[Gizmodo.com]

When it opens this fall, the New Meadowlands Stadium will be the NFL's most state of the art facility. That means queuing up replays on demand on your smartphone (or just checking how long the concession lines are).

Hoping to keep apace with the sport's increasingly sophisticated television broadcasts, stadium officials have poured some $100 million into technology at New Meadowlands, which will be home to both the New York Jets and Giants come this fall.

That $100 million gets you 2,200 televisions with 48,000 square foot of total screenage—the most of any NFL stadium—including four large screens like the ones seen above. But even more radically, it bought a suite of smartphone apps that will let fans check game statistics, watch video replays, or even monitor live feeds from other games around the country.

If you're a purist who likes to keep your eyes on the field, the apps will also let you check updates in the area around the stadium and, crucially, determine which concession lines are the shortest.

The apps, which were built by Cisco and Verizon, rely on a network of 500 wireless antennas spread throughout the stadium. And while some fans are skeptical of how much they'll use the newfangled offerings, others are already putting smartphones right alongside face paint and nachos as requisite inventory for the NFL stadium experience of tomorrow.

Our own YouTube channel is now up and running. I have 5 videos on there right now and more will be coming very soon.

CKN is located on the last tab, replacing the Merchandising tab. It will take you directly to our channel.

If you have your own Cobra Kai videos that you'd like to post, let me know and I'll give you the log in info.

Have's Vs Have Not's?

Has Lebron James escaladed the NBA into a higher echelon because of his “Decision” to take his talents to South Beach? Look at the domino effect this one choice is going to have on Sports. Lebron says I have all the power the workers are in charge here, not the owners…I am going where I want to. And now, we have Chris Paul demanding a trade out of New Orleans just because he can.

I must admit a New York Big 3 of CP, Amare, and Carmelo vs Lebron and Crew in the Eastern Conference Finals the next 5 years would be quite a rivalry that would make every single game a must see. Not to mention the economic effects the NBA would see just from the Eastern Finals with NY and Miami markets being represented.

(A side note here is the irony of the Chris Paul trade is that he essentially demanded with 2 years remaining basically trade me to Orlando or New York. I once made a bet with Johnny which I’m sure he will still defend that I would unequivocally (I got that word from Mel’s rant) take Dwight over Emeka Okafor. Blaze vehemently argued ( I know you don’t believe Blaze would argue something) that Emeka was a much better choice for the Magic. Two years into the league Johnny still lamented that Emeka would be a better fit for the Magic. Well, here is the twist the only way any team can get Chris Paul is if they take Okafor off the Hornets hands. Well, the Magic they are one of Paul’s choices because he can play with Dwight)……….

Anyway, Do you feel this is a good thing for the NBA? Capitalism is rooted in having Haves and Have Not’s in society. The power in the NBA has shifted from Owners to Players. In the NFL which is the number one sport in America the Owners clearly have all the Power. And, somehow even small market teams can continually compete year in and year out. However, in the NBA it looks like it is going the way of baseball where only the larger market and sexy cities will be able to compete.

I really don’t see the likes of Memphis, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Minnesota, and especially New Orleans if CP3 Leaves ever landing big name or even mediocre name free agents. Pretty soon you will have top heavy teams and lower tiered teams much like Major League Baseball. Sure the Bucks might compete for a 1 or 2 year stretch if some of their big drafts turn out and they make all the right moves….but once their big name draft pick becomes a free agent he will bolt and they will have to start all over again.

Well, the NFL dominates is this because of parity or just because football is a much better sport than any of the others? Personally, I am beginning to think the NBA is going to get immensely more popular with all these big 3 alliances forming.

Lastly, I want to throw out my theory on “The Decision”. I don’t think Lebron was that stupid to think his hometown fans wouldn’t mind with how he stuck a knife in their back on National TV. However, I think he made a pact with ESPN that if they did not report on and put gag orders on all their TV and Radio personalities about the Delonte West incident he would reward them with the exclusive rights to the TV show. Think about it….for some reason all ESPN radio host are forbidden to mention Delonte and Lebron’s Mom but Fox sports and Mad Dog can talk about it all day long. Colin briefly mentioned it once but even admitted he couldn’t talk about just google it yourself…but never referenced it again after receiving a scolding.

Just some thoughts on a Friday afternoon…..Good Luck tonight boys. I will not be there since I am traveling to Wisconsin for scouting duties.

