1. STATS For turning jocks into nerds. This data company's SportVU cameras track and quantify everything during a game and have quickly gone from a geeky extra to a necessity: As of this season, every NBA arena uses the $100,000-a-year system--up from half last year--allowing teams like the Toronto Raptors, for example, to rewatch games with "ghost" versions of themselves that know exactly how to react based on an opponent's stats. "It's not just about getting all 30 teams but exposing game data on NBA.com and NBA TV," says Brian Kopp, an SVP at STATS. That only creates more demand. Soccer's UEFA Champions League uses it, and Duke basketball became the first college adopter in October. Next up: ice hockey
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