WrestleMania XXXI already broke the attendance record at Levi’s Stadium — the home of the San Francisco 49ers. This is a factor of, well, it being WrestleMania and all, as well as the fact the comparatively diminutive size of a wrestling ring allows for a LOT of seats to be placed on field level. Another, much nerdier record was also broken during that event. The record WiFi usage at Levi’s Stadium, previously set at 3.3 terabytes during the 49ers 2014 home opener, was choke-slammed into oblivion. According to 49ers officials, WrestleMania attendees sucked down 4.5 terabytes of data during the event in early April.

As Mobile Sports Report mentions, this record did not come without a conscious effort to beef up infrastructure. Since the stadium was not built to handle that kind of traffic from users on the actual field of play, 69 additional access points were temporarily installed to accommodate fans. Extra WiFi coverage was also added to the temporary seating areas that were added for the massive outdoor event.

I want to reiterate that these numbers were for WiFi alone, and do not reflect traffic over standard cellular signals. That is not only a massive amount of data, it signifies a massive amount of users that connected to the stadium WiFi. Think of how many Tweets and Facebook posts it would take to comprise 4.5 terabytes of data — it’s staggering.

Being in a technology epicenter certainly put pressure on stadium workers to make sure the pipes were big enough to handle all the traffic. But there are other factors in play as well. Levi’s Stadium is the site for Super Bowl 50 in February. No offense to the WWE, but if any event warrants the need for flawless and high-powered Internet access, it’s the biggest event in sports. We saw that six terabytes of data were consumed during the college football championship. While that’s a big event in and of itself, it’s still not the Super Bowl. I imagine that WrestleMania acted as a bit of a test run for those in charge of Levi’s Stadium’s bits and bytes. According to the 49ers, the stress tests went smoothly. We’ll see how it really shakes out in 10 months, but at least WWE fans were able to post all the photos and video of ring entrances and belt hoisting that they required.

(Image via Andrew Beckman)

The Dodgers have been on the forefront of a few of the biggest changes in baseball, namely the great western migration of baseball and the integration of the league. More recently, the new(ish) ownership of the club has combined their garish amounts of money with a push toward analytics and put together a team that many expect to compete for the NL pennant in 2015. But their emphasis on innovation does not stop on the diamond, as the Dodgers have announced a partnership with advertising firm R/GA to start a startup accelerator for sports-minded technology and media companies.

The idea is fairly straight forward as far as accelerators go. Various companies in various stages of development apply to be part of the program. If accepted, these companies get a little capital ($120,000 each) as well as access to numerous mentors and strategic partners — including R/GA, of course — to help grow their visions and get their products to market.

What the Dodgers’ interest is in starting such a project remains to be seen. It could be merely for some good PR. They could be interested in buying up any of the companies that impress during the accelerator. Or they could be interested in investing in particularly interesting ideas. The ownership group of the Dodgers are mainly investors, after all.

Say a company in the accelerator puts together a great piece of technology that lets fans check their phones to see how long the bathroom lines are (weird example, I know. This is why I’m not applying). The Dodgers love the idea and have the means and wherewithal to snatch up that company and test their product in Dodger Stadium. It’s a massive hit, and fans of all the other teams are demanding the technology in their favorite ballparks. Bing, bang, boom — the Giants (and every other team) have to pay the Dodgers a handsome licensing fee. The Dodgers make even more money, and parlay that into 18 straight World Series championships.

I got a little carried away there, but you see the point. The Dodgers are a baseball team, yes, but they are also an entertainment company. They operate in a market that is pulling consumers in a thousand different directions. They compete with other high-profile and very wealthy sports teams in their market and a World Series winner not far up the road. It seems silly to think that such a rich baseball team might need a competitive edge, but it’s not. This accelerator proves that the Dodgers are still working to make a competitive team and a competitive business.

The deadline to apply for the program is June 29th. Application instructions and all necessary info can be found on the Dodgers Accelerator web site.

(image via woolenium)

We’re five days into the MLB season, which means we’re five days into our use of MLB.tv. So far, I find the streaming service to be pretty dang solid, at least when compared to what I remember last year. I have noticed that it seems much more “live” when watching through my PS4 than on my Roku streaming stick. However, I imagine that this is more a function of the app than the service.

