The mechanism involves a complicated math algorithm that tracks and predicts the ball's trajectory in real time, only 400 milliseconds after being hit. To get the data needed for the calculation, ESPN uses a 2000Hz Doppler radar which follows the ball's speed, location and spin, given precise data of distance travelled, something that before took seconds or even minutes to calculate. After calculation, the path is shown overlaid on screen in real time, chasing the ball precisely.

The results are quite cool, even while they fail (again) at making baseball exciting to me. [Popular Science]

And yes, I hereby declare today Gizmodo's Official Ball Celebration Day.

Peter Kafka hears that all of ABC's big shows, like Lost, will be available on Hulu—what's up in the air now is which Disney shows will be, and which, if any, Pixar films will show up. Sadly not making the crossover are ESPN or ABC News.

What's interesting is who's fighting the deal: CBS, Comcast and Google are whispering in Disney CEO Bob Iger's ear that he shouldn't go exclusive with Hulu. CBS has a different online strategy—making their video available in lots of places and selling the ads themselves—which is why they're not keen on going exclusively Hulu. Kafka's sources say that CBS is committed to going that route, so even if they do wind up on Hulu—possible, with the pressure of being the last man standing, they won't go exclusive, at least not anytime soon. [All Things D]

First off, we've got another version of The Sims. The graphics look good, but the demo was really just a chance to demonstrate a few dev features. Pictured: Mr. Sim dancing to music drawn from your actual iTunes library. You can also buy in-game items for your Sims for $0.99 a pop.

ESPN brought their web app native, taking advantage to two new features: background notifications and video streaming. Scores and game stats can pop up on your phone in real time, heralded by the famous ESPN alert sound, and you can stream video content—with adaptable bitrates for different connection speeds.

Meebo, the all-in-one IM web app, is moving to the App Store for the first time, too. Background notifications are obviously the star of the show here, but they've also integrated a few other services, like Facebook. Sounds like the Palm Pre's new 'Synergy' service, except standalone app-ier.

By far the most manipulative pitch of the afternoon, LifeScan shows how new Bluetooth connection capabilities and accessory functions can help a young girl manage her diabetes. Above is a week-long chart of her glucose levels, which are good to know if you have diabetes and don't want to die. LifeScan can pull these from a test unit via Bluetooth or cable.

Apple, stoke our enthusiasm for this ripoff-prone new purchases-within-apps feature! Huh? Touch Pets? A "social pet simulator"? In this iPhone Tamagotchi game I guess you can buy little shirts for your digital dog, or pay to have an imaginary vet express his anal glands. Also, you can also schedule meetings with other fake animals, and be reminded of your virtual playdates with background notifications. It was either this or the Apple tablet, people.

LiveFire is a Quake-y FPS in which you can send multiplayer invites to your buddies via push notification, then beat them horribly because you were willing to spend $35 on new weapons. Re: the multiplayer, it'll run via Wi-Fi or 3G, though your ping may be mildly hilarious.

Remember that iPhone Ocarina app from Smule? It was adorable and quirky. Now, as the creator plays "The Phantom of the Opera" on stage, it's kind of creepy. The makers of Ocarina and Sonic Lighter are here promoting the all-new iPhone 3.0-friendly Leaf Trombone, with the winds of Apple's new audio APIs helping them out. But hey, now your iPhone is an instrument, kind of. Congrats!

You can spend up to $100 a month for various cable and satellite services to watch the new season of programming that began this week. Or, if you've got an internet connection and are willing to be a little more creative than buying episodes for $2 off Amazon Unbox or iTunes, you can view most of it for free. There are limitations, of course, but after digging through each channel's website, I found the sheer amount of cost free (and often commercial free) content to be staggering—even for the traditional "cable" channels.

So here's how you get it.

Network Shows (HD) Grade: A+
We're going to knock out a big "duh" point right off the bat. If you have an HDTV with an integrated HD tuner, there's a good chance you can get all of the major networks (ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX and even PBS) in HD for no cost at all. How? Over the air (OTA) HD via antenna—a signal that probably has less compression than cable or satellite. Stick it to the man by purchasing any UHF/VHF antenna. If you don't have the time/money for a roof mounted antenna, we've had success with the flat (non rabbit eared) RCA ANT1500. It runs about $30. To find the OTA channels offered in your area, go here.

