Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser T-Mobile Park in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)Fans eager to return to their seats faster after a beer run at Seattle’s T-Mobile Park will get some help from Amazon technology this summer.The Seattle Mariners and hospitality partner Sodexo Live! announced Wednesday that they will be using Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” cashierless tech and Amazon One palm-scanning tech at the team’s home ballpark in a new “Walk-Off Market.”It’s the first time both retail technologies will be utilized in a Major League Baseball ballpark. The Houston Astros will be using Just Walk Out in two stores at Minute Maid Park.Walk-Off Market is slated to open sometime this summer near Section 126 on the Main Level of T-Mobile

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Hip-hop star Macklemore, left, and former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch. (Seattle Kraken Photo)Macklemore and Marshawn Lynch, two Seattle stars with ties to the city’s sports and entertainment culture, are deepening those ties by joining a minority investment group of the Seattle Kraken.The new NHL franchise, which started league play last fall, announced the partnership on Monday, saying that the hip-hop artist and the former Seattle Seahawks running back are joining a group led by founder and majority owner David Bonderman and Samantha Holloway, chairperson of the executive committee.Amazon CEO Andy Jassy is part of the team’s ownership group and Amazon bought the naming rights to team’s home, Climate Pledge Arena.“We are fortunate to have

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser (Amazon Image)Amazon has officially announced that veteran sports play-by-play announcer Al Michaels and college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit will be the broadcast duo for “Thursday Night Football” on Prime Video.Both Michaels and Herbstreit had previously been reported as Amazon’s choices when “TNF” kicks off this fall on Sept. 15. Amazon will stream games exclusively on Prime after signing an 11-year deal last year with the NFL in the league’s first all-digital pact with a media partner.Michaels is a longtime play-by-play broadcaster, with 36 years calling NFL games in prime time, including most recently on NBC’s “Sunday Night Football.” In February he called his 11th Super Bowl, a tie for the most ever by a TV commentator.“Over

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Al Michaels in Los Angeles in 2018. (BigStock Photo)Al Michaels, the longtime NFL play-by-play broadcaster, is Amazon’s pick to call “Thursday Night Football” games streaming on Prime Video this season, according to the New York Post.Michaels will join ESPN college football analyst Kirk Herbstreit in the booth — another hire by the tech giant, reported earlier this month.Michaels, 77, had been calling “Sunday Night Football” games for NBC and just did his 11th Super Bowl for the network last month.The move to Amazon comes after Joe Buck and Troy Aikman jumped from Fox over to ESPN to handle “Monday Night Football.” Buck signed a 5-year, $75 million deal with ESPN.Amazon first took over streaming rights

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Former Seattle Seahawks star linebacker Bobby Wagner in action in 2019. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)Bobby Wagner’s career with the Seattle Seahawks has come to an end after 10 seasons, but his career as a tech investor in the city will keep going, according to the venture capital firm where he joined as a partner in 2020.“No change, we’re excited to continue to build with Bobby,” Fuse general partner Cameron Borumand told GeekWire on Friday.The Seahawks released the All-Pro linebacker and longtime defensive captain on Wednesday, a day after the equally surprising news broke that the team was trading quarterback Russell Wilson to the Denver Broncos.Drafted by the Seahawks in 2012, Wagner established himself

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser One of the 12 golf simulators, left, and lounge areas inside Five Iron Golf in Seattle. (Five Iron Golf Photo)Golfers and wannabe golfers looking to get in some swings without getting outside have a new destination in Seattle. Five Iron Golf, a high-tech indoor golf experience with 10 other locations in the U.S., has opened on Capitol Hill.Five Iron Golf is like a bar surrounded by golf simulators — 12 of them in fact — in a sprawling, 12,000-foot space at 1525 11th Ave. Located at the base of WeWork Capitol Hill, Five Iron is designed to be a hangout for golfers of all skill levels and others who are into eating and drinking around the

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Russell Wilson led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl championship. (GeekWire File Photo / Kevin Lisota)The Russell Wilson era appears to be over in Seattle.The Seahawks have reportedly agreed to a deal that will send the team’s star quarterback to the Denver Broncos, ending ongoing speculation about whether Wilson would stay in the city where he won a Super Bowl championship and became the face of the franchise.The trade, first reported Tuesday by NFL Network reporter Tom Pelissoro, would send Wilson to the Broncos for a “massive haul” that includes multiple first-round draft picks, plus additional picks and players.Blockbuster: The #Seahawks and #Broncos have agreed in principle on a trade sending nine-time Pro Bowl QB

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Kirk Herbstreit. (Photo via ESPN / Joe Faraoni)Kirk Herbstreit, a college football analyst with ESPN, is reportedly Amazon’s choice to provide color commentary for “Thursday Night Football” when those games stream exclusively on Prime Video this fall.Peter King of NBC Sports reported the move. The New York Post previously made the connection. Herbstreit will reportedly continue his work with ESPN/ABC, where he’s known for calling college football games.Amazon first took over streaming rights for the NFL’s “TNF” in 2017, and last year signed an 11-year deal in the league’s first all-digital pact with a media partner.Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Tyler Cox joined the Sounders from Arsenal of the Premier League. (Jane Gershovich Photo via Sounders FC)The Seattle Sounders have a new numbers guy. Sure, it could be a player who scores a lot of goals this season, but this numbers cruncher won’t be on the pitch with the Major League Soccer team.Tyler Cox is the Sounders’ new director of analytics, in charge of how the team uses data behind the scenes to better understand individual and team performance, scout upcoming opponents and find talent worth pursuing.A Seattle-area native who grew up in Woodinville, Wash., and went to college at Western Washington University, Cox joins the Sounders after more than eight years with Arsenal FC of

Go to Source Author: Kurt Schlosser Tampa Bay quarterback Tom Brady winds up to toss a Microsoft Surface tablet on the sideline during a loss to the New Orleans Saints on Dec. 19. (Twitter screengrab via ESPN)Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady is going to keep a better grip on his Microsoft Surface after hearing from the NFL about his tablet-tossing tantrum during a loss on Dec. 19.“I did get a warning from the NFL on that,” Brady said Monday night during his “Let’s Go” podcast (fast forward to 24:45 mark) with Jim Gray. “I can’t throw another Surface, or else I get fined. Imagine that! Imagine that.”Brady was caught on camera on the sidelines taking out his frustration on Microsoft’s technology