This one’s for you, cricket fans. For those not familiar with “the gentleman’s game”, we are currently in the grips of the ICC World Cup — or The World Cup of Cricket, if you prefer. “Who cares?” or “what’s a cricket?” you may be asking. Well, considering there are only five proclaimed cricket pitches in the U.S., you may have a fair point. But for countries (and cricket powerhouses) like India, Pakistan, Australia, and South Africa (to name a few), cricket is serious business.
In fact, The Economic Times is reporting that the international gambling industry collectively has more than $1.5 billion riding on tonight’s match between India and Pakistan in the World Cup semifinals.
Considering the combustible relationship between the new nations, the rivalry is a fierce one, and the matches tend to take on a significance greater than game itself. This is the first time the two teams have met since the 2008 Mumbai attacks, and Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani will be accepting the personal invitation of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, in a miraculous show of “cricket diplomacy”. → Read More
If nothing else, hosting the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 will provide more than a few stories like this one. The tournament’s organizers now say they have invented artificial clouds to hang over stadia and training grounds. The idea is to help block out the punishing sunshine that’s present there during the traditional World Cup months of June-July. → Read More
We’re still a hot 11+ years away from the 2022 Fifa World Cup, but the parade of moaning continues. The latest bit of gossip suggests that the tournament could be played during the wintertime in order to combat the extreme temperatures usually present in Qatar during the summertime. So much for developing a new stadium cooling technology that could then be exported to other countries! → Read More
FIFA’d Well there you go: the 2018 Fifa World Cup will be in Russia and the 2022 Fifa World Cup will be in Qatar. We’re all in agreement in the official CrunchGear chat room this morning: it’s more exciting this way. Would you rather spend your summer holiday on the Baltic Sea coast or in rainy Liverpool? (Nothing against Liverpool, mind.) I, for one, think it’s far more interesting, at least from an international perspective, to host the tournament smack dab in the Middle East than, say, New Jersey. You have to remember: it’s an international game, and Fifa these days is very keen on using the tournament to spread the seeds of soccer (and all that that entails) all over the world. It’s a societal thing as much as anything else. Oh, right: this is a tech site. Believe it or not, there is a tech story here, specifically as it relates to the Qatar bid. Here’s a hint: how can you possibly host a World Cup during the middle of the summer in the Middle East? Doesn’t it get, you know, hot there? → Read More
Fifa’s bigwigs are currently in Zurich listening to numerous bids to host the 2018 and 2022 World Cups. A sort of, “Please bring the World Cup to My Country because we have lots of stadiums and hotel rooms and we think Fifa is really awesome.” It’s truly the height of tedium. (The number of articles I’ve read over the past few weeks, particularly in British newspapers, along the lines of “But do we really want the World Cup?) But, there’s a fun tech story here, so allow me to waste two minutes of your day. → Read More
Sony will release the official <2010 FIFA World Cup 3D Blu-ray documentary on November 16. You'll need a compatible Blu-ray player as well as a 3DTV to get the most out of the film. → Read More
A few stories came out of the World Cup (besides the fact that Spain is the best team on the planet): the Adidas Jabulani is now the most (in)famous ball in history, Diego Forlán is the man diggity, and everyone hates the vuvuzela. Not me—I don’t mind ‘em. → Read More
Toshiba made a bit of a mistake back in early June. They ran a series of ads in Germany, England, Portugal, Italy, and Spain, promising that if someone bought a Toshiba product before the end of the World Cup, and your team won it, Toshiba would refund your purchase. Sounds like a great deal, right? Well.. you’ve got to read that fine print. Turns out that Toshiba is rather particular about the exact terms of the refund. Turns out that the time frame is really limited, you had to register your product during the World Cup, and you have to send the forms in via certified mail. Quite the series of hoops, but hopefully everything will work out in the end. There’s more to it, because all this is going on in Europe, Toshiba might find themselves in trouble, but it’s certainly shaping up to be an interesting situation. → Read More
Spain now have a star on their shirt. I’m not exaggerating when I say that my limbs were numb and my mouth was dry during yesterday’s World Cup final. I was truly a hot mess. Moving on… It’s now time for all publications to run their World Cup retrospectives, and since we barely qualify as a publication it’s time for ours. Well, mine; nobody else on staff could name a single player from yesterday’s final. But, of course, I’m taking a more technological point of view. Because if there’s anything I excel at, it’s writing about marginally relevant topics right here on CG. → Read More
Looks like Fox Soccer Channel has decided to embrace Twitter. It’s about time! Andy Gray, the former professional player turned TV pundit, will be on the channel’s Ticket to South Africa program tomorrow evening to discuss the ins and outs of the World Cup. How can you participate? → Read More
The World Cup is winding down (that psychic octopus has predicted a Spain victory, by the way), which means there will be a very real void in my life once again. I don’t even know of the Champions League or La Liga will be able to fill it. Sigh. I guess we should savor these last remaining moments while we can. One of those moments? As you know, Nike has pretty much taken over downtown Johannesburg, installing giant video screens and having Kobe Bryant throw down challenges left and right. Today’s note: presenting Ball Man! The name alone is a win. → Read More
Social CRM platform vendor Attensity has issued its analysis of the sentiment expressed throughout various social media platforms about the World Cup finalists. Based on data drawn from the likes of Facebook, Twitter, blogs, video and forum sites, the startup has concluded that while Spain owns the largest share of conversations across the Web, social media users speak slightly more positive of The Netherlands.