Network Shows (Runner Up Options) Grade: Mostly Honor Roll
For NBC and Fox/FX programs including 30 Rock, The Office, Heroes, and House, Hulu is your best runner-up resource to OTA HD (full show list here). The quality isn't quite as good as you'd get in a standard def broadcast, but the shows are available commercial free online and play instantly in full screen mode. ABC.com is superb as well, offering their highest rated shows like Desperate Housewives, Grey's Anatomy and even 4 seasons of Lost in HD streaming. CBS.com is the most disappointing with somewhat random, limited offerings of their programming, and no episodes of their top-rated CSI shows available online.

Bravo Grade: F

Our first cable channel starts with a strike-out. Bravo has a huge thumb print online, all of their content is chopped into tiny clips, as if sliced and diced by Top Chef contestants into a mocking plate of amuse bouche. Bravo's site lacks any full episodes of their big shows; Hulu lacks them too (which is a bit surprising because NBC owns both entities). Moving on...

Cartoon Network/Adult Swim Grade B+
Both Cartoon Network and its after dark Adult Swim alter-ego offer substantial content online. It's standard streaming quality, but the embedded video goes full screen and quite a few original shows (like The Boondocks) as well as syndicated shows (like Family Guy) are available in constantly rotating episodes.

Comedy Central Grade: A+
Sometimes it seems like Comedy Central plays nothing but The Daily Show and The Colbert Report. Luckily, both of these programs are available in full online dating back several weeks (the price is that you have to put up with a few commercials). A huge amount of South Park's back catalog is available as well. But don't go to Comedy Central's main site. Instead, hit up the links that we cleverly hid in each show's title.

Discovery Networks (Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, etc) Grade: F-
This is where you take a blow for being cheap. The only programs currently offered online from Discovery Networks are Meerkat Manor, Flip That House, Smash Lab and Project Earth. Plus, you'll also have to download their player (ick) to watch these programs. One of, if not the highest rated show on Discovery Networks is What Not To Wear. Needless to say, it's not part of their online lineup. But kudos to Discovery for not compressing Sunrise Earth to YouTube sizes.

ESPN Grade: A for Effort, C- for Execution
It's not HD. It's not even SD. But while the true sports fan might feel slighted by ESPN360's resolution, no one can question the content. Quite simply, there's more on ESPN360 than the real ESPN and ESPN2 combined. At any time, you can watch a multitude of live major sports games—over 10 while we're writing this. And if you forget to tune in, ESPN360 keeps the content online for 24-48 hours. The big catch: ESPN360 won't work with all internet providers (depending who your ISP is, you may not be able to access the player).

FX Grade: B- and Improving
On their site, FX promises complete shows "coming soon." But until then, we have an alternative. In case you didn't see the note above, many FX shows are available on Hulu. Their complete show listing is here. (Note: Hulu claims to have The Shield, but its links come up dead.)

MTV Grade: B+
MTV is now shoved full of so many advertisements that nobody should pay for it. Luckily (depending on your definition of the word), most (if not all) of their content appears to be available through their website. Music videos along with their top-rated show The Hills are available, as are many of their other shows including gems like True Life and Made. Aside from the commercials, the main catch is the spastic, often unorganized presentation of MTV.com.

SpikeTV Grade: Incomplete
Good news and bad news. The good news is that SpikeTV has an excellent, high quality video player that offers most of their shows commercial-free, and shows are easy to find in straightforward episode lists. The bad news is that if you watch SpikeTV for Ultimate Fighter—their biggest show—you'll still have to tune in the old-fashioned way.

Travel Channel Grade: FF
Complete miss here. But if you enjoy one-minute clips of Samantha Brown, live it up. Their site is chock full of 'em. Otherwise you have to subscribe (!) to the channel or buy episodes through Unbox etc.

USA Grade: B- for Execution
Does anyone watch USA anymore? If so, Monk, Psyche, Burn Notice and In Plain Sight are available on their site. Streaming is fast and quality is somewhere around SD widescreen. About three episodes of each show are available at a time in rotation and a pretty annoying DirecTV logo knocks the full screen player off center. If you're not satisfied with the USA website, Hulu has a nice selection of USA content as well.

When It's Worth Paying For
If you don't have a media PC, then the convenience of watching television on your television may be worth the large premium for cable/satellite. Then again, a few hundred dollars can buy you a powerful media PC that will not only allow you to watch streaming content, but record OTA HD with a tuner. How much is your cable bill per month?

