If you prefer casually drinking coffee and wearing pajamas while you shop, look no further than Cyber Monday. The new Black Friday, Cyber Monday also offers a wide array of gifts and options for shoppers. I suppose nothing is stopping you from going shopping today in your PJs, but that is really up to you and your local clothing statutes. We here at TechGraphs love our sports, but we’re all nerds at heart. And there are no shortage of deals for our brethren this holiday shopping season.

Just like how Black Friday deals creeping into Thanksgiving Day, some retailers are kicking off Cyber Monday as soon as today. The prices over at Amazon are lower than usual — though if you wait until Monday you may get an even better rate — if you’re in the market for anything ranging from MLB team zip-up hoodies, portable chargers for your phone or tablet, or even a 3D printer.

For the video documentary enthusiasts, make sure to check out HTC’s RE camera. You can hold it in your hand or with a simple mounting bracket the RE can go on your bicycle to record everything from beautiful scenery to bad driers. Regularly priced at $200, they will be on sale all weekend (while supplies last) for half off. The waterproof RE snaps pictures with its 16 mega-pixel camera and records video in 1080p.

On the other hand, if you’re more the style to watch movies than to film them, the Google Play Store is offering some great deals. With almost 90 movies available for less than 10 bucks, Google has you covered if you want to catch up on films. On top of the entertainment available, items such as Chromebooks, Chromecast and smart watches are all being offered at discounted prices. The LG G Watch is $130 dollars off its regular price of $229 and is compatible with any Android device — not LG specific — running 4.3 or higher. Other incentives such as up to $50 toward the Play Store are running on the Samsung Gear Live, ASUS ZenWatch and Sony SmartWatch 3.

If you’re an Apple enthusiast, fear not, as the Apple Store is running up to $100 dollars in iTunes gift card with a Mac purchase or $50 for an iPhone or iPad. AppleTV, compatible with MLB.TV, HBO GO, ABC, Watch ESPN, NFL Now and more, is also offering a $25 gift card. Though it is still being sold at the $99 regular price, with the gift card AppleTV basically 25% and makes for a great gift. Special thanks to AppShopper for already posting marked down apps, including some free apps.

Factor in other sites such as NewEgg, Tiger Direct and of course PC Part Picker (all are among my favorite sites to shop), there is no shortage of incredible deals to take advantage of. Rather than fighting for parking or bruising my elbows over in-store deals, I think I’ll enjoy this coffee and only worry about whether or not I want to eat left-over turkey for lunch or dinner. Maybe both.

(Image credit via IMDB)

The social media app Vine is sort of hard to nail down. Yes, it’s a tool that lets users share short videos with their friends and the world, but it doesn’t have one particular purpose. People use it to make comedy clips, post super short music videos, commit acts of journalism, and any other kind of thing that can fit in a six-second short. Vine is a great tool to blast out a video to all your Facebook and Twitter cohorts. But with our list of friends and followed accounts growing all the time, it becomes easier and easier to miss great content. Vine is hoping to counteract that by offering users the ability to receive mobile notifications from their favorite Viners. With a single touch, people can now get notified whenever an account posts a new video.

This could be seen as useful for lots of people, but I think sports fans could really benefit if leagues and teams do it right on their end. Almost every major league sports franchise has a Vine account. How much they use it varies quite a bit. But Vine could be used by these teams (and their respective leagues) to push out a good deal of highlights to fans. Certain league-specific apps can do this already, but Vine could be used as a one-stop highlight spot spanning across multiple leagues and teams.

It’s true that some teams use Vine to do this already. But the addition of push notifications taps into the immediacy of sports. Of course people can gather around a computer at the office on Monday and re-watch (and re-watch and re-watch) Odell Beckham Jr.’s one-handed snag, but a big football fan would want the ability to see it on their phone while they’re at the airport, on the bus, or even hanging at home without the game on TV.

Vine’s new push abilities compliment sports highlights as a whole. There could certainly be some TV licensing rules to deal with, but teams and leagues should see this new feature as a great potential to reach fans. We want our highlights and we want them now. Vine is making it easier for that to happen. Now it’s on the content creators.

