CES 2012: Former Laker Robert Horry talks tech, basketball

Like many celebrities, Robert Horry is at the Consumer Electronics Show this week to help promote a tech company. Problem is, when we sat down with him Tuesday to chat about Haier America, basketball's Big Shot Rob conceded he hadn't yet seen the appliance brand's latest products. 

In fact, he says he's not much of a techie.

"I try to keep my life as simple as possible," he said. "[If] I get all this high-tech, I'm going to buy more stuff and more stuff."

No matter. The affable former Laker, who won three of his seven championships with the team, was happy to talk generally about the brand, which is a sponsor for the NBA, and his hopes for his partnership with the company: "Haier has a lot of good products, and I'm just trying to get in good with the family so they can remodel my kitchen," he joked.

He was also eager to chat about his basketball days, saying he still keeps in touch with Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher. Although he's a Lakers fan, he said he sees challenges ahead for the team this year, including "a lot of young cats on their team," tough competition from the Oklahoma City Thunder and Miami Heat, and leftover issues from the trade drama at the start of the season. 

"I just think sometimes, with the way the season started out with them and all the turmoil and the guys being traded and them trading guys and trades not going through, you put a wall up as a player," he said. "Even though you go out there and play, it's still not the same because in the back of your mind, you always got that fear of being traded, so you don't play as well." 

These days, Horry works as a sports commentator and lives in Houston -- though he noted that "everybody thinks I live in L.A."

"L.A. is just too expensive for me," he said. "That's one thing about me: I'm from the South and I'm cheap."

Horry said he goes to a lot of Houston Rockets games now that he's retired and has free time. "I try to keep my face in there just in case one day I want to try to venture into the coaching realm or the GM realm or something of that nature," he said. "I'm waiting for my son to turn 13 and go to high school, and then I want to get back into it."

But back to tech: Horry, who has attended CES a number of times in the past, said he loves coming to the show to see what new products are coming out. "My favorite part is going to booths and coming home with a bag of stuff," he said.

One device he won't be going home with: a 3-D television. 

"I can't watch 3-D. It gives me a headache," he said. "I just saw a guy with a 3-D camera and that was cool, but after looking at it for 2, 3 seconds, my head started to hurt."

But Horry said he loves watching television shows -- "The Closer" is a top choice -- and has three Apple TVs in his home. As expected, he said Haier's TVs "are great." His favorite model?

"The big ones," he said. "The thing about them is they're slim and you can put them anywhere. Right now, I'm working on getting one to put in my bathroom. Sometimes you like to sit back and take a nice bubble bath and watch NBA TV."

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NFL to stream Super Bowl online and to Verizon phones, tablets

For the first time, the Super Bowl, arguably the biggest U.S. sports event of the year, is going mobile.

On Feb. 5, the National Football League will stream Super Bowl 46, taking place at Indianapolis' Lucas Oil Stadium, to smartphones and tablets using Verizon's NFL Mobile app (available on Apple's iOS and Google's Android).

Don't have a Verizon Wireless smartphone but still want to see the big game over the Web? The Super Bowl will be streaming at NFL.com and NBCSports.com.

And, as is the norm, the Super Bowl will be broadcast live on regular ol' TV on NBC. As noted by our colleagues over at The Times' Fabulous Forum sports blog, a record 111 million people watched Super Bowl 45 the old-fashioned TV way last year.

"The live NFL.com and NBCSports.com coverage will come from NBC’s TV coverage of the games," NBC Sports said in a statement. "Complementing that stream will be a number of extra features to enrich the viewing experience including additional camera angles, in-game highlights, live statistics and other interactive elements."

But, of course, the NFL is looking to reach more viewers and looking to mobile gadgets to do so. And that's not all. The NFL, NBC and Verizon will also stream wild-card Saturday, on Jan. 7, the playoffs and the Pro Bowl on Jan. 29.

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At Angel Stadium: Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Android tablets [Video]

-- Nathan Olivarez-Giles

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Twitter.com/nateog

Image: A screenshot of NFL.com. For the first time, the Super Bowl will be streamed live online and to Verizon phones and tablets. Credit: NFL

At Angel Stadium: Peanuts, Cracker Jacks and Android tablets [Video]

Baseball, the great American pastime, is a sport of tradition.

For more than 100 years, people have sat in the sun on a summer's day to catch a ballgame.

And over the years, grabbing a cold beer and a ballpark hot dog; bringing your glove to the stadium in the hopes of catching a fly ball or home run; standing and singing during the seventh-inning stretch about peanuts and Cracker Jacks have all become part of the experience of watching a game in person.

Now, T-Mobile and the Los Angeles Angels are in the middle of an experiment to see if they can add tablet computers to the culture of watching a live game.

T-Mobile is renting two tablets, the 7-inch-screen Samsung Galaxy Tab and the 8.9-inch-screen T-Mobile G-Slate (made by LG), at Angel Stadium for a reasonable $10 per game.

So why plunk down an Alexander Hamilton to get a tablet at a game, when your hands might already be full with the normal ballpark fare?

