Integration of personalized fantasy data with general sports content

Abstract

As a user views online content such as a news articles on a Web page, a personalized fantasy sports context interface provides information and Web links related to fantasy sports teams or players such as the names of real-life players and teams that are mentioned in the online content. The fantasy sports context is displayed in conjunction with, e.g., alongside, the online content to provide convenient access to the information and the Web links while the user is viewing the content. The displayed information includes a list of players mentioned in the article, links to Web pages related to each listed player. The fantasy sports context also provides features for performing actions related to each listed player, such as viewing recent news items the player or adding/dropping the player to/from the user's fantasy sports team.

1 . A fantasy sports context generator for generating a fantasy sports context interface that links online content to entities in an online fantasy sports game, the fantasy sports context generator comprising:
 correlation logic for determining if a real-life sports entity identified by name in the online content is relevant to a user's fantasy sports team, wherein the user's fantasy sports team is associated with a user of the context generator, and   player interface logic for presenting a player interface feature if the sports entity is relevant to the user's fantasy sports team, wherein the player interface feature is associated with a selected sports player,   wherein the selected sports player is selected based upon the sports entity, and   wherein the player interface logic is operable to cause an action in response to selection of the player interface feature.   
   
   
       2 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , wherein the sports entity comprises an identified sports player, and
 wherein the selected sports player comprises the identified sports player.   
   
   
       3 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 2 , wherein the correlation logic is operable to determine that the sports entity is relevant to the user if the identified sports player comprises an eligible player in the user's fantasy sports league. 
   
   
       4 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 2 , wherein the metadata attribute comprises the name of the identified sports player. 
   
   
       5 . The method of  claim 1 , wherein the sports entity comprises an identified fantasy sports team, and
 wherein the selected sports player comprises a fantasy sports player relevant to the identified fantasy sports user.   
   
   
       6 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 5 , wherein the correlation logic is operable to determine that the sports entity is relevant to the user if the identified fantasy sports team comprises an opposing team that opposes the fantasy sports team. 
   
   
       7 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 5 , wherein the metadata attribute comprises the name of the identified fantasy sports team. 
   
   
       8 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 entity recognition logic for identifying the name of the sports entity in the content if the content includes the metadata attribute associated with the sports entity,   wherein the content comprises text.   
   
   
       9 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a content display component for presenting the content,   wherein the content display component is operable to convert the metadata attribute associated with the sports entity to an entity hyperlink,   wherein the content display component is further operable to present the entity hyperlink in the content,   wherein the entity hyperlink comprises a label which includes the metadata attribute, and   wherein the entity hyperlink refers to a profile page for providing information related to the sports entity.   
   
   
       10 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the player interface feature comprises the name of the selected sports player,   wherein the player interface logic is operable to present the player interface feature in a category,   wherein the category is based upon the type of relationship between the selected sports player and the user's fantasy sports team, and   wherein the player name feature is operable to cause a profile of the selected player to be displayed in response to selection of the player name feature.   
   
   
       11 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , wherein the player interface logic is operable to display an injury status of the selected sports player. 
   
   
       12 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the player interface logic is operable to display information about a player,   wherein the player is a member of the user's fantasy sports team, and   wherein the player interface feature comprises a player drop feature for initiating a process of dropping the player from the user's team.   
   
   
       13 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the player interface logic is operable to display information about an opponent player,   wherein the opponent player is a member of an opponent team, and   wherein the player interface feature comprises a player trade feature for initiating a process of adding the opponent player to the user's team.   
   
   
       14 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 ,
 wherein the player interface logic is operable to display information about a free agent, and   wherein the player interface feature comprises a player add feature for initiating a process of adding the free agent to the user's team.   
   
   
       15 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a watch list add feature for causing the sports player to be added to a watch list,   wherein the watch list comprises information about selected sports players;   a watch list status feature for indicating that the selected sports player has been added to the watch list; and   a watch list viewing feature for causing a watch list to be displayed in response to selection of the watch list viewing feature.   
   