(Image via Jason Howie)

We’ve all heard rumblings of ESPN launching services that allow viewers to watch MLS or NBA games without a cable or satellite subscription. As of today, they’ve only existed in rumor. According to a report by Re/code, however, ESPN may finally be entering the cord-cutter-friendly domain as early as February — though not with the sport you might assume.

Though plans don’t seem to be quite finalized as of yet, ESPN is looking to broadcast the Cricket World Cup via online streaming service come February. To U.S. viewers, this may not hold as much clout as a deal with the NBA, but it would be the first step in the eventual move away from TV-bundled streaming. As of now, services like WatchESPN and Fox Sports Go require a current cable or satellite subscription for full functionality. This makes it a convenience service for current subscribers, not a solution for those who don’t have the need/disposable income for a TV package. What ESPN is supposedly offering with cricket would pave the way to a much wider a-la-carte option — only pay for the sports you want to see.

This isn’t a shot across the bow of the streaming services already offered by the four major American sports. Were this type of streaming service to expand to leagues like the NBA or MLS, it would most likely come as an addendum to a cord-cutters current arsenal to go along with their current MLS Live or NBA League Pass subscription.

In a perfect world, we’d be able to pay one lump some to stream all the [insert sport here] games that are played during a season. But with team revenues tied so strongly to TV contracts, that doesn’t seem very likely. Certain leagues have deals with certain TV networks, and that’s just a fact of life. But if we were allowed to pay that network a little extra to access those usually-blacked-out games, that may be beneficial to both sides. Though it’s getting its start in a fairly obscure market (at least as far as U.S. watchers go), ESPN’s plans with cricket might be that pivotal first building block.

(Image via Pulkit Sinha)

In yet another move to bring television to cord cutters, Pluto TV is available to freely stream over 100 channels and now works with Apple TV, Google Chromecast as well as the new Amazon Fire TV. By securing $13 million in funding from recent additions of venture capitalists such as U.S. Venture Partners and UTA — on top of prior investors in Chicago Ventures, Great Oaks Venture Capital and Luminari Capital — Pluto TV maintains their price point of zero dollars.

Pluto TV is an aggregate of online streams organized into various channels ranging from Sports Highlights, Surfing, Xtreme Sports, Pop Culture TV, a 24/7 Cat channel (because it is the internet afterall), Sketch Comedy and even different video game live streams. Most streams appear to be tied through YouTube as The Sports Highlight channel is directly tied to the ACC YouTube Digital Network channel and NHL YT channel et al and the Fight Channel is routed through UFC. Changing channels is as easy as clicking the mouse due to the different stream (or channel) options are shown in a channel guide format.

Given the YouTube integration, there will be click ads on the bottom of the channel (red outline for emphasis, it doesn’t show up on the actual stream) like many YT videos. It is a very small penalty given the no-cost option of either viewing the channels within your browser or downloaded onto your computer. Along with the ad shown above, one can also see the video-on-demand (VOD) system at work as well. On top of live streams, you can rewind and re-watch specific parts of each stream at will and always have the option to click the “Live” button to zip back to the current moment of the stream.

While there is no live-sports just yet, for someone who doesn’t subscribe to any cable television package or just can’t catch every highlight, Pluto TV is perfect. If you just want to watch an episode of Chopped in the background while you read or need to see the latest college football highlights, this is a free and viable way of receiving quality programming.

That sound you heard this morning was Sony Playstation 3 and 4 owners (and cord-cutters) high-fiving each other and cheering. The cause for celebration is Sony’s latest streaming services, Playstation Vue, just sent out the first batch of invites. With a streaming infrastructure already in place with their PS Now, Sony is looking to expand their online content with television. Live television that is, with full on-demand support via cloud storage.

Hands down the key difference between Vue and other services is the fact several major channels have already jumped on board, specifically CBS, Fox (including their local and national sports affiliates), NBC (with Telemundo and other sports stations) plus Viacom, Discovery Communications and Scripps. With so many major content providers ready to roll, this is an impressive undertaking for Sony.