If you watch niche interest channels like TLC, Bravo or Travel Channel, you'll find that only limited content is available at all online (through services like Amazon Unbox) and, of course, it costs money. Still, if you only use Bravo for, say, Top Chef, buying a season through Unbox for $23 isn't the worst alternative to a multi-month cable subscription.

But most of all, if you want to watch non-network content in HD, cable and satellite are both, by far, your best options. Even with as much as Comcast and DirecTV compress HD signals, you'll be looking at a picture that's far more beautiful than streaming web content or what you can buy from Amazon or iTunes (at the time of this writing). But if your service provider still doesn't offer the smaller cable channels in HD, then just why are you renting that box again?

On the plus side, the inherent ESPN-ness of the remote will undoubtedly appeal to hardcore fans. It even goes so far as to play the ESPN theme song in Tim The "Tool Man" Talyor's famous grunt when you turn on the TV. Convenient features like a "learning mode" to customize functions and a programing setting that will allow you to perform multiple tasks in a single keystroke were also nice touches. However, for $300, you will be getting a device that is fairly difficult to set up, uncomfortable to hold, and includes an underwhelming W-Fi experience with a small screen and plain old WAP browsing.

All in all, PC Mag felt that you would be better off with a Logitech Harmony One as an "ultimate remote control." Not a bad idea when you consider that it can be had for at least $50 less than ESPN's remote. [PC Mag]

The Ultimate Remote can also deliver one-touch access to internet content like an electronic program guide (EPG) for TV listings, a weather widget, internet browsing, email and text messaging. Admittedly, that is a pretty formidable list of features—but whether it surpasses the best of what Logitech has to offer is up to you. The ESPN Ultimate Remote is available now for $300. [Amazon via PR Newswire and ESPN]

For one, don't expect Comedy Central's awkward casting of B-list celebrity hosts. The new season starting around November will focus as much on the pit crew drama as the fights themselves (that will take place in new, far meaner arenas). And remember those lame snowplow wedge bots? Those fuckers (that essentially ruined the show) are out and a new "anything goes" class is in. Now if we could get a ban on those stupid spinning guys too, we'd really be able to get our opiate fix of robots wielding flamethrowers and chainsaws.

On a side note, DIE SPOTS DIE! THE GEEKS BEAT THE JOCKS! OUR DAY HAS COME! EVERYONE, GRAB A CHEERLEADER AND KISS HER! [announcement via popularmechanics]

I was quick to jump all over ESPN Mobile in the past, but since my sports obsession has grown to new heights, I'll go ahead and say it: This thing is awesome. The $15 service gives you access to everything from video highlights, breaking news, scoreboards, play-by-play details of games and even fantasy support.

Previously when ESPN Mobile launched as an independent service, it was limited to a single phone, the Sanyo MVP, which wasn't a horrible phone, but now with Verizon you can access ESPN MVP service with the LG Chocolate, VX8300, VX8600, KRZR K1m, RAZR V3c and RAZR V3m, which is a decent selection. I personally tried out the service on the VX8300. Below the hits and misses is a blurry (sorry) video walkthrough of the service.

Hits
• Content is king. The ESPN MVP service has a vast array of news and information. You could play with the thing for hours and never run out of videos or articles or other stats to read.
• Verizon service. One of the problems with the original ESPN Mobile service was the need to leave your current carrier in favor of theirs. Now that ESPN MVP has come to Verizon, it makes it a much easier service to enjoy, given that Verizon is one of the larger U.S. carriers.
• Speed.The 3G data service loads videos and any other content quickly (see video demonstration).
• Price. $15 per month isn't bad and you also get Verizon's V Cast VPak, which includes other non-sports video clips and other goods.
• Phone selection. Five different, high-quality, reasonably priced phones support the service.
• Customization. You can select your favorite teams and the service will provide alerts with news and information about those teams.
• It is a great time-killer.

Misses
• Screen size. It's hard to enjoy the videos on a small screen.
• Column reading. The service provides a good way to get headlines, but if you want to a read an entire article or column, good luck. The small screen can only fit so many words before you have to scroll down. I would probably recommend waiting to read the columns or articles until you get to an actual computer.
• The GUI. The vertical-ticker style interface is kind of wonky and slows down at times from trying to load so much.
• Battery life. Like any data-using phone, the battery life wasn't phenomenal, especially when using the data service a lot.
• No smartphone support. This could solve a few issues at hand.
• Doesn't work if you are roaming (see mini-rant).