P.S. Really, I just rambled on so I could make an excuse to post my favorite picture of all time. I felt waiting two weeks after Manute's passing was appropriate.

I just saw this tonight & Tosh hits on the points some made about Americans playing sports other than soccer. BTW, you South Floridians will love the Miami flavor.

Baseball is easily my favorite sport. But when something like this happens, I'm embarrased to be such a big fan. MLB needs to get this ridiculous crap out of the game and get instant replay in it.

John Miller has it wrong in that clip, it's not Mattingly who should be embarrassed, it's Major League Baseball.

“There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team.'

”
-- Michael Jordan

So what does Jordan, one of the best-ever in the NBA, think of LeBron James joining with All-Stars Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh to form a super team in Miami?

"There's no way, with hindsight, I would've ever called up Larry, called up Magic and said, 'Hey, look, let's get together and play on one team,' " Jordan said after playing in a celebrity golf tournament in Nevada. "But that's ... things are different. I can't say that's a bad thing. It's an opportunity these kids have today. In all honesty, I was trying to beat those guys."

James, who played his first seven seasons with his home state Cleveland Cavaliers, was part of one of the most celebrated free agent classes in history this summer. He met with the Cavs, Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Clippers, Miami Heat, New York Knicks and New Jersey Nets.

James let the world know he was taking his talents to South Beach in an hour-long TV special on July 8.

TNT analyst Charles Barkley said James' decision may change his legacy.


"He'll never be Jordan," Barkley told 790 the Ticket in Miami earlier in the week. "This clearly takes him out of the conversation. He can win as much as he wants to.

"There would have been something honorable about staying in Cleveland and trying to win it as 'The Man' ... LeBron, if he would've in Cleveland, and if he could've got a championship there, it would have been over the top for his legacy, just one in Cleveland. No matter how many he wins in Miami, it clearly is Dwyane Wade's team."

Wade was a 1 man wolf pack, but when he met Bosh, he knew he was one of his own. His wolf pack, it grew by one. So there was 2 in the wolf pack, Wade was first and Bosh joined in later. Then when LeBron said Miami, Wade thought? Wait a second, could it be? And now he knows for sure, he just added one more guy to his wolf pack,3 of them wolves running South Beach looking for strippers, cocaine, and championship rings.

Check me out Canes fans!! I'm badass! 3dcoolie.com

http://www.facebook.com/pages/3D-Coolie/115896658448075?v=photos&ref=ts#!/pages/3D-Coolie/115896658448075?ref=ts

Here is the first look at Ryan Renolds in the Green Lantern costume. Actually, there is no costume, it will be digitally overlayed on him for the entire movie.

I think it looks pretty sweet. I've been calling for a Green Lantern movie for a long time now so I hope they do it right, and the costume is a great start.

It's been a very sad week for the New York Yankees organization. First the Voice of God passes at 99 and then in an ironic way, takes the Yankee patriarch with him.

Needless to say George was no saint. He didn't always do the right thing or even the smart thing for that matter. But say what you will about the last lion of baseball, no one can ever take away the fact that he purchased a sinking stone of a baseball team from CBS in the 70's for $8 million and turned them into the billion dollar empire they are today.

The road from point A to point B would never be classified as "smooth sailing," but it sure was entertaining. And I think George understood that. At it's core, sports is nothing more than entertainment and George always wanted the Yankess to put on the best show possible.

Today, the world is a little less interesting.

This is real! Mel Gibson has a brand new rant. His girlfriend taped this argument they had on the phone.

In 2003, many moviegoers were perplexed by the infamous “architect,” scene in the much-anticipated sequel to The Matrix. To this day, many people still do not fully understand just what in the wide, wide, world of sports that guy was talking about. Well, there is now a perfect analogy to convey the Architect’s message . . . the NBA.

The NBA has become the first version of the Matrix the Architect considered a colossal failure. To refresh your memory, the reason the very first version of the Matrix failed was due to its flaw of perfection. Humans could not accept a “perfect world,” scenario and the program crashed. Over the last few years, the NBA through salary caps, good public relations, better sportsmanship, and rookie orientation, has now become that rejected version of the Matrix. And LeNeo just crashed the entire system with his “Decision,” last night.

If our flaw as humans could be labeled like a computer virus, it would be called, “the good old days” bug. Just what are “the good old days?” Well, the first requirement you would think of is that they be old. But in today’s Twitterverse, even something as recent as a pair of Iverson Nikes can get the “vintage,” label slapped on them. The other requirement would be a time and feeling that is different than what we are use to in present day. Notice that “different,” has nothing to do with “better,” or even “good.” It seems that a major glitch in the human condition is to long for times that have passed us by, no matter they be deemed good or bad. For example . . .

