Olympics – Welcome to Steelers Takeaways!

Jim O’Brien: From Hazelwood to London still long jump for Douglas

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

Herb Douglas Jr. is a boyhood hero who has stood the test of time. As a 26-year-old graduate of the University of Pittsburgh, Douglas won a bronze medal in the long jump in the 1948 Summer Olympic Games in London, and parlayed his celebrity status in sports into a successful business career.

He lives in Philadelphia, but he has maintained his boyhood home in Hazelwood and stays there when he returns to coordinate special recognition programs for track & field and African-American athletes at his alma mater. He has served on the board of trustees at the University of Pittsburgh and now enjoys emeritus status. He is in the Taylor Allderdice High School Hall of Fame.

“He’s a good friend and counselor,” said Chancellor Mark Nordenberg. “Herb has always been a point of pride for the University of Pittsburgh, and leads us in so many ways.”

Douglas is departing Philadelphia on Thursday, July 27 for a week-long stay in London during the Olympic Games with several of his teammates from the 1948 USA Olympic team. At 90, he is the oldest surviving Olympic track & field medalist, and will serve as an ambassador for the University of Pittsburgh.

He returned to Pittsburgh last month to place his memorabilia in a time capsule on a wall where many prominent Pittsburghers are honored at the Heinz History Center. Douglas has been cited as a “History Maker” at the Senator John Heinz History Center, is hailed in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum and he celebrated his 85^th and 90^th birthdays at gala events there that were attended by Olympians and sports celebrities, as well as family and close friends.

“Herb Douglas has a special place in so many respects here at the Heinz History Center,” said Andy Masisch, the president and CEO of the center in the city’s Strip District. Douglas has become a good friend of Franco Harris. “He’s taught me a lot about our history,” said Harris, who chairs the Champions Committee there.

Douglas spoke over the telephone from his apartment in Philadelphia earlier this month, and a sense of excitement and anticipation resonated in his usually steady voice.

“There was a photographer here yesterday from The New York Daily News who took a picture of me and my Olympic medal,” declared Douglas. “That’s the first time, strangely enough, that has happened. I needed that, too, to pass along.

“I feel good about all of this, everything. It was 64 years ago that I won that medal, but it stays with me. I was a person who used the Olympics to open up business opportunities.”

He says he was inspired by the gold medal efforts of Jesse Owens and John Woodruff and what African-American athletes achieved in the 1936 Olympic Games. “We didn’t have role models before that,” said Douglas.

In 1950, Douglas became a sales representative and district manager in Milwaukee for Pabst Blue Ribbon. In 1963, he left Pabst to join Schieffelin & Company, importers of such premium brands as Hennessy Cognac, Moet and Chandon Champagnes.

Douglas was credited for boosting sales in urban communities, and for promoting minority hiring in his company. He was named a vice-president of special markets in Milwaukee in 1968, and a vice-president of urban market development in 1984. He worked for the company, now known as Moet & Hennessy for 30 years, 24 years as an employee and six more years as a consultant. He formally retired in 1987.

He is reputed to be among the first African-American athletes, along with Jackie Robinson and Joe Black of the Brooklyn Dodgers, to use sports as a springboard for success as vice-presidents for national concerns.

Douglas met President Barack Obama in Denver this year. “He put his arm around me and said, ‘I stand on your shoulders.’ He said he hopes he looks as good as me when he is 90. I told him he’d look better because he’s better-looking.”

Douglas believes four basics serve anyone well. His motto has been “analyze, organize, initiate and follow through.”

To which he adds, “Get yourself someone you can trust like a brother, a good finance person, a good business lawyer, and work hard and you have a chance to be a winner.”

Jim O’Brien is the author of “Hometown Heroes” and 20 books in his “Pittsburgh Proud” series. His website is www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

Jim O’Brien: Just enjoy the games as they are played

Jim O’Brien: Just enjoy the games as they are played:

Pittsburgh sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien

This is a great time to be a sports fan in Pittsburgh.

The Pirates have been playing so well and have created so much excitement in the city over their improved prospects.

The Steelers opened their training camp at St. VincentCollege at mid-week and many of their fans will be making their annual pilgrimage to Latrobe to get an up-close look at their favorite pro football team.

The Summer Olympic Games are underway in London and we will be rooting for our U.S.A. competitors in a wide selection of sports. Since I was 14, back in the Summer Olympic Games in Rome in 1960, I have been a big fan of this international competition.

