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Sports Going Virtual

Sports Going Virtual

The ongoing pandemic had a devastating effect on the world of sports – not to mention those stuck in their homes without any broadcasts to follow. Between the two, there are the sports channels that were left without a raison d’étre, at least for a while.

With no NFL, NBA, NHL, MLB, and all the other three-letter North American sports that went global, sports broadcasters are turning to virtual sports to fill the gap.

eSports Invitationals

Fox Sports has first tried its luck at broadcasting virtual sports on March 24 – it was the inaugural event in a series of NASCAR iRacing tournaments that the channel committed to covering. The broadcast was a success: the inaugural eNASCAR iRacing Pro invitational Series event attracted more than 900,000 viewers to Fox Sports 1 (it was also available in Canada via FOX Sports Racing, as well as through the channel’s app) – a record for an eSports TV broadcast.

Sports Going Virtual

Seeing the success of this gap-filling broadcast, the channel took a further step: it broadcast its first Madden NFL 20 Invitational a week later. Among the invitees, there were several current or former professional NFL players, including Michael Vick, Juju Smith-Schuster, Antonio Cromartie, and Ahman Green.

There is no word on whether there will be more Madden NFL broadcasts on Fox Sports… but we will definitely see more eNASCAR races in the near future.

More virtual racing

Formula 1 was among the first sports to postpone or cancel events due to the coronavirus epidemic. At first, it cancelled the Australian Grand Prix and postponed the following two scheduled races until May, and decided to reschedule the following races after the coronavirus situation improves. But in order not to leave F1 fans without races to follow, the F1 Esports Virtual Grand Prix Series was created, featuring real drivers on the virtual representations of real F1 tracks.

Sports Going Virtual

The first event in the series was already broadcast online – the Virtual Bahrain Grand Prix was held on Sunday, March 22 – and the subsequent events are scheduled to be broadcast on the days of their real-life counterparts that were postponed or cancelled. This will go on until at least May. There is no word on whether any sports channel will broadcast them… but they will be available for streaming on all the usual channels, plus on Formula1.com.

More virtual sports

The Grand National is perhaps the most famous horse race in the world. This year, in turn, it has been cancelled due to the ongoing pandemic.

With nothing to broadcast, British TV channel ITV has decided to replace the Grand National with a virtual version. The TV special will feature 40 horses and riders in the Aintree spectacular, and it will be much more unpredictable than a traditional race. The bookmakers sponsoring the event have decided to donate all their profits made on the virtual race to the NHS, the UK’s health authority. The visuals for the virtual race will be created by Inspired Entertainment, a long-time developer of virtual sports applications.

 

Top Entertainment Options for Gamers in Toronto

Toronto residents are spoilt for choice when it comes to nightlife and entertainment. The city is renowned for its great selection of bars and restaurants, and there are plenty of popular nightspots where you can party into the early hours.

But some people’s entertainment requirements are more niche than others and gamers fall into that category. So, if you prefer to spend your evenings playing arcade games, flipping on pinball machines or trying your luck on casino games, here are just a few options in Toronto.

Retro gaming

Retro gaming is all the rage right now and Zed80 is one of Toronto’s newest and most popular retro arcade bars. Located in Danforth, the bar was created by the same group who run the equally popular Tilt bar on Dundas Street West. Tilt is the biggest retro gaming bar in the city but we prefer the slightly more intimate atmosphere of the newer joint.

The focus here is on old-school arcade and pinball gaming. The venue attracts older customers seeking a nostalgic trip down memory lane and new gamers experiencing the games for the very first time. There is a good choice of arcade and console games from the golden age of gaming in the 1980s and 1990s.

Casino & bingo gaming

Toronto is not a big casino city so you will have to head about 30 minutes out of town to the Woodbine racetrack and casino if you want to play table games in a physical casino setting. There are a few other casinos even further away such as the Niagara Fallsview Casino Resort if you have a car and don’t mind a drive. However, this is the age of the internet and there are plenty of online casinos that accept local players. And there are great websites where you can find daily deals on the best casino bonuses in Canada. Many of the casinos feature live dealers as well as a mind-boggling choice of slot games. So, your best option for casino gaming in Toronto is probably to jump online.

If you watched Season 1 Episode 10 of the TV show Better Call Saul, you might imagine bingo to be played exclusively by senior citizens in care homes but that is not the case. Toronto has a choice of bingo halls including Delts Bingo on St Clair Avenue, Dolphin Gaming on Eglington Avenue and Rama Gaming House on Kennedy Road. All of them offer a similar experience although Dolphin Gaming is our personal favourite with its combination of cool atmosphere, game choice and a good selection of food and drink. It attracts lots of young people and knocks bingo’s sometimes stuffy image out of the park.