According to Attensity, 54 percent of the total conversation about the World Cup (by English speakers) is being directed toward Spain, yet, of that total amount, only 47 percent of the chatter has been positive in sentiment. While only garnering 46 percent of the total conversation, Holland, on the other hand, has seen greater positive sentiment (53 percent). → Read More
And now Nasa hates the Jabulani. Wonderful. I suppose Nasa has nothing better to do now that it has less money than your little sister has in her piggy bank. The former space agency says that the ball becomes “unpredictable” at speeds greater than 44 mph, and that the high altitude that many of the games were played only exacerbates the problem. → Read More
Credit to Pocket-lint, a fine site, for comparing the Adidas Jabulani, the ball that’s used in the World Cup, and the Nike T90 Ascente, the ball that’s used in the English, Spanish, and Italian leagues. The ides was to see if you could find out, once and for all, if there’s something inherent in the design of the Jabulani that makes it fly all over the place. Conclusion? Maybe, but the balls are so damn near identical that in no way can you say, “Well, Adidas screwed the pooch here.” Remember: Fifa is ultimately in charge of the ball, so if there’s anyone to blame (or praise) it’s those bozos. → Read More
Fifa President Sepp Blatter has apologized (!) for the terrible referring that led to Frank Lampard’s disallowed goal against Germany on Sunday. Even bigger than Sepp Blatter admitting fault, which is huge in and of itself (it’d be like Apple saying sorry over the iPhone 4 fiasco), is the news that Fifa will once again investigate the possibility of goal-line technology at a board meeting on July 1. → Read More
Kobe Bryant, fresh from bringing another championship to Los Angeles, is in South Africa enjoying the sights and sounds of the World Cup. Even if Team USA is out, there’s still plenty of reasons to celebrate, chief among them that my fantasy team’s captain, Holland’s Wesley Sneijder, scored another goal. Beyond that, though, Kobe, a longtime soccer fan (remember when he visited FC Barcelona?), has been taking advantage of that Nike thing I mentioned the other day, the giant screen in the middle of Johannesburg. → Read More
Fifa , world soccer’s organizing body, has responded to requests for goal-line technology (among other technologies) with a non-response. Said the organization, by way of spokesman Nicolas Maignot, at a media briefing earlier today: “The International FA Board, which Fifa is a member of along with the four British associations, dealt with this topic in March. A clear decision on the use of technology was taken at the time.” He then added, “We will not enter into any debate on refereeing at the daily media briefing. I am not competent to do so.” Competent, you say? /me taps nose → Read More
Dear Fifa, Please wake up and smell the coffee: we need goal line technology, and we need it now. England’s Frank Lampard just had a 100 percent legitimate goal stricken from the record by some dunderhead linesman. DOES HE EVEN HAVE EYES? The integrity of the sport is at stake here. I’m not asking for instant replays for outfield play or anything, but we need a camera on that goal line, or a chip/sensor in the ball, and we need it now. And look at that: Fifa supremo Sepp Blatter is on Twitter. Maybe we should let him know how we feel about goal line technology? → Read More
Sitting here watching Uruguay’s Luís Suárez bury the ball into the back of the net (his second goal = !!!), I’m thinking to myself: “Boy, he sure didn’t seem to have any problem controlling the Jabulani.” But never mind, for FIFA, world soccer’s generally inept governing body—remember, this is the same body that refuses to allow goal line technology!—has finally come out and said it: “FIFA is not unreceptive about what has been said about the ball.” The organization now plans to talk to players, team officials, and the ball’s manufacturer, Adidas, after the tournament. The question is: is the ball crocked? → Read More