Golf fans had to enjoy the British Open – I still call it that – in which the veteran Ernie Els made a great stretch run to overtake Adam Scott to win one of the majors. I don’t play golf but I love to watch it on TV. I was also glad that Tiger Woods was in contention nearly all the way.

Anyone who has a high definition flat screen TV these days has to enjoy the extended coverage of sports in every spectrum. I even watched the NASCAR race in Chicago on Sunday.

If only they could clean up the mess at PennState sooner than later. I’m a Pitt man but I root for PennState and I want to see the school resume being the great school it has always been.

As I was writing this column, the Pirates had just swept a series with the Miami Marlins for a season-high five consecutive victories and were 14 games over .500 with the Chicago Cubs coming to town. Who saw that coming back in April?

Andrew McCutchen, Pedro Alvarez, Neal Walker, A.J. Burnett & Co. are the toast of the town. So many Pirates have stepped up their games. It would be great if they can continue to win more games than they lose. I will be happy with a winning team this year.

I don’t want them to trade off any of their top prospects for a rent-a-player to help them get into the playoffs. I’d rather see this team grow from within. I’m a patient man when it comes to the Pirates. They are missing some pieces, but they have an inspired manager in Clint Hurdle. He has a heartbeat, unlike his predecessor, and he has endeared himself to Pirates’ fans. I’m worried that he will wear out his jaw chewing gum so vehemently during the games.

I was looking forward to attending Wednesday afternoon’s contest with the Cubs at PNCPark, knowing there would be a great crowd, enhanced by the presence of plenty of Chicago visitors. It promised to be a great afternoon for baseball.

There’s been a real buzz in the ‘Burgh about these Pirates. Some of the biggest crowds in PNC history have turned out to see the Pirates in action, and not just for the giveaways and fireworks for a change. They were there to see the Pirates play baseball.

Ticket sales for the remainder of the summer have been strong, and anyone looking for the best seats better hurry up and get their orders in because they are going fast. People are buying up Pirates’ paraphernalia

I may sound like a coach but I am enjoying each game on its own merits. Overzealous fans are already talking about the Pirates’ playoff prospects – there’s an extra wild-card slot this year – and even about what the team might do in a World Series.

People who recognize me as a sportswriter have started to ask me what I think about the Pirates and how far they might go.

I usually disappoint people when they ask me those kinds of questions, whether we are talking about the Pirates, the Penguins, the Steelers, or one of the Pitt teams.

For starters, I don’t know what any of these teams are going to do in future games. I pride myself on knowing the history of these teams, and sports in general.

I have been surprised and delighted by the Pirates’ play to date. Who wouldn’t enjoy what we have seen so far? But there are serious holes in their lineup, at bat and in the field, and the quality of pitching can turn on a dime.

I think Pirates’ fans who want to discuss the playoffs and the World Series before July has even ended, with so many games in August and September and even at the beginning of October, are just setting them up for serious disappointment. It would be nice if they could win their division, but don’t count on it. There are many games still to be played. And just because an opposing team has a poorer record does not mean the Pirates will prevail. That’s baseball; that’s sports.

Here’s my suggestion: just enjoy the games as they are played, and be enough of a baseball fan to be able to deal with a defeat here and there, because it’s going to happen. A team that can win five straight can also lose five straight. Or more.

The same goes for the Steelers.

How do I think they will do this year?

I think they will be a contender. I think they will be in the mix. They still have enough key players back to be in the running. The Steelers don’t have to win the Super Bowl to have a great season, at least not in my mind. They have a first-rate coach in Mike Tomlin and great players showing the way on both sides of the ball in Ben Roethlisberger and Troy Polamalu and strong supporting casts, with or without Mike Wallace.

Like the Pirates, I think they will provide us with some great games, some victories to make our day, and that there will be days they will disappoint us because they did not play well, or they did not win the game.

The same goes for the Penguins. Why does the Stanley Cup come into the conversation at the start of every season? Or already this summer?

Pittsburgh sports fans are more spoiled than most sports fans because we have enjoyed so much success in sports in this region, more so than most cities in this country. We have enjoyed more than our share of championships.

Sports are an outlet, entertainment to take our minds off some of the stories that fill the front pages of our daily newspapers each and every day. It’s a pastime.

I’ve been following sports for a long time. I first got interested in the Olympic Games when I was 14 and became the sports editor of the bi-weekly newspaper in my hometown – The Hazelwood Envoy.

The gold medalist in the shot put that summer was named Parry O’Brien from Southern California. That caught my attention understandably. I became a big fan of track & field.

