Sports | The Verge The Verge is about technology and how it makes us feel. Founded in 2011, we offer our audience everything from breaking news to reviews to award-winning features and investigations, on our site, in video, and in podcasts. 2026-04-14T10:04:52+00:00 https://www.theverge.com/rss/sport/index.xml https://platform.theverge.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2025/01/verge-rss-large_80b47e.png?w=150&h=150&crop=1 Thomas Ricker <![CDATA[A sleek, wearable airbag for cyclists is nearly here]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=911540 2026-04-14T06:04:52-04:00 2026-04-14T05:58:51-04:00 a bicyclists launching over his handlebars as the airbag expands to protect him.
The lightweight Airbag deploys in just milliseconds after detecting a crash. | Image: Van Rysel

What you're looking at is a new airbag system integrated directly into a "race-ready" skinsuit, not bolted on like other solutions. It was developed for road cyclists by Van Rysel, with the help of airbag technology specialist In&motion. It's currently being tested on pro riders ahead of a general consumer release sometime "within the next two years."

Its development comes after the UCI, pro cycling's governing body, put out a call in February seeking gear that could help protect riders traveling faster than ever.

The current version is in final validation ahead of potential race deployment. It has a total weight of about 700 grams (500 gr …

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]]> Emma Roth <![CDATA[Fubo’s mobile app is pushing more sports highlights]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=909118 2026-04-09T11:15:38-04:00 2026-04-09T11:00:00-04:00 A photo of Shohei Ohtani swinging against the Toronto Blue Jays in their MLB game at Rogers Centre on April 7, 2026

Fubo is rolling out a big mobile app update today that adds a bunch of new features, including short-form videos with news about your favorite teams and leagues. You'll also find a carousel of live video as soon as you open the app, allowing you to preview games before you tap into them.

The live TV streaming service is expanding a feature called Team Channels, which uses AI to create a playlist of bite-sized clips from a game that you've recorded. But Fubo is expanding this feature to more leagues (though the company doesn't say which ones), while its AI system can now pick up on more kinds of key moments to include in its playlist.

Fubo, …

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]]> Terrence O’Brien <![CDATA[The ABS Challenge System is exposing the worst umpire in baseball]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=906151 2026-04-03T09:25:18-04:00 2026-04-02T15:50:41-04:00
Home plate umpire CB Bucknor looks on during the third inning of the game between the San Diego Padres and the Boston Red Sox at Petco Park on August 9, 2025, in San Diego, California. | Orlando Ramirez/Getty Images

During Wednesday's game between the Tampa Bay Rays and the Milwaukee Brewers, umpire CB Bucknor took a foul ball to the mask and had to be helped off the field. It was the cap to what has been a particularly bad week for one of the most controversial umpires in baseball.

It started with perhaps the best example of how MLB's Automated Ball-Strike (ABS) Challenge System can inject drama in baseball. This is the first year for the new robot umpire, which allows hitters, catchers, and pitchers to challenge balls and strikes for the first time. Each team starts a game with two challenges. But they only lose a challenge if it's unsuccessful, so p …

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]]> Andrew Liszewski <![CDATA[The Big 12 basketball tournament is ditching slippery LED courts for hardwood]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=894372 2026-03-13T12:12:29-04:00 2026-03-13T11:54:20-04:00 Josiah Sanders of the Colorado Buffaloes shoots as Vyctorius Miller of the Oklahoma State Cowboys defends during the first round game of the Men's 2026 Big 12 Tournament at T-Mobile Center.

They may be great for fan engagement and selling ads, but the Big 12 has decided to replace the innovative glass-covered LED floors at Kansas City's T-Mobile Center with a traditional hardwood finish. It will be used for the remainder of the tournament during semifinal matches and the championship game.

The LED floors, which were previously used during the 2024 NBA All-Star game at the Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, display animations and graphics that can also interact with players' movements. They're designed to be softer than hardwood floors while providing the same amount of grip. However, during the women's Big 12 basketball tourna …

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]]> Emma Roth <![CDATA[Peacock’s NBA streams are going vertical]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=894152 2026-03-13T10:12:32-04:00 2026-03-13T10:00:00-04:00 An illustration of the Peacock logo

Peacock is rolling out a native vertical video format for live sports, allowing you to watch games without turning your phone sideways. The feature will roll out to NBA games first this spring and will use an algorithm to track players and zoom in on the action.