Rant
I live in Manhattan, Kans., where there isn't a Verizon carrier and the service is extended, or roaming. When roaming the data doesn't work at all. I initially thought that this is understandable. I was able to use it a lot over the past two weekends that I spent in Kansas City and Dallas, but once I thought more about it, it did start to bother me. The entire purpose of ESPN MVP is getting your sports news on the go, anywhere, and when I was driving back to Kansas from Dallas I was having a hell of a time trying to get the phone out of extended coverage, even around the bigger cities like Wichita and Oklahoma City, so I was unable to get my sports goods on the road, when I needed it the most.

Final Word
If you already are a Verizon customer and even use one of the supported phones, this service is definitely worth checking out. If you are a Verizon user, but don't have any of the supported phones, this might be a good time to kill three birds with one stone: upgrade your phone, get ESPN MVP and get your ball-busting contract extended.

For those not Verizon users, I would definitely go try it out first and see what you think. I personally recommend it, but every person's level of sports junkiness is different and you may find yourself not using the service enough to warrant the extra $15 per month. Also definitely see if your area, and where you travel to a lot, is even in the Verizon network. It would suck to pick up a phone, new service plan and ESPN MVP to only find out that you spend 90% of the day in "extended coverage" and unable to fully utilize the service.

–Travis Hudson

ESPN MVP [Verizon]

Off the bat (ha, get it?) the service will work on the LG Chocolate, the LG VX8300, LG VX8600, the Motorola RAZR V3c, V3m or MOTOKRZR K1m (with other handsets supported in the future). It still has the same goods as before (news, stats, editorial content, fantasy, etc), but this time supported by a real carrier. Real carrier or not, ESPN Mobile has never really been the bee's knees. –Wilson Rothman

ESPN Mobile to relaunch through Verizon [Via Deadspin]

For those existing subscribers out there—your service will continue through the end of the year, but you can opt out at any time and not face any termination fees. Hit the jump to see the official letter to the subscribers. Our compadres over at Deadspin managed to wrangle the internal memo regarding this shitcanning of ESPN Mobile—it is worthy of a peek. Thanks, Paul and Colin – Travis Hudson

ESPN pulls plug on cell phone operationg [Yahoo!]

[The analysts] now estimate that ESPN Mobile will lure a mere 30,000 subscribers over the course of this financial year, well below their original estimate of 240,000. Along with the losses generated by a second Disney-branded phone service, ML expects that the Mouse will lose $135 million on its experiment in FY06.

Thanks to our half-sister, drag queen, Deadspin. – Travis Hudson

Merrill Lynch: Time To Pull Plug On ESPN Mobile [Via Deadspin]

Mobile ESPN has lost $25M so far after launching a $30M ad campaign that included an ad on ABC's Super Bowl broadcast, according to Alice Cuneo of AD AGE. Disney President & CEO Robert Iger acknowledged, "Initial results were a little bit lower than we had hoped. But we have changed our pricing approach, we have strengthened and redirected our marketing, we're expanding our presence at retail." Ovum wireless analyst Roger Entner said that the $25M loss "would be considered 'normal' by carrier standards." Entner added, "I would rather expect that to increase with more customers coming on board, but to swing into profitability [within 2-3 years]"

What's $25 Million Between Friends? [Deadspin]

You still have to pay $35 per month for sports scores et al.

NCTA: Mobile ESPN Resets Sanyo Handset Price To $99 [PaidContent via PhoneScoop via MobileMag]

Ever wonder what effect Super Bowl ads have on a product? Especially a product that is doomed for failure? Well, today s your lucky day. Deadspin recently asked their vast network of readers to let them know if they, or anyone they knew, owned one of the ESPN Mobile phones that launched on Super Bowl Sunday with a 60 second ad. They received one email. The writer of the email didn t even have the ESPN phone, they had the Sanyo handheld device, and that was because they worked at Sprint. In addition to only one person having the Sanyo handheld device, they stated that it doesn t even work! This should have been offered as a Sprint phone", the owner stated. "On the ESPN network, you can t access the regular Sprint Web sites. The plans are outrageous at ESPN. It s like I have a Lexus without an engine!