I learned that there was a man in my hometown named Herb Douglas Jr. who had won a bronze medal in the long jump at the 1948 Olympic Games in London. We later became friends. Herb celebrated his 90^th birthday here in Pittsburgh in mid-March and he is in London for the next seven days, sponsored by the University of Pittsburgh, his alma mater, to witness these Olympic Games.

I will be especially interested in watching track & field, basketball, swimming and gymnastics.

I will be rooting for Swin Cash of McKeesport, the oldest player at 32 on our women’s basketball team, to contribute to a gold medal effort. I recall having lunch with Swin at an Eat’n Park Restaurant on Lyle Boulevard in McKeesport when she was a star player at the University of Connecticut.

I recall seeing Swin Cash honored at the Heinz History Center and looking so beautiful posing for pictures with the likes of Herb Douglas and the late “Bullet Bill” Dudley, a Steelers’ star in the ‘40s.

Swin Cash keeps coming back to McKeesport and lends her presence and her money to help make things better in the projects where she grew up. There have been killings in her old neighborhood and she knows the families of some of the victims.

Whether there is violence in McKeesport, or Aurora, Colorado or in so many countries in Europe and Asia and Africa, it makes one realize how lucky we are to have some relief, or an outlet, to have fun with our games, with our sports.

It’s fun to argue about sports, and to make comparisons and contrasts. I see where Kobe Bryant is bragging that this edition of the men’s basketball team would beat The Dream Team that represented the U.S.A. when Michael Jordan was the team’s star.

I go back to that 1960 men’s basketball team that is now overlooked, but had enough great players to beat any team at any time. You can’t play ten or twelve players at the same time and I think we’d be better off with some lesser talents who recognize that they are role players, and contribute in ways that are more difficult to measure.

Our 1960 team included Oscar Robertson, Jerry West, Walt Bellamy and Jerry Lucas – who are all in the Basketball Hall of Fame – and such other stars as Terry Dischinger, Bob Boozer, Darrell Imhoff and Adam Smith. They went 8-0 and outscored their opponents by 42.4 points per game.

Pirates’ broadcaster Steve Blass has been reminding us during each game of what fun it is to be at PNCPark these days. The Pirates and their fans have suffered through 19 straight losing seasons, the most of any team in professional sports, and that’s why this is so sweet.

I hear the Pirates’ broadcasters using phrases such as “can of corn” to describe a pop fly in the outfield, and it brings Bob Prince to mind. Prince used that phrase when he was “the voice of the Pirates,” and it brings back memories of better days at the ballpark.

I think it’s unrealistic to expect our teams to come out on top all the time. It doesn’t work that way.

Save your prayers for the real problems in the world or in your neighborhood, and simply root for the home teams to prevail. Don’t damn them when they don’t play up to your expectations.

Just enjoy the games.

Sports author and Valley Mirror columnist Jim O’Brien has a series of “Pittsburgh Proud” books at area bookstores. His website is www.jimobriensportsauthor.com

Lou Riecke, Steelers Strength and Conditioning Coach , 1970-1980

You started off lifting weights in high school, correct? What got you started as a weightlifter and what did you enjoy so much about it?

Well, I wanted to gain weight to play football. I always was a skinny kid. A fellow in class lifted – I could see his huge arms, so I asked him for his help to get me working on it too. I was a Senior in high school and really wanted to gain that weight. I thought I was a good athlete but skinny isn’t good in football (laughing).

Continue reading “Lou Riecke, Steelers Strength and Conditioning Coach , 1970-1980”

Dan Vitchoff, Hypnotist That Works with Steelers, Olympians

First, how did you get started doing hypnosis?

I had an undiagnosed learning disorder growing up – ADD. I loved playing sports but hated school. My father was heavily invested in me going to college and graduating. It was an issue between us. When he suffered his second heart attack I went back and worked in a memory program at school with a Bulgarian professor and jumped in with both feet ever since.

Continue reading “Dan Vitchoff, Hypnotist That Works with Steelers, Olympians”

Alan Abrahamson on the Olympics

Alan Ambrahamson:

First, can you tell readers where they can find your work and what drives your passion for covering the Olympics?

At 3 Wire Sports: just like it sounds, //3wiresports.com/.

When I set out on my own, after 17 years at the LA Times and four at NBC, I gave a lot of thought to what I wanted my site to be named. The branding thing is a big deal, everyone tells you. As you may know, you’re not allowed to use the name “Olympic” in the United States for commercial purposes. By law, the U.S. Olympic Committee owns the rights to the word. In part, the name of my site pays tribute to my two middle brothers, who were Naval aviators; when you land a plane on a carrier deck, you have to catch one of four wires; the third of the four wires is the perfect catch.