Women's World Cup final sets new Twitter records

The FIFA Women's World Cup set new Twitters record for the highest rate of tweets per second sent out on the microbloggin service about any one topic.

Twitter announced the new records with a tweet of its own Sunday:

New Tweets per second records! End of the #WWC final: 7196 TPS. And today's end to the Paraguay/Brazil game is now 2nd with 7166 TPS.

The more than 7,000 tweets per second about the final and the third-place game game eclipsed the record set in May when Osama bin Laden was killed, as well as the 5,000 tweets per second at five separate times March 11, the day Japan was struck by a devastating earthquake and tsunami that later led to a nuclear power plant crisis.

In May, Bin Laden's death had an average of 3,000 tweets per second, with peaks of about 5,000 tweets per second.

The World Cup final -- called a classic by soccer fans and pundits the world over -- between the U.S. and Japan was a thriller, with Japan beating the Americans 3-1 on penalty kicks after a 2-2 tie in extra time.

The win is welcome news in Japan, given all the country has gone through this year, and many U.S. supporters said on Twitter and other social media outlets (Facebook, Google+) that there wasn't a better team to lose to than Japan.

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Photo: Japan's Saki Kumagai (4) and Azusa Iwashimizu (3) and U.S. forwards Lauren Cheney (12) and Abby Wambach (20) compete for the ball during the first half of Sunday's Women's World Cup final in Germany. Credit: Arne Dedert/EPA

Shaq announces NBA retirement on Twitter, using Tout iPhone app [Updated]

Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement from the National Basketball Assn. on Wednesday, from his @Shaq Twitter account.

Broadcasting his message to his more than 3.8 million Twitter followers, the ever quotableformer Los Angeles Lakers center was a man of few written words, tweeting simply:

im retiring Video: http://bit.ly/kvLtE3 #ShaqRetires

To send out that message, O'Neal used Tout, an iPhone app built by the San Francisco start-up Tout Industries that allows users to send 15-second videos on Facebook or Twitter or to specified email addresses.

Linked to his Twitter message was a video, which Tout users call "touts," where a more lengthy message was offered to fans of O'Neal's nearly two-decade-long career, in which he also played for the Orlando Magic, Miami Heat, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics.

"We did it -- 19 years, baby," O'Neal said in the video. "I want to thank you very much. That's why I'm telling you first. I'm about to retire. Love you. Talk to you soon."

O'Neal's use of Tout might bring the app maker a bit more attention, something the start-up seems ready for.

"Shaq will be using Tout as his own personal media network, updating his Twitter followers and his Facebook fans directly with new and exciting developments in his life following his retirement from the NBA," Tout said in a statement announcing O'Neal's use of the app.

Company officials weren't available for comment on Wednesday afternoon as to whether O'Neal was being paid for his use of Tout.

But Tout Industries did say in its statement that it would be venturing beyond Apple's iOS devices soon, expanding to Google's Android mobile operating system in July.

[Updated 4:50 p.m.: O'Neal isn't getting paid for using Tout, but he does has some interest in seeing the start-up succeed, said Michael Downing, Tout's chief executive, in an interview with the Technology blog.

"Shaq's on our advisory board," Downing said. "It's pretty cool, but we aren't paying him for that. It's not a sponsorship deal or pay thing at all."

O'Neal found Tout on his own after the video sharing service launched about 6-weeks ago, the CEO said.

"We are as brand new as brand new gets," Downing said. "The company's been around for about a year, but we've only been live, in a beta, for 6-weeks and it's an early stage beta, not without a couple bugs. And Shaq came to us out of the blue, really. He liked what he saw and his team contacted us and said, 'Hey, Shaq will be making a big announcement soon and wants to use your platform to do so.' And we we're just excited that he wanted to use our technology."

See Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin and others dunk in video trading cards

Old-school sports trading cards have gotten a high-tech makeover.

Limited-edition video trading cards -- packed with 20 minutes of career highlight footage -- will begin hitting store shelves in June. The first ones will feature four basketball players: Lakers star Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin of the Los Angeles Clippers, John Wall of the Washington Wizards and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder.

The cards were created by San Dimas display company Recom Group Inc. for Panini America Inc., maker of trading cards for the National Basketball Assn., the National Hockey League and the National Football League.

Recom owner Rob Norden said the concept behind the video trading card was an upgrade on the traditional card while "staying true to the form" of a beloved sports memorabilia.

For example, he said, the video cards "are actually still on cardboard."

But the cards will be slightly bigger than normal and the electronics inside make them several times thicker. A screen will fill two-thirds of one side and will play clips of on-court action, to be accompanied by music and possibly voice-over commentary, Norden said. The screen can be turned off when you've had your fill of slam dunks and chest thumping.

With 2 gigabytes of storage space, the cards -- which also come with chargers -- can also be used to store music or documents, Norden said.

They will be limited inserts in Panini's Totally Certified Basketball card line, which will include hundreds of traditional cards of active and former NBA players. A pack of five retails for $20 and will be available in sports memorabilia shops around the country.