The launch of this feature comes just months after a report from Nikkei Asia revealed that NBC Sports plans on using a player tracking system called viztrick AiDi. The technology was developed by a Japanese broadcaster and uses facial recognition to allow viewers on mobile to tap their screen to focus on specific players. It's unclear whether Peacock's vertical NBA streams will use …

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]]> Mia Sato <![CDATA[How MLB can make baseball relevant on a fast-changing internet]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=886115 2026-03-27T12:10:27-04:00 2026-03-01T08:00:00-05:00 A collage of baseball love on pink coming out of a phone with hearts and emojis

This is The Stepback, a weekly newsletter breaking down one essential story from the tech world. For more on the contemporary attention economy, follow Mia Sato. The Stepback arrives in our subscribers' inboxes at 8AM ET. Opt in for The Stepback here.

How it started

"KING BASEBALL, monarch of the American sport world, is sick," a New York Times story on the disappearance of amateur and small town sandlots begins. Hundreds of thousands of fans attended the opening games of the season, and star players are making bank in huge stadiums. "Nevertheless the critics say that his Royal Highness is indisposed."

The story is from 1925. But it read …

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]]> Jay Peters <![CDATA[Netflix’s F1 series Drive to Survive will stream on Apple TV, too]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=885538 2026-03-01T11:48:25-05:00 2026-02-26T14:40:16-05:00

Netflix's sports docuseries obsession started a few years ago with F1: Drive to Survive, but when the eighth season premieres after midnight tonight, it will also be available on Apple TV. Now that Apple TV has a five-year deal to be the US streaming home for F1 races, subscribers in the US will be able to catch every episode of the new Drive to Survive season without having to jump over to another streaming service.

Apple TV and Netflix will both stream the eighth season of F1: Drive to Survive. The hit F1 documentary series that has so far been exclusive to Netflix, but the new season will debut on both streaming services on Friday. What …

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]]> Mia Sato <![CDATA[More Shohei Ohtani content is coming to TikTok]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=883266 2026-02-24T08:36:51-05:00 2026-02-24T08:30:00-05:00
Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers reacts after hitting a single against the Toronto Blue Jays during the 2025 World Series at Rogers Center on November 1, 2025.

Major League Baseball wants more of a footprint on TikTok. Just in time for spring training, the two companies announced Tuesday they were partnering to expand baseball content on TikTok, including creating an MLB hub in the app and, of course, bringing in more influencers.

Baseball is coming back after a season that was especially culturally relevant. The World Series last fall had its highest viewership in years, and an increasingly international audience tuned in to watch the Los Angeles Dodgers beat the Toronto Blue Jays after seven games and extra innings. There was a surge in interest on TikTok, too: The company says posts that includ …

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]]> David Pierce <![CDATA[The best way to watch the Olympics]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=875154 2026-02-11T05:50:03-05:00 2026-02-07T08:00:00-05:00

Hi, friends! Welcome to Installer No. 115, your guide to the best and Verge-iest stuff in the world. (If you're new here, welcome, go Seahawks I guess, and also you can read all the old editions at the Installer homepage.)

This week, I've been reading about The Washington Post and the Murdochs and Polymarket and whatever a "Soho House for creators" is, watching Independence Day for the first time and Jurassic Park for roughly the 50th, bailing on everything for the next few weeks so I can watch the Olympics full-time, loving the timeline-task-manager look of Paso, learning more about Furby than I ever expected for the upcoming season of Ve …

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]]> Emma Roth <![CDATA[YouTube TV will launch custom multiview and channel packages ‘soon’]]> https://www.theverge.com/?p=864566 2026-01-21T09:14:14-05:00 2026-01-21T09:00:00-05:00

YouTube TV is getting ready to launch two major updates that will allow you to watch multiple non-sports channels simultaneously, as well as choose from 10 new paid plans focused on a range of topics, including sports, entertainment, and news. In his annual letter to users, YouTube CEO Neal Mohan says both of these changes will arrive "soon."

YouTube TV has been slowly expanding its multiview feature over the past few years. It introduced multiview for sports broadcasts in 2023 before expanding it to news, weather, and business programming - but only for preselected channels. The platform later started testing the ability for users to cust …

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