“Remember the ‘good old days,’ when the NBA was a competitive and exciting league? Did Michael Jordan leave the Bulls after repeatedly getting knocked out of the playoffs by the ‘Bad Boy,’ Pistons? No, he stayed and made the players around him better. Did the Knicks obtain Karl Malone and Reggie Miller so they could be better equipped to take out the Bulls? No, they just kept trying to fit different puzzle pieces around Ewing until they completed their masters course in futility. After the 1992 Olympics, did Barkley and Ewing decide to buddy up and join Drexler in Portland so they could win a title? No, they all retired without a single ring on their fingers. If I may be permitted a Dana Carvey quote, ‘And that’s the way it was, and we liked it!’

Where’s the intensity? Where’s the hate? The 90’s Knicks didn’t have any friends around the league. Hell, they barley even liked each other. When Shaq left Orlando for L.A., you didn’t see Olajuwon or Robinson stand up for him and say, “aw come on Orlando, don’t be like that, don’t burn his jersey.” I’m not even sure Olajuwon could speak English. Nobody cared! The NBA wasn’t a multi-billion dollar Boys and Girls Club, where friends got together in the off-season and planned their futures and aspiring dreams together while trading unicorn stickers. For God’s sake, Latrell Spreewell tried to physically strangle his own coach. Now that’s the good old days!”

But they weren’t were they? The 90’s, which are now being revered by Generation X as a “bronze age,” were intensely criticized for the stubborn defense and low scoring. With Jordan as the only true jewel, even his championships were degraded because he never beat the best Bird and Magic teams. After Jordan, the NBA turned into a league of overpaid thugs who got into all kinds of trouble off the court and could care less about winning on it. Memories are like Teflon, the grime and dirt just seem to wash away very easily.

That brings me to Mr. LeBron James. How in the universe can we now criticize him for going to Miami? Criticism for the way he did it, on national television to a city that has taken 10 too many punches to the jaw, is probably well deserved. But it seems that has become secondary to this “easy way out,” scenario. Haven’t we wished for this as sports fans our whole lives? Athletes who put winning above all, even money. It seems that the old saying, “be careful what you wish for,” is true, because now that we actually have those kinds of athletes, we can’t barbeque them fast enough.

James, Bosh and Wade left hefty sums of money on the table for one reason . . . to win. When they say, “it’s not about the money,” they actually mean it. Isn’t this what we wanted? Oh, that’s right. They didn’t do it the way we would have done it. Well what way is that exactly? It appears to be anything that is contrary to what’s actually happening. We have no one to blame but ourselves for this Voltron team in Miami. We wanted unselfish players, we desired athletes with nothing but winning in their frontal lobes, we pleaded for the motto of Gordon Gekko to take a back seat to the motto of Norman Dale.

Well sports fans, this is what it looks like. So sit back, relax and wait for your kids to someday tell your grandchildren about a time when players did whatever it took to put together a championship team. You know, “the good old days.”

Member of the Boxxet Network of Blogs, Videos and Photos

Enuff is Enuff. This whole Lebronamania 2010 is getting out of control…but really I can’t stop reading about it. However, if Lebron ends up in Miami it will be a devastating blow to Cleveland....quite frankly a knockout blow. I just can’t see him doing that to his hometown…and to reward Miami one of the 10 worst fan bases in all of the NBA is just out of control.

I am not trying to offend our loyal heat fan readers (Juan, Blaze, Neil, etc.) but you have to admit the Heat fans are one of the most fair weather fans in the NBA. It’s not a dig on them, it’s just a simple fact that in November in Miami there are countless other options than to stay home and watch the Heat on TV…or go to the game. In Cleveland in November….not the case.

The Heat were 15th in the NBA in attendance last season behind teams like the Pistons, Thunder, Raptors, and Nuggets. I know…they weren’t very good…but neither were the teams I mentioned and neither of them are in one of the Top 5 Media markets like Miami. Please don’t take this as a dig on most Heat fans…as there are many intelligent and die hard Heat fans…it’s just that the average heat fan looks up from some tiki bar while sipping a margarita and checks last night’s scores on the ESPN playing at that bar and says oh the heat lost….that sucks.

