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Ronda Rousey Officially Launches Women’s MMA

By On February 22, 2013 In Product Development, Sports With No Comments Permanent Link to Ronda Rousey Officially Launches Women’s MMAPermalink

UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche

If Women’s MMA was a startup, it would be getting ready for it’s official launch on Saturday, February 23, 2013. All those years of being in beta with the smaller promotions and iterating with the likes of Gina Carano, Cris Cyborg, Marloes Coenen, and Meisha Tate have all culminated to the historical event of UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche. Just think about this real quick. The first Women’s MMA match in the UFC, the biggest MMA promotion in the world,  will be a main event by the UFC Women’s Bantamweight Champion, Ronda Rousey against an openly gay fighter in Liz Carmouche. You can’t have more of a exciting unique product to launch the division like that.

With this launch, the UFC isn’t holding back in getting as much press as possible. The difference is the press is coming to them, not vice versa. Dana White, President of the UFC, has said “This is without a doubt, the most media attention we’ve ever had leading up to a fight. And when I talk about media attention, I’m talking about big time media.” We’re talking about media outlets like ESPN, Yahoo! Sports, Sports Illustrated/CNN, Los Angeles Times, USA Today, HBO, NBC News, The Rolling Stone and that’s not even including the traditional MMA media outlets it’s flooding already. That’s really due to the star Ronda Rousey has become. She’s a rare breed, a stunning beauty with a real fighter’s mentality coupled with a killer instinct. I’d even go as far as calling her the Mike Tyson of Women’s MMA, but instead of a first round knockout — she delivers first round armbars, which she has done in each of her last 6 fights.


This new division in the UFC, this new product, is ready to launch this Saturday. It’s not totally complete yet, there’s probably a good amount of bugs to iron out — but it’s 80% there. It’s taken a while to get here, but the structure has been laid. The UFC has started it’s first division with a group of the best women fighters around the world and now it’s time to get it in front of customers and see what happens. I for one will be tuning in to see an armbar, but I know others are looking to see a huge upset. Either way, you have to tune in — this is history in the making.

Learn more about UFC 157: Rousey vs. Carmouche:

Don’t Stop Fans From Talking About Your Product

By On November 12, 2012 In Sports With 8 Comments Permanent Link to Don’t Stop Fans From Talking About Your ProductPermalink

Yesterday was Seahawks Sunday here in Seattle, and it started as any one of these would. Woke up at 6am to get the tailgating party started. Checked the weather and checked for directions on my iPhone. Scootered over to Utah St. right behind Macrina Bakery on 1st Avenue since it wasn’t raining. My dad and I setup shop and used my iPhone to notify folks of our location and coordinated by messaging missing items. When the tailgate started, we were able to post  photos onto Facebook and Twitter easily and even comment on status for folks to come on by before the game. From 6am to 1pm, using the internet was as smooth as being at home — but when you hit CenturyLink Field, you can kiss that goodbye.

It’s funny with a stadium named after “high-speed internet” company like CenturyLink, it exactly lacks what it sells. It was the same feeling when it was called Qwest Field. This isn’t anything new. As a season ticket holder for the last several years, I’ve always found myself doing the patented “lift your hand up high with your phone to get reception” move with no avail. I know it may be my AT&T coverage, but fellow season ticket holders with Verizon, Sprint, and T-Mobile have had the same problem. This is an issue.

CenturyLink Field hosts over 67,000+ fans each Seattle Seahawk game and even with the Seattle Sounders FC, they’re able to hold 33,000+ fans each game. That’s selling out the stadium each game, and the majority of those rabid fans use smartphones — so why are they making it hard for fans to talk about their product on the field. They’re not leveraging them to spread the word about the players, the teams, the game, and more importantly the experience. The teams are missing out on people posting their thoughts, photos, and location on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. What better idea would it be to provide the fans who are struggling to send out tweets, statuses, and photos with the ability to do so?

