Showing posts with label Sports Inventions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sports Inventions. Show all posts
Is Versus Looking Into A Return Of The Glow Puck?
Monday, May 12, 2008
Out of all of the inventions surrounding Sports broadcasts the worst hands down was the glow puck. It wasn't necessarily the glowing itself, but more the fact that the glow would never stay with the puck. Well that and the stupid red rocket-like tail that would pop up on slapshots.
Well it looks like Versus might be trying the idea out again in the near future....
The NHL and cable TV partner Versus are talking about introducing "puck-tracking" technology as early as the 2008-09 season, executives from the network and the league told USA TODAY.This makes zero sense to me considering the fact that Marty himself admits that the idea is a "sore subject" among "hockey purists" in the article. Who the heck do you think is watching Versus? It sure isn't casual Sports fans stumbling on the channel and taking in a game. They seem serious about the idea, but they should really reconsider that.
Tracking would make it easier for TV viewers to follow the fast-moving puck. But the idea brought back memories of Fox's "glowing puck" experiment from 1996-98. It got mixed reviews, with some players and coaches complaining the internal electronics of the "FoxTrax" puck made it play differently. When ABC picked up the NHL's broadcast rights in 1998, the idea was junked.
Marty Ehrlich, executive producer at Versus, has been pushing for a new puck-tracking system with NHL executives. If Versus gets the OK, it would test puck tracking on its studio show before trying it during a game, he says. There would not be any computer chips embedded in pucks, at least at first.
Versus might take shot at puck tracking for NHL telecasts (USA Today)
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