, and the lame 164 or so hours a week when your team isn't playing.

Finally, there's a watch that realizes this. The Pro Sports Schedule Watch comes preloaded with your favorite NFL or MLB team's season schedule.

These $130 watches aren't one-year wonders, either. The USB-compatible watch can download future schedules from the Web, so you'll always have the current schedule on your wrist.

When it's game time, the watch plays "The Star Spangled Banner" for football games or &… Read more

Milwaukee Brewers score in Harris Interactive poll's top 10

The Milwaukee Brewers hit a home run this year, landing the 10th ranked spot on Harris Interactive's list of America's favorite baseball teams.

Last year, the Brewers ranked No. 18, after having spent four consecutive years in the dugout with rankings in the low to mid 20s, according to Harris Interactive's announcement. The fact that the Brewers are leading the National League's central division is likely giving some froth to its rankings.

The online poll, which surveyed 2,372 adults in the U.S., ran from June 5-11.

And who was America's favorite baseball team … Read more

Baseball's gadget heads step up for the iPhone

Some multimillionaire Major League Baseball players needed special connections to get their hands on one of Apple's iPhones this past weekend.

ESPN.com's Peter Gammons (paid subscription required) found two Detroit Tigers, Justin Verlander and Curtis Granderson, who used their inside connections at Apple retail stores to score an iPhone. The Detroit players, in the middle of a tough series against the Minnesota Twins during iPhone weekend, texted some buddies at Apple stores to inquire about iPhone availablility and have a few set aside.

It was a little easier for the San Francisco Giants' Brad Hennessey, who works … Read more

NBA playing ball online

Expensive sports rights are a major cost for the United States television industry. Sports also brings huge ad revenue and a male audience that is much prized by advertisers because it's so elusive.

Now the NBA has signed new TV deals that run nearly a decade. This time the buyers get significant rights to Internet distribution of games, highlights and related content. Clearly, this is just another step toward the Internet becoming a full-fledged alternative to typical TV distribution. An ESPN executive said its Web site had a million unique visitors daily during the NBA playoffs earlier this year.… Read more

Blogger removed from NCAA baseball game for blogging

It appears that college baseball officials may have been taking lessons from the censorship masters in Soviet Russia.

That at least is the sense after a blogger from the Courier-Journal of Louisville, Ky., was expelled from a college playoff game for live-blogging.

According to the Courier-Journal, staff blogger Brian Bennett was approached by NCAA officials in the fifth inning of a game between the University of Lousville and Oklahoma State, told that blogging "from an NCAA championship event 'is against NCAA policies (and) we're revoking the (press) credential and need to ask you to leave the stadium.'" … Read more