The League: The Complete First Season in September

Source: Blu-ray.com

I don't play fantasy football, but if it is anything like it is portrayed on the TV show The League I totally would.

The League is just a fun show, plain and simple. Starring a great comedic ensemble cast of guys that are total dicks to each other the way only best friends can be. The best way I can describe it is It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia meets fantasy football, so awesome!

On September 14th (a few days after the NFL kicks off its season) you can get your hands on complete first season of The League on DVD and Blu-ray.

Extras Include:

• Extended Cuts of All the Episodes
• Over 45 Minutes of Unrated and Uncut Featurettes
• Deleted Scenes & Bloopers

ESPN 3D

Source: Wired

The 3D World Cup broadcasts spread out the over past couple of weeks were only the beggining of a much larger 3D push into the wide world of sports.

And now the biggest name in sports, ESPN, has made a year long commitment to this booming technology by starting its very own 3D production unit. Expect to see various 3D sports events over the coming months.

Initially the events featured will be ones that will be easier to shoot in 3D, such as golf and baseball (The Home Run Derby was already shot using 3D cameras) but if these are successful expect more variety soon.

If you are wondering how serious ESPN is about its new 3D mission just look at the camera setup for just the initial 3D Home Run Derby broadcast:

• One 3D camera suspended behind the pitchers mound 15 feet in the air.
• Dual 3D rigs, set up 5 feet away on both sides of of the batters box.

That is a lot of new hardware, and it should make for a very unique viewing experience. I feel if 3D can be at home anywhere, it would be in sports. I would love the rush of sitting on my couch staring down a pitcher who is about to throw a 102 mph pitch right into my living room, I would probably flinch like a little girl and that would be awesome.

There are some obvious limitations to ESPNs ambitions 3D programming as most viewers do not yet have the new 3D TVs, but ESPN VP Anthony Baily has a simple game plan to combat that initial problem, "The more 3-D content we give the viewers, the more people will want to watch it."

I am inclined to agree with that logic.

Octagon Streams to Roku

Source: Home Media Magazine

Mixed martial arts is badass, don't let the picture to the right fool (or offend, because I don't want the ever living snot beat outta me) you.

Good news today for all of you fans of UFC, you now have another option for viewing mixed martial arts madness: Roku.

In a multi-year deal between Roku and the Ultimate Fighting Championship honchos every major pay-per-view event will be available for streaming. The first event to take advantage of this deal is UFC 114 and it will occur May 29th in something of a grudge match between Quinton "Rampage" Jackson and "Suga" Rashad Evans.

If you have a Roku box and want to see a preview of what the new B.A. Baracus (Jackson) will look like in the new A-Team movie you can check it out details about the UFC 114 and further information on this new partnership here.

World Cup in the Third Dimension?!

Source: PR Newswire

Didn’t get tickets to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa? Well that sucks. Thankfully FIFA has teamed up with Sony to make you feel less left out and more like you are right there in Soccer City, Johannesburg when ball meets foot. That’s right, this summer an unprecedented global 3-D event will be going down, and if you get your hands on the right technology you can participate.

The plan is to film over 25 of the games in 3-D and create a feed to be broadcast on special 3-D channels. According to FIFA TV they already have found a partner in the US with ESPN and in Spain, Sogecable and they expect more networks to follow. A live feed is also in the works, with the possibility of public theater screenings for select matches.

If you have a 3-D capable TV by the time this summer roles around (and who won’t!) you should have the opportunity to partake what Hiroko Saito of Sony proclaims as a “entirely new viewing experience”. Don’t plan on having a 3-D TV in time for the World Cup? You will still have the chance to visit one of the over 4,000 Sony stores worldwide in which Sony, tenaciously on the forefront of 3-D technology, will use this as a promotional tool for their new 3-D Bravia TVs.

In case you thought that was all, Sony has also has revealed that they will be releasing an official 3-D FIFA Blu-ray later this year. For more information and a preliminary schedule of what games will be in 3-D visit PR Newswire.

Nota Bene: Personally, I just can't wait to experience a real soccer riot without the messy side-effects like being trampled to death.