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Tencent becomes the exclusive Chinese home of the NFL
The NFL has signed a deal with Tencent that'll see the Chinese giant becoming the exclusive home of the game for the next three years. As well as most pre and regular-season games, Chinese fans will be able to watch both the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl. In addition, Deadline Hollywood says that ancillary shows, such as the Draft, Hard Knocks, Game Day and A Football Life are all included in the deal.
NFL returns to the BBC with Wembley matches and the Super Bowl
With a licence fee freeze weighing heavy on its back, the BBC has had to pick and choose what it spends public money on. It's meant that the Beeb has had to pass up exclusive TV rights to major sporting events like the Olympics, but that doesn't mean it isn't adding more coverage to its already strong lineup. The broadcaster announced today that it's struck a new deal with the NFL that will let it show all three International Series games from Wembley later this year, as well its banner event: the Super Bowl.
NFL adds Google+ Hangouts to fantasy football leagues for extra-personal trash talking
So your fantasy football team just clinched its spot in the virtual Super Bowl. There's now a better way to rub it in everyone's noses than snarky message board posts: Google has just teamed with the NFL to integrate Google+ Hangouts across the league's fantasy football pages. The multi-person video chat is now just a step away, whether you're trading players or checking the latest results. Google is even bending the rules slightly to allow for a full league's dozen players in one session, instead of the usual 10, and will help host talks between commentators and league participants. Hangouts at the NFL pages are already up and running -- that gives us just enough weeks to hem and haw over linebacker choices before the real NFL's schedule gets going.
NFL mulling microchips in footballs for those life-or-death goal line rulings
The NFL is serious business. So serious, in fact, that the idea of refs getting decisions wrong sends chills up and down Roger Goodell's spine. Yeah, we all know they do it habitually, but the League seems to be considering improving accuracy just a little bit with the help of some tech. Cairos Technologies, a German outfit that's been trying to sell its goal line technology to football (as in soccer) bigwigs for a while, has told Reuters that it's in discussions with the NFL about bringing its magnetic field hocus pocus to the gridiron. The idea would be for the ref to be alerted, via a message to his watch, any time the ball does something notable like crossing the goal line or first down marker. It should be a great aid for making difficult calls like whether a touchdown has happened at the bottom of a scrum, and might even help cut down on the number of frightfully dull replay challenges. Win-win, no? [Original image courtesy of NFL.com]
Nintendo KIRFs Nerf with soft football patent attempt
Ready for your daily dose of absurdity? Nintendo has filed for patent protection of yet another inflatable idea, this time throwing up a spongy football accoutrement for your Wiimote. The "ball" has a strap to keep you from actually throwing it, and in-game trajectories are calculated on the basis of the angle and force of your pseudo-throwing motion. If you're thinking the Wiimote can do all this even without a plush attachment, you'd be right, but then you'd just look silly jumping and juking in front of your TV without a proper accessory in hand. [Via Joystiq]
Man charged $28,000 for using data card, Slingbox to watch football game
While waiting for a Caribbean cruise liner to set sail from the Port of Miami last November, a Chicago native with an AT&T wireless card and Slingbox decided to catch the Bears vs. Lions football game on his laptop. The end result? A $28,067.31 bill from for international data charges, despite the ship never leaving the harbor. Apparently the card was picking up a signal it shouldn't have, and while the bill was eventually dropped to $290.65 after a considerable number of calls to customer service, let that be a warning to mobile users traveling on the fringe of international roaming areas -- and in case you were wondering, the Bears ended up winning 27 to 23.[Via The Register]
Madden 08 pulls out its weaponry
One of the new features of Electronic Arts' Madden 08 is the use of weapons -- special medals associated with certain players to signify their strengths. These aren't real weapons, mind you, but O, how we long for the days of Mutant League Football. These are more like situation-specific special moves. A player with the Big Foot Kicker weapon, for example, can kick the ball "farther than anyone in the game."IGN is outlining the 24 weapons featured in the game, so that enthusiasts can start planning and dreaming up their weapon combinations. Cannon Arm QB with a Quick Receiver? Let's hope one of their defenders doesn't have the Speed weapon.%Gallery-4322%
2K Sports announces classic All-Pro Football roster
Licenses? Who needs licenses? Not 2K Sports, who today announced a massive lineup of classic football stars would grace All-Pro Football 2K8. While EA holds the exclusive rights to use NFL trademarks and current player likenesses, 2K has lined up practically every retired player you've ever heard of, and probably a few you haven't, for the roster of their re-entry into the football simulation market.The list of players is presented on the game page is in a super-annoying Flash format, but intrepid Joystiq tipster Mugginns has compiled them all in an easy to scan text list, organized by position and alphabetical order. Check it out after the jump.
