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'NHL 22' adds women's teams for the first time
Just ahead of the Winter Olympics, ten women's national teams are playable in the EA game.
'NHL 22' will add women's hockey teams for the first time
You'll be able to play through the IIHF's women's, men's and junior championships next month.
NHL Turner Sports deal includes live game rights for HBO Max
WarnerMedia has secured streaming rights to 72 regular season games, including the league’s annual outdoor Winter Classic game.
Sling TV users can now add NHL Center Ice to their plan for $29 a month
With the NHL's shortened 56-game season getting underway last week, Sling TV is adding NHL Center Ice so you can follow all the action through to May when the Stanley Cup Playoffs begin.
Verizon's sports arena 5G doesn't reach every seat
Last week, Verizon (Engadget's parent company) bragged about offering 5G coverage in three major basketball and hockey arenas. Turns out there's a pretty big catch. That 5G is only available in some of the seating areas.
Verizon adds 5G coverage to three basketball and hockey arenas
You don't have to watch football if you want 5G coverage from Verizon (Engadget's parent company) while you're attending live sports. The carrier has switched on 5G coverage at three major basketball and hockey arenas, including San Francisco's Chase Center (home of the Golden State Warriors), Denver's Pepsi Center (Colorado Avalanche/Denver Nuggets) and Phoenix's Talking Stick Resort Arena (Phoenix Suns). Madison Square Garden is also on deck, although 5G is only slated as "coming soon."
NHL updates its website and apps to deliver more video clips and stats
ESPN+ may be Disney's powerhouse in the world of sports streaming, but options for sport-specific services are growing as well. Hockey enthusiasts can watch games and get info on their favorite teams and players through the NHL site and app, both of which are getting a makeover to show more of the information that hardcore fans love to see.
Yandex will stream every NHL game for free in Russia
Over the last couple of years, we've seen more and more major tech companies step into sports streaming, from Facebook and Twitch to Twitter and Amazon. Yandex has just landed a major deal on that front, as it will stream every NHL game for free in Russia for the next several years.
AI is better at bluffing than professional gamblers
The act of gambling on games of chance has been around for as long as the games themselves. For as long as there's been money to be made wagering on the uncertain outcomes of these events, bettors have been leveraging mathematics to give them an edge on the house. As gaming has moved from bookies and casinos into the digital realm, gamblers are beginning to use modern computing techniques, especially AI and machine learning (ML), to increase their odds of winning. But that betting blade cuts both ways, as researchers work to design artificial intelligences capable of beating professional players at their own game -- and even out-wagering sportsbooks.
Alexa now recaps NBA and NHL game stats
Voice assistants aren't great for sports buffs. They can provide the latest scores or tell you when your favorite team will play, but they rarely dive headlong into stats. Amazon, however, thinks it can dig a little deeper. It just gave Alexa the ability to recap NBA and NHL games, including the stats for individual players. You can find out how many points LeBron James scored in his last game (as of this article, 26), or have Alexa summarize the latest Maple Leafs match (they won).
NHL's first eSports tournament begins March 24th
Multiple pro sports leagues have already welcomed eSports with open arms, but what about the NHL? Where's the official hockey tournament? Don't worry, it's almost here. The league is launching the NHL Gaming World Championship, a global tourney that pits players against each other in the PS4 and Xbox One versions of EA's NHL 18. Register and you can compete in qualifiers that start March 24th, with the top eight players from each region competing in-person at events throughout May. The championship proper takes place at Esports Arena Las Vegas on June 19th, and the winner will take home "their share" of $100,000.
Sling TV adds NHL Network to its add-on Sports Extra package
Not long after Sling TV cut a deal with parent network Dish back in August to offer NFL Network to its customers, they're expanding sports offerings again. Just a few games into the season, they've added the NHL Network to their "Sports Extra" add-on package, the first time the service has been available for an over-the-top product.
Twitter is livestreaming weekly MLB and NHL games
Twitter's live sports streaming plans are expanding well beyond college games, the NFL and tennis. It just unveiled plans to livestream weekly Major League Baseball and National Hockey League games for free with occasional ads. This won't replace a TV or internet video subscription (you can only watch if you're out-of-market, for one thing), but it'll be widely available: MLB games will be available in most countries worldwide, while NHL matches will be available across the US. You won't need to log in to start watching, either. And this is apparently just the start, as Twitter is also promising regular programming regardless of the sports you watch.
Yahoo streaming deal nets weekly NHL hockey games
Yahoo is no stranger to streaming live sports, and starting this week it's adding hockey coverage. The company struck a deal with the National Hockey League (NHL) to offer live action from up to four out-of-market games in the US through the 2016-2017 season. The NHL "Game of the Day" will be available to stream free of charge (no cable subscription required), complete with in-game highlights for each matchup. Yahoo will also show "Best of the Day" and "Best of the Week" highlights alongside condensed games under the terms of the deal. What's more, Yahoo Sports will still be the NHL's official fantasy hockey partner.