I have always been passionate about the Olympics. We grew up near Dayton, Ohio. I remember hearing about Bob Beamon in 1968, when I was just 10, and being stunned that a man could jump more than 29 feet in the air. I vividly remember watching Frank Shorter in 1972 and Bruce Jenner in 1976. I went to Northwestern with the idea that I would graduate in 1980 with my journalism degree, which I did, having studied Russian, which I did, and go to Moscow to report on those Games — oops, that didn’t quite work out, and I have over the years become friends with some of the members of that 1980 U.S. Summer Olympic team. The stories of how the boycott has played out in their lives is compelling stuff.

How did you get started as a sportswriter – any advice for those choosing to enter the field?

I started working as a copy boy at the Dayton Daily News when I was still in high school. In college I worked in the sports section of the Waukegan News-Sun. My first job out of Northwestern was at the Jackson, Mich., Citizen Patriot, covering cops.

The business has changed so much since then.

Advice for those entering the field: Any foot in the door is good.

What are your thoughts the somewhat recent addition of allowing professional athletes to participate in the Olympics – has this had a positive impact on the games? Why/why not?

Well, it’s not really all that recent. The Dream Team in men’s hoops was Barcelona 1992, which is nearly 20 years ago.

I am all for professionals competing in the Games. How can anyone not be? The Games are supposed to be about excellence.

To compete into your 20s and 30s you need to get paid. To compete in sports such as swimming you need to get paid. Everyone reveled in Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals. But how, exactly, is Michael supposed to have the wherewithal to train? The second of the eight gold medals that Michael won in Beijing was saved by Jason Lezak’s phenomenal anchor leg. How is Jason supposed to train? Don’t Michael and Jason have every right to strive for the same excellence that Kobe Bryant and LeBron James do? Moreover, if Pau Gasol is going to be playing for Spain — shouldn’t Kobe and LeBron be wearing red, white and blue? It only makes sense.

Can you describe the effect Juan Antonio Samaranch had on the Olympics – what impact did he have and how much is he missed?

Juan Antonio Samaranch was president from 1980-2001. History will, I think, be far kinder to him than many judge him now. When he took over, the IOC was mired in financial instability and turmoil. When he stepped down, it had enormous global reach and was financially secure.

His legacy will forever be tarnished, of course, by the specter of doping in sports and by the Salt Lake City corruption scandal. As for the events in Salt Lake — he immediately launched a far-reaching reform plan that continues to guide the IOC to this day. As for the campaign against doping in sports — that is without end.

It is fair to say I came to know Samaranch better than any other American journalist. He was actually quite shy in public; incredibly warm, personable and gracious with those he knew; and nothing like the stereotype of the imperious grandee so many liked to toss about.

What do you think about the location for the 2012 and 2014 games – will London and Sochi be ready – what should we expect?

Yes, both absolutely will be ready.

London, assuming no transport or security issues, holds the promise to be a party like Sydney in 2000 — only better. After all, it’s London, which may well be the best big city in the world. The big question right now is who is going to play the opening ceremony — as in: The Who? Or will it be the likes of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr? The guessing game is on.

As for Sochi: The 2014 Games will prove a catalyst of sorts for Russia. They will introduce concepts there that are long-familiar here and elsewhere but not there — for instance, volunteering. And recycling. Because of the 2014 Games, you will be able to recycle water bottles in Sochi. You couldn’t do that before. If that seems simple — it’s also fairly profound. That’s a big, big culture change in a place like Russia.

Which US athletes should we be watching out for in 2012 – what athletes do you think will surprise U.S. viewers?

1. Michael Phelps. He’ll be back. He won’t be swimming eight races. But he’s still going to win a bunch of golds.

2. Ryan Lochte. He swam better than Phelps in 2010 and 2011. He became the first guy to break a world record without a high-tech plastic suit. And he beat Phelps doing it.

3. Missy Franklin. The teen-age swimmer from Denver rocked the 2011 world swim championships.

4. Jordyn Wieber. The 2011 world gymnastics women’s all-around champion. She’s from Michigan.

5. Trey Hardee, Ashton Eaton and Bryan Clay. The U.S. could go 1-2-3 in the decathlon. Hardee and Eaton went 1-2 at the track worlds in 2011. Clay is the 2008 Beijing champion.

