Coming off a dominant win against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Philadelphia 76ers continued their road trip on Sunday with a matchup against the Indiana Pacers. Just last season, the Sixers dropped three out of four games against the Pacers.
The presence of Sixers big man Joel Embiid could've helped Philly have a much better chance of getting revenge this year, but the big man's back wouldn't allow it. After being listed as questionable on Saturday night, the Sixers ruled Embiid out for Sunday's game as he continues to deal with tightness in his back.
Without Embiid available, the Sixers got off to a shockingly quick start as they formed an 8-2 run through the first couple of minutes. It didn't take long for the Pacers to catch up and get out in front, though.
Perhaps, the Sixers' shooting struggles had something to do with that. Similar to Friday night's game, the 76ers had a hard time knocking down shots from the field right from the jump. After getting their entire ten-man rotation some minutes, Philly shot just 33-percent from the field. Tobias Harris led the team in scoring with just five points.
The Pacers, on the other hand, shot much better. After draining nearly 50-percent of their shots from the field, Indiana got off to a double-digit lead in the first 12 minutes of action. Through one quarter, the Pacers were up 28-18 over the Sixers.
Indiana didn't miss a step in the second quarter. As they shot nearly 70-percent from the field, the Pacers had no issue putting up points. They could thank Aaron Holiday for that. Holiday, who spent seven minutes on the court in the second quarter off the bench, put up 12 of the Pacers' 35 points.
Fortunately, Sixers forward Tobias Harris nearly matched Holiday's production. In a little over seven minutes of action, Harris put up 10 points to add to his 15 total first-half points. Meanwhile, Ben Simmons was much more efficient offensively as he went four-for-five from the field for eight points.
Although they had a better all-around quarter and outscored the Pacers 36-35 in the second quarter, the Sixers didn't have enough firepower to take over and even the playing field. Therefore, they went into halftime trailing 63-54.
The Sixers stepped it up in the third quarter offensively. Starting point guard Ben Simmons had a quiet first half on the offense side of the ball, but he led the charge in the third quarter. As he went 3-for-3 from the field and knocked down three of his four foul shots, Simmons accounted for nine of the Sixers' 28 points in the third.
However, the Pacers didn't slow down. As a team, they shot 47-percent from the field and knocked down three of their seven three-point shots. Although the Sixers looked much better coming out of the half, Indiana still outscored them 32-28.
Trailing 95-82, it seemed it was only a matter of time before the Sixers pack it in and give the key starters the rest of the night off. But Doc Rivers' players had other plans. Thanks to a strong defensive effort by Matisse Thybulle and Furkan Korkmaz heating up, the 76ers showed signs of a possible comeback.
A 21-2 run late in the fourth quarter put the Sixers in the lead after trailing since the beginning of the matchup. Coming back seemed unlikely, but the Sixers managed to pull it off. A combined 48 points from Simmons and Harris, along with 17 points off the bench from Korkmaz, allowed the 76ers to pick up a 119-110 victory over Indiana.
With that victory, the Sixers advance to 15-6 on the year, improving their road record to 5-5 after winning the last two matchups away from home. Now, the Sixers will get the next couple of days off before traveling to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Wednesday.
Ferris men complete basketball sweep over Michigan Tech
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BIG RAPIDS -- The Ferris State University men's basketball team notched its first Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference sweep of the season on Saturday as the Bulldogs capped off an impressive weekend of action with a 56-54 triumph on the road at Michigan Tech in Houghton.
Ferris State, which beat the league-leading Huskies 60-57 in Friday's opening game of the weekend set, bolted out in front early on day two and claimed the victory as Michigan Tech missed two potential game-winning opportunities from the three-point line in the closing seconds.
The Bulldogs evened their record at 6-6 overall this year behind a 21-point performance from senior guard Walt Kelser at MTU's Student Development Complex Gymnasium. Meanwhile, sophomore forward Vejas Grazulis added 10 points with senior forward Michael Peterson chipping in nine points in the win.
Ferris State shot 46 percent overall from the floor and made two-of-nine (22.2 percent) threes along with eight-of-12 (66.7 percent) free throws in the low scoring win. Defensively, the Bulldogs held MTU to 39.6 percent shooting with the Huskies going seven-of-27 (25.9 percent) from long range and nine-of-19 (47.4 percent) at the free throw stripe.
FSU owned a 37-28 rebounding edge, which included nine offensive boards for the Bulldogs. Sophomore Deng Reng totaled 10 boards for Ferris State with Peterson adding six overall.
Trent Bell led Michigan Tech with a team-high 17 points while Owen White added 16 points and Adam Hobson totaled 10 points.
Both teams took care of the ball as FSU had only 10 turnovers to eight for the Huskies. MTU finished with two steals and the Bulldogs had four steals to go with three blocked shots.
Ferris State returns back home to host West Michigan rival Grand Valley State on Friday and Saturday, with both games starting at 3 p.m. inside Jim Wink Arena.
Before Sunday's game, Philadelphia 76ers coach Doc Rivers said his team needed to get a win without star center Joel Embiid -- something Philadelphia failed to do the first four times Embiid had missed a game this season.
It turned out the Sixers managed to break that streak -- but only after a frantic fourth-quarter comeback that saw Philadelphia outscore the Indiana Pacers 31-6 over the final eight minutes, allowing the Sixers to erase a 16-point deficit and emerge with a 119-110 victory.
"I think for a lot of reasons this is a big win," said Matisse Thybulle, whose defense, including four steals and two blocks, played a critical role in turning the game in Philadelphia's favor. "To be down and come back, to win on the road, to win without Joel, I think a lot of those reasons come together to make this a big win.
"I think we all feel pretty good having won it because we all know how bad a feeling we would've had if we lost."
