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Welcome back to The Sports Road everyone. Ever wonder what happens when your favourite sports meet the waves of technology shaping the future? Well, with a bit of cringey laughs along the way, that’s exactly what we’re here to find out… Enjoy!
Here's what we got for ya today:
Technology is Taking Over The World!
The Future of Football?
More AI!
Guess Who’s Back…
Most Valuable Sports Teams:
Let's get into it!
The Game is Changing…
There’s an old saying: Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
With the development of tactical intelligence in sport, today that statement rings far more true than ever before.
I mean, it makes sense. Showing its effectiveness across hundreds – even thousands – of games a week, the concept of game-planning specifically for different opponents has worked out pretty well.
But guess what? That’s all about to be brought to the next level. Baseball fans, this one's for you!
You all know how it goes – everyone has a game plan until it’s really time to get out there.
No matter the amount of training put in, you would think that nothing could prepare you for a specific player's exact pitch. From the pace, to the technique, and more, it’s simply too distinguished.
Well, that’s actually wrong. In fact, MLB teams like the Boston Red Sox and New York Mets have been able to do so for quite a while now…
How, you ask? Trajekt – the sports tech firm dedicated to revolutionising Baseball training.
Specifically by using the firm’s robot ‘Trajekt arc’, teams are able to use accumulated data to fully replicate an opponent's pitch. Focusing on creating an accurate portrayal of what to expect, the machine combines machine learning (ML) with advanced graphics.
Just look at this!
In a move that sees the company expand globally, Trajekt have signed on with an unnamed team competing in the Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) league – Japan’s largest professional organisation.
“You’re actually creating shapes and release points and angles, doing things that you can’t normally do, it’s really special.”
Pete Fatse, Red Sox Hitting Coach
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The Future?
This isn’t the first time we’ve spoken about the future of Football broadcasting, and we’re SURE it won’t be the last.
Being so integral to the way Football is consumed by fans all over the world, aside from the product obviously being good, people want only one thing – accessibility.
Last weekend, The German Football Association (DFB) took a big step in granting that.
Look, let’s be honest. With so much news surrounding Harry Kane’s Bayern debut, it was hard to miss the DFB Supercup.
Wherein a surprising result saw the Bavarian side lose 3-0, the match was streamed in a VERY unique way…
That’s right. Enter everyone’s favourite pastime, TikTok!
Streaming the game on the popular social media video platform, the DFB took the help of production tech experts Vizrt Vectar to incorporate a multi-screen AND vertical broadcast.
“Vertical football matches have been broadcasted previously, however screening on TikTok whilst offering a multi-screen viewing experience is a first… We’ve seen a growing demand for snappier content via digital platforms, and with Vizrt Vectar, we can deliver a one-of-a-kind experience that combines multiple aspects of the game within a short 15-minute segment.”
Alessandro Reitano, SVP of Sports Production for Sky Sports Germany
Seeing as nearly half of millennials (47%) consuming their fix of sports content through social media platforms, this could be a mainstay in the modern game.
I mean, when you consider the fact that fans in the UK would literally have to pay at least £1000 to have access to all the Premier Leagues games it becomes pretty obvious why this option is being explored…
AI: An Audio Journey…
When we talk about AI in sport, one thing tends to come up over and over again – AI Commentary!
Acting as a cost effective and easy way to integrate the technology into our favourite sports, the benefits are clear for everyone to see.
Reducing workload, AI commentary is consistently available, able to perform in real-time, and importantly data driven.
Holding the ability to provide detailed insight into what’s happening on-screen, we’ve seen a number of sports implement the technology recently.
From Wimbledon, to a number of Golf organisations, the future is looking bright.
So bright, in fact, that it doesn’t look like the trend is going to stop any time soon!
Teaming up with IBM, the US Open is looking to further revolutionise the way we interact with Tennis forever!
Offering both AI commentary and AI-generated Draw analysis, the tournament is using the technology to engage fans like never before. This is what we know so far:
The AI commentary will cover every single game, with the technology being created in accordance with specifications uniquely tailored to Tennis.
To ensure the product remains coherent while maintaining strong engagement, the generative AI will operate across a hybrid cloud infrastructure whereby varied sentence structures and vocabulary were integrated.
The draw analysis – unlike any statistic before it – will use AI to determine the level of a player's advantages and disadvantages.
“Fans accessing the US Open digital experiences this year will be able to experience every singles match, across all seventeen courts, with detailed audio narration and captions accompanying each video – thanks to the power of IBM's watsonx generative AI, specifically trained on the language of tennis.”
Jonathan Adashek, SVP of Communications and Marketing at IBM
We Need to Talk About: VAR
Who isn’t!?!?
Ladies and gentlemen, the Premier League is well and truly back!
So, with months of eager and patient waiting, we can FINALLY say WHAT ON EARTH IS THE POINT OF HAVING VAR IF IT CAN’T BE USED PROPERLY! 😂😂😂
For those who haven’t seen what happened, let us set the scene.
Manchester United against Wolves. A game which saw a team tipped to potentially compete for the top places against a serious relegation candidate (sorry Wolves fans)...
While many expected United to handedly win, the game was close. With the game being 1-0 to Manchester United, there was one last twist.
Yep, in a sequence of events which looked more similar to a WWE match than a Football game, Andre Onana’s attempted punch completely missed the ball and landed flush into Wolves striker Sasa Kalajdzic.
I mean a stonewall penalty, right!? Wrong. After a check by the VAR, the panel decided to stick with the on-field referee’s decision.
And, in many ways, this whole situation is exactly what so many people are struggling to understand with the technology’s current use in the Premier League.
On one hand, the VAR has been told not to get too involved in the action, but on the other referee’s are actually being told to be more cautious in their decision making due to its use!
When adding to that the subjective nature of Football as a sport, it’s quite literally a recipe for disaster…
While the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) have issued Wolves an apology, something has to be rethought…
Who knows, come the end of the season that point could be a seriously defining factor
Quick Bites
Boxing: A MEGA FIGHT!
NBA: DRAMA!!!
The Women’s World Cup: GAME CHANGING
Meme of the day
Erling Haaland (aged 2)
— Av (@aviv_lavi)
Aug 14, 2023
Quote of the day
"I learned that if you want to make it bad enough, no matter how bad it is, you can make it."
Gale Sayers
Picture of the day
Wow, I wish this can be implemented in the PL
— Debby🙄 (@Deb_236)
Aug 15, 2023
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