6. Brady Ellison. The world’s No. 1 archer. From Arizona. Grew up hunting and fishing with his dad.

No list of athletes is complete without mentioning Usain Bolt, who of course is Jamaican. His current world records: 9.58 in the 100, 19.19 in the 200.

What have been some of the more lasting memories for you so far in your coverage of the Olympics – what made them so?

My favorite Olympic memory is from Salt Lake City in 2002. It’s the picture in my mind’s eye of Ross Powers winning the snowboarding halfpipe with his first trick, a huge jump called a method air. I was down at the bottom of the hill, watching. Ross threw the trick, which is really just a leap into the sky. He timed it expertly. He was probably 35 feet off the ground, silhouetted against a perfect blue background. Just — perfect.

Which athletes made the biggest impressions on you over the years – and why?

Phelps and Apolo Ohno, because I’ve had the privilege of working with each of them on their best-selling books, and gotten to know them so well.

And: Kerri Walsh and Misty May, after they won the gold medal in Athens in 2004 in beach volleyball. (No book but have gotten to know them, too.) After they won, they went around the court and shook hands with the officials, the ball boys and girls, the fans — everyone. It was a fantastic display of class and sportsmanship.

Some of the criticism of Olympics coverage is the fact that, outside of the known professional athletes, many of the participants are simply unknown to viewers? Do you think the US committee does a good enough job “introducing” these athletes to viewers? How can they improve?

That’s why NBC does those “up close and personal” profiles. It’s understood that several of the Olympic sports can be less-understood and that consequently viewers might need a rooting interest.

I think everyone who is close to the Olympic scene understands that the more we all do to tell the stories of the athletes the better it is for all involved.

Any new books coming out soon?

Our oldest is a senior in high school. College tuition is coming right up!

Seriously — I’m always interested in new projects. At the same time, you have to find the right balance time-wise between professional and family life. So we’ll see …

Any last thoughts for readers?

My wife, Laura, makes all this possible. Without her support, no way I get to live out the dreams I dreamed of when I was watching Frank Shorter and Bruce Jenner a long time ago.

Gregg Sayer – Pointstreak Sports Technologies Inc.

Greg Sayer: Pointstreak Sports Technologies Inc.

First, can you tell readers about Pointstreak – how you got started and what the applications are?

In 2000, our founder, Aaron Bishop, was frustrated that he could not get his rec league hockey stats online and when they were posted online, they were painfully out of date. He drafted some friends to help him create a solution – which was labelled an “electronic gamesheet system” – and then approached their local league to act as a test pilot. From these humble roots we have grown to a company that services over 4000 leagues and associations around the world.

Officially speaking, Pointstreak Sports Technologies Inc. is a privately-held sports software company that provides fully integrated online registration software, statistics solutions, sports websites and video solutions for the sports of hockey, baseball, basketball, lacrosse, soccer and others. Our founding principle was to use a touch-screen computer to replace paper score sheets used by hockey leagues, but we have since expanded into multiple sports and applications beyond just statistics.

What professional sports organizations use Pointstreak (any in Pittsburgh) – and how?

Pointstreak formed its first “White Knight” partnership with the Pittsburgh Penguins in November 2010 which saw the Penguins underwrite the costs of Pointstreak’s technologies for grassroots hockey leagues in the greater Pittsburgh area, particularly the Pittsburgh Amateur Hockey League (PAHL) and the Pennsylvania Interscholastic Hockey League (PIHL). This type of partnership is a triple-win: the Pens get a great platform to connect with their core community; grassroots hockey associations get cutting-edge services at no cost and Pointstreak gets the business. The idea is catching on with other pro teams. We recently entered into a similar arrangement with the Philadelphia Flyers.

Beyond these strategic partnerships, we have many professional sports organizations as clients that use our real-time statistics software , live video highlights software and video analysis coaching software. Here are some highlights of our pro / collegiate clients in the Pittsburgh and greater Pennsylvania region:

Video Analysis Software:

Hershey Bears (AHL)

Wheeling Nailers (ECHL )

Robert Morris University (NCAA D1 hockey & lacrosse)

Mercyhurst U (NCAA D1)

Baseball Statistics Software:

Washington Wild Things (Frontier League)

Butler BlueSox (The Prospect League)

Slippery Rock Sliders (The Prospect League)

PONY World Series

Little League World Series

Are any teams using the software to better analyze their own performance to improve – if so, any examples?