The story surrounding the Sixers has been the team's struggles this season when Embiid -- who was out Sunday due to back tightness -- doesn't play. While the Sixers entered Sunday 14-2 with Embiid in the lineup, they were 0-4 without him -- including three demoralizing road losses to the Memphis Grizzlies, Cleveland Cavaliers and Detroit Pistons.
That led Rivers to say that not only did his team need to win without Embiid, it needed to play well without him for the first time this season. And, for much of the game, that looked like it wouldn't happen, as the Pacers led by double digits for much of the night and generally controlled play.
But after Aaron Holiday's bucket made it 104-88 with 8:13 remaining in the fourth quarter, the game flipped entirely in Philadelphia's direction. The Sixers played a zone that flummoxed the Pacers offensively. Tobias Harris, who led Philly with 27 points -- including 10 in the fourth quarter, said the team had worked on that zone look for just five minutes all season.
Meanwhile, the Sixers kept steadily chipping away at the lead before back-to-back buckets by Furkan Korkmaz pushed them into the lead for good with 2:30 to go, as he and Harris combined to outscore the Pacers by themselves in the final quarter.
"Just winning mentality," Harris said of his mindset in the fourth quarter. "I knew that I was out there, and I was out there today to get buckets to help our team win. We started calling a couple sets for me to get on the block to go to work, and, I just was taking advantage of the moment and opportunity.
"And as we were able to cut it back down, it opened up the floor for other guys too and you know Furk was able to make some big shots and some big plays."
As for the zone, Rivers joked after the game that the team was referring to the zone defense as the matchup zone famously employed by legendary coach John Chaney, a nod to the Hall of Fame coach who built a dominant program at Philadelphia's Temple University and died this past week.
"Just taking them out of rhythm," Rivers said. "It was great, like guys bought into it and zone is so interesting, especially in the NBA, because of the short shot clock. When you get a couple of stops, it starts becoming more mental to the other team.
"But, yeah, I just wanted to knock them off rhythm. I thought they had such great rhythm against us for those [first] three quarters. Running it towards the end, it was fantastic."
More than anything, though, the Sixers felt good about winning a game without Embiid, the team's talisman and arguably the league's MVP through the first quarter of the season, averaging 28.3 points and 11.1 rebounds through in 16 games he's played.
Embiid missed Sunday's game with back tightness lingering from the hard fall he took in Wednesday's win over the Lakers. Despite scoring 37 points in Friday's win over the Timberwolves, Rivers said Embiid is still sore from the fall.
The team's troubles without Embiid have dogged the Sixers all season and left Rivers admitting afterward it was the "most gratifying" win his team, which sits atop the Eastern Conference, has had so far.
"For sure," Rivers said, "but I think we've had a couple of them so far. ... I hope we're talking about gratifying wins all year. I mean, that's the plan.
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February 01, 2021 at 11:03AM
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Philadelphia 76ers complete comeback vs. Indiana Pacers for first win without Joel Embiid - ESPN
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BUTTE — The Montana Tech men and Montana Western women wrapped up doubleheader sweeps this weekend in Butte.
In the women's game, Brynley Fitzgerald again led all scorers as she racked up a game-high 22 points to power the Bulldogs to a 61-52 win over Tech.
The win gave Western the weekend sweep over the Orediggers and three wins in four games against Tech this season.
The Bulldogs (10-4 overall, 8-4 in the Frontier Conference) led by just 2 points at the half but outscored the Orediggers 17-11 in the third quarter and 15-10 in the fourth.
Shainy Mack added 13 points for Western, Lilly Gopher had 9 and Mesa King scored 8.
Tech (4-10, 4-10) was paced by 10 points apiece from Jaden Comings and Dani Urick.
In the men's game, Derrius Collins led his team with 15 points as the Orediggers fended off Western down the stretch to walk away with an 82-76 win, a doubleheader sweep, three wins over the Bulldogs in the past week and four victories against Western in the past month.
Derrius Collins added 15 points for Tech (9-7. 9-5) and Sindou Diallo and Nate Ward each had 12 to give the Orediggers four total players in double figures.
The Bulldogs (3-8, 2-8) were paced by a game-high 27 points from Jalen Hodges, 16 from Tanner Haverfield and 10 from Max Clark.
Western travels to face Providence on Wednesday while Tech heads to Great Falls next weekend for a doubleheader against the Argos.
It’s an NBA term famously credited to Rasheed Wallace, who was ejected from a game in 2012 for shouting it at Goran Dragic, who missed the first free throw after what Wallace thought was a questionable foul.
The idea is that a bad call, a bad ruling, a bad drop will ultimately be judged by karma, but, of course, that’s nonsense. Patrick Reed can be an exceptional golfer and someone who flies too close to the rules’ edge. He can be both things.
But however you navigate the cosmic tumblers, it was impossible not to apply the mythical properties to Reed’s day at Torrey Pines.
There is absolutely zero correlation between “The Reed Ruling” and Sunday’s result, other than whatever shots the 30-year-old saved himself by getting up-and-down for par on the fateful 10th hole. On this front, the scorecard don’t lie.
Patrick Reed blocked out the noise – again – to win the Farmers Insurance Open on Sunday at Torrey Pines. Here’s everything you need to know.
Reed, whose ruling and ensuing drop left of the 10th green on Saturday created a media maelstrom that chased him all the way into the final round at the Farmers Insurance Open.
“Like I said yesterday with the rules official, they said they showed it upstairs and everything with me yesterday, that the protocols I went through and everything that transpired was the right thing,” said Reed, following a closing 68 that was good for a five-stroke victory.
Whether you believe Reed broke the rules, either intentionally or otherwise, doesn’t matter. Not now. His previous indiscretions had already created enough doubt to make Saturday’s debate nothing more than a kangaroo court.