   
       16 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a news retrieval feature for causing display of at least a portion of a news article related to the selected sports player.   
   
   
       17 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a league selection component for receiving selection of a fantasy sports league name,   wherein the league name refers to a fantasy sports league; and   a league name feature for displaying the league name,   wherein the league selection component is operable to cause a profile of the fantasy sports league to be displayed in response to selection of the league name feature.   
   
   
       18 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a team name feature for displaying the name of the user's fantasy sports team name,   wherein the team name feature is operable to cause a profile of the fantasy sports team to be displayed in response to selection of the team name feature.   
   
   
       19 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a player type feature for displaying a player type associated with the selected sports player, wherein the player type comprises:   a same team type to indicate that the selected sports player is on the user's team,   an opponent team type to indicate that the selected sports player is on an opponent team,   a free agent type to indicate that the selected sports player is a free agent,   or a combination thereof.   
   
   
       20 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 19 , wherein the player interface logic is operable to display the player interface feature in a category based upon the player type, wherein the category comprises:
 a same team category for players on the user's team,   an opposing team category for players of the opponent team type,   a free agent category for free agent players,   or a combination thereof.   
   
   
       21 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a player add feature for initiating a process of adding the player to the user's team if the player is a free agent;   a player drop feature for initiating a process of dropping the player from the user's team if the player is on the user's team; and   a player trade feature for initiating a process of trading the player for an opponent player if the player is on the user's team.   
   
   
       22 . The fantasy sports context generator of  claim 1 , wherein the player interface logic is operable to present the player interface feature in the same user interface window as the content. 
   
   
       23 . A fantasy sports context interface that provides information and selectable action features for linking online content to a fantasy sports game, the fantasy sports context interface comprising:
 player interface logic for presenting a player interface feature associated with a sports player if the sports player is referenced by the online content and the sports player is relevant to a user's fantasy sports team associated with a user;   wherein the player interface logic is operable to cause an action in response to selection of the feature,   wherein the action is based upon the player, and   wherein the player interface logic is further operable to present the player interface feature in a category, wherein the category is based upon the type of relationship between the sports player and the fantasy sports team; and   a content presentation component for presenting the content,   wherein the content presentation component is operable to present a hyperlink,   wherein the hyperlink comprises a label that includes the name of the sports player, and   wherein the hyperlink refers to a player profile page for providing information about the sports player.   
   
   
       24 . The fantasy sports context interface of  claim 23 , wherein the player interface feature comprises a news feature for displaying news related to the player in response to user input. 
   
   
       25 . A personalized fantasy sports context generator for generating a fantasy sports context for an item of sports content accessed by a user, comprising:
 entity identification logic for identifying a fantasy sports entity in the item of sports content;   context display logic for presenting information associated with the fantasy sports entity in a fantasy context user interface, wherein the information is displayed in association with the entity; and   action display logic for presenting an action feature to the user,   wherein the action feature is displayed in association with the fantasy sports entity in the fantasy context user interface, and   wherein the action feature is operable to cause an action in response to selection of the feature.   
   
   
       26 . The context generator of  claim 25 , wherein the entity identification logic is operable to identify the fantasy sports entity in the item of sports content if the name of the fantasy sports entity is present in the item of sports content. 
   
   
       27 . The context generator of  claim 25 , wherein the fantasy sports entity name comprises a player name, a fantasy sports team name, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       28 . The context generator of  claim 25 , wherein the information associated with the player comprises a player name, fantasy data, or a combination thereof. 
   