For this NFL season, five stadiums have already been outfitted as a pilot for in-stadium wifi: MetLife Stadium (Jets/Giants), Gillette Stadium (Patriots), Bank of America (Panthers), Lucas Oil Stadium (Colts), and the Superdome (Saints). This isn’t a new idea with teams from both the MLB and NFL exploring wifi opportunities. I’m just surprised for a tech hub like Seattle, why don’t we have wifi in CenturyLink Field? As a huge fan, the product is the experience. I’d rather share my experiences in the moment rather than waiting after the game or when I’m home to do so and I believe the majority of the 67,000+ fans feel the same way.

Automated articles adds life into Fantasy Football

By On September 11, 2012 In Sports With No Comments Permanent Link to Automated articles adds life into Fantasy FootballPermalink

For the last 9 years, I’ve been playing fantasy football religiously while managing 25 different teams. Of those 25 teams, only two of those teams were managed through the ESPN Fantasy Football and there’s a reason for that. The other 23 teams have gone through Yahoo! Fantasy Football which has consistantly impressed me each of those 9 years. Whether it’s providing the StatTracker, which feeds you real-time stats for your team, or just improving the drafting experience over the years — each year they’ve always provided something new and this year isn’t any different.

This year, Yahoo is having automated articles written for each of the matchups in every fantasy football league every week. Just think about that for a second. Do you know the recaps written after the Seattle Seahawks vs. Arizona Cardinals game? They’re doing that for your fantasy league, excepts it’s for matchups like Capitol Hill Bastos vs. Issaquah. Granted, you may not get the editorial finesse of a writer, but Yahoo just turned your little ‘ole fantasy football legit and breathed more life into it.

The company behind all of this is Automated Insights, who is the leading provider of automated sports content for the web and mobile. They are powering all of Yahoo! Fantasy Football around the world by just looking at the statistics. “In four hours we will produce more sports articles than ESPN, CBS, and FOX produce in an entire year, combined” CEO Robbie Allen says. They say they can create these game recaps at a rate of more than 500 per second. With that speed, you would never think they would churn out articles are so in-depth. Here’s just a snippet:

Renton Hodor Rallies to Beat Capitol Hill Bastos
Week 1: Renton Hodor (83.28) vs. Capitol Hill Bastos (77.02) 

Renton Hodor (1-0) beat Capitol Hill Bastos (0-1) 83.28 – 77.02 with Tony Romo picking up the second-highest point total in the league this week. Heading into Sunday, Renton Hodor was in front 29.48 – 23.52. That lead faded away by the end of the early Sunday games and they trailed 65.32 – 47.58. However, Renton Hodor pulled out the victory with a comeback on Monday night.

With this one step, Yahoo and Automated Insights has tapped into the heart of why fantasy football commissioners and owners play the game: to feel more like they are owning a real league/team and more importantly, bragging rights. We may never be Roger Goddell or Paul Allen, but we can always play out your dream through fantasy football and have automated articles narrating your whole fantasy football experience. That’s all you can ask for.

Tim Tebow Brings Belief in Leadership

By On January 9, 2012 In Sports, Startups With 2 Comments Permanent Link to Tim Tebow Brings Belief in LeadershipPermalink

Do you remember when Matt Hasselbeck said, “We want the ball and we’re going to score!” during overtime of the 2003 Wildcard game against the Green Bay Packers? He never ended scoring in OT, but after that season — we all knew we had a quarterback for years to come and more importantly a leader here at the Seattle Seahawks. To have an unwary confidence in your leader that everytime he takes the field, you always think you have a chance to win. Unfortunately, I don’t have the same feeling with Tavaris Jackson today, but I don’t doubt they’re feeling it in Denver with Tim Tebow.

I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t believe this whole Tebow Time hype — I actually hate it. Does he have the best throwing mechanics? Is he just a running back who knows how to throw? Whatever your criticism is about him, you have got to concede…the guy knows how to win. He’s done it in sun in Florida, and now he’s doing it a mile high in Denver. The biggest characteristic I see about him is the belief. It’s not even about his religion, it’s about everyone around him. From his teammates and coaches to upper management and the fans, they all have this belief they’ll win the game when he takes the field.