Imagine a Friday evening of watching the Food Network  or Cooking Channel (owned by Scripps) and preparing a meal for the weekend. That meal happens to coincide with watching an English Premiere League game (thanks, NBC!), followed by some Notre Dame or maybe SEC football (kudos to CBS). Perhaps if pro football is more your style, with broadcast rights to both Fox and CBS, local NFL games would be an option on Sunday. Unfortunately we don’t know every detail just yet, so the potential for blackouts — which would be shocking, given the broadcast companies involvement — still loom.

Still, for a monthly subscription (a price is yet to be announced) and no contract a la Netflix, Playstation Vue has a massive potential. With over 34 million sales between the PS3 and PS4 in North America (those numbers include Mexico and Canada), the user base is clearly established. Sony mentioned that sometime in 2015 support for non-Sony products will also be rolled out, specifically iPad support.

Given the status as an invite only, tiered roll out, not everyone will have access to PS Vue right away. The first round of invites went to those living in New York City. Next up will be Chicago, followed by Philadelphia and then Los Angeles. With the full service is expected to go live in the first quarter of 2015, I suspect I won’t be the only one hunting for a good deal on a PS4 this holiday season.

The NBA just agreed to a 4-year deal with fantasy website FanDuel according to both TechCrunch and ESPN. For daily fantasy players, this means FanDuel will be the exclusive website to get your hoops fix at. Already on the NBA Fantasy site you can be linked to FanDuel and expect the association to promote it on their apps as well as their streaming ads and commercials.

Currently FanDuel offers both free and pay-to-win leagues. The prizes for these range from cash to game tickets to merchandise. Now with the association in their pockets, FanDuel and the NBA, along with money from venture groups such as Shamrock Capital Advisors and NBC Sports Ventures, will be able to reach and attract even more customers.The growth in the daily fantasy industry is on a massive rise, as FanDuel has increased by 650,000 paying players in the past three months after never before having even a third of that many in a single quarter. FanDuel claims they project to make approximately $600 million in entry fees this calendar year while handing back $540 million in prizes.

While this is new territory for the NBA as a whole, five teams had prior deals with FanDuel; the Brooklyn Nets, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls. The move also includes NBA league executive Sal La Rocca as a FanDuel board member, further strengthening the ties between the two entities.

With competitor DraftKings snapping up the NHL, this deal makes sense for FanDuel. Given the massive interest and ease of use for daily fantasy leagues, it appears as though both FanDuel and DraftKings will the main entities of daily leagues going forward. With both sides throwing around millions of dollars, the money is driving even more attention to fantasy sports.

(Image credit to NBA.com) 

The one-day fantasy site DraftKings already has a partnership with MLB, but now they are expanding out to pro hockey, as well. According to Boston.com, a new agreement has been reached making DraftKings the official one-day fantasy site of the National Hockey League.

NHL-based games were already offered through DraftKings and their ilk, so this amounts to little more than marketing and product placement. Still, it shows just how large of a grasp daily fantasy is beginning to have in the sports world. DraftKings, along with their main competitor FanDuel, have been gaining lots of traction. They have bought out smaller competitors, and their ads can be seen all over sports sites and blogs, as well as during televised games. Their new partnership with the NHL should expand DraftKing’s presence even more, as they are slated to be advertised heavily on NHL-branded online entities such as their official Twitter account, NHL Mobile, and video replay and preview segments, among others.

(Header image via John Biehler)

If you’re jonesing for some baseball — and who isn’t? — then fear not sports citizen, as there will be live professional baseball being played tonight! Technically it will air at 4 am E.T., so it is tomorrow morning, but the point remains. Major League Baseball kicks off the Japan exhibition games with the opening match set for tonight.

The game will consist of MLB All-Stars going against a collection of players from the Hanshin Tigers and Yomiuri Giants. Following that game, a five-game series pitting the MLB All-Stars against the Japanese national team, Samurai Japan, will begin and the tour will close with a final exhibition game. Rather than squaring off against the Japanese All-Stars again, the MLB players will be thrown up against the national team due to the Nippon Professional Baseball commissioner wanting the national club to gain experience heading into the 2017 World Baseball Classic.

