Sporting News and Zumobi Kick Off Pro Football Season With New iPhone and iPod Touch Application
Free App from America’s Leading Multimedia Sporting News Company Delivers Mobile NFL Experience on The Zumobi Network
Sporting News and Zumobi today announced the launch of the Sporting News Pro Football application for the iPhone and iPod touch, offering pro football fans mobile access to breaking news, detailed stats, photos, and more for their favorite NFL teams and players. Now available for free on the Apple App Store, the Sporting News Pro Football app features the most comprehensive collection of pro football content available for the popular Apple devices:
– Easy-to-read leaderboards with live standings, scores and stats
– Top NFL headlines and breaking news
– Ability to customize app with team colors and content
– Expert analysis and articles from Sporting News journalists
“By partnering with Zumobi we’ve expanded our digital reach to offer NFL fans unparalleled content on the iPhone and iPod touch,” said Joey Glowacki, National Digital Sales Manager for Sporting News. “This easy-to-access application enhances our digital capabilities to give fans the news and information they require to stay in touch with the game at any time and from any location.”
The new Sporting News Pro Football app gives fans a multi-dimensional, in-depth look at the sport throughout the season with comprehensive pro football content available right at their fingertips on the iPhone or iPod touch. Featuring the Zumobi ZoomCanvas interface, the app offers easy navigation from the home page with a “FAVS” scroll bar that users can tailor for quick access to their favorite teams. On the main page fans can also scan through the latest updates across the league, including breaking news, recent game scores, conference standings, top stats and current leaders in passing, rushing, receiving and touchdowns. Users can then click on specific teams and players for more detailed information such as rosters, week-by-week scores and player stats.
“After first working on the Sporting News Pro Baseball app last spring, we’re excited to partner again with the team at the Sporting News to bring their unique and comprehensive NFL content to football fans through The Zumobi Network,” said Ken Willner, CEO of Zumobi. “And in addition to its outstanding pro football content, the Sporting News Pro Football app also offers brand advertisers a rich mobile environment to engage with a highly qualified audience of pro football fans and Sporting News readers.”
The range of advertising opportunities on the Sporting News Pro Football app includes Zumobi’s signature BrandFrame and BrandBlast sponsorship platforms. Zumobi’s unique BrandFrame design allows advertisers to sponsor key content pages and prominently associate with top features on The Sporting News app. Additionally, BrandBlast offers an interactive option, allowing advertisers to link to media rich experiences, such as videos, social media and other web-based marking and sales activities without taking users outside of the application.
The free Sporting News Pro Football app is available on the Apple App Store here: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=300213367&mt =8. Sports fans can also download the free Sporting News Pro Baseball app on the Apple App Store or through The Zumobi Network, which offers a portfolio of entertaining, useful programming and applications to enjoy on next-generation smartphones. For more information on the Sporting News Pro Football app and others in The Zumobi Network, please visit www.Zumobi.com.
Source: Zumobi
New York Football Giants Prepare to Enter New Era at EwingCole-Designed Training Facility
As the New York Football Giants return to the Meadowlands from training camp in preparation for their final season at Giants Stadium, the team is shifting its daily focus to a new, state-of-the-art training center designed by a team of EwingCole architects and engineers.
The Timex Performance Center replaces team facilities inside Giants Stadium that served the team for several decades, and provides the Giants with advanced features that will help the team to achieve its goal to repeat their journey to the Super Bowl. Players, coaches and the team’s administrative staff will call the facility their day-to-day business home, one that was specifically designed by EwingCole to reflect the Giants’ steady, stable, and results-oriented approach.
“Our long relationship with the Giants helped us from the beginning in understanding the Giants’ goals for their training facility, and how we could best help them achieve their vision,” said Bob McConnell, EwingCole principal architect, and leader of the design effort. “The team wanted to expand what it could achieve in this new building. We listened carefully to their ideas, and worked cooperatively with them at every stage to develop what we believe is a facility that reflects the Giants’ core values.” McConnell noted that EwingCole was the executive architect and master planner for the Meadowlands Sports Complex including Giants Stadium, and is the architect and engineer of record for the New Meadowlands Stadium, which will become the Giants’ and Jets’ home beginning in 2010.
The Timex Performance Center project is the latest in EwingCole’s global track record of successful architectural designs for stadiums, arenas and other athletic facilities, as part of its Sports and Entertainment practice. EwingCole was the architect and engineer for Citizens Bank Park for the World Champion Philadelphia Phillies baseball team, and has planned athletic facilities for Bucknell University, Monmouth University, the Kentucky Horse Park and more. From the design of racetracks in Singapore to the renovation of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall, EwingCole has compiled a distinguished record in this key sector.
As designed by EwingCole, the Timex Performance Center provides the latest technology and training features for complete mind and body football training, providing a showcase for presenting team heraldry, history and team identity. Daily training workflow was a critical component in the overall facility design, and it pervades the look, feel and layout of the entire facility. Players, coaches and staff continually interact on a variety of daily training routines, from body training and workout, football equipment, video coaching and lecturing to nutrition.
The centrally-located locker room provides a direct connection for all of the players’ activities: one entry connects the players to the football equipment area, the fields and indoor field house, a second entry point directs the players to team meeting rooms, weight training and dining. A third entry point provides access to physical training, hydrotherapy and player grooming facilities. The training area is equipped with plunge pools, hydrotherapy pools, training tables and exam rooms, meeting the Giants’ needs of physical training/rehab. Team meeting rooms and the auditorium are outfitted with audio and visual training equipment for reviewing game film and developing game strategies. The indoor facility is specifically designed by EwingCole to allow the Giants to allow full-clearance punting drills. The facility also features three outdoor grass fields and a half-sized synthetic field.
