espn

Is Bleacher Report ready for some football?

SAN FRANCISCO--The Super Bowl takes place in just over 72 hours, and Brian Grey and his lieutenants are trying to plan what is by far their most important day of the year.

Grey is the CEO of Bleacher Report, one of the largest sports Web sites in the U.S., and a place nearly 26 million people visited in January for the latest insights into their favorite teams.

Unlike many sports publications, Bleacher Report doesn't concentrate on breaking news with a team of paid writers. Instead, it relies on sports enthusiasts around the country and the world who are … Read more

China Telecom to give the U.S. wireless business a shot

China Telecom wants to go where Walt Disney and ESPN couldn't: the U.S. wireless business.

The Chinese telecommunications provider wants to break into the U.S. market with its own service next year, the company told Bloomberg BusinessWeek. The company intends to go after Chinese Americans and tourists with its offer, which would provide one line for use in the U.S, and another that would work in China.

Rather than build its own network, it plans to lease capacity from another carrier, although the company declined to specify to Bloomberg who the potential partner would be. Traditionally, … Read more

Slacker, ESPN tie up on sports radio

Music-streaming service Slacker is moving into the sports world through a partnership with ESPN.

Starting today, Slacker users can access ESPN Radio content. Basic radio users can listen to a programmed ESPN station, while Slacker Radio Plus and premium subscribers can listen to an ad-free programmed station and create customized myESPN Radio sports stations based on the type of sport, teams, or ESPN programs. They can also get hourly SportsCenter updates added to their Slacker station.

The partnership represents a significant expansion of content for Slacker, which already offers music, ABC News, and comedy. ESPN, meanwhile, gets another outlet for … Read more

A ride straight out of Valhalla: The 2012 Acura TL cross-promotes with 'Thor'

Pairing sexy cars a with summer movie blockbusters has been a long-standing tradition--like last year's "Iron Man 2," which featured the 2011 R8 Spyder 5.2 Quattro supercar. This summer, "Thor", will team up with Acura for a major cross-promotion featuring the 2012 Acura TL.

In the movie "Thor," S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, worldwide peace-keeping organization of the Marvel Comics universe, drive various Acura vehicles, including the MDX, ZDX, RL and TL models. The TL will be the only model featured in ad spots, which include a 30-second TV on … Read more

This hard drive will self-destruct

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

New rules in Europe prevent Internet advertisers from tracking people without permission

The next version of Apple's OS X operating system may have a do-not-track option in the built-in Safari browser

Toshiba has a new hard drive that will self destruct in the wrong hands

Google now allows you to set your own background image in Gmail

You can now control your Netflix queue with motion control in Microsot Kinect

The Nook Color is coming to Staples

The next Madden NFL game will launch August 30

Buzz Out Loud 1444: A line to the sky! (Podcast)

We all want to stream video on our devices but the big companies are saying "NO"! Bring on the parade of lawyers! and the Department of Justice approves Googles dream to help us plan our vacations so that we can travel freely about the world connected to our clouds & Google social media of course, while Facebook is engineering green open sourced servers that will require no air conditioning. What does this all mean?

Watch ESPN programming on iOS-based devices

ESPN is ensuring its viewers don't miss a single minute of the game.

The network announced today that it has launched a new application in Apple's App Store, called WatchESPN. After downloading the free app, users can watch live programming from ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN3.com 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The network was quick to point out that the app is available to iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch customers in time for major sporting events, including the "early rounds of the Masters, the NBA Playoffs, and the beginning of the Major League … Read more

ESPN analyst's Super Mario ringtone goes off on air

Perhaps it's happened to you in a meeting or on a date. Perhaps you're one of those inconsiderate people who never obeys the plea to silence your cell phone in the movie theater.

But you might think that, before you go live to present your Final Four predictions on ESPN, you might have remembered to turn your cell phone off.

Not everyone, it seems. For here is Doug Gottlieb, who used to play for Oklahoma State as well as Notre Dame, inadvertently creating one of the more touching technological moments in TV history.

When he hears Super Mario … Read more

Sprint ID phones get ESPN app experience

Sprint continues to add partners to its Sprint ID theme packs for select Android smartphones (LG Optimus S, Samsung Transform, and the Sony Zio for now). ESPN is the latest, officially joining the Sprint ID gallery today. ID packs like the new offering from ESPN includes apps, widgets, wallpaper, and ringtones that gather around a main theme: sports.

The ESPN ID Pack includes the ScoreCenter app for tracking scores, ESPN video and Mobile TV, fantasy sports, and notifications, ringtones, and wallpaper representing various ESPN shows. Shortcut icons to popular ESPN Web pages will also install on the phones' home screens.… Read more

Xbox 360 fall update hands-on

Microsoft is using this November's release of the company's motion-sensing initiative to revamp the Xbox 360 dashboard. The new update, due out later this fall when Kinect hits stores, gives the dashboard a complete cosmetic upgrade, zippier navigation, and more features and functionality. We should note that Zune, ESPN, and Netflix features require an adult Gold membership on Xbox Live.

You'll notice the change right away, as the opening splash screen has a different look and welcoming sound byte. Mostly all of the current dashboard's sounds have been disregarded, save for the iconic "pop-up." Instead, the interface now carries with it more soothing sounds. Visually speaking, Microsoft has opted for a minimalistic and angular presentation, with more concentration on grays and whites.

Performance-wise, there have definitely been a few tweaks under the hood. The Xbox Guide is definitively faster--absent now is the lag the previous version suffered from when launching the Guide mid-game. Browsing through the Game Library seems quicker too, and items installed on the hard drive populate the screen with ease.

Among the updated features is a new version of Netflix. Most notably, the option to now search the entire Netflix library has been added, and items not available for instant streaming can now be added to your traditional queue with the click of a button.

ESPN makes its debut on the Xbox 360 with the fall update, but users with an ISP (Internet service provider) that has not signed a contract with Disney won't have access to ESPN3 HD content, which includes the streaming of out-of-market sports. We experienced this issue firsthand as Cablevision in Northern New Jersey has yet to agree to terms that allow for such services. There's better news for customers in New York City as Time Warner has come to an agreement with Disney, but there has yet to be anything signed. You can check to see if your ISP has a deal in place by heading over to ESPN3.com.

If you're among these unfortunate souls like we are, the ESPN on Xbox 360 experience is a bit watered-down, but does include plenty of streaming highlights and clips from ESPN's various networks and items appear to be frequently updated.… Read more