Other games

Last but not least, there has been an explosion of board game bars and cafes in Toronto. Top venues include Snakes and Lattes, A-Game Café, Sea-Scape, Time Capsule and our personal favourite, For The Win with its library of over 1000 board games and fun drinks including the Nutella latte and a selection of bubble teas! Located at Yonge Street, it is well worth the trip. And did we mention? The snacks are delicious too!

This is just a small glimpse of what Toronto has to offer gaming fans. There are plenty more options to keep you and your gaming buddies powered-up for hours.

 

 

How Will Virtual Reality be Used in the Fitness Industry?

  • March 23, 2020
  • Entertainment
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Virtual reality is slowly making its way into the mainstream. It’s taking longer than developers had previously anticipated, perhaps due to the high price point of early VR headsets like the Oculus Rift. But as newer generations of the hardware are released, older models will become more accessible and they could end up being in every household within the next ten years. The technology is set to revolutionise a number of different industries, and it is likely to be put to good use in the fitness sector as a way to bring more excitement to the machines.

VR is Already Getting Big in Gaming

The gaming industry tends to pounce on new technology early on, helping it to reach wide audiences. In recent years, online casinos have been at the forefront of this. Indeed, certain developers have had great success by staying ahead of the curve and introducing new innovations when they come about. NetEnt, the creators of Starburst slot, have become one of the giants in the sector because of their state of the art slot games. Now, they are working on advancing this genre further with their VR slots which include Gonzo’s Quest VR and Jack’s World VR.

Sony has also realised that VR will be the next big thing in gaming, and was quick to create a headset for PlayStation users. Now, a number of big developers are creating VR content for the console. Some of the standout titles include Batman: Arkham VR and Resident Evil 7.

Fitness Can Take Inspiration from Games

Ever since Nintendo introduced Wii Fit in 2007, gaming and fitness have been closely intertwined. The game inspired people to get up off the couch and do some exercise at home while having fun at the same time. This concept has paved the way for VR to be used in fitness, and there are already some exercise games for fitness fanatics to play at home. These include options like BOXVR and Sprint Vector, both of which are available on PlayStation VR.

With offerings like these taking off for home console players, it would make sense for public gyms to jump on the VR bandwagon sooner or later. The technology has already been introduced as a way to make treadmills and exercise bicycles more immersive. While running or cycling on the machines, users can put on a VR headset and travel through virtual courses. This isn’t mainstream yet, but the novel idea could help more people spark a passion in fitness.

If it takes off in gyms, VR won’t stop at treadmills and bicycles. It could be used on all the cardio machines to help make them more exciting. In addition to that, VR could enhance the weight lifting experience. For example, when doing bench presses the VR headset could show the user lifting a car. This could make them feel as if they are taking part in a strength competition.

The fitness industry will work closely with game developers in the years ahead to create immersive VR offerings for fitness machines. The technology is likely to enhance the gym experience tenfold, and it promises to be an exciting stage in the evolution of the sector.

 

 

Toronto Sports Organizations Come Together to Help Fund Event Staff

sports toronto
  • March 19, 2020
  • sports
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The major sport organizations in Toronto have come together in order to help those in need and those most affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Due to the virus, all major sport has been cancelled, so not only can you not watch it, but you also can’t bet on it. This has had major affect on different Canadian sportsbooks offering a range of sporting markets to bet on.

The Sport organizations have but together something called the “Team Toronto Fund”, which was launched on Sunday. The teams involved include the Raptors, Toronto FC, Blue Jays, Maple Leaf and Argonauts. The funds will go to event staff who are losing out on work and money by the major sporting events being cancelled. This will help all people involved within the stadium who would typically be working when a sporting event is being played in an arena.

There will be a lot of workers that will benefit from this extra assistance and therefore it is a very beneficial organization to have in place. It is also a great way to show appreciation to the workers, who will feel included and appreciated when receiving this funding, instead of thinking that they are forgotten about and having to go into a state of struggle in order to fund their lives.

The management of each team, the players and the coaching staff will all put in their contributions in order to help these people. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the NHL, NBA, MLB, AHL and CFL are all put on hold for the time being. There is no real indication as to when they will all be back up and running and that is another worrying factor for the staff, they cant confirm when they will receive a full payslip again and this can seriously but them on the back foot, making them struggle to even survive or feed their families.

All of the sports teams are put through testing to see whether they have contracted the Virus. Across the US, there are a lot of players in the sporting world that have in fact tested positive for the virus, it shows that no one is really safe from the virus and we all need to consider the health warnings that are issued to us and follow the strict rules put in place.

