Baseline to baseline, we’ve got the basketball games covered

[Cross-posted from the Official Google Blog]

Do you hear the dribble on the court and the chanting of the fans? Following an action-packed week of buzzer beaters, the 2011 NCAA® Championship here in the U.S. promises to be as exciting as ever.

As a college hoops fan, I often wish I could experience the games sitting in the arenas—and I’m sure I’m not alone. This year, our college basketball tournament map lets you get as close as you can to the games without leaving your desk thanks to 3D models of the tournament’s 14 arenas. Take a virtual tour of the venues by watching the video below, or download this tour and open it in Google Earth.



Plus, we’ve created a special page for you to keep track of all the excitement during the next few weeks. You can see an up-to-date tournament schedule, explore the college campuses in Street View and click through to watch the actual games on NCAA® March Madness on Demand®. You can also create a bracket using Google Docs, read Google News articles on the games and download basketball apps from the Chrome Web Store. It’s all here (along with a fun surprise) at www.google.com/collegebasketball2011.

And since there’s been a long-running debate over whether teams playing closer to their home court have an advantage, we added a “Distance Tool” on the map to make it easier to measure how far schools have to travel from game to game. We’ll see how things play out, but the defending champion Duke Blue Devils may have to travel more than 2,000 miles to Anaheim if they win their first two games.

As my friends always say when we can’t wait for the tournament to begin, “Send it in, Jerome!” May your favorite school reach the finals and we hope you enjoy all the basketball fun at www.google.com/collegebasketball2011.

Posted by Aaron Weissman, Google Maps Marketing (San Francisco King of the Rock winner)

Ski the slopes in Google Earth

Heading for the slopes this winter? Put on your warm hat, grab your mittens, rent those skis, and bundle up in your warmest jacket … and don’t forget your GPS tracking device! When you hit the slopes this winter, track your route down the slopes and share your animated ski tracks in Google Earth.

This past weekend, a couple of Googlers and I headed up to Lake Tahoe, CA with a few GPS devices. We recorded some of our favorite ski runs and animated our tracks in Google Earth. You can check out all of our animated tracks in the video below, or download the KML to play the tracks in Google Earth.



Capturing a GPS track is easy -- just make sure that you have a GPS tracking device on hand before you hit the slopes. A Garmin® or Magellan® device works best, but you can also use a GPS tracking application on most mobile phones. My Tracks on Android works well, or if you have an iPhone, try using MotionX-GPS.

When you get to the top of the mountain, start recording your track. Place your phone or device in an outside pocket, preferably separate from another device. When you get to the end of your run, stop the track. Or, if you prefer to track the entire day, keep the GPS track running. Most of us decided to keep our tracks running the entire day so we could focus entirely at the task at hand - skiing.

After a full day of skiing and snowboarding, we grabbed some hot cocoa from the lodge and headed home, where we imported our tracks into Google Earth. My fellow Googler, David captured his GPS data with My Tracks, and imported the data by dragging and dropping a .gpx file into Google Earth. We then started playing with the new GPS track animation feature launched in Google Earth 5.2, and customized and animated our ski tracks just the way we wanted them. Take a look below at how David customized the line color and label of his track. (He even personalized the tracking icon to make it look like an actual skier!)

We also animated our tracks by creating a tour, which we customized by changing the camera tilt angle, camera range, and tour speed in the preferences dialog. Here’s a helpful hint: if you want it to seem like you went faster, create a tour with a high speed setting to view your track in fast-forward.

Next, we used Google Earth’s Elevation Profile feature to get a better idea as to the difficulty of the runs we skied that day. With GPS tracks, the feature can show both an elevation profile (shown below in red), and a speed profile (shown below in blue). Looking at the red elevation profile below, as you ski around the mountain, there is quite a bit of elevation change. We then counted the total number of peaks in our track’s elevation profile to discover how many runs we skied in one day.

Don’t ski or snowboard? Don’t worry! You can track other exciting winter activities in Google Earth. I’ve never been a big skier, but I love to snowshoe and go dog sledding. Check out the dog sledding tour I created below, paired with a photo of my actual dog sledding experience.

We had so much fun tracking our winter adventures in Tahoe that we even tracked our bus ride home to San Francisco. We were sorry to leave, but I knew we’d be back to trace new paths in the mountains next year -- or even next weekend!

Posted by Carolyn Wendell, Content and User Education Specialist, Google Earth

Nostalgia rears its head in Baltimore

The tabloid comic book is being reprinted and fans are getting ready.

