ATLANTA (11ALIVE) — About 55,000 racers gathered for the start to this year’s Peachtree Road Race in Buckhead and the drama of the start was beaten only by the dramatic finish. Ten kilometers (6.2 miles) and just under 28 minutes later, all that separated the first to finishers was a half a step. (Read More)

Will Ferrell guest stars for Express
(KXAN) — Will Ferrell made a special appearance at the Dell Diamond Thursday night. The comedy star enjoyed the Express’ baseball game from the owner’s suite and then emerged from center field to start the sixth inning.

He was dressed as Billy Ray “Rojo” Johnson, an American-born pitcher raised in Venezuela.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=haHlFA_bDkI

But, I have a lot of friends who you might call “die-hard” sports fans.  They’re involved in endless “fantasy” sports leagues and such.  It’s not my thing.  Not that there’s anything wrong with that.

It with those folks in mind, that I refer you to my Brother-in-law’s brother (would he be my Brother-in-law, too?).  He’s quite the sports guy.  Some might call him a “walking sports almanac”.  A sports history savant.

A.J. writes his own blog, dubbed A.J.’s Old School Sports Blog.  Today’s post is particularly interesting for the NFL fans out there for he has compiled not the top 5, top 10 or even top 25, but the 50 Greatest Moments in NFL Playoff History, including perspective on each ranking moment.  Read and discuss.

The New York Times’ “Fifth Down” blog compliled a list of some of the best Twits and Tweets from the field.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Z1aZ7Gs46A

British Open Champion Stewart Cink delivered the Top 10 List last night.  Pretty funny, too…

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsUB4gXVnq4

There are a lot of folks who may not know this, Duluth's Stewart Cink, 2009 British Open Champion, is an active user of Twitter.

Read the rest of this entry »

The Masters

The Masters is set to begin today at Augusta National Golf Club.

For golf fans, the tournament is arguably the biggest of the four majors. Wrapped in tradition, The Masters is known for old-world, understated class.

Over the past few years, I have noticed how The Masters has started to incorporate new technologies, reaching out to its fan base using the power of the Internet.

Masters.com

Here’s just a sampling of digital offerings from Augusta:

Live Streaming Video

Masters.com is offering a streaming simulcast of television coverage.

That simulcast is also being supplemented by an extra hour of coverage called Masters Extra from 3 to 4 p.m. Thursday and Friday, 2:30 to 3:30 p.m. Saturday, and 1 to 2 p.m. on Sunday.

Online viewers can also look in on cameras at Amen Corner, holes 15 and 16 and multiple player interview areas.

m.Masters.com

For those folks who are going to be away from their television or computer during the tournament The Masters has a mobile website to stay up-to-date. If you’re stealthy, you might even be able to sneak your PDA into church on Easter Sunday to stay current.

iPhone App

I don’t have an iPhone, so I haven’t been able to check this out, but The Masters iPhone app looks pretty cool. It even offers live streaming video. That’s awesome.

Social Networking

The Masters is also available on Facebook and Twitter. I’ve been following the Twitter updates. They provide great updates and bring in the personality and excitement of The Masters.

I’m also following Duluth native and PGA Tour pro Stewart Cink on Twitter.

Widget and Games

If you want to promote The Masters on your blog, you can grab widget here. You can also practice your putting and play other games on Masters.com.

Bloggers!

Of course, Masters.com also has bloggers providing insight into the tournament and related events.

The Legends Golf and Safari Resort in South Africa.

A golf course in South Africa just opened with 18 reportedly spactacular holes and one jaw-dropping bonus hole.

The Legends Golf and Safari Resort‘s newest course features holes designed by some of the best golfers in the world.  That’s impressive enough.  But, imagine capping off your round with the bonus 19th hole: a 630 yard Par 3.

The tee box of the "Xtreme 19th" is 1,400 feet higher in elevation than the green.

The tee box of the “Xtreme 19th” is 1,400 feet higher in elevation than the green.  Apparently it takes about 30 seconds for the ball to land on the green.

Sounds pretty awesome, right?  Well, I haven’t finished yet.

You need a helicopter to transport you from tee to green.  That is awesome.

Here’s a video featuring Ireland’s Padraig Harrington playing the hole.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3_W_JryhR0

And oh yeah, I’m afraid of heights.  I would be terrified on this tee box.

According to an article from the Chicago Tribune, ESPNChicago.com is expected to launch in April bringing “24/7 Chicago sports news operation”. Right now, the URL redirects to the local ESPN Radio affiliate, WMVP-AM.

WMVP-AM and WLS-TV (the Disney-owned ABC affiliate) will provide content to ESPNChicago.com.

“Prospective advertisers previewed the site last week, and MillerCoors said it will be the site’s charter advertiser. If the venture is successful, ESPN could roll out more city-specific sites across the country.

“‘We already have a user base with millions of people coming to [ESPN.com] looking for Chicago sports,” [Marc] Horine [a vice president with ESPN digital media] said. “At its core, the mission is simple: to super-serve Chicago sports fans.’”

Of course the site will feature sports news and information specifically tailored to the Chicago market. Additionally, the site will provide social networking tools to allow recreational sports fans to connect and even form softball teams.

ESPN’s venture, and it’s efforts to not only present information, but also foster the organization of communities, is another indication of the growing media revolution.

Barring an significant changes in the operation of the local media outlets, there’s little doubt that ESPNChicago.com WILL become THE destination for sports fans in the Windy City. The question is, what are the other local television stations and newspapers going to do to compete?