New Florence. New Renaissance.

20 from 20: No industry untouched

This is the 19th post in a series of 20 highlights from the Acrobatics during the crisis, Analyst Cam, Burning Platform  and other series I ran last year.

2020 turned most industries upside down. I posted earlier about conversations in four industries here and another four here 

Here's another dozen. 

Jason Blessing, President and CEO of Model N, describes the intensity when 24 out of 25 of his largest customers like Stryker and Gilead have worked on some life-saving COVID-19 related products or services. The longer interview is here 

At 2.52 is Mark Galloway, Chief Commercial Officer at GrandPad which offers a simple and secure tablet computer that digitally connects a senior to their family and friends. Mark describes the speed at which they rolled out the device to nursing homes and elderly care facilities. The average user is 82 years old and technology which most readers of this blog use on a daily basis is a big challenge for these seniors. The longer interview is here 

At 5.54 Phiroz Darukhanavala, who goes as "Daru" is the ex-CTO of BP and points out the oil and gas industry has faced other "shocks" before, usually on the supply side. The sector in the past has bounced back and has been more efficient each time. The longer interview where he discusses industry changes is here 

At 9.48 is Bill Berutti, CEO of Plex talks about the auto industry. He and CTO Jerry Foster cover global manufacturing trends and the effect of COVID lockdowns in the longer interview here. 

At 12.99 is M.R. Rangaswami of Sand Hill Group. He talks about sustainability efforts at the members in the Corporate Eco Forum he runs. He also points how the definition has extended beyond renewables and climate issues to also cover diversity and inclusion. The longer interview including coverage of other communities he runs is here 

At 16.00 is Associate Dean Bill Moncrief at the Neeley School of Business at TCU. He describes the complexities of moving from campus to on-line education in under 2 weeks and the challenges of teaching in hybrid mode - some students in-class and some on-line. I am on the school's advisory board and the longer presentation to the board is here 

At 19:33 is Bob Ferrari of Supply Chain Matters. He describes how supply chains - PPE, global, food etc - came under a lot of pressure but responded amazingly. In the longer interview here, he talks about adjustments most industries are making to their supply chains. 

The sports world had never seen this much disruption since WWII. Yet, it bravely kept us entertained with its bubbles, empty stadiums and shortened seasons, At 22.06, you get a glimpse at the maneuvering from Max Mueller, CEO and Christian Nilson, COO of Daimani, a unique marketplace for VIP experiences in sports, rock concerts and other events. The full interview is here 

At 25.52 Vittorio Viarengo of VMware shares how he brought to life COO Sanjay Poonen's desire to record a rendition of "This little light of mine" using a group of musically talented employees around the world. These are amateurs and the result is amazing - you can see how Taylor Swift and others in the music world managed to do even more with their virtual productions. The longer session with Vittorio is here 

At 31.21 is Rod Johnson, President of Infor. He points out how the TV and entertainment industry has an opportunity to help refine tech and other events in a virtual format.  The longer conversation is here.

Apple, in reverse, promises to reshape physical events and the TV and movie industries with its iPhone 12. At 32.56 is an excerpt of the stunning imagery recorded from the back of a truck and from a drone. The longer coverage of the launch of that device is here.

Sector after sector saw massive changes. Yes, Toto we are not in Kansas anymore. 

 

The NFL's big COVID-19 experiment

The NFL is not playing its 2020 season with a bubble concept like those the NBA and the NHL have used so successfully, so COVID-19 infections among team and league personnel are all but inevitable over the next five-plus months. That's the bad news.

The good news, based on early coronavirus testing results through August, is the NFL has managed to keep the number of positive tests relatively low. Which is remarkable given the massive number of people required to operate 32 NFL teams. It's a good sign for the viability season as long as players, coaches and everybody else involved can keep following the health and safety protocols established by the NFL, the NFL Players Association, teams and local governments/health experts.

Much more about the protocols at Sporting News

This video discusses the precautions (including the proximity device) and likely pivots as the season progresses in this unusual year.

Grand new NFL stadiums

The timing is surreal as two brand new, gorgeous NFL stadiums costing a total of $7 billion open up with no fans.

