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NFL welcomes startup ideas for the future of football
Tomorrow, the biggest event in football will take place in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. But today, a group of technology entrepreneurs gathered in an auditorium at Stanford's Graduate School of Business to be involved in football's future. They were there as part of 1st and Future, a startup competition hosted jointly by TechCrunch and the NFL in order to find the best football-related tech in three areas: the home viewing experience, tech for athletes and improving the stadium of the future.
Watch the Engadget staff on: Getting ready for Super Bowl 50
Super Bowl 50 weekend is here, and who is better equipped to talk you through preparation than a squad full of Engadget editors? As the Big Game approaches, some of our staff sat down in the studio to explain what they do (or don't) know about football and make some gameday suggestions. Every topic is on the table, from player safety to calorie counting to Grindr. Here's what they had to say.
Wilson's smart football brings the big game to the backyard
Wilson, which released a smart basketball last year, is expanding its connected sporting goods repertoire to the realm of football. The Wilson X Connected Football, as it's called, is embedded with sensors that can measure stats like distance, speed, spiral efficiency and spin rate. It's smart enough to know if it's caught or dropped and can transmit said information to a companion app via Bluetooth. In conjunction with the Super Bowl this Sunday, Wilson representatives dropped by the Engadget office in San Francisco to show off what it can do. The purpose of such a ball? According to Wilson, it's to bring video games to the backyard.
PayPal has a Super Bowl ad, too
At the rate companies are releasing their Super Bowl ads prior to this Sunday, it's a wonder why they even spent the millions to air them during the big game at all. The latest in that YouTube-approved trend is none other than PayPal, which is hoping to sell viewers on the idea that it's "new money." The under-a-minute clip has everything an ad needs these days to garner attention amid the cacophony of macro-brewed beer commercials and flashy spots for monsters that reside in red and white spheres.
Panthers linebacker gets 3D-printed brace for Super Bowl
During the first quarter of the NFC Championship game nearly two weeks ago, Carolina Panthers All-Pro linebacker Thomas Davis broke his arm making a tackle. Immediately after the game, Davis said he had every intention of playing in Sunday's Super Bowl, and it looks like he'll be able to do so with the help of a 3D-printed brace. Whiteclouds, a 3D printing company, engineered the brace in about 8 hours last week, after receiving a 3D scan of Davis' forearm. What's more, when he takes the field this weekend, Whitclouds says it will be "the first time an NFL player has used a 3D-printed piece of equipment on the field."
Super Bowl 50 athletes tell us about their favorite tech
Super Bowl 50 will take place this Sunday in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California, and as a result, both the Denver Broncos and the Carolina Panthers are already on the ground in the Bay Area prepping for the big day. On Monday evening, we took the opportunity to head on over to Super Bowl Opening Night to meet and greet players from both teams and ask them -- including Carolina Panthers quarterback Cam Newton -- about their favorite tech gadgets. Check out our video above to find out what they have to say.
Uber drivers' rates protest takes to the SF streets
The Uber drivers are milling around in the parking lot of the now demolished Candlestick Park and they're antsy. But mostly, they're pissed. They're making less than when they first started driving for the company. Their leader Mario (last name withheld) shows up a few minutes before the 2pm meeting time followed by an additional 20 cars. The group crowds around him as he hands out fliers and peppers him with questions. They're getting organized to show the ride-sharing platform how upset they are and in the process, screw up traffic in San Francisco.
Amazon's first Super Bowl commercial is for Echo
Tech companies are ready to make the most from one of the biggest sporting events in the world, the Super Bowl. That includes Amazon, which will air its first-ever Big Game commercial during the 50th edition of the NFL's main event. The ad's teaser focuses on the Echo speaker and Alexa, the retailer's virtual assistant, and stars Alec Baldwin alongside football legend Dan Marino. You can see Baldwin ask Alexa things like "what's a snack stadium," in preparation for his Super Bowl party.
Pokémon's Super Bowl ad is the very best
We're still a few weeks out from Super Bowl 50, but we've already been blessed with one of the most absurd — and amazing — ads of the season. To commemorate the franchise's 20th anniversary, The Pokémon Company shelled out millions of dollars to create a Super Bowl ad that'll run at the beginning of the game's third quarter. Go ahead, take a moment to wrap your head around that one. We'll be waiting.
YouTube's looking to cash in early on Super Bowl 50 ads
With Super Bowl 50 set to kick off on Sunday, February 7th, YouTube doesn't want advertisers waiting until then to debut their highly anticipated commercials. As part of a major push for its AdBlitz video platform, which hosts Super Bowl ads and promotes them across Google's advertising network, the company's encouraging advertisers to show content on YouTube before The Big Game even starts. And it wants to make it clear that the strategy really works.
