bowls

I am desperate to be faithful to people such as my geophysicist masseur, Cory.

So I have so far resisted any of Groupon's enticements, which are sent to me each day by electronic carrier pigeon.

However, after Sunday's big football game, I may change my mind. For I suspect Groupon might provide some of the more entertaining ad fare during the broadcast.

As evidence, might I cite this bizarre piece of footage that Groupon posted to its blog?

The blog declares that this ad is one Groupon rejected in its quest to fill its $3 million big-game ad … Read more

If you had thought, or even hoped, that a Motorola ad released earlier this week, railing at Apple's alleged controlling of the world, was the real thing, then you will be disappointed.

However, if you live your life believing that Apple's bells, whistles, balls, and chains prevent you from walking and thinking, you may rejoice a little more.

For Motorola has released 15 seconds of the ad the company will actually run to launch its Xoom tablet during tomorrow's big game.

What an extraordinary, moving, revolutionary ad it promises to be. Perhaps.

The company wants you, who … Read more

The Internet may already know who's going to win the Super Bowl, but fortunately there are still some surprises to look forward to at Sunday's big game--like what Robonaut 2 will have to say when it appears on Fox's pregame show.

NASA's experimental humanoid bot took a break from training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston earlier this week to tape a segment with Fox Sports analyst Howie Long. In it, Long and R2 banter about their predictions for which player will win the Chevrolet Super Bowl MVP award and score a new 2012 … Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas--NFL teams including the Dallas Cowboys could soon be abandoning their traditional paper playbooks and game-day printouts of plays in favor of iPads or other tablets.

Pete Walsh, head of technology for the Cowboys, said his team and at least a "couple" of others are currently considering abandoning their playbooks in favor of iPads, a move they feel could save them as much as 5,000 pages of paper printouts per game.

Walsh explained this potential philosophical and technological shift to CNET during a discussion about Cowboys Stadium technology at Super Bowl Media Day here Tuesday. The … Read more

There are some who believe American football would be nothing without Vegas.

And the folks in Vegas seem a little unsure who might win Sunday's football game between Green Bay and Pittsburgh. The line is tight and the professionals are sweating in the Bellagio Sports Book.

Fortunately, the Web has allegedly been a foolproof indicator recently of which team will clutch the Vince Lombardi trophy and try not to say "F*** yeah!!" as did San Francisco's Tim Lincecum when his team won the World Series.

The folks at Infegy, which appears to be a sort of … Read more

The Super Bowl is a time for snorting aggression, untrammeled nastiness, and drum-thumping confidence. Perhaps this is why Motorola seems to have decided to air an ad for its new Xoom tablet that hisses and spits and rails at Apple.

As portentous music freezes you into believing the world is about to end, Motorola warns you that there is currently only one authority, only one design, only one way to work.

Yes, people, you are living in the new 1984. Except that it's 2011.

Apple controls your thoughts. It controls every twitch of your fingers, every reaction of your retinas.

And so, halfway through the spot, Motorola offers you techie features that will make you feel flexible, that will make you want to explore, that will, in short, lead you to freedom.

… Read more

ARLINGTON, Texas--In my role as a reporter, I've had the good fortune to visit a number of control and/or command centers, such as those running a massive radio telescope, a nuclear submarine, a national laser fusion facility, and several others.

For anyone who remembers the Matthew Broderick vehicle "War Games," the bar for what a control room looks like is high: massive screens, dozens of workstations, long tables, and people moving around everywhere. But in the commodity PC era, that kind of room is mostly long gone. While I've seen NASA control centers that approach … Read more

Mapquest rolled out a new feature for football fans that transforms turn-by-turn into play-by-play directions.

By selecting "Play by Play" from the Featured Sites tab on Mapquest's Web site, mundane GPS directions become strategic maneuvers to help you get from kickoff to end zone. The navigation site will also release City's Best guides for travel tips and places to watch the big game.

And if you're lucky enough to be using the Mapquest Play-by-Play directions to get to Cowboys Stadium, you may want to check the "avoid highways" option if you're in … Read more

With the Super Bowl less than a week away, U.S. law enforcement officials have seized the domain names of 10 sites accused of illegally streaming live sports events.

The U.S. Attorney's Office in New York said today that it worked with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to shut down such sites as Firstrow.net, HQ-Streams.com, Rojadirecta.com, HQ-Streams.net, Ilemi.com, and Iilemii.com. The seizures were made Tuesday.

The Department of Justice and ICE said that streaming live events without authorization is harmful to sports leagues and broadcasters.

"The illegal streaming of professional sporting events … Read more