Microsoft built a robotic air hockey table to show off Windows 10
Microsoft is more than a little proud that a version of Windows 10 runs on tiny, embedded PCs -- proud enough that it's willing to make clever devices to show this off. The folks in Redmond have built a robotic air hockey table whose virtual player is powered by a diminutive MinnowBoard Max running Windows 10 IoT Core. It's simple (it largely depends on an overhead camera to track the puck), but it's good enough to keep up with at least some shots, as you'll see in the video below. You aren't about to buy this table in a store -- it'd need to keep up with a ruthless human rival, for starters -- but it's proof that modern Windows can find its way into some very unusual places.
MLB's Advanced Media arm inks deal to create content for NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL) and Major League Baseball Advanced Media, MLB's interactive and online broadcast arm, have come to terms on a deal that would give the NHL access to the same Emmy award-winning production assets that the MLB enjoys. The six year deal would effectively create "a fully integrated global hub of digital content that encompasses video, live game streaming, social media, fantasy, apps, along with statistical and analytical content." Basically, all the cool stuff that baseball fans enjoy at MLB.com is coming to hockey fans at the start on next year.
NHL team projects Nintendo-esque 'Bolts of Steel' game on ice
We've seen 3D projections on basketball courts and arena floors before, but the NHL's Tampa Bay Lightning just took the game up a notch. Before the team's Eastern Conference Finals game on Tuesday, it used the playing surface to project a "Bolts of Steel" (get it, lightning bolts) game simulation inspired by the Nintendo classic Blades of Steel. We surmise they opted for another name not just for copyright purposes, but because the franchise didn't exist until 1992. While the video you'll see after the break is a render/demo, a Deadspin reader caught the thing on tape during the pregame festivities, so you can have a look at was it was like for those in attendance. Perhaps if the Bolts advance to the Stanley Cup Finals, they'll let a couple of fans duke it out for some nachos.
Recommended Reading: Marvel's 'Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.' hits its stride
Recommended Reading highlights the best long-form writing on technology and more in print and on the web. Some weeks, you'll also find short reviews of books that we think are worth your time. We hope you enjoy the read. Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Used to be Terrible. Now it's Terrific. by Todd VanDerWerff Vox I've watched all of Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., and at the beginning, it was pretty awful. The show, now well into its second season, has improved drastically and it became some of my favorite weekly viewing. As Vox's Todd VanDerWerff notes, the series "seems designed to turn every single negative on the show into a positive through sheer force of will."
GoPro will deliver live, up-close brutality from the NHL
If you were wondering exactly how GoPro planned to move into live TV broadcasting, we can tell you now. The company has signed a deal with the NHL/NHLPA that will see its cameras deliver real time content during NHL national and regional game broadcasts, starting this weekend. This isn't the first time the two have collaborated, rather it's an extension of their existing partnership. The fun will kick off at the All Star Weekend in Columbus, Ohio, where you'll be able to watch live from the players' point of view (on Saturday), as well as various other better-than-rink-side angles. Sunday's game will also feature live footage from the company's cameras, though the NHL's plans for the technology for the rest of the season aren't specified. While Saturday is the first official partnership for GoPro's broadcast solution, some footage has already made it to our screens. At X Games, Colton Moore raced with a GoPro and transmitter during the Speed and Style snowmobile competition, which ESPN used during its coverage last night.
Settle those sports arguments with Who Won Sports
Many of us love to argue or rather have animated discussions about a variety of topics, politics, religion, where to go for the best hamburger and the king of argument starters: Sports. Now with Who Won Sports you and your friends can settle those disagreements by just pulling out your phone and using this free universal app. Who Won Sports is a simple app that tells you at a glance just what the name implies, who won. You will find team championships, individual award winners and more for all the major sports. Choose your sport, then select which category you want and Who Won Sports in most cases, provides you with a list of winners by year going back as far back as the beginning of the competition or as long as the award has been given. In the baseball category you can choose from twenty-two different championships or awards. You will find World Series winners going back to 1903, Cy Young winners, home run champs, Gold Glove winners, Manager of the Year awards for both leagues and many more including the winners of the College World Series in Omaha and the first player picked in the annual amateur draft held each summer. Did you know Rick Monday was the very first player picked back in 1965? You would if you had Who Won Sports. Overall the app has eight categories from which to choose: baseball, football, basketball, soccer, tennis, golf, hockey, and the Canadian Football League. Golf and tennis feature the four grand slam events in each sport. Tennis includes the Women's winners but no LPGA winners in golf. However the app does include Ryder Cup winners. Who Won Sports makes it much easier to access all this data than using a browser and search engine on your phone. The navigation within the app is a breeze. However I did find a couple of issues that troubled me. For baseball and hockey you will get the winners in whatever year you select but nothing about which team they beat or how many games the series took. However, in the NBA you get a paragraph detailing the outcome of the series and the number of games. In the football category the listing is for NFL Champions but only goes back to the first Super Bowl in 1967. For each winner it tells you what number Super Bowl it was, where it was played and the two teams that played. Why do they provide more details for two of the sports but not the others? Also what about all the NFL Championship games that were played before the Super Bowl started. And what about the American Football League? After all without the success of the AFL, we would have never had a Super Bowl. A little more attention and information would have made this app more complete. I believe you will find Who Won Sports a handy app to keep on your phone and for the most part it will settle a lot of discussions about who won what. You won't find the answer to who is the greatest NFL quarterback of all time but you can see who won the 1928 Stanley Cup if that become important - It was the New York Rangers if you need to know.
