nfl

Like the New York Yankees and pungent curries, it is not easy to love the Dallas Cowboys.

Somehow, they seem hell bent on proving that everything really is bigger in Texas. Including, some believe, mouths.

They have built a new stadium at which parking is $75 and pizzas a mere $60 (oh, of course they're 20 inches). They constantly seem to act as if they are rather more important than other NFL teams, more important than any other sports team anywhere. Which might make some people curious that the Cowboys have often been referred to as "America's … Read more

On today's show, a brief digression on the topic of McRibs and then back to the serious news of the Windows Phone 7 launch, Amazon doubling rev share for newspaper and magazine publishers, and broadband satellite service with real speeds. Also, our review of the first TV with Google TV inside, and the best looking iPhone game ever. --Molly

It's World Series time, and if you're a fan of either the San Francisco Giants or the Texas Rangers looking for tickets to any of the sold-out games being played over the next few days, don't despair: You can get in.

Of course, it's not going to be cheap. Since the only tickets that are available are on the secondary market, they're going to cost substantially more than face value. For example, in San Francisco, where tonight's game two, and games six and seven (if necessary) will be held, the average price for all … Read more

We ventured out into the real world this week, with Scott and Joey trekking out to Queens to attend the NYC version of the Maker Faire, and coming back with a slideshow of exotic DIY inventions.

A new study shows we're all keeping our mobile phones longer than ever--is it because they've gotten so good that we want to hold onto them, or because we're locked into onerous multiyear contracts? Later, Dan recalls the moment of horror he experienced last week, when he realized every single item of clothing he was wearing came from super-hot private shopping start-up Gilt.com.

In you're keeping count, we're only two weeks away from the big 100th episode special! Be sure to tune in for all sorts of surprises and giveaways, including the ultimate video game T-shirt collection and the long-awaited downloadable Digital City theme song MP3.

… Read more

If you're like me, you might have been on a fruitless hunt for a customized iPhone case that touts your beloved sports team, only to discover nobody seems to have any. Is it critical for me to own an iPhone case themed after the New York Jets? Hardly, but I'm a superstitious fellow and I like my digital trinkets and amulets.

Coveroo, which makes custom cases for iPhones, BlackBerries, iPods, iPads, and many other devices, doesn't actually have an NFL teams license, although it does have a license for NFL players. They have NBA and MLB licenses, … Read more

If you want to know something very important about someone very important, just ask his sister.

When it comes to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, one doesn't need to, as she is hugely kind in offering friendly nuggets via her Twitter feed.

May I thank Randi Zuckerberg, therefore, for offering the news that rapper and muse Snoop Dogg wants to go into business with her brother, Mark.

Snoop tweeted: "Ayo sumbody tell Zuckerberg to holler at me. He n I need go buy a pro sports team tgether."

I would not have known about this tweet, as I … Read more

Sports fans can easily find the live stadium experience to be paradoxically out of touch compared with the instant stats, superior commentary, and HD replays available to home viewers. DVRs, HDTVs, and smartphones can't follow you to the live game. At stadiums, it's hard to get any smartphone to work properly. Streaming radio apps black out live game broadcasts, unless you're using Sirius. As for video, unless you've got some portable TV with an HDTV antenna converter box, you're out of luck.

This is the promise that NFL FanVision offers to a seasoned fan. At first glance, the device--a dedicated ruggedized handheld with a 4.3-inch screen formerly used at Nascar events--looks like a castoff from the early '00s, some idea of a personal media player from the early age of iPods. Purportedly waterproof (though we didn't test it) and boasting a 6-hour battery life for streaming, it's a bit too big to pocket and hangs from a lanyard around one's neck. Sure, it's not nearly as elegant as an iPhone. What it does, however, bears consideration. A live TV feed of the current game (plus audio commentary), multiple viewing angles, instant multi-angle replay after every play, plus live video of other games around the league, the NFL Red Zone channel, and stats...it's compelling for a hard-core fan.

How it works Others might ask, why not just watch the real live game in front of you? That's a valid point, but not for me. I'm a New York Jets fan, and my dad has been one for 45 years. We know the players, and we like to know what's happening down to the fine details. FanVision's audio commentary and stats offer more than what's given via the minimalist PA system and the infrequently updated HD megascreens. And instant replay, the killer app for the home user, is offered up at the press of a button.

Even better, FanVision seems to be set up to be overload-proof. FanVision works via a dedicated local UHF channel that's licensed to broadcast in the stadium and the parking lot area. The device is really a higher-tech TV, one that can receive up to 10 channels of digitally compressed video and stat data and cache highlight videos for replays. Once booted up via a small power button, the device locates the nearby broadcast tower and downloads team-specific data and channel programming. After a few minutes of initialization, the device is up and running. By avoiding Wi-Fi or 3G, FanVision's broadcast concept shouldn't suffer from slowdown.

It all sounds great on paper, but we wanted to test it for ourselves.… Read more

We all want to save the world. It's just that some want to save it for longer than others.

So along comes the Nissan Leaf, the 100 percent electric car that tries to persuade us that the world is worth preserving for more than just the next few years. How does it do that? By proving that the Leaf makes polar bears extremely happy.

How would I know? Well, please feast upon the new Leaf ad that is set to launch in Thursday's exciting NFL game between the New Orleans Saints and a team from the Midwest quarterbacked … Read more

Electronic Arts has launched Madden NFL Superstars, which lets players create a fantasy football team and compete with others on Facebook.

The game, developed by EA Sports and EA-owned Playfish, features 1,500 current players from all 32 NFL teams.

I checked out the game this morning. When I first loaded it up, I was given 10,000 points to buy less-capable real-life players. Upon doing so, they were added to my team, which allowed me to play with others.

Aside from playing games, I was also able to "practice" with my players to improve their abilities. It … Read more