Forget that not one, but two PGA Tour rule’s officials had declared that he’d done nothing wrong despite a replay that clearly showed Reed’s golf ball bouncing after hitting the turf. Forget that he went beyond what the rules require and requested a ruling from an official on the spot. Forget that he explained to anyone who would listen that his golf ball was embedded.
Public opinion was not on his side.
Reed is a hard man to like. Although that flat swing is impressively repeatable and he may have the best short game in golf at the moment, he violates professional golf norms at every turn.
In 2019 at the Hero World Challenge there was a similar rule’s issue. Despite video evidence of the violation and a ruling that added two strokes to his card he pushed back at the time, “it is my word against their word.”
If that’s not contrite enough, Sunday’s side-by-side comparison with Rory McIlroy also didn’t do Reed any favors.
Not long after Reed’s snafu on No. 10 on Saturday, McIlroy had a similar incident. His second shot at the 18th hole landed in the left rough and when the Northern Irishman found his ball, he deemed it to be embedded. No one saw it land. No one saw it bounce. Like Reed, McIlroy took relief and moved on.
A video surfaced on Sunday of McIlroy’s second shot, showing that his ball, like Reed’s, had bounced. McIlroy was devastated after being told of the video after his round, not because he took an incorrect drop, because he didn’t, but because the rules mean more to him than anything.
Less than 24 hours after Patrick Reed created a rules controversy at the Farmers Insurance Open, Rory McIlroy found himself in a similar situation.
“Like everyone out here, it's the worst thing in golf to be labeled as someone that tries to get away with something or labeled a cheater and that's just not how you want your reputation to be,” McIlroy said. “I've never tried to get away with anything out here. I think I said at the time in golf you'd rather be on the right side of the rules than the wrong side of them because that's just what our game's about. Our game is about integrity and it's about doing the right thing. I always try to do the right thing and hopefully people see that.”
For those looking for the same emotion or ethos from Reed you should prepare to be disappointed. He remained on message in his post-round press conference and reiterated that he did everything by the book.
“I've already said everything I need to say about what happened yesterday,” Reed said. “All I can really do is focus on today and just listen to what the rules officials said, and they said that I didn't do anything incorrect.”
The Tour also reiterated at the start of Sunday’s broadcast that neither Reed nor McIlroy did anything wrong, but a general consensus on social media that Reed had violated at least one acceptable norm was echoed by one player.
“I would not put myself and create a situation like that,” Xander Schauffele said when asked if he’d ever been in a similar situation to Reed’s on Saturday. “If my ball's embedded, I usually will wait and call someone and kind of wait until everyone's on the same page, wait to look at video.
“Obviously the talk amongst the boys isn't great, I guess, but he's protected by the Tour and that's all that matters, I guess.”
After a full day to digest Reed’s ruling, many players agreed that he may not have violated the Rules of Golf but his actions didn’t conform to the unwritten rules (note lower case). At issue for many is why Reed picked up his ball and placed it in another spot before the rule’s official arrived to confirm it was embedded.
Whether this locker room violation is handled within the confines remains to be seen. These types of unwritten violations tend to go unreported, but what is certain is that Reed’s already iffy image has suffered another self-inflicted haymaker.
Regardless of Sunday’s outcome there will be those who will continue to criticize Reed, and given his history with the Rules of Golf that’s fair. But as Wallace might bark from the other side of Torrey Pines’ 18th green, the “ball don’t lie.”
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February 01, 2021 at 08:16AM
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Another turbulent ride for Patrick Reed, complete with criticism and a trophy - Golf Channel
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We’re back at it again already, folks! The Flyers picked up a sort of messy overtime win last night over the Islanders, and now they’re going to be right back out there again tonight for the rematch.
As we said, it wasn’t a very pretty win last night for the Flyers—after a dominant first period, the Islanders pretty much completely took over and had the Flyers pretty well back on their heels. They were able to hang on for overtime, though, and Scott Laughton proved the hero, but the Flyers will certainly be looking to bring a more complete effort tonight. They’ll be getting a bit of a boost though, as Travis Konecny will be back in the lineup after a one-game healthy scratching, so here’s hoping that enough.
Three players to watch
1. Travis Konecny
And, with that note, it makes sense that Konecny would be our first player to watch for the evening. It’s not entirely clear why he was the one, out of a bunch of underperforming forwards, to find himself scratched for last night’s game, but he was, and now it’s his chance to get himself back on track and show that the night off, the chance to reset, did him some good. We don’t really expect to see a night and day difference, like after one night off a switch flipped and he’s right back to looking like the top goal scorer he was last season. But we’re hoping, at the very least, to see some level of improvement.
2. Brian Elliott
It’s not much of a surprise, given that it’s a back-to-back weekend, but Alain Vigneault confirmed last night that Elliott would be getting the start against the Islanders tonight. He’s had a fine season to date, nothing stellar, but certainly solid given the defense (or lack thereof) happening in front of him. The Flyers, though, overall last night did a good job of blocking shots and keeping the Islanders pretty well to the outside, and in the process making Carter Hart’s life a little easier, and we’re hoping to see a similar defensive effort from them tonight. We know that’ Elliott’s very capable of coming in and doing the backup thing solidly, but he could use some help too.
3. Philippe Myers
And speaking of that help, the Flyers did get some defensive reinforcements back for this weekend, as Myers was able to return from his rib injury and get back into the lineup. His first game back was fine, and he had himself a pretty significant workload, playing 23;17, the most on the team behind only Ivan Provorov. So maybe it was something of a trial by fire, but it was one that worked well enough. Myers still seems to be getting back to speed, so we’ll be keeping an eye out to see how he’s doing and if he can finish out the weekend strong. Because having him back period is a huge boost for the Flyers, but if they can really get him going soon, that would be even better.
