SBJ Power Up: Bringing ball-flight data to your phone

New app tracks ball flight with phone

While batter and pitcher biomechanics have been democratized and now require only a smartphone camera for reasonable accuracy, capturing ball-flight data — velocity, movement and spin rate — has remained the realm of expensive, enterprise systems. But that’s where a new app called SmartScout is seeking to bridge the gap, SBJ’s Joe Lemire reports.

Created by Japanese startup Knowhere and already adopted by MLB’s Texas Rangers and NPB’s Chiba Lotte Marines, among others, SmartScout analyzes video taken from either behind the pitcher or catcher and converts it into many of the same metrics coaches and scouts previously have needed Rapsodo or TrackMan to collect. It even works through mesh or fencing behind the plate, doesn’t require any calibration and can also compute hitting data. A consumer version of SmartScout will be available soon with a waitlist for early access now open.

Cybersecurity study reveals data security lapses among AI leaders

As companies continue to experiment with and adopt generative artificial intelligence technology, data security should be an essential consideration in the tool or partner selection process, SBJ’s Rob Schaefer reports. This is particularly true in the sports industry, where internal processes and public-facing applications are ripe for streamlining through the use of AI.

Underscoring this point, cybersecurity research firm Cybernews released results of a recent study on the data security of 10 leading large language model providers, including OpenAI, Anthropic, Perplexity and DeepSeek. Among learnings, the study found that all 10 analyzed companies had SSL/TLS configuration vulnerabilities, and five of the 10 had recorded data breaches.

OpenAI racked up the most data breaches among analyzed companies, with 1,140 such incidents recorded. OpenAI also scored the second-lowest of the group in Cybernews’ Business Digital Index with a D -- or, “high risk” -- grade (only Inflection AI scored lower). AI21 Labs, Perplexity, Anthropic, Mistral AI and Cohere, meanwhile, all scored As (low-risk), while DeepSeek logged a C (moderate risk).

Smith Entertainment Group turns omnichannel retail over to Fanatics

Smith Entertainment Group and Fanatics have a new long-term deal making Fanatics the official omnichannel retail partner of both the Jazz and Mammoth, SBJ’s Bret McCormick reports. This summer, the Jazz team store will officially launch as the team’s new online shopping destination backed by Fanatics’ proprietary Cloud Commerce Platform (CCP). The Mammoth online store will operate through the league-wide NHL Shop network powered by Fanatics.

As part of the under-renovation Delta Center’s multiyear transformation, Fanatics will gradually introduce a number of innovative retail technologies inside the Team Store, including RFID, offering fans faster and more efficient automated checkout.