football

BP Castrol machine kicks balls at over 125mph

In anticipation of the upcoming World Cup, BP Castrol Japan has built a machine that kicks a football (or soccer ball, if you're American) at over 125mph. According to the MSNBC video, in comparison, Ronaldo (no mention if they mean the Portuguese or Brazilian superstar) kicks at about 80mph. According to an article on Guardian, a 114mph shot was recorded by a David Hirst from English club Sheffield Wednesday in 1996--still less powerful than what the machine is capable of.

This contraption is a promotional item and will be showcased during the tournament in South Africa. Trust the Japanese … Read more

Buzz Out Loud Podcast 1127: Microsoft and EU browser roulette begins

So the European Union and Microsoft have finally settled their differences and will begin the browser ballot with no less than 12 browsers to choose from. Is this a good thing? Also, Intel is now under the gun from the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. What did it do this time? Listen to find out. And Cherrypal is selling a $99 laptop it bills as slow and sufficient. Nice.

Subscribe with iTunes (audio) Subscribe with iTunes (video) Subscribe with RSS (audio) Subscribe with RSS (video) EPISODE 1127

FTC formally charges Intel with anti-competitive behavior http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704541004574599791659334798.html?mod=googlenews_wsj … Read more

Flashback 1989--Gaming 20 years ago

I found an old issue of Video Games & Computer Entertainment magazine in an ancient cardboard box filled with stuff I somehow saved from my years at summer camp. Dated July 1989, it's more than 20 years old--and it's an incredible reminder of how quickly things can change.

Besides the god-awful layout by modern standards, I found a few notable shocks when thumbing through the issue:

Game ads have addresses to write to and phone numbers to call, since there were no Web links yet. The TurboGrafx-16 preview, featured on the front cover, boasts how the $199 console … Read more

Open source: Big value, not big money

Open-source software may have a lot in common with the global soccer (football) business: while it generates a tremendous amount of value for users, very little of that value can be converted into cash. At least, not directly.

That's the thought that struck me while reading the exceptional "Soccernomics: Why England Loses, Why Germany and Brazil Win, and Why the U.S., Japan, Australia, Turkey--and Even Iraq--Are Destined to Become the Kings of the World's Most Popular Sport." Among other things, the book tackles the economics of soccer, and yields some counterintuitive insights:

...[I]f Deloitte … Read more

American football juke moves and a challenging soccer game: iPhone apps of the week

Apple released an update today for iPhone which addresses some issues and fixes some crashes in specific situations. According to Apple, iPhone 3.1.2 resolves a sporadic issue that may cause the iPhone to not wake from sleep; an intermittent issue that may interrupt cellular network services until restart; and fixes a bug that could cause an occasional crash during video streaming. If you've experienced any of these issues (or even if you haven't), make sure to plug your iPhone into iTunes to get the latest update. Be aware that the update is over 200MB so will … Read more

Football pool editor

NFL Office Pool offers a way to manage a pick 'em style football pool. While the program looks basic enough to operate, the manual input required will make users seek out simpler solutions online.

Initially, we were pleased to find that this program's interface looked simple and easy to manage. However, after looking closer at some of the functions, we needed to consult the tutorials in the Help file. The program sets up betting leagues for College, CFL, and even NFL Europe games, but an NFL pool was easiest. This was because the NFL's 2009 schedule was fully … Read more

Football spread predictor

NFL Forecaster helps users predict weekly professional football games. While its depth is impressive, the amount of manual input may scare off some.

The program's interface is a cluttered and confusing mix of charts and statistics. We did ourselves a favor and consulted the Help file, specifically its alphabetized topics list, whenever a hurdle presented itself. The program excels at showing the current week's professional football match-ups and giving the spread (how many points the winner will win by). We were unable to know how accurately the program predicts scores since this was tested before the season, but … Read more

ESPN Radio for iPhone gets your game on

Streaming video continues to be largely MIA on the iPhone, but streaming audio? Ho, boy--it's an embarrassment of riches. Pandora, Slacker, Rhapsody. NPR News, Public Radio Player. The only thing missing? A killer sports app.

It's missing no more. ESPN Radio streams ESPN shows, podcasts, and even live college football games from stations around the country.

This is sports radio done right.… Read more

A utility suite for cheap and Madden football: iPhone apps of the week

Have you updated your iPhone to version 3.1 yet? Among the fixes and feature enhancements in the latest update, Apple added the Genius feature (formerly found in iTunes) to the App Store. Like its iTunes counterpart, Genius for iPhone apps looks at the apps you have on your iPhone and makes recommendations for apps you might like. I should point out that you need to digitally agree to Apple's terms and conditions, which you should read carefully before turning the feature on. The potentially objectionable part (that I have no objection to) is that Apple will track information, … Read more