Two big questions
1. Can the Flyers bring closer to a 60-minute effort?
Perhaps one of the more shocking bits from last night’s game was the fact that the Flyers played a really strong opening period. They came out with a whole lot for jump and looked to be pretty well dominating, and picked up two goals in the process. But that momentum pretty quickly fizzled out as soon as we made it through the first intermission, and suddenly the Flyers were back to looking listless and disorganized. They had build enough of a buffer that they were able to hold on for overtime, so in this case it ended up working out okay, but it’s easy to have imagined this going badly for them in a big way. Simply, the Flyers will need to play for more than 23 minutes if they want to win this game tonight. They need to come out with a more complete effort.
2. Can the penalty kill keep rolling?
One of the positives of last night’s game, though, was that the penalty kill looked sharp and was able to come out perfect on the night. And this was an encouraging sight—we’ve seen the penalty kill (which was once a strength of theirs last season) struggling pretty mightily through this first handful of games, so it was nice to see them getting closer to old form and not falling victim to the absolute worst case scenario defensive breakdown on what felt like every other attempt. They’ve tightened up, and the results so far have been positive.
We’d also like to see a bit less of the penalty kill, if we’re honest, but at least they seem to be trending in the right direction.
Puck drops tonight at 7:00, and you can check out the projected lines below.
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February 01, 2021 at 02:00AM
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Flyers looking to complete sweep of Islanders in back-to-back - Broad Street Hockey
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The hours are getting scarier. With no Kevin Durant, the Nets put on a historic offensive display in Oklahoma City, scoring 147 points, tying the record for most points by a Brooklyn or New Jersey team and had NINE players in double figures, the most in the NBA in 30 years and the most for a Nets team in nearly 40! And James Harden had his third triple-double in eight games as a Net. Again, they did it with a player who’s averaging better than 30 points a game.
Now, it’s on to Washington, whose suburbs produced said basketball phenomenon, one Kevin Wayne Durant of Seat Pleasant, MD. The Nets have won four straight, the Wizards have lost four in a row.
Where to follow the game
YES Network for the locals, NBA TV for the out-of-towners. WFAN 101.9 FM on radio. Tip off after 7 p.m.
Injuries
Nicolas Claxton and Spencer Dinwiddie are out. James Harden is too with a left thigh contusion. Norvel Pelle will be available for the first time vs. Washington, but it’s uncertain how much time he’ll get. As Steve Nash said, the coaching staff will have to check on his physical conditioning and readiness to play. Pelle hasn’t played since the Orlando “bubble” when he was with the 76ers.
No word on when newly signed Iman Shumpert will be able to take the court, but don’t expect him to play vs. Washington. Check out what he said a week ago on Twitter...
For the Wizards, Thomas Bryant (torn ACL) is done for the season. Raul Neto (groin) is also out against the Nets, but the Wizards say. Ish Smith, Troy Brown and Deni Avdija (health and safety protocols) will all be available for the first time since January 11. That’s after Rui Hachimura and Davis Bertans and center Moritz Wagner rejoined the team Friday after missing more than two weeks.
The game
The Wizards won the first game back on January 3, giving the Nets a losing record at 3-4. The James Harden trade was still days away. The Nets went down 123-122 on Thomas Bryant’s put back dunk.
It came down to the final seconds and although the Nets got the ball to their two superstars, both Kyrie Irving and Kevin Durant missed shots. Bottom line, down by one, the two just couldn’t hit when the Nets needed it most. Irving missed a 27-foot three with 5.9 seconds and in their last hope, Kevin Durant missed a 12-foot pull-up with 1.5 on the clock as the Wizards escaped with the win.
Since then, the team from the nation’s capital has had perhaps the worst run of any NBA team. It’s a litany of the luckless. They’re 1-7 in that stretch with six postponements, their lone win in that stretch a 128-107 blowout of the Suns back on January 11. It’s hard to build momentum with all those losses and games lost to COVID. Players have been in and out of health and safety protocols.
The Wizards, of course, have a backcourt as dangerous as any outside of Brooklyn, with Bradley Beal and Russell Westbrook. Beal is currently averaging a league-leading 34.7 points, 5.1 rebounds and 4.8 assists. His backcourt mate is once again averaging a near triple-double with 18.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 9.6 assists. But it’s not working, thanks mainly to bad luck with COVID-19.
How bad are things? On Saturday, Scott Brooks said Saturday was their first practice with more than eight players in … 25 days. So, it’s hard to tell what Wizards team will show up and what they’ll be able to do.
As for the Nets, with Harden that means a lot more reliance on KD and Ky, which is how the Nets started out the season. Expect Bruce Brown to continue to start. He’ll be needed defensively.
Finally, it will be another reunion Sunday. Scott Brooks, the Wizards coach, was Durant, Harden and Green’s head coach when they played in OKC. Expect COVID-limited contact.
Player to watch: Bradley Beal
DUH! Beal is having a monster season and he’s likely to average 30+ points a game for the second straight season, the first player to do that since ... James Harden, who did it the last last three before this one. In the last month, Beal has had games of 60, 47 and 41 points. In the 60-point game vs. Philly, he was 20-of-36, 7-of-10 and 13-of-15. Interestingly, his 27-point effort against the Nets was his second lowest scoring game of the season. He shot 36 percent at a time when Brooklyn was having bigger defensive issues that are now.
Beal has expressed his frustration, of course, saying after Washington’s latest loss on Friday to the Suns, “It’s tough. We wanna win. I wanna win. This is why I stayed. I wanna win (here). I figure this is the place I can get it done.”
There are rumors that the Lakers might be interested in dealing for him, but once again, word from Monumental Sports, Ted Leonsis’ company, is that that the Wizards aren’t interested in a trade. We shall see. As Fred Katz of The Athletic tweeted...
Of course, the Nets weren’t interested in trading John Wall either and looked what happened there.
From the Vault
Kevin Durant began his basketball journey outside the District of Columbia in Prince Georges County, Maryland aka PG Country. As you might expect, he dominated the Metro DC area as a high school phenom before finding his way to Texas. Take at look at those high school days...
