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Teacher arrested after drone crashes at the US Open
In a Grand Slam like the US Open, top tennis players have to be able to block out unwanted distractions. A crowd that's starting to side with your opponent is one problem, but a drone? That's something most competitors aren't prepared for. As the Guardian reports, a 26-year-old teacher has now been arrested after a quadcopter crash-landed into an empty section of the stands. Flavia Pennetta and Monica Niculesu were facing off on Thursday night when the 3DR Solo swooped in unannounced. Videos have emerged documenting the crash -- although no-one was hurt, it clearly broke the flow of the match and worried the players, their families and fans. Curiously, the intruding drone didn't appear to have a camera on board -- it's possible that it snapped off during the landing, but otherwise it's unclear exactly why the pilot was flying there in the first place. As we've seen in the past, usually drones sneak into sporting events to capture all of the action.
DirecTV provides best HD view of Grand Slam tennis tournaments
We tell ya, DirecTV has the cable carriers at their mercy when it comes to these Mix Channels. For tennis enthusiasts in particular, you'll be hard pressed to find a viewing setup superior to this. Starting on January 18th with the Australian Open, the company will be integrating ESPN2 and Tennis Channel feeds into its six-screens-in-one Mix Channel, and for the first time ever, it will all be in high-definition. Viewers will be able to see the network channel and five court channels on a single screen, with each screen providing its own audio stream. Better still, DirecTV subscribers can expect the same kind of coverage for the French Open, Wimbledon and US Open tournaments later this year. And don't be shocked to hear of something similar for the upcoming golf season -- we get the feeling DirecTV is really going for the jugular here.
Wiimbledon tomorrow, no sign of strawberries and cream
Where were we weeks ago? We so would have made a pilgrimmage to Brooklyn to get our Wii tennis on. Maybe next year we can get in on this, since we hope tomorrow's Wiimbledon Wii Sports tennis tournament is the beginning of a yearly event. And where are the other Grand Slams, people? Get to work!Unfortunately, Wiimbledon is closed to new entrants at this point -- the 128 player pool is full -- but hey, the tournament is being held in a bar, so if you're in the area, can you really lose if you head out to watch? We think not. Wiimbledon gets going at 11 am at Barcade in Brooklyn, New York, and entrants are encouraged to "dress with moxy" like our man Richie Tenenbaum here. We encourage spectators to do the same. Just leave the bird at home. [Thanks, Conor!]