A few of us have talked about our experiences so far on these electronic pages, but we want to hear from you. How’s it going? Have you noticed a platform (laptop, gaming system, set-top box) that seems to perform better than others? How’s the audio overlay going? Noticing lots of lag?

Sound off in the comments. Make sure to mention your system of choice and any info about your internet package (like a SpeedTest score). Let’s help each other find the best possible way to watch our national pastime.

All of us here at TechGraphs are baseball nerds at heart, but at least one humble editor is also a bit of a links-head. Is that a real term? Certainly not. But while Opening Week captures the hearts and minds of most, let us not forget about the tradition of the Masters. I’m going to go out on a limb and say it’s a tradition unlike any other. The first golf major of the year begins this week, and while I certainly am not qualified to give you a preview in the terms of actual competition, I can at least tell you how you can watch the dang thing. I will do so below.

Though streaming sports on the web can be a bit of a pain, it’s actually pretty straight forward with the Masters. You basically have three options:

TV

If you’re not planning to leave the couch, you can catch competition on ESPN Thursday and Friday, and CBS on Saturday and Sunday. The Par 3 Contest can also be caught on ESPN on Wednesday.

Your Computer

Starting Thursday, you can follow along online at Masters.com. You will have access to multiple feeds from the driving range, to featured groups, to Amen Corner. It does not appear that the straight-up ESPN broadcast will be available through Masters.com nor WatchESPN, but the other feeds should tide you over while you’re at work. The weekend CBS feed will be mirrored online if you’re big into Jim Nantz whispers.

Note: It does now appear that you can watch the ESPN feed through WatchESPN.

Your Phone/Tablet

The Masters has an app for both iOS and Android. The apps mirror much of the same functionality as the standard site plus a few bells and whistles like shot tracking, course overviews, and an audio-only feed. You can apparently stream the ESPN feed on Thursday and Friday, but only on the iPad, which seems strange. The CBS feeds can be accessed on either platform, and the alternate feeds should be available for the whole event.

I won’t bore you with all the broadcast times, but you can find them here should you desire. Now you can watch a little golf while sitting in the bleachers of a baseball game. Spring is here, everyone. Enjoy.

(Header image via Dan Perry)

The above image is a mock-up of what I would look like as a member of the Houston Astros. It comes courtesy of the folks at 3DPlusMe, a Utah-based company that specializes in converting facial scans to 3D-printed models. 3DPlusMe had a booth in Salt River Flats during Spring Training this year, and my boss David Appelman pointed it out while we were attending a game during our yearly FanGraphs trip to Arizona.

The booth was a fairly simple setup. On one side, there was a tablet PC that allowed the representative to help a user customize their creation. The other side featured a chair positioned in front of a camera and a customized Microsoft Kinect setup. I sat in the chair and stared a small video screen (to promote zero head movement), the Kinect moved 180 degrees from my left ear to my right to scan my handsome features. The total time from scan to conversion was fairly short, and I was customizing my player in a matter of minutes.

You may have seen 3DPlusMe in the news before, as they offer a similar product featuring Marvel, Lord of the Rings, and Harry Potter characters. They received some press at last year’s ComicCon.

Once the scan is done, the customer can pick their favorite team and see their likeness dressed in full team garb. They are then given as special code to use on 3DPlusMe’s web site to order a figure of themselves.

Yes, I am actually this muscular.

Cydni Tetro, CEO of 3DPlusMe, said that they have licenses with both MLS and MLB, and debuted their MLB booth at the All-Star Game last year in Minneapolis. They also had a presence at the World Series in San Francisco and Kansas City. Tetro did say that there are plans to be in more parks in 2015, though she couldn’t comment on anything definite when we spoke.

Beside ballparks, 3DPlusMe booths can be found in select Walmart stores, as well as FAO Schwartz and the Times Square Toys ‘R Us in New York. Tetro told me that while focus was geared toward fantasy/sci-fi products in the past, 2015 will be the year a big push is made in the sports market.

While I haven’t seen an actual model, the renderings look pretty dang accurate. Teams should think about using 3DPlusMe for their bobblehead giveaways, and save us the emotional scarring of what is offered now.

Would I buy one of these things? Of course not. But these products are most certainly geared toward children, not cynical 30-somethings. Also, a 3D-printed version of myself as Iron Man would be my wife’s first and only entry into evidence during our divorce proceedings.