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January 31, 2021 at 08:40PM
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James Harden out as Nets complete 3-game road trip with visit to luckless Wizards - NetsDaily
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Immersive sound formats are taking the world of home audio by storm, with Apple’s Spatial Audio joining the likes of Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio and Creative’s Super SXFI in the quest to make 3D sound in the home more accessible than ever.
Though these audio technologies differ in the way they enable immersive sound, they are all capable of making the sound of your music, films, and games feel as though it’s coming from all around you.
Whether you call it immersive, 3D, or spatial audio, these technologies are the biggest thing to happen to home cinema and music listening since surround sound.
While surround sound gave our music a sense of horizontal direction, spatial audio takes this one step further by adding height cues to film soundtracks and music. Imagine the difference between hearing a helicopter flying a few hundred yards away versus directly over your head, and you’re nearly there.
For cinephiles, spatial audio makes films feel more engrossing, placing you right in the action, and it allows gamers to hear the sound of enemy footsteps creeping towards them from any direction.
More recently, spatial audio has been expanded to music too, with some formats placing instruments in a virtual sphere so you can feel as though you’re surrounded by the musicians in your favorite bands, or sitting in the midst of a full orchestra.
Exciting right? While the world of spatial audio is definitely a step forward for cinephiles, gamers, and music lovers, it can also be pretty confusing, with lots of different formats to choose from.
Where you can find support for these formats also varies, with each TV and music streaming service offering support for one format exclusively, a mixture of a few, or none at all.
And, once you’ve worked out where you can get spatial audio content, you need to make sure you have the right equipment to experience it, whether that’s a Dolby Atmos soundbar, a DTS:X-touting AV receiver, or a pair of Apple AirPods Pro true wireless earbuds.
To help cut down on the confusion, we’ve put together this handy guide to the top spatial audio formats you can try right now, as well as everything you need to take your content to the glorious third dimension.
Spatial Audio: the five biggest formats explained
(Image credit: Dolby)
Dolby Atmos
Dolby Atmos is probably the best-known of all the spatial audio formats, having been originally developed for cinema and later making its way to the world of music streaming.
The format gives sound a more three-dimensional effect than traditional surround formats, with sound designers taking elements from a track and placing them in a virtual sphere. This allows movie makers to make sounds feel as though they are coming at you from all angles, which is particularly useful for cinema. For example, a helicopter flying overhead in a film could be made to sound as though it’s really flying above you with the help of Dolby Atmos.
‘True’ Dolby Atmos makes use of overhead speakers to achieve this effect, though innovations in the world of soundbars and speakers has made it possible for home cinema enthusiasts to experience the format for themselves.
These days you can get soundbars with upfiring tweeters that bounce sound up to your ceiling and back down to your ears or add-on modules that allow your existing speakers to deliver Dolby Atmos when combined with a compatible AV receiver.
However, if you don’t have upfiring tweeters or overhead speakers, you can still experience Dolby Atmos with the company’s Height Virtualization technology, which makes use of your existing 5.1, 7.1, or stereo speaker setup.
It essentially works by tricking your brain into thinking certain sounds are originating from above you, using height cue filters that simulate the natural cues imparted by the human ear to sounds arriving from overhead.
Dolby Atmos is also available for music, placing individual instruments and effects within that virtual sphere instead of elements from a movie soundtrack.
The format can be applied to new music or as part of a remaster, provided the original audio stems are available to edit. When you play the music back, it should feel as though you’re enveloped in a dome of sound, and it works with speakers or via Dolby Atmos for Headphones.
DTS:X
DTS:X is very similar to Dolby Atmos in that it creates three-dimensional sound that moves around you as it would in real life.
The big difference however, is that DTS:X doesn’t require overhead speakers or upfiring tweeters, working with standard surround sound speaker setups up to a maximum 11.2-channel system. You can use overhead channels if you want to create a more convincing 3D sound experience, though.
DTS:X also has the added benefit of allowing you to manually adjust different sound elements, so you could increase the volume of dialogue on a soundtrack if you’re struggling to hear them over loud music or effects.
The AirPods Max (pictured) and the AirPods Pro are the only headphones to support Apple's Spatial Audio.(Image credit: Apple)
Apple Spatial Audio
Apple’ Spatial Audio is the company’s answer to Dolby Atmos for Headphones, designed for the AirPods Pro true wireless earbuds and AirPods Max over-ear headphones.
It takes 5.1, 7.1, and Dolby Atmos content and applies directional audio filters, placing sound in a 3D sphere.
What’s unique to Spatial Audio though, is that it uses the built-in accelerometers and gyroscopes inside Apple’s earbuds and headphones to track the position of your head, as well as the position of your iPhone or iPad.
That means that, when you watch films on your iPhone or iPad, the sound will always be placed correctly based on the action on the screen – so, if you turn your head or shift your device, it will still sound as though the sound is coming from the screen.
As you may have guessed, you’ll need an Apple device with iOS 14 or iPadOS 14, as well a streaming service that supports 5.1, 7.1, or Atmos. Stereo content can also be converted to Spatial Audio as long as the streaming service has enabled a special plugin for stereo spatialization.
If Dolby Atmos is made for cinema, Sony 360 Reality Audio is the 3D audio answer for music streaming – though the format hasn’t exactly taken off in the way we imagine Sony was hoping.
The immersive music format designed to be streamed over mobile music streaming services and played through compatible headphones.
Though it has support from a range of streaming services, creating object-based audio – so-called 360-degree sphere-mapping where each individual instrument, vocals and effect needs to be specifically placed in a sphere – is something Sony will need to persuade music producers to do before 360 Reality Audio can stand a chance of becoming as commonly used as Atmos.
Super X-FI from Creative
Super X-FI doesn't have the star-power of Atmos or the name recognition of Apple, but it's well-worth knowing about.