For collectors that covet exclusivity, Panini will also put out a small quantity of autographed video cards -- to be accompanied with a video of the player signing the card for the ultimate proof of authenticity.

"In the collection business it's always the question of 'Is this really the real thing?' " Norden said. "With this, card owners will actually be able to watch players sign the very card they are holding."

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Photo: Sample video trading card from Panini America and Recom Group. Credit: Recom Group

NBA, a hit in online video, is looking to grow in social media

The National Basketball Assn. is heading into the 2011 playoffs on the heels of what the league says is one of its most successful seasons on TV and the Internet so far.

And through online video, smartphone and tablet apps and social media gaming, the NBA is working to keep the momentum up after the season ends, a champion is crowned, and, in the worst-case scenario, if it finds itself in the midst of a possible player lockout.

The NBA set an all-time high for itself with more than 1.9 billion videos viewed on NBA.com this season, and the league is expecting to pass the 2 billion video view mark in the postseason, said John Acunto, a league spokesman.

More than 100 million people follow or "like" the Facebook and Twitter accounts of the NBA, its teams and its players, placing the league among the most popular professional sports organizations in social media, he said. About 8.2 million fans "like" the NBA's official page, a number that was at about 2 million a little more than a year ago.

The increased popularity of NBA content on the Internet has come as ratings for professional basketball on TV in the U.S. have risen too. Games were up 38% from last season on ABC, up 28% on ESPN and up 42% on TNT, with each network having their most-viewed NBA regular season ever, Acunto said.

NBA Commissioner David Stern said the higher TV viewership and increased traffic via new-media paths on the Internet is the result of the NBA being open to embracing technology in its earlier stages.

"You can track with precision the way our fans stay connected to us," Stern said. "When there are a billion downloads of streams of highlights from NBA.com, when players in the NBA have 50 million 'likes' on Facebook and probably another 400 million YouTube views, then you know that this whole community is there. And community, that is a key aspect of the Internet.

"Now how that translates into, let's say, attendance or viewing is another issue. But I dare say that our increased ratings this year come with help from social media, this digital water cooler, this digital grapevine -- and that leads ultimately to e-commerce and NBA TV, which is in 55 million households, NBA League Pass, NBA Game Time."

Brian 'The Beard' Wilson visits Twitter with Giants' World Series trophy

The man known as The Beard stopped by Twitter on Wednesday with the San Francisco Giants' World Series trophy in tow.

Brian Wilson, the Giants' star closing pitcher, not only showed off the trophy to the San Francisco-based social media company, he also started a new Twitter account -- @BrianWilson38.

His first Tweet: "The Beards back on twitter.....Lets Rage!!!!!!!!"

Twitter user Steve Miller sent a message on the Website asking CEO Dick Costolo:

@dickc What color is his beard today?

Costolo wrote back:

@SteveMillerSF I paid more attention to his hat, which was awesome. He is an amzing guy

Wilson spoke to Twitter employees for a while, shook a few hands and talked a bit about winning the World Series. 

He then left, clutching the World Series trophy in gloved hands.

Check out the photos, above and below, of Wilson's visit that Twitter sent to the Technology blog.

 

 

 

 

 

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Photos: San Francisco Giants pitcher Brian Wilson visits Twitter headquarters in San Francisco on Wednesday. Credit: Troy Holden / Twitter

Verizon to stream NFL games and other coverage on phones

Verizon Wireless has scored a deal to stream National Football League games and other coverage, starting with the April 22 draft. Sprint previously had an exclusive deal with the league and will retire its NFL Mobile Live service.

The largest U.S. wireless company reportedly spent $720 million on the deal, according to the Wall Street Journal. Verizon subscribers won't get the holy grail -- that is, access to watch every game on demand.

The package includes live video for NBC's "Sunday Night Football" and the NFL Network's Thursday night games, 24-hour news coverage and the RedZone channel. The latter is Sunday afternoon football for the ADD generation; coverage constantly switches between games whenever a team has scored or is likely to.

Get live updates from your kid's Little League game on a PC or phone

Pro sports fans know the modern wonders of being able to track their favorite teams' stats and play-by-play online thanks to tools like ESPN's Gamecast and Yahoo's StatTracker. New York's Fungo Media is doing the same for Little League.

With GameChanger's free website, parents can check into the site after a baseball game for the box score breakdown. The site is currently being beta tested. Once it launches in the second quarter of this year, users will be able to pay $10 or $12 per month (the company hasn't decided which) for access to live game tracking as well as in-depth team and player stats.

Fungo Media founder Ted Sullivan was in Palos Verdes on Saturday for Rolling Hills Little League's youth baseball opening day. Parents and coaches listened as he laid out the groundwork for the software that could revolutionize how parents track their kids' games, how coaches measure player performance and how high schools and colleges recruit.

A father who can't break away from work to see his son's playoff game could follow along in his browser or on a smart phone. The website works in practically any browser. There will also be text message or e-mail alerts when, for example, a son's name shows up in the play-by-play.