Current MLB.TV subscribers will have access to all of the games or one can pay the 24.99 for the off-season package which includes every regular season and playoff game as well. With the off-season package also including over 200 spring training games, if you haven’t subscribed yet, you ought to. If you’re unable to catch the middle-of-the-night games or don’t want to pay extra to view the online stream, MLB Network will re-air the games at 9 pm E.T. the same day.

An interesting note is while the game will be broadcasted on television in Japan, current MLB.TV subscribers in Japan will not deal with any blackout restrictions. There has never been a blackout policy for countries other than the United States and Canada, however given the probable high television ratings these games could bring, it is curious — yet encouraging — to see the league take a more passive stance on blackouts.

Boston Red Sox manager John Farrell and 29 All-Stars will look to repeat the perfect record MLB had in 2006, the only other time a five-game series was played between the two leagues as well as the most recent. Three of those five games were decided by two runs or less and hopefully the games this year will be just as exciting.

(Image credit to MLB.com)

For those keeping score at home, go ahead and add Showtime to list of companies for cord cutters to support. On an earnings call on Wednesday, CBS — parent company of Showtime — CEO Leslie Moonves stated standalone Showtime will be available in 2015 “fairly definitively.” The news was first reported by Julia Boorstin, editor of CNBC’s Media Money, and this move by Showtime is coming off the heels of a similar move by competitor HBO.

Though it may not be a hard “yes!” CBS already has a large online infrastructure in place. With their CBS All-Access (available for 5.99 per month) and free CBSN site/app that launched today, the company is clearly headed in new direction.

Be it championship boxing, 60 Minutes Sports or any of their sports documentaries, there is no shortage of quality programming for fans on Showtime. As more and more people decide to move away from dozens — if not hundreds — of unused television channels, it’s encouraging to see the content producing companies shift as well.

Being a fan of a team in the digital age can be daunting. Not terribly long ago, anything worth printing about a team came through in the local sports section in the paper. Now, in the 24-hour news cycle, there is a constant stream of information from traditional news sources, Twitter, team pages, and the big news organizations. For those without the luxury (or with the luxury, depending on how you look at it) of not having constant access to Twitter feeds and RSS readers, it becomes easy to fall behind. If you follow multiple teams throughout multiple sports, staying on top of everything can seem impossible. The site SportsManias is hoping to alleviate some of that stress, with the help of their curated feeds.

The idea behind SportsManias is a simple yet novel one. You create an account, pick your favorite teams, and the site scours the Internet for everything from rumor tidbits to big-time breaking news. The site splits your feed into four sections; articles, tweets, video, and rumors. It’s a fairly intuitive setup, and the sections are explanatory. The articles section deals with published news from many sources, the tweets and rumors section is curated based on the selected teams, and the videos are there to satisfy your lizard brain with highlights.

SportsMania takes all the effort and guesswork out of checking for your sports news. Gone are the days where you have to open 25 tabs in your browser to check MLB.com, NHL.com. mylocalpaper.com, etc. to get what you need. SportsManias does the grunt work for you, and relays it back in an easy-to-consume scrollable feed.

And to help with the curation and media partnerships needed for such and endeavor, SportsManias made a recent acquisition. They recently brought Tim Stephens aboard as their VP of Strategic Partnerships. Stephens is a former Deputy Managing Editor at CBSSports.com and a former president of the Associated Press Sports Editors. Stephens will use his pedigree within the sports-writing world to create new and strengthen existing partnerships with content creators to ensure that SportsManias is bringing the fans all the news they require. Per Stephens in a press release:

“SportsManias connects the great work done by professional journalists with the hard-core fans who want it delivered to today’s front porch – their smart phone, tablet or desktop – in one location, when they want it, how they want it and where they want it. It is a win-win for the journalist, the news organization and the audience. The goal is to become the digital gateway to newspapers, delivering their localized team news to the avid sports fan.”

SportsManias takes a positive-turned-negative back into a positive. It’s great that we have so many sources at our disposal for the which to follow our teams. However, that can come at a price of time and effort for the fan. Through careful curation, a streamlined presentation, and corresponding app offerings on both iOS and Android, SportsManias strives to help the fan stay well-informed. We as fans have an embarrassment of riches like we’ve never seen. SportsManias is looking to make it even better.