Instead of relying on musicians and studios mixing and mastering their content for 3D space, Super X-FI relies on a proprietary algorithm and a custom chip to up-mix regular surround sound, stereo sound and even mono(!) audio tracks.
All the algorithm needs to work is a picture of your ears - weird, we know - but with it Super XFi can use the shape of your ears and head to calculate how audio needs to be tuned to give you a 3D effect by feeding it through its Super X-FI ULTRADSP chip.
That chip, the real driving force for Super X-FI, is now built inside eight different products from Creative including two wireless headphones, true wireless earbuds, two gaming headsets and two headphone amps, with a soundbar - the Creative SXFI Carrier - in the works.
The technology was debuted at CES a few years back before getting a second form at last year's CES 2020, and the improvement definitely sharpened the technology to a finer point. It's now just as immersive as a proper Dolby Atmos setup when you pair the amp with the right headphones, but considering you all you need is a pair of Creative headphones, an amp or a pair of earbuds to get started, it's far, far more accessible when you're first testing the waters of 3D audio.
Streaming services: which ones offer spatial audio?
(Image credit: Netflix)
Netflix
Netflix supports Dolby Atmos on some of its titles, but not all – you’ll be able to see which shows and films support the format as they have an Atmos icon next to their description.
You’ll need a Netflix subscription that supports streaming in Ultra HD, a TV, smartphone, or tablet that supports Atmos, as well as an Atmos-capable audio system. Your streaming quality will also need to be set to High or Auto.
Other streaming services that support spatial audio in the form of Dolby Atmos include Disney Plus, Hulu, Vudu, HBO Go, and Rakuten.
Apple TV Plus
As you may have guessed, Apple TV Plus comes with support for the brand’s Spatial Audio feature, as long as you’re watching with a pair of AirPods Pro or AirPods Max headphones. If you’re watching using your home cinema system, there are a number of titles available in Dolby Atmos.
Tidal
You can stream your music from Tidal in glorious spatial audio through your Atmos-enabled set-top box, TV, or speaker system. You'll need to have a $19.99 / £19.99 / AU$23.99 per month Tidal HiFi account to take advantage of this feature, as well as the right kit to properly experience the Dolby Atmos effect.
The immersive audio format is also available on compatible Android phones and tablets, though this requires you to listen through headphones, so you won’t be getting ‘true’ Atmos.
To find tracks in Atmos, looks for the Dolby symbol beside songs in the Tidal app.
Amazon Music HD
Amazon Music HD is the company’s Hi-Res streaming tier comes with a growing catalog of spatial audio music designed to be played with the Echo Studiosmart speaker, including tracks mastered in Dolby Atmos and Sony’s 360 Reality Audio.
Compatible tracks will appear with a 3D badge, and Amazon has also curated 3D audio playlists – though you can only experience them using the Echo Studio. Amazon Music HD costs $12.99 / £12.99 for Prime members, and $14.99 / £14.99 for everyone else. At the time of writing, the tier is still unavailable in Australia, but that works out at around AU$16 / $19.
While some Dolby Atmos-compatible TVs come with decent built-in speakers, you’ll probably want to hook them up to an external soundbar or speaker system to get the most out of the 3D audio format.
As well as playing Dolby Atmos movies, you can get Dolby Atmos Music tracks via the Tidal app on compatible Android TVs from Sony and Philips.
Streaming devices
Many streaming dongles and boxes come with support for both Dolby Atmos and DTS:X, including the Chromecast with Google TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick HD, Apple TV 4K, and the Roku Streaming Stick Plus.
One of the biggest announcements surrounding the PS5 was that is would come with 3D audio, using its own proprietary tech instead of allowing for Dolby Atmos support.
Right now, you can only experience it through Sony’s own Pulse 3D Wireless Headset, though it’s expected that it will eventually be available via third party headphones, soundbars, and speakers.
The Xbox Series X on the other hand, comes with Dolby Atmos upmixing, taking a non-Dolby Atmos source and turning it into an approximation of Dolby Atmos sound.
The effect isn’t as immersive as true, encoded-at-source Dolby Atmos, but as the upmixing technology was developed by Dolby itself, you can be fairly confident that upmixed audio will pack more of a sonic punch than non-upmixed sources.
Unlike the PS5’s 3D Audio technology, you can experience the Xbox Series X’s Dolby Atmos upmixing tech with your existing compatible speakers or headphones.
The Sonos Arc(Image credit: Future)
Soundbars
Dolby Atmos and/or DTS:X support is becoming something of a standard for premium soundbars these days, with models like the Sonos Arc coming with dedicated upfiring tweeters that bounce sound up to your ceiling and back down to your ears.
Many soundbars that don’t have upfiring tweeters come with support for Atmos Height Virtualization or DTS: Virtual X, using height cues to trick your ears into thinking the sound is coming at you from all angles.
There are also more niche soundbars like the Creative SXFI Carrier, which combines the immersive sound of Dolby Atmos audio with the unique virtual surround sound of Creative's own Super X-FI technology.
It's the first soundbar to support Super X-Fi technology, but you can only experience it if you plug in a pair of headphones – otherwise, Dolby Atmos is there to take up the spatial audio reins.
AVR setups with multiple speakers
If you want to add spatial audio to a multi-speaker setup, you can do so by adding a compatible AVR (audio-visual receiver).
Many of today’s AVRs come with Dolby Atmos support, as well as DTS:X compatibility as standard. The inclusion of the latter technology means you can use them with your existing speaker setup and Blu-ray player without the need for extra height channels.
If you do want to get a more immersive experience however, you can buy add-on height channels like the PSB Imagine XA Dolby-enabled speakers to bring upfired sound to your existing setup.
If you want to add spatial audio to a multi-speaker setup, you can do so by adding a compatible AVR (audio-visual receiver).
