SBJ Power Up: Sense Arena serving it up

If you want to learn more about the No. 1 pick in last night's WNBA Draft, Aliyah Boston, SBJ Tech recently spoke to the South Carolina star and newest member of the Indiana Fever, as well as former Stanford guard Haley Jones, who was selected 6th overall by the Atlanta Dream.

Here's what on tap today:

• VR training company strengthening tennis efforts
• Tech execs crack SBJ's Forty Under 40
• NHL player agency dives into NFTs
• Broadcast tech to expect from USFL
• CBS soccer streaming channel launches

Sense Arena building out tennis tech, pro userbase

Cognitive VR training product Sense Arena Tennis has delivered on its plan to integrate more services and training tools, SBJ's Kevin Hitt reports.

With the help of motion capture technology and technological advances in VR head gear, users of the product can now train with tennis pros Jack Sock and Linda Fruhvirtova, who had their serves imported into Sense Arena, which works in conjunction with Meta Quest 2 headsets.

While the tech is designed for anyone to use, here's what the two pros told SBJ Tech about it:

• Sock: "It's cool for sure. Even for somebody like me who plays tennis for a living and sees live serving in person every week. To be able to go in there [virtually] and be able to work on my reaction, my brain strength, while reading a serve, it’s very helpful.”
• Fruhvirtova: "When you're traveling or when it's raining, or just at the end of the day and you still want to work on something, you can just put it on and play. So it's definitely useful."

Sense Arena is currently being used by some of today’s other top pro players, including Jennifer Brady, Brenda Fruhvirtova, Marie Bouzkova, Miomir Kecmanovic, Emil Ruusuvuori, Liudmila Samsonova, Daria Saville, Luisa Stefani and more.

SBJ Tech has , which is also used by the University of South Florida men’s and women’s tennis teams, as well as the Junior Tennis Champions Center (College Park, Md.) and the SVB Tennis Academy (Zephyrhills, Fla.).

Tech execs among those making SBJ's Forty Under 40 list

Several executives with ties to the sports the space received a special honor this week being named to SBJ's Forty Under 40 Class of 2023. Take a look:

• Fanatics Betting and Gaming Chief Business Officer Ari Borod
• SeatGeek co-Founder & CEO Jack Groetzinger
• Buzzer Founder & CEO Bo Han
• Big Ten SVP/Television, Media Analytics & Emerging Platforms Kerry Kenny
• Snap Director of Sports Partnerships Anmol Malhotra
• Cisco Global Lead, Sports Sponsorship Marketing Ashley Navarra Marusak
• Meta Director, Emerging Sports Creator Partnerships Dev Sethi

Additionally, Monumental Sports & Entertainment President, New Media & Enterprises Zach Leonsis and Riot Games Chief Operating Officer, Esports Whalen Rozelle were among the four execs to enter the Forty Under 40 Hall of Fame.

NHL player agency Alterno launching NFT program

NHL player agency Alterno Management is making a push into the world of Web3, starting with the launch of a new NFT-based membership program called SinBin Seasons, according to my colleague Alex Silverman.

Alterno is believed to be the first agency to launch such a program, which offers fans digital collectibles and access to raffles for prizes such as experiences with participating players represented by the agency and physical memorabilia for $12 per month.

The agency represents several high-profile players, including Lightning D Victor Hedman and Avalanche LW Gabriel Landeskog. The 11 players participating in SinBin Seasons at launch include Hedman, Devils C Jesper Boqvist, Blue Jackets D Adam Boqvist and Sharks D Mario Ferraro.

When the revamped USFL kicks off its second season this weekend, the league will be able to track the ball to better call first downs or touchdowns.

In last night's SBJ Media, my colleague John Ourand reported that Fox and NBC will use an animation normally seen after close calls at tennis tournaments like the U.S. Open to show exactly how much distance is needed for first downs. The animation will be used both on TV and in the stadium.

Additionally, when a game pauses for a replay review, fans in the stadium will be able to see and hear rules analyst Mike Pereira live on the video board as he explains and decides the call.

Around the sports tech industry

• Today marks the launch of the CBS Sports Golazo Network, a 24/7 streaming channel devoted entirely to international soccer. Live matches on the free, ad-supported television (FAST) channel begin Thursday.

• Philadelphia’s renovated Wells Fargo Center revealed publicly yesterday that it has been utilizing Evolv’s frictionless AI-based entry system for Flyers games since February and will continue to implement the weapon detection platform through the Stanley Cup Playoffs and beyond.

• FanDuel has a new ad campaign around the NBA playoffs in partnership with Charles Barkley that utilizes deepfake technology to bring to life a young Barkley from the 1990's. Barkley recruits his younger self to help fans understand how they can create Same Game Parlays.

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Image credits: Sense Arena (Jack Sock)