3D printing is still a relatively new technology, at least as far as the consumer-grade segment goes. 3DPlusMe hasn’t even been in business three years yet, and they’re already making waves in the sports and entertainment industry. I’m sure personalized doppelgangers are just the first step. I won’t get a 3D model of myself as an Astro, but if 3DPlusMe or one of their competitors got in the miniature ballpark printing game, I might just cut them a blank check.

I’ve worked in technology pretty much all my life, but my first job was on the support desk of a software company. It was consumer software, too, so anybody and everybody called in — professionals, novices, little kids, people who wanted to learn, people who wanted us to do their work for them, and people who didn’t understand how computer mice worked. It was challenging. But I think the hardest part was that our department didn’t have remote software. This meant that every time a person had a problem, they had to just explain it to us. We couldn’t see what was happening, so we had to trust what the person was saying was accurate. Everybody sees a computer screen differently. Very rarely did a customer see it in the same fashion I was used to seeing it.

When I published the first two parts of this Retrosheet series (Part 1 | Part 2), I did not monitor the comments well enough. I apologize for that. Some people had legitimate questions and I wasn’t there to answer them. I also learned that I was making all of you trust my explanations of things. I was making you see everything through my eyes, and some people got a little confused. This stuff happens. I’m hoping to fix that here.

I also promised a way for Mac people to have access to this, so I’m doing that as well. This article/video is for:

1. Mac (and Linux) users

2. Windows users who had trouble with the first two parts

Some caveats for Windows users looking to use this method:

1. The whole point of the first two parts was to show how the SQL files can get made using Chadwick. The idea being that you could grab the 2015 (and all subsequent season) data when that became available. The method mentioned in this article involves installing one flat file. That means that you’ll need to delete all the data and reload it for 2015 next season. I have no problem making this file for you folks, and will continue to do so as long as TechGraphs and I are around. It’s not a big deal, it’s just a different approach and I wanted to be transparent about that. Mac users basically have to do this method since the Chadwick tools aren’t available for OSX.

2. The video walks Mac users through installing and setting up a MySQL database. Your method differs, and it was explained in parts one and two linked above. I try to make it clear about when I’m dealing only with Mac users, but I wanted to give you a heads up on that.

Everyone using this method will need to download this file. Just save it to the desktop. The video will walk you through the rest.

You will also need these two lines of code. The video will tell you how to do it.

cd /usr/local/mysql/bin

./mysqladmin -u root password ‘password’

I will be monitoring the comments more closely, so let me know if you have any questions. Thanks, and good luck.

Periscope and Meerkat are both apps that do pretty much the same thing. They allow a smartphone user to broadcast live video. People can already do that, but these two apps tap into the power of social media, mainly Twitter. Periscope was actually bought by Twitter before it even launched. These apps provide users a way to instantly share immediate video. Think Vine, but without time limits and in the moment. This can be used for frivolous things like people broadcasting themselves eating breakfast, or serious things like streaming video of an explosion in New York City. These apps are only a few days old, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see them branch into sports very soon.

Meerkat and Periscope might be that perfect bridge between live and televised sports. At home, you get all the camera angles and slick replays and a comfy seat and cheaper beer. But there’s obviously something about the game that draws people to see it live. Nobody goes just to overpay for hotdogs. There’s an electricity at live games — there’s a feeling of being part of a shared experience. Teams sell expensive box seats to try and bring the feeling of the living room to the game. Meerkat and Periscope might be able to bring the feeling of the game to the living room — for free.

Say you have some kind of brain damage so you’re watching the Houston Astros on purpose. You’ve been watching the whole game on TV, and now the Astros have managed to mount a comeback in the ninth inning. George Springer is up to bat. You lean in a little closer to the TV when you get an alert on your phone. An Astros fan you follow on Twitter is at the game and is streaming the at-bat from the stands. You click. On TV, you can see the pitcher sweat. On your phone, you can hear the crowd roaring. On TV, you see Springer take a monster swing. On your phone, you see everyone in the stands rise to their feet, jumping and giving high fives. On TV, you see Springer round the bases. You can hear fireworks from both.

Meerkat and Periscope will not replace the feeling of being somewhere. But nothing will, so that’s not the point. These apps are trying to digitize shared experiences. I’m still not sure how or if it will work. But sports seem like the perfect arena. Baseball season is starting. NHL playoffs are around the corner. The Sweet Sixteen is in full swing. The testing space is there, Periscope and Meerkat just need the lab rats.