Many of today’s AVRs come with Dolby Atmos support, as well as DTS:X compatibility as standard. The inclusion of the latter technology means you can use them with your existing speaker setup and Blu-ray player without the need for extra height channels.
If you do want to get a more immersive experience however, you can buy add-on height channels like the PSB Imagine XA Dolby-enabled speakers to bring upfired sound to your existing setup.
The Amazon Echo Studio(Image credit: Amazon)
Wireless speakers
There are but a few wireless speakers that support 3D Audio. The first wireless speaker to support Dolby Atmos was the Echo Studio, which also comes with support for Sony’s 360 Reality Audio.
It was followed soon after by the Apple HomePod, which gained Atmos support via a software update in 2020.
Neither of these smart speakers come with upfiring tweeters, so you’ll only be getting a virtual 3D audio experience. If true sonic height is important to you, you may be interested in Sony’s latest 360 Reality Audio-toting wireless speaker. The Sony SRS-RA5000 features a trio of up-firing speakers that spread audio vertically, giving your music a sense of height – and the company hasn't shied away from making them the star of the show, furnishing them in contrasting copper or silver depending on your choice of color.
We’re hopeful that more wireless speaker manufacturers will include support for spatial audio in future models, and we think it’s increasingly likely as more music streaming services explore more immersive codecs.
Headphones
The Apple AirPods Pro and AirPods Max are probably the most popular headphones to boast immersive sound, with the brand’s own Spatial Audio technology on board.
Of course, this is limited for use with a select number of iOS devices, so you’ll need to already be plugged into the Apple ecosystem to take advantage.
Sony’s 360 Reality Audio is much less partisan, with the company saying that it works with headphones from most manufacturers. Saying that, the tech works best when using Sony’s own headphones, including the best headphones of 2021, the Sony WH-1000XM4.
With compatible Sony models, you can use the Headphones Connect app to analyze your ear shape with your phone’s camera, which is used to optimize the sound output of your headphones for 360 Reality Audio.
Creative’s SXFI Air Headphones work in a similar way, albeit with the company’s own spatial audio tech on board. The company also makes dongles that add the technology to third-party headphones.
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If you want to dive into any of the top tech skills of 2021, you’re going to need at least one thing: a foundation in coding.
Leading career data suggests that coding is becoming more important every year — and those who know how to code are becoming more and more in-demand. From cybersecurity to AI, there are thousands of tech opportunities available to specialized full-stack developers. And with The 2021 Learn To Code Full Stack Developer Certification Bundle, you can learn coding essentials for just $38.99.
This nine-course bundle features foundational courses in languages like C#, HTML, and Python, where you’ll learn to use these languages to build websites, games, and web and phone applications. While those languages are crucial building blocks in the programming world, SQL, which is also covered in the bundle, is a profitable skill that’s worth acquiring. In fact, SQL developers can earn between $90,000 and $120,000 a year. One of the courses, “Microsoft SQL Server & T-SQL Course For Beginners,” is perfect for novice programmers getting a solid understanding of the language. One student, Fred B., noted that this is a “great course overall” — and that “the content is presented very clearly and solid examples are provided.” These are the sort of reviews you’ll find across all nine courses included.
Of course, we’ve barely scratched the surface of what this training offers. You’ll become well-versed in how to build databases, games, websites, and applications on your computer — and skip around between courses however you please. Whether you’re building games for fun or developing websites for clients, this full-stack course bundle will teach you professional computer programmer skills right in your living room. Available at $38.99 for a limited time, this exclusive course bundle is the best gift you can give yourself to start 2021 off right.
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University of Minnesota
Created: January 30, 2021 07:38 PM
A two-man advantage that netted two power-play goals pushed the No. 4 Gopher men’s hockey team to its seventh sweep of the season as the Maroon & Gold topped Ohio State 5-2 on Saturday at Value City Arena.
Minnesota (15-3-0 overall, 11-3-0-0-0-0 Big Ten) has now won four-straight games and outscored its opponents 30-5 to claim the throne as the top scoring offense in the NCAA this year (4.22 goals per game).
Jackson LaCombe led the way for the Maroon & Gold – matching his career high with three points (one goal, two assists) – Jaxon Nelson and Sammy Walker each added a goal and an assist. Nelson recorded his first career multi-point performance in the win.
The Gophers struck first and improved to 14-1-0 on the year when doing as Nelson forced a turnover and fed Jonny Sorenson for the sophomore’s fifth of the year at 7:44 of the first period.
Ohio State (5-12-1, 5-11-0-1-0-0) committed a pair of costly penalties at the start of the second period as Collin Peters was given a five-minute major and a game misconduct and Ryan O’Connell was called for a minor at the same play stoppage. The Maroon & Gold made the hosts pay with two power-play goals in 26 seconds. Sampo Ranta scored his team-leading 12th goal of the year at 1:59 with assists from Walker and LaCombe while Nelson scored his fourth of the year at 2:25 after being set up by Ben Meyers and LaCombe for the eventual game winner. The Buckeyes broke the shutout with a goal from Tate Singleton at 7:11.
After setting up two power-play goals earlier in the period, LaCombe scored a shorthanded goal for the second night in a row at 18:59 of the second period for the sophomore defenseman’s third goal of the season. Blake McLaughlin and Ryan Johnson earned assists on the goal as Minnesota has now tallied a shorthanded goal in three-straight games with four goals on the penalty kill this year.
The third period saw Kamil Sadlocha bring the Buckeyes within two with a goal at 14:54 but Walker’s forced turnover and empty-net goal at 19:40 sealed the win for Minnesota.
Minnesota was outshot 27-30 on the night while going 2-for-6 on the power play and 4-for-4 on the penalty kill.