Superman! Vs. Muhammad Ali!
By Vincent Williams
Baltimore City Paper October 20, 2010

Follow Team HTC-Columbia on Google Maps

As a former professional cyclist, nothing beats the thrill of being in the peloton and racing towards the finish line. Although I’ve traded in my cycling career for life as a Googler, I’m still a fan and enjoy watching my former teammates and friends battle in races like the Tour de France, which started on Saturday. While the cyclists were preparing to tackle the pave of Arrenberg and the Cols in the Alps, I got to thinking about ways that we can bring that experience to the hundreds of millions of fans who will be following the Tour de France over the next few weeks. Google is home to many other cycling enthusiasts, so we got together to work on ways to build a My Tracks-based gadget that will allow all the other fans to follow the action like never before.

The My Tracks application for Android phones lets you record and share your own outdoor activities, and now Team HTC-Columbia will use a special version of the app with SRM to transmit their telemetry and location in real-time as they make their way through the 3,642 kilometers of the Tour de France. The nine riders (sadly, now eight, as Adam Hanson was injured on Sunday) on Team HTC-Columbia are carrying HTC Legend phones with ANT+ that use My Tracks to capture their location along with their power, heart rate, cadence and speed. On www.google.com/mytrackstour, you’ll see a Google Map showing the team members’ location on the course and a detailed telemetry report. You can observe how Michael Rogers’ heart rate spikes as he attacks the climbs in the Alps on Stage 9, see how many watts Mark Cavendish puts out in the sprint on the famous sprinters’ stage into Bordeaux, and see just how fast riders climb the famous Col du Tourmalet.


From the image above, you can see how Maxime Monfort took the lead during Stage 2 between Bruxelles and Spa yesterday. Right now, the riders are racing in Stage 3, which takes them across the border into France and you can follow all the latest action on our website or directly on your own iGoogle page.

The team also built a map gadget that is available for you to embed on your own website or blog. We’re also publishing an API that any web developer or broadcaster can use to build their own custom application or use to enhance the live television coverage. I'm excited about the potential for web developers and broadcasters to make use of the API and data in creative ways to help all the Tour de France followers (myself included!) get even closer to the action.

This project was the work of many Googlers in their 20% time, and as cycling fans ourselves, we’re happy to be able to share it with the world. We hope you enjoy this unique way of following Team HTC-Columbia over the next few weeks.

Posted by Dylan Casey, Product Manager

Explore the South African stadiums in 3D

[Cross-posted from the SketchUp Blog]

Whether you call it soccer, like us, or football, like the rest of the world, we have your virtual ticket to South Africa right here. Google Earth is proud to feature 3D models of all ten stadiums and the nine cities of host nation South Africa.

To check it out for yourself, download this 3D tour to explore the stadiums in Google Earth, or check it out using the new Earth view in Google Maps. Fly into Green Point Stadium for a seat looking out at Cape Town’s famous Table Mountain. From there you may want to head over to the dramatic arch that suspends Durban’s Moses Mabhida Stadium. The distinctive multi-hued orange shell of Soccer City Stadium in Johannesburg is a must see. It’s here where South Africa kicks off against Mexico in the first game on June 11, and where the final takes place exactly a month later.

See what’s in store for you to explore in Google Earth:

South Africa offers much more than soccer stadiums of course, which is why we’ve also modeled thousands of buildings around the country. These 3D cities can help you get a feel for why South Africa receiving the world’s attention. And if you’re lucky enough to be there, you might like to see how close the stadium is to your hotel.


Finally, since several of the stadiums are either newly constructed or heavily remodeled, you can use the Historical Imagery feature in Google Earth to see the transformation over the years. Open up Google Earth, turn on the Historical Imagery layer by clicking on the clock button at the top, and slide the bar to travel through time.

We realize that the United States winning the Cup is a long-shot, but the 3D team here in Boulder, Colorado will be cheering for team USA anyway!

Posted by Bruce Polderman, Product Manager

Street View brings a taste of South Africa to football fans everywhere

It’s not every day that you find an elephant in Street View, or for that matter get to visit most of the South African football (or you may know it better as soccer) stadiums in one day. But from today you can do both with our bumper set of brand new Street View images and 3D models of host nation South Africa.

With just days to go before the tournament kicks off, football fans can start soaking up the atmosphere in seven of South Africa’s soccer stadiums, including Soccer City in Johannesburg, Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane and Moses Mabhida Stadium in Durban. Thanks to some serious pedal-power by our trike riders in South Africa we’ve made available these pitch-level pictures from inside and outside of these stadiums. And we’ve created complete 3D models of all 10 stadiums, as well as many host cities which can be viewed in Google Earth -- check them out on the SketchUp Blog.

To make it easier for people to find all these great places South African Tourism have provided information on the most important sights. Visit maps.google.com/exploresouthafrica to start virtually exploring South Africa. Here are some amazing shots from on the field to get you excited:

Moses Mabdhiba Stadium:

View Larger Map

Soccer City Stadium:

View Larger Map

You can view more photos from inside the stadiums in our Street View gallery. But for those who can’t tell their keeper from their striker we’ve got something altogether different. There’s dramatic coastal scenery in the Cape; the urban buzz of Soweto, home to Nelson Mandela; or the world renowned Kruger National Park to explore at your leisure.