If we had the money to buy the licensing, there would be some trance music playing right now. In fact, do you have some on your computer? Yeah? Cool. play it. It’ll make this next part better. Ready?

Ladies and Gentlemen: It’s Tournament Time!

I know the NCAA Tournament technically started a few days ago, but I, like everyone else who isn’t a degenerate gambler or a fan of those First Four teams didn’t really give a crap. It all starts today. Once again, the Golden Gophers have no dog (or gopher) in the fight, but I’m excited nonetheless. It’s probably the greatest sporting event of the year, and you’ll probably want to follow along. We here at TechGraphs are here to help you keep up with all the latest goings on in the world of March Madness. Strap in.

On TV

Fun fact: They play NCAA Tournament games on TV now! In fact, if you have the right cable/satellite package, you can watch every game in the tournament. The games will be playing on CBS, TBS, TNT and TruTV. You can find a complete TV listing (including scheduled announcers) here. Bookmark that. Print it out, save it to your Pocket account, clip it to Evernote, email it to yourself. That’s an important list.

Does it stink that you need a TV package to watch all the games? Yes. However, the channels needed usually come with fairly basic packages. You don’t need a special subscription like you would with NFL, MLB, or NHL games. It’s a bummer, but a much more affordable bummer than usual when it comes to these things.

If you don’t have/will not buy the requisite cable package, you can still get the CBS games with a digital antenna. Or, you could always mosey down to your favorite watering hole.

On the Web

There are actually two ways you can catch tournament games on the web this year. The first is the “old fashioned” way — directly from the NCAA. Every game will be available to stream. You will need to log in with your cable/satellite package credentials, however. Actually, I should clarify that you need to log in with someone’s credentials. If you plan on watching in the office, it might be a good idea to buy the person in charge of the firewall a gift card or something. Maybe from Newegg. Nerds friggin’ love Newegg. Oh, and don’t forget to use the Boss Button.

Thanks to the new Sling TV offering from Dish, you can watch most of the games online as well. Sling doesn’t offer CBS, so you’d need to do some input switching on your TV if you were interested in flipping back and forth. Sling’s main $20/month package comes with TBS and TNT, though the package that offers TruTV would be an extra $5. Sling has a free 7-day trial available, and can be streamed online via Mac or PC, as well as mobile devices and some connected devices. Check out the full rundown here.

On Your Phone/Tablet

Of course, the NCAA also offers March Madness Live apps for both iOS and Android that allows you stream games. The same TV package exceptions apply here, as well. If you have a good data plan and locked-down company Internet, this might be your best bet to catch games at work. It’s also a great option if your roommate/significant other would actually like to use the TV for once. Don’t be a tube hog. Hand over that remote and fire up the tablet.

If you are mostly interested in the fairings of a few teams, you should be able to set up alerts on your phone through your favorite scores app. I prefer the CBS Sports app, actually, but the ESPN or Yahoo! apps should work just fine. All of the above-mentioned apps will also allow you to set game-start notifications for those matchups you don’t want to miss.

Another app you can utilize is the Google app for either iOS or Android. Google knows what you want, so if you just type “ncaa tournament” in the search bar, it’ll give you all the scores you desire. It’s not quite as robust as some of the other apps, but it’s a quick and easy way to catch some scores.

Keeping Up with Your Bracket

There’s a very real chance you don’t actually want to watch all the games and you just care about your bracket. I fully support this. If you used an online bracket service (ESPN, CBS, Yahoo!), scores should be displayed on your bracket in real time. If your office isn’t keen on you sucking up all the bandwidth, but are fairly lax in letting you visit sports web sites, this is a good option.

If you only filled out a paper bracket, it’s free and easy to create one online just for your reference. Once you’ve done that, feel free to tell the pool organizer that he/she is fired.

Every bracket service has a corresponding mobile app as well, if you need to be even more discrete. The ESPN Tournament Challenge App even allows you to get notifications based specifically off your bracket. It’s a neat feature for when work is preventing you from staring at your phone for hours.

All-in-all, the NCAA Tournament has one of the best online offerings compared to the other major sports. Yes, you do need to pay for it, but there aren’t any silly blackout restrictions based on time or location. If you have a reasonable TV package you can stream all the games, no questions asked. Remember, as the competitors get knocked out, more and more games are played on CBS, which anyone can get for free. So if you can work a Sling trial for a week, you might be able to skate by. Or you can always buy a six pack and head to a friend’s house. Buzzer beaters and upsets are usually more fun with other people, after all.

