Microsoft President Brad Smith. (GeekWire File Photo / Dan DeLong) Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith and his wife Kathy Surace-Smith have purchased a stake in the Seattle Mariners, becoming just the third additions since the team formed a partnership group in 1992. Mariners chairman and managing partner John Stanton announced the news Wednesday, saying that the goal of the group has been to find “partners who both love baseball and are passionate about public service.” Kathy Surace-Smith. (LinkedIn Photo) The Smiths are the first new additions since Mariners legend Ken Griffey Jr ..read more

Atavus CEO Kerry Carter. (Atavus Photo) Kerry Carter, a former pro football player with the Seattle Seahawks and other teams, is tackling a new role as CEO at Atavus, the Seattle-based sports technology company that teaches proper tackling technique. Atavus has grown beyond being a consulting company for NFL teams and higher-end collegiate programs. The focus now is mainly as a software-as-a-service business targeted at a wider market, including high schools, where coaches can get certified in a tackling system aimed at increasing player safety. Certification opens up access to Atavus drill vi ..read more

The Seattle Kraken take on the Vancouver Canucks in the first home game at Climate Pledge Arena in 2021. (GeekWire File Photo / Kurt Schlosser) Seattle Kraken fans will have a new place to root for the pro hockey team next season. The franchise announced an innovative new broadcast deal Thursday that will bring games to Amazon Prime Video and Tegna stations KING 5 and KONG in the Seattle area. The move is a departure from regional cable broadcaster ROOT Sports, where Kraken games have been televised for the past three seasons. As part of the multi-year agreements, KING 5 and KONG will bro ..read more

(Image created with Microsoft Designer) Instant replay has changed the landscape of professional sports and added more eyes to what officials and referees see in any given contest. A new pilot project in Washington state is adding cameras to high school sports, with a twist. In an effort to address unruly behavior, a high volume of ejections, and concerns over the safety of officials, the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association (WIAA) and Washington Officials Association (WOA) announced an initiative earlier this month to test the use of body cameras on referees, starting with basket ..read more

Thanks to tectonic shifts in technology and training, Olympic-level rowing has come a long way since the University of Washington’s eight-man crew pulled off the ultimate underdog win at the 1936 Olympics in Nazi Germany — the achievement celebrated in the brand-new movie adaptation of “The Boys in the Boat.” On paper, the performance of the rowers at the center of the movie — and at the center of the bestselling book on which the movie is based — pales in comparison with current Olympic and world records. Today, the world’s fastest time for a 2,000-meter course is just under 5 minutes and 20 ..read more

Seahawks fans “Just Walk Out” of the new Pro Shop Outlet store at Lumen Field, where Amazon is testing a new version of its cashierless shopping technology. (GeekWire Photos / Kevin Lisota) In a small corner of Lumen Field, Amazon is putting a new spin on its cashierless “Just Walk Out” shopping system. At the home of the Seattle Seahawks, just down the street from Amazon’s headquarters, the new Seahawks Pro Shop Outlet store gives football fans a way to grab some gear without needing to wait in line. We gave it a test run last week before the Seattle Seahawks hosted the Carolina Panthers. Th ..read more

Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky (left) and his wife Laura Selipsky. (Sounders Photo) Seattle’s professional soccer club is adding more tech heavyweights to its ownership group. Seattle Sounders FC announced Wednesday that the families of Amazon Web Services CEO Adam Selipsky and Redapt CEO Rick Cantu are now owners. Jay Stein, president of Sand Capital and real estate development company Sandor, is also now part of the ownership group. They join several other tech execs, including Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, who became owners in 2019. “These additions bring the team successful, respecte ..read more

Amazon’s “Just Walk Out” gates as seen in a new Seahawks Pro Shop Outlet at Lumen Field in Seattle. (Seattle Seahawks Photo) It’s an all-out blitz of Amazon technology at Lumen Field in Seattle as the Seahawks are expanding the use of “Just Walk Out” and Amazon One technology to a new Pro Shop Outlet location and four more concession stands. The team announced the plans Tuesday, saying that the new tech will be in place for Thursday’s preseason home opener against the Minnesota Vikings. The use of Just Walk out and the Amazon One palm-scanning technology at a team merchandise store is a first ..read more

Andrew Tye of the Seattle Orcas celebrates taking the wicket of Moises Henriques of the Washington Freedom (not pictured) with Shimron Hetmyer of the Seattle Orcas who caught the ball during match three of Major League Cricket season 1 between the Seattle Orcas and Washington Freedom held at the Grand Prairie Stadium on July 14. Photo by Andy Mead / SPORTZPICS for Major League Cricket. GRAND PRAIRIE, Texas —The promise of cricket in America could be seen and felt in the most unlikely of circumstances. Awash in Friday night lights after a scorching Texas sun, the trim green cricket oval invited ..read more

A screenshot of the augmented reality feature in the MLB Next app shows the path and trajectory of hit balls during an early round of Monday night’s Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park in Seattle. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser) The hardest thing about testing a mobile app during Monday’s Home Run Derby at T-Mobile Park in Seattle was the action on the field. It’s not that T-Mobile’s new “MLB Next” app wasn’t up to the task of delivering compelling data through its augmented reality feature, assorted field views, and a live audio stream. It’s that I had to keep closing the app to open my iPhone ..read more