ESPN Mobile Phone [Deadspin]

ESPN Mobile Begins Soft Launch [PCS Intel]

Virtually Yours

ESPN is synonymous with sports in America. And while the cable net has made some slight forays into the wireless space with a mobile version of its website and some games and applications, its Mobile ESPN service is looking to translate the SportsCenter experience onto a phone. Mobile ESPN is launching on a Sanyo handset that features a custom UI built around the data services that will deliver pretty much anything a sports junkie needs—live scores, news, video highlights and more.

But ESPN and other big brands don't want to take a backseat to mobile operators, and they certainly don't want to get into the business of buying spectrum and building out their own wireless networks. Their strengths are in content and marketing, not setting up and maintaining a cellular network. So they become a virtual operator—they buy airtime wholesale from a traditional carrier, then package it, market it and sell it however they want.

The idea of mobile virtual network operators (MVNOs) isn't anything new, with companies like Virgin Mobile or Tracfone having operated in the US for a few years. Typically MVNOs sell service with features and add-ons than you might get from your normal carriers, albeit at a lower price. But a new breed of MVNOs looks to change that, using incumbent carriers' new high-speed networks as the launching pad for an array of content and technology quite unlike anything previously available in the US.

ESPN's approach reflects that of many MVNOs: pick a niche and doggedly attack it. While this can be useful for general demographic groups, focusing on something like sports can be problematic, because while there are plenty of people that would love to have sports content on their phone, how many want just sports content and nothing else?

Another new-model MVNO launching soon is Amp'd, which is headed by the guy that started Nextel's youth-centric Boost brand. Amp'd is going after the 18- to 35-year-old market, leaning heavily on video content from partners like Comedy Central and Adult Swim, as well as viral-style videos and adult content. It's also developed a huge catalog of games as well as a music download service.

Amp'd, which plans to launch in November, is following an interesting strategy: look at what the traditional wireless operators are doing, then do the exact opposite. So things that people hate about their existing wireless carrier—devices with features removed, restrictive and expensive data plans, clunky user interfaces and so on—are gone. Statements like "We don't want to ask people to change the way they do things," reveal how diametrically opposed Amp'd and other MVNOs are to traditional carriers. "We don't have that telco mentality," says Amp'd chief marketing officer, Don McGuire. "We're an entertainment company."

Then there's SK-Earthlink, a joint venture between South Korea's leading wireless carrier, SK Telecom, and ISP upstart Earthlink. The basic idea here is to take SK's bleeding-edge technology from Korea and meld it with Earthlink's knowledge of the US market and its customer-service operations. SK-Earthlink, which should launch in the spring under a new brand name, is still remaining quiet about exactly what services it will have and handsets it will sell, but judging by the CDMA EV-DO handsets SK sells in Korea, it could make the gadget writer's often-used tagline—"you'll never see that here"—an endangered species. "We're going to offer access to technology that people may have been disappointed they couldn't get before," says SK-Earthlink's director of corporate communications, Julie Cordua. "We will deliver something this market has never seen before."

SK Earthlink, like the others, is also targeting a narrow niche: 18- to 30-year-olds that are willing to pay a premium for advanced handsets and data services. A traditional carrier simply couldn't take that narrow of a focus and remain a viable business. "It's hard for carriers to shift their brand," Cordua says. "Since we're starting from scratch, we can start something different."

The real potential impact of these latest MVNOs, though, isn't just their content and services as an end in themselves, but rather as disruptive forces to the wireless service business as a whole. While a lot can change between now and the time they launch, the MVNOs are saying all the right things in terms of the services and experiences they'll provide, reflecting the dissatisfaction many of us have with our wireless provider. Mobile ESPN, for example, put out a press release saying how great its customer service will be.

Most of these lessons aren't specific to the narrow target markets they've defined—while everybody might not be interested in baseball highlights videos, most people are interested in getting good service at a fair price, something traditional carriers still struggle to deliver. The content offering can always be reconfigured to address another niche, or even, perhaps, the mass market. But while it might be that flashy content that gets all the initial interest, it could be the way these companies treat their customers in delivering all these cool services that keeps them going, and causes the most problems for their physical-network rivals.

Carlo Longino is a writer and analyst that follows the mobile industry. He's co-editor of MobHappy, and also an analyst for Techdirt. He can be reached at carlo@mobhappy.com.

Read more Airtime. The column appears every Tuesday on Gizmodo.