(Header image via Rob Buenaventura)

Everybody has their own way of filling out their NCAA bracket. Some go by chalk, some pick a lot of upsets, some use computer models, some use coin flips. It’s a personal thing, filling out one’s bracket, and the great part is that none of them are wrong.

But there’s really two general ways to play. You can try and pick all the winners, or you can try and end up with the most points. Yes, if you pick the winner 100% of the time you will win your pool right before you are brought to the authorities because you are certainly a time traveling super villain. But if your goal is to win money or jellybeans or bragging rights, sometimes it’s better to play a little more fast and loose.

Wired posted their guide on using some simple math to help you find value picks for your bracket. The logic is fairly easy. The general population usually does pretty well on their bracket — about 80% correct or so. Nobody really thinks a 16 is going to beat a 1. Lots of second- and third-seeded teams are chosen. If you play online and look at who everyone else in your pool picked, you’ll see a lot of overlap. It’s just the way these things work. These things tend to get clumped together. But breaking away from that pack, and doing it smartly, might be the key to success.

Say Kentucky ends up running the table and taking the championship. Wired says about 50% of players on ESPN predict that will happen. If you picked Kentucky, good for you, but so did half of the people in your pool. So then the total points competition comes down to those random little games that happen in the rounds of 64 and 32. Your fate may very well ride on Stephen F. Austin State University. If you’re comfortable with that fate and confident in your picks, then by all means go for it. But if you want to get a little adventurous, try bucking some trends.

No, I’m not saying pick an upset for every game, but the way Wired lays it out makes sense. Some teams (based on the total picks vs. their expected win probability) are tremendously overrated. Some are flying under the radar. It’s a gamble, but leaning on those big discrepancies can help you stand out in your pool. Being the only one to pick Utah to make the Final Four is a risk. If they do manage to squeak it out, however, chances are you’ll be one of the only people who picked them to do so. If your pool uses a points system based on round, you’re in an even better position.

The Internet makes it so easy to end up in some giant pool that a friend of a friend invited you to join. If you’re comfortable in your method, stick with it. Chances are you’ll end up in that big group of players in the middle when all is said and done. But remember, that chunk doesn’t end up in the money. Luck helps, but you need to take chances to win these things. Fighting groupthink seems like a good way to do so. Does this mean I picked Villanova to win it all? I did! Is that because I know nothing about college basketball and this seemed like a reasonable approach? It is!

Of course, you may know more about the sport than I. Trust your instincts, but don’t be afraid to blaze your own trail every so often.

(Header image via Chad Cooper)

Apple once again took the tech news industry hostage today, as their Spring Forward event promised to bring new insights into a few of their current products as well as the much anticipated Apple Watch. They announced an HBO partnership with the (now cheaper) Apple TV, an incredibly thin new MacBook, and also previewed ResearchKit — a new way for health professionals to crowd source medical research. But the biggest buzz leading up to the event was Apple’s new wearable, and the folks from Cupertino certainly made that a highlight of the presentation. We don’t know all the specifics yet, but sports fans and fitness nerds should have at least a few things to look forward to.

The biggest fitness app really isn’t an app at all, but a built-in feature to the watch. Apple Watch is chock full of fitness and activity tracking options including a workout app, basic step and burned-calorie counters, and will even feature reminders alerting you when it’s time to stand up and walk around a little.

Third-party apps will also be available for tracking fitness. Offerings from Nike+ Running, Strava, and Runtastic are also being featured on Apple’s web site. Data from Watch will be synced with these services, allowing users more access to and control over their data.

So far, only two apps for sports fans have been announced — MLB At Bat and ESPN. Both will feature team-/game-based notifications and general scoreboard functions, while the At Bat app promises player stats, news, and even highlights. I have to admit, watching highlights on a watch would be pretty cool.

Apple has released the iOS update that features the Apple Watch app, but as of this writing access to the Watch App Store was not available. Nevertheless, the Watch API has been out for some time, so it’s easy to assume there will be plenty more offerings above what has been announced today. We’ll keep you updated as soon as we get any more info.

The Apple Watch will be available for preorder on April 10th, with units becoming available on April 24th.