findings.Sexual assault allegations ranged far beyond the football prog

Besides dazzling feats of athleticism, dazzling new technologies will be on display at the Olympics.About 217 million viewers in the U.S. alone tuned in to the London Olympics four years ago, making it the most watched TV event in history. The television audience is expected to increase for the Rio Olympics, which formally open Friday. Others will tune in online or watch the games in person in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.That makes the Olympics an excellent showcase for new and emerging technologies. Such brands as Visa and Samsung are taking the opportunity to show off their wares.---VISAS PAYMENT RINGVisa, a 30-year Olympics sponsor, is running the payment systems at the Olympics. Visa is equipping about 4,000 payment terminals at souvenir shops, concession stands and other Olympic venues with a wireless technology called near-field-communication, or NFC. Its the technology that powers mobile-payment services such as Apple Pay, Google Pay and Samsung Pay, though only Samsungs has launched in Brazil.Visa is giving payments rings to 59 athletes to wear on their fingers. With a tap on an NFC payment terminal, they can charge their Visa accounts. Giving the ring to Olympic athletes like swimmer Missy Franklin and decathlete Ashton Eaton lets Visa test the technology, while garnering buzz as athletes tweet about them and wear them around the Olympic village.---SAMSUNGS SPECIAL EDITION GALAXYSamsung, another Olympic sponsor, is delivering a special Olympic Games edition of its Galaxy S7 Edge phone to 12,500 Olympians. The phone is branded with the Olympic rings and has Olympics-themed wallpapers loaded on the device. The company also made 2,016 of the Olympic phones for the public to buy in selected countries, including Brazil, the U.S. and South Korea.One feature Samsung expects to make a splash: The phones will come with a flag app, which athletes will be encouraged to hold up as they walk together by country during Fridays opening ceremonies.They can use the entire screen of the S7 to become a flag, said Pio Schunker, Samsungs global head of brand integrated marketing. They will be waving the national flag through the S7.---NBC GETS INTO VR, GETTY GOES 360Expect to see virtual-reality content, along with 360-degree video and images. NBC, which has television and online rights in the U.S., plans 85 hours of VR coverage through the NBC Sports app on Samsungs Gear VR headset. VR events will include opening and closing ceremonies, mens basketball, gymnastics and track and field. They will typically be shown on a one-day delay.Getty, the Olympics official photography agency, launched a virtual-reality division in June to focus on 360-degree images. Getty shot some 360-degree images at the London Olympics in 2012 as the technology was emerging. This time in Rio, every Getty photographer will have a 360-degree camera.We are only on the cusp of what will be a tectonic plate shift in VR, Getty CEO Dawn Airey said.Meanwhile, Facebooks Oculus VR business, which developed the technology behind Gear VR, plans to showcase more than 400 360-degree images from various photographers. It will be available through the Oculus 360 Photos app on Gear VR and Oculus own Rift headset.---HIGH-TECH COVERAGENBC owner Comcast Corp. is showcasing its X1 set-top box, giving its customers a way to search for live coverage and replays by country, athlete and sport. Its also integrating voice search into the system. Viewers, for instance, can get the latest medal count by speaking, How is the USA doing? The company is also offering a way to zip to gold-medal event highlights and restart events that have already begun.The high-tech coverage makes use of the boxs connection to the internet and increasing presence in Comcast subscriber homes. Comcast says about 40 percent of its 22.4 million video customers have X1. Comcast is aiming to reach 50 percent by the end of the year.The X1 innovation is one way Comcast is trying to help viewers sort through some 6,000 hours of Olympics coverage on television and online. If it boosts audiences for the Olympics, itll also help Comcast recoup some of the $4.4 billion that NBC paid for the U.S. broadcast rights over six years. Nike Air Vapormax Outlet . 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He was taken to a local hospital where the clot was revealed. The club announced the surgery following a 5-3 exhibition loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets. Some of Baylor Universitys most prominent supporters, including a former Texas governor and the billionaire businessman whose name adorns the football stadium, called Monday for a shakeup of the schools board of regents in the wake of the campus sexual assault scandal.The months of criticism over the response by the nations largest Baptist universitys to sex assault reports led to the firing of school president Ken Starr and popular football coach Art Briles.The Bears for Leadership Reform group says it wants to address regents transparency, appointments, conflicts of interest, structure and authority, as well as demanding more answers from the regents and the schools investigation into how it mishandled reports of sexual assaults for years.The groups leaders include Drayton McLane, whose name is on the $266 million football stadium built at the height of the programs success under Briles, and former Texas Gov. Mark White. White insisted the groups goal is not about defending Briles or the football program.Not taking a position on (football) one way or another, White said. This is about urging the transformation of Baylor leadership.But football -- and Briles departure in May -- remains an emotionally charged topic on campus.Last Friday, Baylors assistant football coaches released a statement defending Briles and directly contradicting statements made by a regent. On Saturday, fans lined up to buy black T-shirts with Briles initials that were being sold outside the stadium, where Baylor lost to TCU 62-22.Starr and Briles were forced out or fired in May and the athletic director quit aafter Baylor published a Findings of Fact prepared by law firm Pepper Hamilton, which noted that the school mishandled assault allegations for years and that the football program acted above the rules.ddddddddddddUniversity regents revealed last week that 17 women reported assaults by 19 football players since 2011, but have been mostly reluctant to publicly detail the investigations findings.Sexual assault allegations ranged far beyond the football program, however, and the university is now facing at least four federal lawsuits. Patty Crawford, the schools former Title IX investigator, resigned last month and filed a formal complaint with the Office of Civil Rights for the U.S. Department of Education, which has opened a separate investigation of Baylors handling of assault cases.White said the regents have been too secretive.If you have to do it in secret, you might check your hold card to see if you are doing the right thing ... Maybe thats not what a good Baptist should be talking about, White said.The group also wants to be involved in selecting a new school president, White said. Interim President David Garland has served since Starr was removed from the office.Baylor spokeswoman Tonya Lewis said administrators and regents share the groups goals of transparency and accountability and helping assault victims, and look forward to engaging in constructive dialogue about meaningful reform.---This story has been updated to correct the spelling of McLane. ' ' '