Make sure you check out the new NYTimes monthly "Play," a magazine dedicated to sports. There is tons of good stuff in it, including a lot on technology and sports.

Here's one way to play Pebble Beach without actually going to Pebble Beach.

Here's an interestng story about the greatest friend a sports fan has ever had -- the inventor of the remote control.

Here are some interesting ideas for using GPS in sports such as baseball, football, futbol and golf.

For instance at the World Series a baseball hit into the third level will be able to be recorded by GPS as to exactly how far it was hit and it’s trajectory to formulate where it would have actually landed had the stadium been flat. Thus we will be able to tell who was the greatest homerun power house of all times, perhaps even who is on steroids based on their body mass, speed of pitch, GPS data and ‘haptics’ (body movement and form).

Wouldn’t it be cool to be watching the World Series on TV and instant information about a homerun appearing on the bottom of the screen? Sounds like a whole new potential betting arena, not only how many homeruns a person will hit, but exactly how far they will hit them?

A football kick would be immediately known the exact yardage, every play near the sidelines would be instantly called in or out of bounds and there would never be any question as to if a football actually broke the goal line. I can hear the referee unions screaming foul already as they will no longer be needed or have jobs? Ouch? Soccer balls, off sides, out of bounds? Yes all possible via GPS data.

With sensors getting smaller and GPS units being used in Unmanned Aerial Vehicles of smaller and smaller size for Micro Air Vehicles and RFID imbedded chips, this technology believe it or not is ready for golf balls as well? All you need is a little imagination. So there you are Tiger Woods with a PDA device in your hands which measures the exactly where the ball is, how far to the next hole, picking up the data from inside the golf ball itself and the flag in the hole. Way-points are displayed also as to where the sand traps are, lakes, edge of fairway and the rough surrounding the green.

My sense is we'll see these things adopted eventually.

If you ever wanted a golf bag with solar panels to charge your cell phone... well, now you can have one.

Adidas is introducing a new soccer shoe with interchangable parts.

Today adidas introduced a new soccer footwear concept, which will be known as the +F50 TUNIT. This new soccer boot concept allows players to customize, adapt and tune their boots to any weather, any pitch and their very own personal style.

You can listen to a podcast called 'IBM and the future of sports' here. The program "discusses how technology is bringing big changes to the way fans experiences sports - at home, at sporting events, playing video games and on the Web. This is giving rise to a new generation of sports fans."

Hockey stick check:

Hart has tried composite sticks in the past and has actually used a few teammates' composites this season because he's had trouble getting his usual wooden Montreals. Most of his teammates have two-piece sticks, with wooden blades provided by the team.

"I don't really like them," Hart said of composites. "I feel like I'm going to break them."

The stiffness and extra weight of wooden sticks that makes them so attractive to Hart have another benefit: Feel. Since the sticks are a little heavier and solid, it is easier to feel the puck on your stick then with lighter, hollow composite sticks.

Technoloy is transforming sports stadia (not a moment too soon in my view).

A huge network of sensors monitors everything from fire alarms and parking spaces to security systems and even the temperature of the turf's roots in the heated soccer field.

Sensors are also placed in the inflatable cushions made of transparent plastic that wrap the stadium. The cushions are illuminated in red, blue or white, depending on the teams playing. The pressure of the air in them can be adapted to deal with weather conditions such as heavy rain or snow.

Golf is not rocket science. Oh wait, maybe it IS rocket science.

Many people have watched a golf ball leave Tiger Woods's driver and have thought it looked like a small but precise missile. But now there is a more reliable link between golf and military hardware in the shape of Dr Steve Otto, the R&A's very own rocket scientist.

In football, there's an expression: "put a Riddell on him." It means put a hit on someone, with Riddell being a big manufacturer of helmets.

A new study suggests there might be another reaosn to put a Riddell on someone. Fewer concussions.

A three-year study involving more than 2,000 players at 17 Western Pennsylvania high schools determined that newer helmet technology and design might reduce the number of concussions among football players.

The study, conducted by UPMC's Sports Medicine Concussion Program and published next month in the scientific journal, Neurosurgery, showed that annual concussion rates in players who wore the Riddell Revolution helmet was 5.4 percent, and those wearing standard models designed earlier by Riddell and others was 7.6 percent.

In terms of relative risk, those who wore the Revolution were 31 percent less likely to get a concussion than those who wore standard helmets.

Tennis is getting closer to adopting instant replay. Sigh. I hate instant replay for just about every sport. Does anyone know if there is good fan polling that determines if fans like replay for football and other sports?