Sports are getting more attention at SXSW next year. SXsports, which was announced on Tuesday, will be an offshoot of the festival filled with media, technology and other creative industries. SXsports will take place from March 7 to 9, and is open to those who register for the film and interactive conferences. SXSW runs from March 7 to 16. The offshoot’s highlights will incude a panel featuring ESPN columnist Bill Simmons and FiveThirtyEight founder Nate Silver. Simmons was among the earliest stars of online sports columnizing, while Silver is the data whiz who famously delivered a flawless prediction of the 2012 presidential election results. Both now run their own sites for ESPN. Simmons founded Grantland in 2011, and Silver left The New York Times in July to reboot FiveThirtyEight with a partial sports focus for ESPN. “The world of sports truly hits the sweet spot of SXSW, the vital intersection of entertainment and technology, and we intend to approach it with the same forward-thinking and culturally relevant perspective we shine on all of our events,” Rebecca Feferman, head of media relations for SXSW’s film component, said in a statement. “We can’t wait to connect the sports world with our passionate audience of early adopters, culture nuts, digital creatives and so much more.” Other announced participants in panels and events include Peter Guber, chairman of Mandalay Sports Media and part-owner of the NBA’s Golden State Warriors; Bryan Srabian, the mastermind behind the San Francisco Giants’ massive social media following; and Kliff Kingsbury, the head football coach at Texas Tech University. Do you think SXsports is a good idea, and would you attend? Tell us in the comments. BONUS: Retro NBA Ads Starring NBA Players Retro Ads Featuring NBA Players Wilt Chamberlain for Coleco, 1973 Julius Irving for Chapstick, 1980 Earl Monroe for Jordache, 1980 Kareem Abdul-Jabbar for Atari, 1981 Dr. J for Crest, 1983 Dr. J and Bill Cosby for Coca-Cola, 1984 Dominique Wilkins for Reebok, 1989 Bill Walton for Reebok, 1991 Allen Iverson and Jadakiss for Reebok, 1996 Read more: http://mashable.com/2013/10/01/sxsw-sports-sxsports/
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