“Performance training was a priority for all the football-related activities,” said John Mara, president and chief executive officer of the Giants. “Creating spaces, program elements and infrastructure to allow the facility to accommodate the latest in training methods was an important design goal for us; EwingCole clearly understood our requirements and worked with us cooperatively to develop a facility that will meet our needs for years to come.”
Mara noted that the facility already has taken an important step in preparing for the future. Off the Performance Center’s main entrance is a curved walkway with a wall-sized mural reflecting the Giants’ 2007 championship.
“I have been asked many times, but most recently this morning, how do I feel about our new facility?” said Giants head coach Tom Coughlin. “Everyday is Christmas, are you kidding me? Everyday is Christmas. Our players are excited to be here. The very first day we moved here, the players came in and started in the weight room. I think the players recognize probably five different aspects of the facility. One is their locker room. It is a magnificent, huge locker room. We have 80 players in there right now, but it seems that it handles the 80 very well. When we get to fifty-three and the practice squad, the players will have plenty of room to operate.”
Coughlin described the new weight room as “second to none. It is a beautiful facility. It allows our players, all of us really, to condition and develop strength, to stay in the best possible condition that we can be in.” He noted, “Performance obviously must be preceded by preparation. Preparation is the key to success and that is what we are all about.”
Source: EwingCole
Hall of Fame Quarterback Takes Hit From Prostate Cancer, Urges Men to be Proactive About Their Own Prostate Health
Len Dawson took hard hits for 19 years as a Pro Football Hall of Fame quarterback for the Kansas City Chiefs. But the shots from the league’s best linebackers paled in comparison with a hit he took long after his football career was over.
In 1991, Dawson was diagnosed with prostate cancer. As an athlete who always paid attention to his health and was physically fit even after his retirement from the game, the diagnosis was a shock.
“The doctor was really cheerful until after the examination, then his demeanor changed abruptly,” Dawson recalled. “He said, ‘I found something there that I think you need to look into. You need to have a biopsy and ultrasonic images to check out what it is’.”
For men, prostate cancer can be a silent threat they prefer not to talk about. It is the second leading cause of male cancer-related deaths in the United States, and in 2009, an estimated 192,000 men will be diagnosed with the disease.
“The good news is that the number of deaths can dramatically be reduced through prevention, early detection and appropriate treatment,” said Dawson.
Despite his early objections, Dawson’s wife, Linda, made an appointment for him to be screened for prostate cancer.
“I owe my life to Linda,” Dawson said. “She encouraged me to go, and it was the best decision because that doctor’s visit saved my life.”
Some men aren’t as lucky. Dawson’s brother, Ronald, died from prostate cancer, and many of his family members, including Len, didn’t know he had the disease because he didn’t want to talk about it.
“Ronald was a paratrooper in World War II, and he was the type of individual that never really talked about the war, his health or anything to anyone,” Dawson explained. “His symptoms had to show before he would take action and finally go to the doctor. The problem was that by that time, it was too late, and the cancer had spread throughout his body.”
To help educate other men about the dangers of prostate cancer and the importance of seeing a doctor, Dawson has joined forces with Kimberly-Clark and several other sports legends in The Depend Campaign to End Prostate Cancer.
“For men managing incontinence due to prostate health issues, every time you buy Depend products for men, proceeds from that purchase will contribute to an overall donation of $250,000 to ZERO – The Project to End Prostate Cancer,” Dawson said.
Dawson hopes that sharing his experience will inspire men to talk to other men about this serious issue and to be proactive about their own prostate health.
“My personal advice to men 40 years of age and older is to get tested every year, because if you stay on top of the situation, then you’ll take care of the situation, and you won’t die of prostate cancer. Go see a doctor, get tested.”
You can read more from Len Dawson and get information about The Depend Campaign to End Prostate Cancer by visiting Depend.com.
DISH Network Introduces NFL Network’s NFL RedZone Channel
DISH Network Corporation and NFL Network announced that “NFL RedZone” – a new channel from NFL Network – will be available on DISH Network starting on the NFL’s first Sunday of the regular season, Sept. 13.
NFL RedZone, produced by NFL Network, whips around every NFL game on Sunday afternoons delivering touchdowns and the most exciting moments live and in high definition. When a team goes inside the 20-yard line, known as the “red zone,” fans see the crucial plays as they happen. The channel keeps fans up-to-date in real time, switching from game to game with live look-ins, highlights and a chance to see every important play.
“NFL RedZone is the most exciting thing to happen to football since high definition,” said Ira Bahr, Chief Marketing Officer for DISH Network. “There’s no better way to kick off the 2009 NFL season than by changing the way America watches football, and DISH Network is pleased to offer consumers an opportunity to catch every touchdown and the biggest plays as they happen.”
“Fans with DISH Network now have the ability to see the important plays from NFL games as they happen on Sunday afternoons with our new NFL RedZone channel,” said Kim Williams, Chief Operating Officer for NFL Network. “We are thrilled to announce this deal with DISH Network that provides fans with an exciting new channel produced by NFL Network that complements the live broadcasts of NFL games.”
Starting Sept. 13, NFL RedZone provides live action and real-time highlights from the 1:00 p.m. E.T. and 4:00 p.m. E.T. games. Host Scott Hanson brings viewers real-time scoring and fantasy updates from a new state-of-the-art NFL RedZone studio at NFL Network headquarters in Los Angeles.
NFL RedZone is broadcast in both high definition and standard definition on DISH Network Ch. 155 as part of the Multi-Sport Package, which is available to most DISH Network customers at $5.99 per month.
For more information on NFL RedZone, visit www.nfl.com/redzonetv. For more information on DISH Network, visit www.dishnetwork.com.
Source: DISH Network Corporation