“The most striking thing of seeing those three aircraft together, is that it represents three different generations of bombers, all at once—and it’s a dramatic difference in capabilities,” reflects Todd Harrison, who directs the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Let's face it - commercials are often the most enjoyable part of the Big Game.
AdAge has been keeping updated all the commercials released ahead of this year's game.
There is plenty of nostalgia - Wayne's World, John Travolta, Michael Jordan, Jason Alexander, Shaggy and many others come back to life
Too bad, missing this year are the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales.
Hey, at $5.5 million for every 30 second spot, it is impressive that more aren't missing it - the national ad inventory "virtually sold out" given we are in the middle of a pandemic and a recession.
BTW - here is a montage of teasers from the commercials
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 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.
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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
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.
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.
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