We are hoping that sports will be back up and running as soon as possible. Over in the UK, the major football leagues have been frozen until the beginning of April, it is still yet to be confirmed whether or not the games will go ahead then or whether the break will be extended even longer.

The Team Toronto organization also allows people to see how we can all come together, help communities and those in need, so that no one is badly affected by the outbreak and we can all go through it together. All the players have quarantined themselves to be cleared of the virus. Even after this there is no confirming that events will be back up and running. One suggestion is to continue playing the remaining fixtures but do it behind closed doors. This is not beneficial for fans who want to be able to watch their team play and sports are not the same without the fans, they play a major part in the entertainment of it all.

The Great Rogers Cup Rivalry – Toronto vs Montreal

  • February 25, 2020
  • sports
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Daniel Nestor always enjoyed returning to his home city of Toronto to play the game he loves. He learned to play tennis there and has memories of travelling to York University on his way to watch world-class tennis during the summer. Once he’d turned professional, however, there was something truly special about playing in Montreal. While many fans would agree with Nestor, many others would not, which has made for an interesting debate over the years,

There are many aspects that go into playing in Toronto versus Montreal. For example, the atmosphere from the crowds, the playing surface, and the history of the venue. But that’s for the players. When it comes to fans, some things remain the same, no matter where the event is played. One example is sports betting. Online betting sites such as Karamba enable sports fans to join in on the action as it unfolds on the courts and fields around Canada.

In-play betting adds to the excitement

At one time, the most that fans could do is bet on the match and wait until the match is over before it was determined whether they had won or not. Now it’s even possible to profit before the end of the first set. This levels the playing field when it comes to fan participation, as their level of enjoyment isn’t affected by accessibility, weather, etc., but rather by the game itself and their ability to get involved at home. Live betting is one way that online betting sites have added to the excitement of watching at home, perhaps taking away from the importance of which venue the game is played at. For the players, however, it remains a different story.

Nastor insists that the Rogers Cup is better when played in Montreal, and that most players would agree. Whether that’s the case privately is impossible to say, but it certainly isn’t the case publicly. That’s even truer while the event is taking place. Rafael Nadal wasn’t keen to give his two cents. The world no. 2, who has won the competition in both Toronto and Montreal, said that both cities are great for him and that he couldn’t say one way or another.

The crowds are very, very different

Many observers have noted a significant difference between the crowds in the two cities. Montreal fans are rowdier than Toronto fans, who can be quite subdued. World No. 8 Karen Khachanov would know. The Russian player swatted a ball out of the stadium to show his frustration during his third-round win over Felix Auger-Aliassim, as the crowd cheered on Khachanov’s mistakes and attempted to distract him. That may have been something to do with the fact that Auger-Aliassime is a product of Montreal. The crowd booed again after Khachanov swatted the ball.

Denis Shapovalov enjoyed a memorable tournament in Montreal in 2017 in which he defeated Nadal on his way to the semifinals. The player from Ontario said that he loved playing in Toronto the following year but that there’s something unique about Montreal.

Both cities share best results (possibly)

According to rogerscup.com, the four greatest results for Canadian players have been shared equally between the two venues.

BEST CANADIAN SINGLES RESULTS

Carling Bassett – Quarter-finals in 1985 (Toronto)

Helen Kelesi – Quarter-finals in 1987 (Toronto)

Patricia Hy-Boulais – Quarter-finals in 1992 (Montreal)

Aleksandra Wozniak – Quarter-finals in 2012 (Montreal)

Nestor, however, believes that when it comes to results, it’s “advantage Montreal”. The retired player said that among the reasons Montreal fans might be more involved in what’s going on in the court is because Canadian men have a better record at the event in the city than in Toronto. As well as Shapovalov’s impressive run in 2018, Milos Raonic made the final in 2013, beating fellow Canadian Vasek Pospisil along the way.

While the venue in Toronto is located in the city’s extreme north, which makes it hard to reach, Montreal’s venue is in the center and is easier to access for tennis fans. Toronto recently made an extension to one of its subway lines close to its Rogers Cup venue, the Aviva Centre, while the IGA Stadium in Montreal has had nearby metro stops for decades. Nestor said that the proximity to the stadium makes for a far better atmosphere, adding that the event is far superior to all other tournaments on the calendar.

Toronto is just an all-around better city, of course

Wikipedia

Tennis Canada CEO and President Michael Downey says that getting the subway to York University will make a huge difference to the event in the coming years, as it will help it to attract a larger audience. Of course, for fans outside of both cities, there are plenty of other reasons to visit both Toronto and Montreal. However, while you might consider is bias, Toronto wins that one hands down, with its fabulous array of entertainment venues, including funky bars, world-class restaurants, and trendy nightclubs.

 

 

 

 

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