The Friday Numbers

For fun, we thought we'd start a regular Friday distraction called 'the numbers'. Because Fridays are all about small distractions right? These may not always be design and tech oriented, but they will most definitely involve sports. Since it's Friday the 13th, the most talked about and feared day on the calendar, its only fitting we start with 13. Here goes...

RACING:
-The number 13 has not been in use in Formula One racing since 1976 and has only twice made an appearance at racetracks in the World Championship.
-Formula 1 teams are no longer given the number 13 when car numbers are given out to them. The team now finishing seventh in the previous year's championship will take numbers 14 and 15 as opposed to 13 and 14.
-The only driver to win a race in the No. 13 car was Johnny Rutherford, making his NASCAR debut at Daytona. Rutherford would win the Indianapolis 500 of Open Wheel racing three times.

STADIUMS:
-George Steinbrenner rejected 13 plans by architectural firm HOK prior to the building of the new Yankee Stadium.
-Most American High School gymnasiums have scoreboards which contain 13 digits (score, time of possession, etc.)


BASKETBALL:
-Wilt Chamberlain, who wore the jersey number 13, was named to 13 All-Star teams.
-Tonight, February 13th, the Harlem Globetrotters will play in Madison Square Garden...Wilt Chamberlain once played for the Harlem Globetrotters.

SOCCER:
-Its not always bad luck. Kristine Lilly, who made more international appearances than any other player in the sport's history, wore #13 for the USA women's team.

HOCKEY:
-No player wearing the #13 sweater has been inducted into the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame.

Green Point gets its roof

Cynics please step down, the Green Point stadium in Capetown is finally getting its head-dress. And what a beauty it is. The massive glass / steel / cable roof, designed by Birdair (Buffalo, NY) is unique, providing a veil-like effect for the stadium at the foot of Table Mountain. If you've not seen the official Green Point stadium site, visit it here. The 2 minute youtube video provides excellent site context.

I will make no pretenses about it- I have friends in South Africa and Zimbabwe and hope that this WC can heal a part of the world that is desperate to prove not just that it is normal, but that it can shine when given the chance. As those games draw near, you'll see more stadium photos from around South Africa here. An ongoing catalog of the stadium progress can be viewed here.

Spring Training 1

With Spring Training upon us, I thought I'd take some time over the next few weeks to look at the new facilities and assorted gadgetry that will make its debut across the ballparks and 'mallparks' of Arizona and Florida. The Cleveland Indians are up first; their fantastic new facility in Goodyear Arizona has all the makings of a blueprint for other MLB clubs to follow: real practice and workout facilities for personnel, easy access to high-end urban shopping and restaurants, expansion options, a design compatible with its surroundings, and lest we forget... Club Suites! For only $75 million, this too, can be yours.

Goodyear AZ is in fact named after that bastion of Ohio manufacturing, the Goodyear tire company in Akron, so its fitting that the Indians ended up here. And with apologies to the good people of Winter Haven, it's a clean break from the baggage that weighed them down at that facility. The current US economy will prevent some of the more elaborate entertainment and business options at the complex (does anything get built without conference centers and an on-site hotel anymore?) but as you can see from the photos there is ample room for growth, and the complex is a straight-shot of 30 minutes from downtown Phoenix on I-10. Companies and sponsors wanting to create an "Indians getaway" for staff or friends won't be short on options.

ed: Remember when Spring Training used to be about baseball? And it was cheap? No more. Spring Training is an event, and events demand financial commitment. Especially from you, dear consumer.

It should come as no surprise that HOK, the 800 lb. gorilla of world stadium design, are behind the beautiful design. We're loathe to call it "post-modern" but modern and classy it is, as if Bloomingdale's Home Outlet decided to pitch in on the project. When the grand entrance is fleshed out with plant life/grass/walkways it should make for a striking entrance. The gradual slope of the seating bowl and the wide concourse give the stadium a European feel (ex: review some of the Portuguese stadiums used for Euro 2004) and are a subtle nod to the flat landscape it faces on the outskirts of the hardscrabble desert. A tip of the proverbial ballcap to the Indians, HOK, RTKL and the municipality of Goodyear for pulling this off.

Pay to Play

To my regular readers (both of you. hah.) my apologies for a lack of posts this week. Without dwelling on it too much, I had to be hospitalized and that put quite a crimp in my writing/researching time.

I'm getting back to speed and in the meanwhile I've found this gem on Wired. ESPN is attempting to completely flip existing models on how video is distributed. Normally the ISP makes the rules and the content provider has to pay up for the bandwidth in use. But when your content is "that good" and "that widely distributed" the potential for a power-shift becomes self-evident. We've seen this tried before in other venues though (see: Ticketmaster versus Pearl Jam) and we know how that ends.

Dialogue, not Monologue.

Detroit Red Wings media-maven Shannon Paul likes point out that advertising and corporate communications are no longer a dialogue but rather a monologue, and I think it's a point that can't be made often enough.

Telemundo and Terra apparently agree, as their new futebolstar.tv site tries to create meaningful new two-way content for the Latino audience. View the Ad Age Article for more info.

When there are no live games the site functions more or less like any other soccer portal, so it remains to be seen whether it will steal eyeballs from content-rich sites like ESPN Deportes, but I do like the concept of letting fans decided what replays they want to see. (If you don't watch much soccer it's easy to forget that the on-field action never stops, so cutting away to a replay is a dicey proposition for the broadcaster.) The screen-in-screen replay or 'split screen' seems to be a natural here.

Super Bowl: the digital army

It's going to be a nutty week, so most of my posts will either be recaps or 'forwards' from other articles, but I couldn't let the Super Bowl pass without mention. The Super Bowl isn't traditionally the venue for a major network to breakout new technology as there are already enough distractions and logistical nightmares. This year was no exception, but I've noticed that every year we hear the word 'more' at the Super Bowl. More coverage, more cameras, more explosions. Well, if you're going to bring 'more' to the masses then it takes an army. This CNET article provides a nice background on the sheer firepower it takes to keep the Super Bowl afloat. Oh, and of course it analyzes Twitter (Big Surprise!). I spend an unusual amount of time monitoring media as part of my profession and not an hour goes by that someone isn't mentioning Twitter.

Texas sized swagger

It took me awhile to find a webcam for the new Cowboys facility. I kind of thought maybe they just couldn't find a land-based camera to get it all in one frame. You think I'm joking? This view is from one of the short sides. The largest domed project in the world. I wondered if the down economy and the troubled bond-market might impact some of the more exorbitant stadium details as opening day draws near, but that appears not to be the case. The Cowboys and City of Arlington got the bond debt re-financed in December (no small feat in this economy) and it's full steam ahead.

The City of Arlington site has quarterly 'scoreboard' reports with pictures of the stadium progress and other information, if you're so inclined. Work continues on the massive videoboard, and seats continue to be installed.

Slightly off-topic: I was unaware that the Cowboys and the New York Yankees got together to create a new concession, catering and merchandising firm last Fall. They borrowed (!) $100 million USD to create Legends Hospitality Management. LHM will provide its services to the teams' new stadiums next year. Interesting to see these two sports powerhouses collaborate.