The Los Angeles Rams faced the Dallas Cowboys Sunday in the first event at SoFi Stadium last night. Previously planned concerts and pre-season games had been canceled.

From NBC

The 3.1 million-square-foot stadium is designed for 70,000 fans but can hold up to 100,000 for select events. It features more than 260 suites and a 70,000-square-foot wrap-around video board, billed as the only 4K end-to-end videoboard in sports (see video below)

SoFi Stadium will be the centerpiece of Hollywood Park, a near-300-acre sports and entertainment destination being developed by Rams owner Stan Kroenke. It will have 5 million square feet of creative office space, a 500,000-square-foot retail district, up to 3,000 residences and a hotel.

 

Meanwhile, The Las Vegas Raiders will host the New Orleans Saints on Monday night next week in the new Allegiant Stadium.

Located adjacent to the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, Allegiant Stadium will be a global events destination, highlighted by the arrival of the NFL's iconic Raiders. Allegiant Stadium will be ideally located for both visitors and locals, fully enclosed and climate-controlled with a capacity of 65,000. The technologically advanced stadium will host world-class entertainment including concerts and sporting events such as the Pac-12 Championship Game and Las Vegas Bowl, as well as become the future home of UNLV Football.  

An "Event-ful" year

Toto, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore. Every day brings a new reminder of how sports and entertainment are changing in a COVID-19 affected world

Disney World in Orlando has re-opened to a whole new protocol

Aaron Dessner provided a glimpse into the making of Taylor Swift's surprise new record, Folklore recorded in quarantine

"I was excited and honored when Taylor approached me in late April about maybe writing some songs remotely together. I had been isolating with my family but writing a ton of music in the first months of quarantine which I shared. I thought it would take a while for song ideas to come and I had no expectations as far as what we could accomplish remotely. But a few hours after sharing music, my phone lit up with a voice memo from Taylor of a fully written version of a song -- the momentum never really stopped. "

It will be interesting as more details come out on the making of Folklore to compare to how Vittorio Viarengo of VMware described a composition with 30 of his colleagues from around the world

NBA players are in the "bubble" in Orlando to finish off their shortened season. This article shows the hygiene and care that league is taking.

MLB has kicked off the baseball season with a 101 page operations manual - including guidance on how the dugout should look to meet social distancing

Fox Sports is using "virtual crowds and pumped-in crowd noise for its MLB telecasts this season, creating the illusion of full ballparks for MLB games this summer and fall. Fox and MLB tested the augmented reality technology at Arizona’s Chase Field about three weeks ago and decided that the quality was high enough to use on its MLB broadcasts."

I interviewed Max Mueller and Chris Nilson of Daimani and they have a global perspective on sports, rock and other events as they package VIP experiences. They provide a fascinating pov on how events are likely to morph

Baseball - with a big, fat asterisk

Baseball is back. With a 101 page operations manual for the COVID-19 season.

The LA Times says

The 60-game regular season, during which players will receive full prorated salaries, is scheduled to start July 23 or 24 and end in late September before a standard postseason is played. The usual six divisions will remain intact and interleague play will be limited to the corresponding geographical division in the other league (i.e. NL West vs. AL West). So, yes, that means the Dodgers will face the Houston Astros.

The New York Times says

Coronavirus testing every other day for players and coaches. Wet rags for pitchers’ pockets to prevent them from licking their fingers. Masks in the dugout and bullpen for any non-players. And no public transportation to the stadium, communal food spreads, saunas, fighting, spitting, smokeless tobacco or sunflower seeds.

Here are just a few of the many guidance images from the manual. You can download the whole doc here - registration required.

Photo Credit below = MLB

 

NASCAR's re-opening protocols

NASCAR is racing at Darlington, SC today, but under dramatically different protocols thanks to COVID-19 safety considerations.

