Is this the new currency in NCAA FB recruiting?

An interesting blog post last week from the excellent college sports blog over at The Chronicle for Higher Education details the success of the University of Oregon's video production department, hailing the athletic department's video coordinator Steve Pohl as "the Speilberg of College Sports."  The first video below, from Pohl and UO with the help of digital film production house Pushplay Productions, recently won an award at the 2010 College Sports Video Summit, where it took home the prize for best college sports video of the year.

Big deal, you might say.  But considering the video went up against entries from ESPN (promo work for the College Baseball World Series) and CBS (the 2010 NCAA basketball championship game between Butler and Duke), well, it actually is kind of a big deal.

What makes it an even bigger deal is that productions like this and university employees like Steve Pohl are considered unnecessary by the committee charged with helping the NCAA rein in spending, the Knight Commission.  Considering these video producers and products do nothing to help the health or mind of the student-athlete, there's no arguing that they are superfluous economically.  However, the question is, how important are slick videos like this for satiating both the fans and potential recruits?  While I hope an 8-minute season montage won't be the deciding factor for standout high school football athletes, it has become just one more perk in the long list at the University of Oregon, where being the best means having the coolest stuff: the close relationship with Nike founder Phil Knight, the country's wildest athlete academic center, and an almost-innumerable amount of uniform combinations.

Oregon Football 2009 Season Highlights from Pushplay Productions on Vimeo.

Watching the video does make me wonder, however, if "the medium is the message" for both recruits and fans.  Also, I always love watching videos like this just to see what gets omitted.  Where's LeGarrette Blount, the running back who sucker punched a Boise State University player and had to be restrained and escorted off the field by police after a game in Boise last September?  Or the team's dreadful graduation rate (49%)?

Anyway, I guess I should be thanking my lucky Title IX stars that the video production team isn't all about football.  Here's a slightly-less inspiring video about the Ducks' 2010 Track and Field team.

Oregon Track and Field 2010 from Pushplay Productions on Vimeo.

Yeah.  Can you believe they (Pushplay Productions/Oregon) have the music rights to Phoenix?  I guess after you saw the shattering opponent football players in the first video, you're ready to believe anything. Like, that they spelled "Field" wrong in the Track and Field video.

Um, yeah. What about those graduation rates again?

Microsoft and ESPN bring media convergence to sport

Beginning in November, if you own an Xbox 360 and subscribe to Xbox Live, you will be able to watch ESPN3 live and on-demand through your magical Microsoft box.  The entertainment device already boasts connections to Netflix and other kinds of entertainment content, but it's safe to say that today's announcement at the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3) opens the world of sports broadcasting to an intriguing new medium.

Two SportsCenter anchors were on hand at E3 today to

show this picture of USC players hugging.

Importantly for both companies, however, this new feature will be exclusive to the Xbox, leaving Microsoft competitors Nintendo and Sony out in the cold.  Both console-developing companies, however, have made strides within the past year to make their mark in the streaming sports world.  Just a few months ago, Sony made a deal with Major League Baseball to supply a live streaming service through the Playstation.

The kids are going to want to do this, ESPN thinks.

It also means that there are some new features forthcoming as a result of the convergence.  According to their presentation, the Xbox/ESPN experience will also feature "live trivia, polls, and clips from ESPN shows  like SportsCenter."  For ESPN's Digital Media GM, John Kosner, streaming programming through the Xbox can create a "live even experience" that "reach[es] a group that we don't normally reach."

Huge Boondoggle on Tap for MLB

On Wednesday night, Tigers pitcher Armando Galarraga was set to make history against the Cleveland Indians.  Through 8 and 2/3 innings, Galarraga had pitched a perfect game.  He was just one out away from recording the third perfect game in the last month in MLB (following Dallas Braden of the Athletics on May 9th and Roy Halladay of the Phillies on May 29th).  Then this happened:

Here's the image up close.  You make the call.

And now, let the media siege - and those who scream for instant replay - begin.

Yikes.  Count this as just another in the many, many, many number of times I wouldn't want to wake up as Bud Selig tomorrow.

Sports leagues tap into Apple's latest gadget

An incredible sports Monday.  Considering that yesterday marked baseball's opening day, Tiger Woods' press conference at Augusta National, and the thrilling NCAA men's championship game, it's an incredible amount of sports fodder for consideration.

However, I cannot help thinking about the big news from this past Saturday, namely, the release of the Apple iPad.  Make whatever joke you please about the latest Apple gadget (and its' name), but I'm hard pressed not to consider mass media theorist Marshall McLuhan's famous adage: the medium is the message.  And, in concert with the recent influx of sports in 3-D, it's hard not to notice all the new and different ways that media are changing the way we watch sports.

People wait in line Saturday morning at the NYC Apple Store on 5th Avenue.

Where is Triumph the Insult Comic Dog when you need him?

Keeping that idea in mind, I look forward to seeing how the coverage of sports evolves to fit the iPad (to be fair, several other companies are initiating tablet PCs as well). While most leagues have already unveiled websites that are "optimized" for the iPad, some are developing more advanced applications for watching and keeping track of games.

It appears that Major League Baseball is the first to launch a video-capable application that is available for subscribers to MLB.tv.  Here's a look at a couple screenshots for a game between the Mets and Nationals.

These screenshots assume that you would actually 

want to watch the Mets and the Nationals.

Other leagues seem more focused on providing applications or web sites that enable a more in-depth experience for watching games by utilizing the iPad as a "second screen."  As a result, you'll notice that the MLB, NBA, NHL, NFL, and MLS (Major League Soccer - a stretch, I know) web sites are now organized to fit the screen dimensions of iPads.

Many of those league web sites have recently been re-designed, specifically for the launch of technologies such as the iPad.  Taking it one step further, however, the NBA has created the following application to lure in fans to that "second screen" experience:

I have a hard time seeing why the video asserts "you can see who's on the court and on the bench," when, presumptively, if you're watching the game you will know that information.  But, then again, maybe you won't?  I don't know.

In all, if we have learned anything about Apple and innovation, then tablet computing is apparently here to stay.  And so, the ways in which it will change how we watch sports will likely evolve over time as further iterations of tablets are produced.  But, for now, it appears that when it comes to watching sports, the various leagues are looking to provide you with as much information - and as many distractions - as possible.

To see who's on the court.  Really?

A couple questions that I'm not sure how to answer: first, is that good for sports?  And second, irrespective of the first question, does technology like iPhones and iPad lend themselves to the statistical overload that has engulfed sports fandom since the dawn of fantasy sports leagues?

And while it's hard not to believe that all of this is great for sports somehow, I am more intrigued by technologies that demonstrate how our media continues to define the message.