While we certainly cannot take all the credit for our clients’ successes, it is interesting to note that the Canadian men’s and women’s hockey team who won gold and the Finnish hockey teams who won bronze at the Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics were all clients of our video analysis coaching software (called STEVA).

Pointstreak’s STEVA product is completely centered around the idea of helping coaches and players improve on-ice success. The product slogan is “Visualize Success”, which is a perfect summary of the whole concept: tag up video, index it, and use it to find out what you are doing well and what you could be doing better. Furthermore, the same concept can be applied against your competitors to help identify weak points or to guide preparations such as match-ups, situational tactics, etc.

Can fan/fantasy leagues use the system as well – if so, how is it being used?

Yes, we do have a ‘fantasy league’ module that we can enable for our clients. For example, the Major League Lacrosse uses our fantasy league software to easily allow fans to run their own fantasy leagues. Because we have a streamlined system to capture and organize game and player statistics, the setup and maintenance of a fantasy league is completely automated for our clients.

We also have one Strat-O-Matic Hockey league using Pointstreak. Strat-O-Matic is a sports simulation board game that has somewhat of a cult following. Our baseball platform could easily be used by Strat-O-Matic baseball leagues.

Much of your focus in on baseball and hockey – is football in the future for Pointstreak? Why/why not?

Our vision is to have a robust stats solution for all the major, global sports, so yes, football is definitely our radar. We already have football clients like the Indoor Football League, Texas High School Football, and the Flag Football World Championships. We expect that the football market is going to become a much larger part of our business in the coming years.

We have also recently entered basketball with our acquisition of CREZ Basketball, a leading basketball stats application, so that is a market we are just beginning to make our presence felt in.

Some feel that there’s too much emphasis on statistics in sports today – what do you think of this and how does your software help enhance the sporting experience versus making the focus solely on statistics?

The reality is, for the youth and young adults of the world, an online experience is an integral part of anything they do. By creating a rich online experience for these athletes we strengthen their ties to their sport and make it more likely that they will continue to participate in their sport. Combine that with the fact that we offer parents the opportunity to stay connected to their child’s sporting activities in real-time even when they cannot make the game, and we feel we have a lot to offer sports organizations.

At the professional level, especially with the release of the recent movie Moneyball, there has been plenty of discussion on how much should statistics be used in the role of scouting and player evaluation. The general consensus is that the old school method of simply watching a player can be enhanced with the use of statistical analysis. The majority of MLB teams now employ a department that manipulate the statistics for their own scouting purposes. Pointstreak shares data with a few MLB teams as well as having an official partnership with NHL Central Scouting.

Are there plans to open this up to consumers so that anyone can use this to track their own individual players/sports of interest rather than this being a team/league centered offering?

We do offer a Pointstreak iPhone app / iPad app for $9.99 that allows consumers to score their own team’s games or for scorekeeping hobbyists who like to score along with MLB games (we even have built in MLB rosters that one can download). We also have something called Team Locker Room, a free online tool that helps amateur teams and coaches manage their team (schedule games, track attendance, enter basic stats). However, Pointstreak’s core business is on helping entire leagues streamline their stats collection and improve the player or fan experience.

Could this be applicable to non-sports applications. Say, helping businesses get statistical analysis on their operations, etc.?

Yes, the principles are the same: Streamlining data collection, crunchin numbers, posting to the Internet, etc. However, there are plenty of companies focused on that space, so our plan is to specialize in technology that meets the unique needs and challenges of sports organizations.

What’s next in terms of offerings/applications?

About a year ago we released a product called Pointstreak Live Publisher. This is a revolutionary idea that married our traditional hockey/baseball scoring software with our then recently acquired video indexing software (STEVA). The result is a seamless system that automatically captures a video clip from a baseball or hockey game, indexes it to the relevant statistical event (e.g. goal or home run), and then uploads it to the web in real-time.

We had good adoption of Live Publisher with leagues like the Central Hockey League (CHL), the North American Hockey League (NAHL), Central Canadian Hockey League (CCHL), but what we are extremely excited about is the R&D that is under way to bring this idea of automated video highlights down to the grassroots hockey and baseball leagues. Imagine as a parent of a young hockey player, for example, having a highlight clip of every one of your child’s goals from the start of their competitive hockey career. Imagine if we could have that sort of historical video archive for a great like Sidney Crosby?

Any other thoughts for readers?

If anyone reading this participates in a hockey/baseball league and you think or KNOW the league needs to catch up on technology, join our Facebook page and join the conversation about how Pointstreak can help.