Here are some of the changes:

• No fans in the stands
• Roughly 900 people have been approved to be inside the gates, all considered essential, most from the 40 racing teams. In their version of WFH, several team members are helping remotely
• The Fox Sports broadcast booth team of Mike Joy and Jeff Gordon is calling the race from the studios in another state - in Charlotte, NC. Fox Sports has half as many people as usual at the track and fewer cameras, but they are using a high-speed drone capable of reaching 90 mph to fill in the gaps.
• Every one entering has had temperate checks upon entering the stadium. They also have had health questionnaires filled out ahead.
• All are wearing masks at all times when not wearing a helmet that covers their faces.
• With no fans at the track and infields sitting empty, teams and haulers are being widely spread apart
• Teams have brought their own portable toilets
• Don't expect to see celebratory high-fives or hugs from the pit crew

 

Robot Olympics?

With a vertical leap of 10 feet, a robot performs a gymnastics routine no human could ever replicate. This robot does not feel pain, and it is easily repaired after a fall, so it takes risks no human would take. In the next event, a martial arts competition, we will watch two humanoid robots fight to the death — if you can call it that.

Welcome to the 2026 Robot Olympics. There is no event planned like the one we’ve described here, but we believe this kind of event is on its way.

Back in 1990, a Robot Olympics was held in Glasgow, Scotland, and it included simple demonstrations like obstacle avoidance and pole balancing.

Robots will be featured heavily at Tokyo’s Olympics next year, including as equipment carriers and mascots, but they will not be competing.

With robots like Boston Dynamics’ Atlas already performing gymnastic feats most humans can’t imitate, it seems likely we’ll start having major competitions where these robots compete for medals and countries show off advanced robots they’ve designed.

Inverse

 

 

 

Hawk-eye and Daytona 500

For two decades, Hawk-eye has been a digital referee in cricket, tennis, soccer, rugby, Irish hurling, badminton, the new XFL and other sports.

It is also having an impact on NASCAR, and the race today in Daytona to detect if any of the teams have been "creative". Eight projectors display patterns on each car, and 17 cameras track the patterns for about half a minute. That allows creation of a 3D model of the car, comparison to its CAD model and highlighting of areas which fail the .150-inch tolerance on metal and .200-inch tolerance on glass surfaces.

Saudi Arabia as sports haven?

On Jan. 5 the Saudi port of Jeddah echoed with the roar of hundreds of cars, motorcycles, and trucks in the Dakar Rally, a grueling two-week trek through the mountains and deserts of the kingdom—the first time the event is being held in the Middle East. That came just four weeks after the “Clash on the Dunes,” a heavyweight boxing title bout near the ancestral home of the Saudi ­ruling family, which was billed as a worthy successor to Muhammad Ali’s “Rumble in the Jungle” and “Thrilla in Manila.” And on Feb. 29, 14 thoroughbreds will take to a dirt track in Riyadh for the inaugural Saudi Cup, the world’s richest horse race, with $20 million up for grabs.

The run of big-ticket events marks a sharp turnaround for the kingdom, which barely registers on the global sporting map. It’s part of a push by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the 34-year-old de facto ruler, to modernize the economy and reduce the influence of puritanical Islam.

Bloomberg

New Technology in the new XFL

The XFL kicks off today at 2pm eastern on ABC with several new rules. The video below explains some of the wrinkles. Besides details of the rules, schedules, rosters, the mobile app also has stadium information, and the ability to buy and manage digital gameday tickets.

The league also several new tech innovations

Replay reviews

“[Hawk-Eye] allows us to have independence from the broadcast networks. We don’t have to rely solely on them for the timing of the angles,” Dean Blandino, the XFL’s head of officiating, said Tuesday. “We can bring in multiple camera feeds immediately. At the end of a play we can look to six, eight, 10 different angles and pick the right angle to make a decision and not have to wait for the network to show it. We feel like it will make our process very efficient.”

Broadcast technologies

Four players per team will be miced up during the game (most likely the QBs and then a skill player and the defensive play callers) and also Fox will have full access to coaching communications.

One rule difference compared to the NFL is that on kickoffs the players are not allowed to move until the ball is caught by the receiving team. That opens up the opportunity to have a handheld (Rangefinder Camera) on the field when the ball is kicked and then have the cameraman leave the field while the ball is in the air.

The ball

The points of each football are wrapped with ‘X’ marks in white and the team’s primary color. This design allows receivers to track the ball easily.

Patent-pending, “X-Pebble” grip technology will help players control the ball with a feel that enables a tight spin on throws, and also allows ball carriers to enhance their ball security.