What Facebook is to the original AOL Instant Messenger, Huddle is to football players analyzing game footage in the video room. Developed by a team of Nebraska Cornhuskers, and praised by the likes of Bill Gates, Huddle is a web-based scouting, coaching, and social tool for football teams.

Remember the original Tecmo Bowl? You could pick Walter Payton and be guaranteed that nobody else on the field would have a chance of catching him (except maybe Lawrence Taylor). It didn’t matter if Payton got hurt midseason, had a streak of fumbles or even retired the next year. In Tecmo Bowl, ‘Sweetness’ was forever. Ah, those were the days.

With the launch of DynamicDNA in NBA Live 09, EA Sports has completely shattered the static memory of Payton.

Just how often were McEnroe's tirades justified? A detailed analysis of two years of challenged calls in tennis using the Hawk-Eye replay system shows players got it right about 40 percent of the time. Published this summer in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, the study suggests both players and linemen have an impressive accuracy of just over 1.5 inches. In 94 percent of the challenges, the ball was within three inches of the line.

Every midnight jogger or kid at Halloween is equipped with something that glows in the dark, from reflective tape to patches on shoes. Nobody wants to end up on the front grill of their neighbor's Hummer. But, for a driver, knowing that something's up ahead is different from knowing exactly what is in the road. Illuminite technology laces reflective material into the fabric of a garment, providing a silhouette that will distinguish little Jimmy from the next mile-marker sign. Sounds sketchy, till you stand in a darkroom and point a flashlight on the shirt.

Couch potato coaches and fantasy folks, hold onto your hats. A new agreement between Synergy Sports Technology and the NBA will provide the average fan the ability to break down game footage like never before. Synergy employees log standard broadcasts of every NBA play creating a catalogued database that’s searchable by every conceivable basketball statistic or description. At least 24 teams pay between $50,000-$75,000 annually for the service but this season the public will have access to the same technology on NBA.com.

Can’t say we didn’t try. When we saw the proposed instant replay plan for Major League Baseball in June we pleaded with Bud Selig to reconsider. Heck, we even gave him a blueprint for how to get it right. Apparently, Bud wasn’t listening. As of this Thursday, MLB will implement its weak excuse for instant replay.

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, the past two weeks of our lives have been much less productive.

Our final edition of “know your Olympic sport,” focuses on the top secret science of shuttlecocks. And for your viewing pleasure, a badminton brawl.

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of “know your Olympic sport,” by introducing the next David Beckham explaining why field hockey players are always wet.

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. But enough with the obscure sports, for now.

In this edition of “know your Olympic sport,” we focus on the technology enhancing our viewing experience (plus a darn cool video clip of a dog show).

How did the heck did we miss this one? When profiling the science behind synchronized swimming we covered everything from hair products to underwater speakers. But the technology making a buzz in the pool at Beijing is actually a set of underwater lights – get this – attached to the swimsuits.

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of “know your Olympic sport,” with more than you need to know about gymnastics.

Inside we’ll provide a trick to help you finally touch your toes, expose a fault in major equipment and challenge our readers to win back a gold for America.

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of “know your Olympic sport,” (check out the whole series here) by serving up some volleyball.

Inside we’ll provide thermal imaging, a new ball and a sock for the sand. Let us begin!

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton and wonder about the modern decathlon. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, our lives are suddenly much less productive. To aid in your immersion, we continue with our daily edition of “know your Olympic sport,” by diving into synchronized swimming.

Inside we’ll explain what the sport has in common with the war on terror and why every swimmer worth her hair bun abides by the power of horse cartilage. Go ahead, check it out. Nobody is looking, and we won’t tell.

Every four years, we watch. We marvel at badminton, wonder about the modern decathlon and proudly pause for synchronized swimming. With more than 300 gold medals awarded across 37 disciplines, the next two weeks of our lives should be impressively unproductive. To aid in your immersion, we introduce the first installment of “know your Olympic sport.” It’s part reminder that people actually get medals for this stuff (see: trampoline gymnastics) and part introduction to the science behind the sports.

As a tribute to the recently lit flame in Beijing, our first installment focuses on the pride of China: Table Tennis (a.k.a. Ping Pong). Inside you’ll find a 30-year old performance enhancer in its final days, a training method built for Forrest Gump and all (perhaps even more than) you'll ever need to know about Ping Pong balls.

They call him the Freak. Standing on the mound at 5'10" and weighing in at just 172 pounds, Tim Lincecum's nickname isn't describing an imposing physical presence, but referring to his lack thereof. Ninety-eight mile-per-hour fastballs aren't supposed to come from frames like that.