CBS plans to livestream Super Bowl commercials for the first time
If you've been livestreaming the Super Bowl and missing out on all of those commercials, that's about to change. Variety reports CBS will stream all of the ads during the game in February, so those watching via the internet will be privy to the same quality entertainment each time there's a break in the action. In the past, advertisers have had to choose a streaming option on top of the regular broadcast slots. If you streamed this past February's game, you likely noticed the same handful of commercials on repeat. That's why. This time around, though, CBS is said to be treating all of the ad spots equally and advertisers will have to consider delivering content in both places. The report also indicates that CBS plans to charge a record price for each 30-second spot -- likely more than the $4.5 million NBC commanded this year. What's more, the network won't let companies "opt out" of the livestream either. In recent months, NFL content has made a big splash online with clips on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube alongside Yahoo's plans to stream a regular season game from London. [Image credit: Focus on Sport/Getty Images]
The 10 most-tweeted commercials from Super Bowl XLIX
It was a great night for Rob Gronkowski and the New England Patriots, but it wasn't so good for our friend Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. It also was a great night for brands trying to hold your attention for seconds with ads to get you talking on Twitter. From the usual highbrow suspects selling soda and beer, to toe fungus medication and superglue, here's our take on the most-talked about spots from last night's big game.
The Big Picture: Private jets swarm out of Arizona after the Super Bowl
If you've just returned from a boutique hermitage in the middle of nowhere, you might have missed the fact that the Super Bowl has just finished. While most people, naturally, will be driving away from the University of Phoenix's stadium, a higher class of sports enthusiast will be taking a private jet back home. If you check into a flight tracking service like FlightAware right now, for instance, you'll see the sky over Arizona blocked out by a fleet of Gulfstreams and Cessnas. Judging by the map, there's going to be more than a few east coast-bound flights that'll run out of champagne in the not-too-distant future.
'Madden'-simulated Super Bowl match predicted the winner... and exact score
Pundits schmundits. Give us a console and an annually rehashed sports game series and we'll do the rest. Possibly. EA's Super Bowl simulation, which ran on Madden 15 last week, pegged the New England Patriots to win, coming from behind to clinch it 28-24 against the Seattle Seahawks. Which is exactly what happened in real life last night, with the Patriots trailing in same third quarter. While this year's prediction might be particularly uncanny, Madden has now picked the winner in eight out of the last 10 Super Bowls. However, some may still prefer the shock and awe of Breaking Madden in comparison to more straight-laced sims.
'Tron'-like headphones, virtual reality at Sundance and other stories you might've missed this week!
We get it. It's been a busy week. Luckily, we're here to catch you up on the release date of the Apple Watch, VR headsets in Hollywood and all the other cool stuff you may have accidentally glossed over during five days on the daily grind.
Your Facebook feed is going to be unbearable during the Super Bowl
The Super Bowl, the enormous advertising event that has some American Football between the commercial breaks, takes place this Sunday. If you're not a fan, then you may have wanted to find some respite inside your Facebook feed but, unfortunately, that avenue has been closed off this year. According to Reuters, the social network is hoping to muscle in on Twitter's real-time advertising turf by letting businesses target users depending on what messages they post.
Facebook wants to replace Twitter as your Super Bowl companion
If Super Bowl parties aren't your thing, Facebook has a new hub for the big game that aims to be the second screen spot for all your social media commentary. The folks in Menlo Park built a "Super Bowl experience" page that collects posts from your pals, real-time reactions, live scoring updates and more. By using "watching Super Bowl XLIX" in status updates, you can ensure that your hot takes are included in the stream. There's also postings from the NFL, NBC, both teams, players and other notable football minds to keep you up to speed on all the latest happenings. What's more, the page will pull in photos and videos from both the media and folks fortunate enough to be in Glendale. If you'll recall, Twitter developed similar real-time options in the past, and the 140-character network is likely to tip its hand on this year's tools in the days leading up to Beast Mode vs. Bellichick.
Madden predicts Patriots over Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX
With Super Bowl XLIX on Sunday, it's time again to gaze deep into the crystal ball that is the latest version of EA Sports' Madden NFL to see how the game will shake out. End result? Patriots beat Seahawks, 28 to 24, thanks to four touchdowns from Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady. [Image: EA Sports]
What's on your HDTV: Super Bowl XLIX, 'Grim Fandango Remastered'
This week it's all about the big game. We will not mention the footballs and how much air is or is in them, we will only wish for a contest that's not already over by halftime. Other than the Super Bowl matchup of the Seahawks and Patriots, we're also looking forward to Anderson Silva's return to UFC fighting, and the release of Grim Fandango Remastered on PlayStation and PC platforms. Finally, don't miss D'Angelo as a musical guest on Saturday Night Live. Look after the break to check out each day's highlights, including trailers and let us know what you think (or what we missed).
Super Bowl XLIX to be livestreamed by NBC
In what has become a tradition since 2012, the Super Bowl will be streamed online again this year. The kind gesture, which is free of charge to anyone in the US, comes courtesy of NBC -- the network that started the trend of livestreaming The Big Game. For Super Bowl XLIX, set to take place on February 1st in Arizona, NBC plans to have an 11-hour block of video coverage over the internet, including pre-game analysis, the popular halftime show and an all-new episode of the prime-time series The Blacklist. As Variety points out, the Peacock channel intends to heavily promote its TV Everywhere efforts during the stream, hoping to drive demand for services like the NBC Sports Live Extra app -- one that typically requires a pay-TV login.
