te and sport. Its also integrating voice search into the

The NBA released its 2016-17 regular-season schedule on Thursday. As Portland Trail Blazers fans peruse their teams schedule, here are the five games they should circle on their calendar:Oct. 25: Trail Blazers vs. Utah JazzFollowing an overachieving season in which the Blazers (44-38) unexpectedly reached the Western Conference Semifinals, guards?Damian Lillard?and?C.J. McCollum?will be looking to jump start the season with an opening-night matchup against the Jazz.?Oct. 27: Trail Blazers vs. Los Angeles ClippersThis is the first of three games in which the Blazers face off against Chris Paul & Co., who they defeated in the first round of the NBA playoffs last season. Lillard averaged 22 points during the six-game first-round series against the injury-plagued Clippers.Nov. 1: Trail Blazers vs.?Golden State WarriorsThis game marks the Trail Blazers first matchup against the team that booted them out of the playoffs last season. Lillard & Co. went 2-7 against their rivals last season, including the playoffs.Dec. 23: Trail Blazers vs. San Antonio SpursLaMarcus Aldridge?returns to the Moda Center for the first time in the 2016-17 season. The Spurs big man averaged 17 points and six rebounds per game against his former team last season.?Jan. 11: Trail Blazers vs. Cleveland CavaliersThis will be the only game in which Portland welcomes the defending NBA champs to the Moda Center. The Trail Blazers went 1-1 against the Cavs last season.Authentic Keke Coutee Jersey .35 million, one-year contract that avoided salary arbitration. Plouffe batted .254 with 14 home runs and 52 RBIs in 477 at-bats last season, his second as a regular in the lineup. Authentic Jordan Akins Jersey . -- Patrick Reed got an early start in golf. http://www.cheaptexansjerseysauthentic.com/ . The Croatian served 21 aces and hit 42 winners against Sijsling, who double-faulted to give Cilic a 4-3 lead in the deciding set. "All the players, they know me and they were really happy to see me and they were really happy that this is over for me," Cilic said. Authentic Martinas Rankin Jersey .com) - The Montreal Canadiens embark on their first road trip of the season as they head out west to battle the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night. Texans Jerseys China . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season.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 VRR, GETTY GOES 360Expect to see virtual-reality content, along with 360-degree video and images.ddddddddddddNBC, 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. ' ' '