Jack LaFontaine (13-3-0) made 28 saves on 30 shots to pick up the win for the Maroon & Gold while earning his NCAA-best 13th win of the year. Evan Moyse (0-1-0) made 22 saves on 26 shots for the Buckeyes.
PG: Javion Hamlet, 6-4, Sr. — Hamlet scored a career high 30 points in UNTs win over Rice in the opener of the teams' two-game series. The senior went 9 of 16 from the field and made all but one of his 11 free throws. Hamlet is averaging 14.1 points and 5.1 assists per game.
G: Mardrez McBride, 6-2, Jr. — McBride bounced back from a scoreless game in UNT's win over UTEP to score 12 points in the opener of the Mean Green's series against Rice. The junior hit a key 3 late in the second half after Rice had pulled within a point. He is averaging 8.2 points and 2.4 rebounds per game.
G: James Reese, 6-4, Sr. — Reese scored eight points and hit a pair of 3s in UNT's win over Rice. The senior has hit a three in all but one of UNT's games this season. He took a hard fall late in Friday's game but is expected to be ready to play on Sunday. Reese is averaging 10.5 points per game and leads UNT with 17 steals.
F: Thomas Bell, 6-6, Sr. — Bell hit all four of the shots he took from the field in UNT's win over Rice on his way to finishing with eight points and six rebounds. The senior is averaging 9.4 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.
F: Zachary Simmons, 6-10, Sr. — Simmons scored 16 points and and grabbed seven rebounds in a terrific all-around game in UNT's win over Rice in the opener of the series. The senior went 6 of 11 from the field and hit all four of his free throws. Simmons is averaging 10.5 points and 6.2 rebounds per game.
Scouting Rice:
Rice has quickly seen its season spiral down after a 4-1 start in C-USA play. The Owls have lost four straight and are under .500 in conference play for the first time all season. Rice struggled to find good shots and hang on to the ball against a UNT team that prides itself on defense. The Owls turned the ball over 18 times. Guards Travis Evee and Quincy Olivari are averaging 15.9 and 15.6 points per game, respectively, to lead Rice.
What you need to know:
UNT will look to complete a two-game sweep of Rice on Sunday in a series that was pushed back a day by coronavirus concerns at Rice.
Hamlet was terrific in the opener of the series and continues to show why he is a threat to be named C-USA's Player of the Year for the second straight season.
UNT is the defending C-USA regular season champion and is looking to keep pace with UAB heading into Sunday's game against the Owls.
The Blazers are 6-1 in C-USA play and atop the C-USA West Division standings. UAB will face Middle Tennessee on Sunday in Birmingham, Alabama.
UNT's schedule will get a whole lot tougher over the next few weeks, when the Mean Green will host Louisiana Tech and Western Kentucky.
Completing the sweep would give UNT momentum heading into its series against Louisiana Tech next week.
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LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas A&M track & field wrapped up the Texas Tech Invitational setting a Sports Performance Center facility record in the women’s 4x400m Saturday afternoon.
Texas A&M trailed Baylor heading into the final leg of the women’s 4x400m when freshman Dominique Mustin passed the baton to fellow freshman Athing Mu as she clocked a 50.03 split to propel the Aggies to a first place finish at 3:31.09. The mark set a Sports Performance Center facility record and is No. 10 on the Aggie all-time list. It is the second fastest 4x400m relay in the NCAA this season.
Aggie members, Jania Martin ran a leadoff split of 53.64, followed by Charokee Young running 52.87 and Mustin clocked a third leg 400m split of 54.27.
“Overall, we had some really good things happen today,” Head coach Pat Henry said. “Our women’s 4x400m ran fast, it was a facility record and we finished five seconds ahead of the field so I’m pleased with that effort.”
Prior to running as a member of the record breaking relay, Martin recorded a personal best in the 200m finishing second at 23.65. Teammates, Laila Owens placed first at 23.47 and Immanuela Aliu completed the sweep finishing third at 23.78. Martin’s time ranks No. 20 in the NCAA and was her second personal best on the weekend after clocking 53.59 in yesterday’s 400m.
“Over the two days Jania set personal bests in the 200m, 400m and ran on a facility record relay,” Henry said. “I told the team that this time a year ago there’s no way on this planet that she could’ve done that. She’s worked real hard, she’s running fast and running real well. She’s ending up being somebody that is going to help this team a lot.”
Lance Broome matched his personal best in the 200m to win the second heat on the men’s 200m at 20.95.
The Maroon & White also had impressive showings in the women’s long jump and men’s pole vault.
Deborah Acquah, in her first attempt down the runway landed at 6.62m/21-8.75. An opening round mark that proved to be long enough to win the event. It is the second best performance in Aggie history, only behind her school record mark of 6.65m/21-10. Fellow Aggie, Zhane Smith placed second with a leap of 6.30m/20-8. Smith’s mark is No. 6 on the Aggie all-time list and No. 10 in the NCAA.
“Today we had the kind of environment it takes to do some good things,” said Henry. “Deborah [Acquah] took advantage of the day and jumped 21-8.75, which is big time. Zhane [Smith] also jumped 20-8 and that’s an important mark.”
In his second pole vault competition of the 2021 season, Zach Davis entered at 4.90m/16-0.75 clearing on his first attempt. Davis soared over the next bar at 5.05m/16-6.75 before failing to jump 5.20m/17-0.75.
“I’ve seen other things like Zach [Davis],” said Henry. “He jumps 16-6.75 and that is a great jump for him. He then bounced the bar at 17 feet, he’s coming along really well.”
In total, Texas A&M recorded 14 NCAA top 20 marks and 12 Aggie all-time top 12 marks during the two-day meet.
Next Up
The Maroon & White return to the Brazos Valley hosting the Charlie Thomas Invitational, Texas A&M’s last home indoor meet of the 2021 season.
For the most up-to-date information on Texas A&M Track & Field/Cross Country, follow the team on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram (@aggietfxc).