In fact, you’ll be greeted by a special host when you start exploring the imagery of Kruger:

View Larger Map

And this coastal view lets you see the sea, as well as Table Mountain in the distance:

View Larger Map

Whatever colours you’ll be wearing when the whistle blows and whichever side you’ll be cheering for in the dreaded penalty shoot out, you can now get a sense for how it might feel for the players to step out onto the turf to take part in the most famous football/soccer tournament in the world!

Posted by Julie Taylor, Google South Africa

Make the most of football fever, quicker than stoppage time

People all over the world already use Google Maps to search for pubs, bars and restaurants in their local area. And with football’s (soccer, to all you Americans) biggest event right around the corner, millions of fans will be looking for the perfect venue to enjoy the tournament. So for all you business owners, this could be the ideal time to create your entry on Google Maps for free or make sure your current entry is still up to date. You can even specially indicate that you'll be showing games at your establishment.

Once you’ve signed up for this campaign you will get a couple of things to help you stand out more during the games. When people search for places to watch the games we’ll highlight businesses that have flagged themselves as viewing locations (both on Google Maps and Google Maps for mobile) and you’ll also get a special football badge on your Place Page.

What else can you do to make sure you’re ready for football fever? We’ve provided a quick checklist with stuff you can do:

• Add additional information people looking for places to watch soccer will appreciate (ie: how many & what size screens you have). Read more here.
• Let people know which games you are showing and let them know if you have any special football promotions by posting a live update to your Place Page. Read more here.
• Got lots of satisfied customers post-game? Ask them to add valuable feedback or recommend you on Google Maps. Read more here.

Make sure you join before June 11 to be certain your local football-loving customers can find you in time for their big match. You can learn more on this site: http://www.google.com/showsoccer.

Have fun and may the best team win! I can't wait to find the best place in London to go cheer my team to victory.

Posted by Kenzo Fong Hing, Maps Product Marketing Manager, London

The cartoon made me do it

I don't really follow sports, but I imagine the cartoon defense in a weapons charge isn't all that common - Arenas’ ‘Character’ Witness Is a Cartoon Character: Gazo the Pranksta, by Rend Smith Washington City Paper City Desk blog Mar. 24, 2010.

Shooting for three: Keeping up with the Madness

Do you feel it, sports fans? Has the anticipation fully gripped your college basketball soul? It's definitely got my attention. Therefore I've embarked on my third consecutive journey into mapping the NCAA College Basketball tournament. This may have caused a bit of personal March madness - a lot of long nights and triple-checking each arena placemark - but I hope you’ll enjoy the result. I’ve made a Google Earth KMZ file that includes the home arenas of the field of 65, and the 14 tournament venues. Each entry in the field of 65 is color coded by region and the game sites have a special basketball icon this year.

You may wonder why I’ve kept this up for three years. Well, aside from the fundamental fact that I'm a college hoops nut, I just so happen to also love seeing the geo-spatial distribution of the teams. The research and compliation of the information led me to several interesting facts you can see for yourself in the layer and then use to wow your friends, such as:

• There are two first-round matchups that pit two teams which have the same mascots
• Bears, Eagles, Gophers, Grizzlies, and Lions have a common trait: they are all 'Golden'
• This year’s tournament is quite colorful: Blue Devils, Mean Green, Orangemen, Big Red, and Yellow Jackets

This My Map also shows you all the key locations for the Madness, color-coded for your viewing pleasure. The East division is indicated by a blue pin; South with green; Midwest with red; and West with cyan. The pins with a dot in the center tell you who the #1 seeds are:

View College Basketball Tournament 2010 in a larger map

Travel to the tournament without leaving home! All 14 arenas are in the “3D Buildings” layer in Google Earth, ready for you to explore. Take a tour of these 3D models by watching the video below or download this kml tour and open it in Google Earth 5. Be sure to check out the Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City -- even the court is modeled.

Also, teaming up with a few other March Madness enthusiasts, we’ve created a page, google.com/collegebasketball2010, where all of you basketball fans can find additional Google tools to help you track the tournament. Keep up with your favorite teams and get up-to-date information on scores, schedules, and brackets with our iGoogle gadget. By doing a quick search for your favorite team, you can see live scores. If you haven’t already made a bracket, check out our Google docs tournament bracket template to help you create and manage your pool in an online spreadsheet. You can also see real time search results so you never miss any March Madness news or chatter!

For all the times when I can’t be planted in front of my television watching the action (or during those pesky commercial breaks), these tools will keep my head in the game!

Posted by Adam Hughes, Google Apps Senior Strategist and College Hoops Fan