   
       29 . Fantasy context generation logic, comprising:
 search logic for identifying a recognized player in an article of content by searching the content for a recognized player name, wherein the recognized player name identifies a recognized player;   correlation logic for determining if the recognized player is relevant to a user;   link logic for constructing a player hyperlink associated with the recognized player if the recognized player is relevant to the user,   wherein the player hyperlink comprises a label which includes the recognized player name, and   wherein the player hyperlink refers to a player profile page for providing information related to the recognized player;   content linking logic for converting an occurrence in the article of the recognized player name to the player hyperlink; and   context generation logic for generating a fantasy sports context interface if the recognized player is relevant to the user,   wherein the context interface includes at least one player interface feature associated with the recognized player.   
   
   
       30 . The fantasy context generation logic of  claim 29 , wherein the correlation logic is operable to determine that the recognized player is relevant if the recognized player is a member of a fantasy sports team associated with the user. 
   
   
       31 . The fantasy context generation logic of  claim 29 , wherein the correlation logic is operable to determine that the recognized player is relevant if the recognized player is a member of an opposing fantasy sports team, and
 wherein the opposing fantasy sports team opposes a fantasy sports team associated with the user.   
   
   
       32 . The fantasy context generation logic of  claim 29 , wherein the correlation logic is operable to determine that the recognized player is relevant if the recognized player is a free agent player available to be added to a fantasy sports team associated with the user. 
   
   
       33 . A method of generating a fantasy sports context for an item of sports content for presentation to a user, comprising the steps of:
 acquiring at least one metadata value for at least one known entity from an entity database;   determining if the at least one metadata value is present in the sports content;   determining if the at least one known entity is relevant to the user;   if the at least one metadata value is present in the sports content and the at least one known entity is relevant to the user, performing the following steps a-c:
 a. adding the at least one known entity to the fantasy sports context as at least one matching entity, 
 b. generating at least one entity link, wherein the at least one entity link comprises a label that includes the name of the at least one known entity, 
 wherein the at least one entity link refers to at least one entity profile page for providing information about at least one known entity, and 
 c. presenting the item of sports content to the user, wherein the at least one entity link appears in the item of sports content. 
   
   
   
       34 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one known entity comprises a sports player, and
 wherein the at least one entity link comprises a link to a sports player profile page.   
   
   
       35 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one known entity comprises a fantasy sports team, and
 wherein the at least one entity link comprises a link to a fantasy sports team profile page.   
   
   
       36 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein determining if the at least one known player name is relevant to the user comprises determining if the at least one known player name identifies a fantasy sports player who is in the user's fantasy league. 
   
   
       37 . The method of  claim 33 , further comprising the step of:
 converting the at least one matching entity name in the item of sports content to the at least one entity link.   
   
   
       38 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one metadata value comprises a player name. 
   
   
       39 . The method of  claim 33 , wherein the at least one metadata value is indexed for quick retrieval. 
   
   
       40 . A computer program product comprising program code for generating a fantasy sports context interface that links online content to entities in an online fantasy sports game, the computer program product comprising:
 program code for determining if a real-life sports entity identified by name in the online content is relevant to a user's fantasy sports team, wherein the user's fantasy sports team is associated with a user of the context generator, and   program code for presenting a player interface feature if the sports entity is relevant to the user's fantasy sports team, wherein the player interface feature is associated with a selected sports player,   wherein the selected sports player is selected based upon the sports entity, and   wherein the player interface logic is operable to cause an action in response to selection of the feature.   
   
   
       41 . A computer program product comprising program code for generating a fantasy sports context interface that links online content to entities in an online fantasy sports game, the computer program product comprising:
 program code for identifying a recognized player in an article of content by searching the content for a recognized player name, wherein the recognized player name identifies a recognized player;   program code for determining if the recognized player is relevant to a user;   program code for constructing a player hyperlink associated with the recognized player if the recognized player is relevant to the user,   wherein the player hyperlink comprises a label which includes the recognized player name, and   wherein the player hyperlink refers to a player profile page for providing information related to the recognized player;   program code for converting an occurrence in the article of the recognized player name to the player hyperlink; and   program code for generating a fantasy sports context interface if the recognized player is relevant to the user,   wherein the context interface includes at least one player interface feature associated with the recognized player.