Whether he’s the leader the Broncos has been looking for or not, Tim Tebow is bringing a feeling to Denver hasn’t had since John Elway. He’s definitely no Elway, but that’s not important. He’s undoubtedly made everyone around him better one way or another. If you look at it, it’s really about his teammates who’ve made plays. Are people talking about the shut down defense from Champ Bailey? How about the play from Demaryius Thomas with over 200 receiving yards? Or even Matt Prater making those two 50+ field goals earlier this season. Those are the people who really should get the praise, but maybe Tebow is just the poster boy for the success of everyone around him.

I’ve been lucky enough to join some companies that have had that same type of feeling. My career has been a roller coaster, with it’s necessary peaks and valleys. And when you hit those valleys a company, you’re going to need a leader you can just believe in. A person you know without a shadow of a doubt will give you this belief that you’ll pull through. The feeling that you’re going to win. You need that, and my goal is to be that for the company I’m in or the company I’ll eventually start.

I’ll leave you with Tebow’s stat line against the Steelers:
316 passing yards, 2 touchdowns, 50 yards, and 1 touchdown.

Tebow 3:16?

–

P.S. For the record, I think the Broncos lose next week. Tom Brady is just a machine.

Hack a Mobile Sports News App This Weekend

By On October 13, 2011 In Community, Sports, Startups With No Comments Permanent Link to Hack a Mobile Sports News App This WeekendPermalink

Fail to prepare, prepare to fail.
– Roy Keane

Unfortunately, I’ll be missing out on some fun hackathons this weekend: Hacking Seattle News and  AT&T Mobile App Hackathon. This weekend is just packed with sporting events I’m looking to be a part of like UW Football, Seattle Sounders FC (Kasey Keller’s last regular season game), and Seattle Seahawks. With that said, folks here in Seattle startup community should definitely go and create some awesome stuff — plus they’re both FREE. Maybe I’ll end up crashing both and pitching a mobile sports news app, in hope someone builds it.

Hacking Seattle News

There was 10,000 reasons why I wanted to go to this hackathon, but it seems to be a super intense one with the who’s who coming out too grab that huge cash prize. Similar to what we did at TeachStreet with Startup Weekend Seattle EDU and education, this is another themed hackathon specifically for news. The big player hosting this awesome event is KING 5, which is great. The more and more traditional media we can get coming out and supporting the local startup scene, the better.

If I were to go to this event, I would create something KING 5 would be able to use moving forward. Would it be a tool for their writers, newscasters, etc.? Or would it be something directly for the community to use? It may even be good to see what the problems are in the news industry and what are they dying to have solved? There’s going to be a good amount of news geeks out there, so pick their brains and add them to your team. They’re going to be valuable, I’m sure of it.

Adobe – 801 N 34th St; Seattle, WA
Friday, October 14, 2011 at 5:00 PM – Sunday, October 16, 2011 at 5:00 PM (PT)

AT&T Mobile App Hackathon

I really wanted to go to this event. I’ve always wanted to hack on a mobile app and meet up with folks who can make this a reality. I had ideas on games and possibly an video interviewing app (of some sorts). It’s always good to have ideas, but it’s even better bouncing those ideas off of folks. Especially if the folks you’re actually bouncing these ideas off of are familiar with mobile apps. I know I’m not, at least not yet — so any type of feedback would be super insightful.

Another reason why I was excited for this event was that it was only 1 day. Sometimes it’s too hard to give up a whole weekend, I did that already with DeathMath at Startup Weekend Seattle EDU a couple weeks ago.

F5 Networks HQ – 401 Elliott Avenue West; Seattle, WA 98119
Saturday, October 15, 2011 from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM (PT)

(Photo via Bob Levey/Getty Images North America)

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