In Cleveland or most of the other cities the fans actually watch the games on TV, check the box scores, or go to the games like they were a big event. I can call my Father on a Wednesday night in December and ask what he’s doing and he’ll say something like…..”Just watching the Bucks game….you know this Salmons guy we got is pretty good”.

Heat and Magic fans are similar. I talk to most Magic fans the way I talked to women in Wisconsin about the Packers or Brewers. You have to talk to them with kid gloves on cause they really don’t know much and really don’t care until they are in the NBA Finals….then everyone you know is a Magic fan. But they say things like…..If only Dwight would score more I think we could win the whole thing. Then you know they have no clue about basketball and just watch WESH 2 News and hear the stupid anchors banter back and forth.

Regardless, these fan bases could care less if the teams suck…they don’t live and die with their teams. If Lebron leaves Cleveland….the whole city/state will be beyond devastated. I would put most Cavs fans on serious Suicide watch. Now, in reality the Heat/Magic fans have a better perspective on life for this reason……..again not trying to make fun of either fan base just pointing out the facts.
Imagine if you will what tonight would be like for a Cleveland fan. Could you ever care about Basketball again? I mean you are right now dating the hottest girl around she adores you, and you are the coolest kid in school cause she digs you. You can only go backwards from there. Plus, Lebron is the hometown kid…..if the hometown kid can’t win in Cleveland who can?????? Nobody, the city is toast.

And for what? To play with Chris Bosh and D-Wade? Bosh is not a superstar….how does he get mentioned in the same sentence with D-Wade and Lebron? This Threesome and a bunch of nobody’s will not win Lebron his title. What if one of these guys gets hurt?

Either way……”The Decision” should be interesting. I just don’t want to see what happens to the city of Cleveland if Lebron bails on them. That city will never…ever recover from it.

UCF has a reason for you. ROAD TRIP! That's right, UCF plays @ Tulane in the SuperDome on 11/20/10.

http://ucfathletics.cstv.com/sports/m-footbl/sched/ucf-m-footbl-sched.html

I would change the thought process about Max contracts. If I was talking to a good but not great free agent player, I would ask them what they think they're worth. If they respond with "Max money" I'd have to respond with "So you think you're as good as LeBron and deserve his type of money?"

I can't believe how dumb the Memphis Grizzlies GM Chris Wallace is. He's the guy that effed up the Celtics' payroll before Danny Ainge came in & saved their day. Wallace gives so-so player Rudy Gay a Max contract on the first day of free agency to retain him. Gay isn't going to win them a ring. Wallace just effed up Grizzlies salary cap for the next 5 years! If I were Wallace, I would have offered that money to LeBron first...while letting Rudy sweat it out whether he was going to get a nice offer from them! Holy crap is Wallace dumb. Gay didn't even lead his own team in scoring. was not going to get a max contract offer from ANY other team. Sure another team would have offered Gay some sort of contract, but not a Max! Wallace out bid himself. If I were a Grizzlies fan, I'd be pissed at Wallace. Gay has NEVER BEEN AN ALL-STAR. Let this sink in, he was a RESTRICTED Free Agent meaning the Grizz could have waited til another team signed Gay to an offer sheet, then matched the contract. I'll say it again. I'd be pissed if I were a Grizzlies fan!

http://www.commercialappeal.com/news/2010/jul/02/its-time-for-rudy-to-find-his-star-power/?partner=yahoo_feeds

How about the Hawks planning on offering Joe Johnson a max contract? He didnt even show up in the Playoffs!!!! Joe Jo would have recieved about a $10 mil a year contract from a team chasing LeBron to come in and be a second option. No way he turns down that offer.

Other horrible contracts yesterday.

Amir Johnson (who?) $34M for 5 years to stay in Toronto incase (when) Bosh leaves. Guy averaged 6 points per game last year.

Darko. At the end of last year the guy was ready to move back Europe & play there. He was over the NBA & living in America. Should've let him go Minnesota. You're dumb & you screwed yourself. Good going.


Here is what I would propose. There are only 3 ways a player earns a Max contract.
1. You are the best player at your position.
2. You lead the league in a (positive) category. ie. (not turnovers, worst fg%, worst ft%, etc.)
3. You're about to become a super-duper star. ie. Kevin Durant.

This would clear the league of bad contracts & crybabies (who aren't worth the money) getting over-paid, while keeping the elite players happy. You think Lebron is happy that he will get paid about the same amount as Rudy Gay? Ask Rudy the same qestion in reverse and you will hear a resounding "Yes!!"