Even though they can be annoying, Windows updates are pretty harmless
in and of themselves. Unfortunately, there are moments when they become
more than just an annoyance — just ask German basketball squad the
Paderborn Baskets, as reported by Softpedia.Tip-off was supposed to be at 7:30 p.m. local time against the visitors, the Chemnitz Niners, for this March 13 game. Controlling the scoreboard was a Windows-powered laptop, which felt the strong need to install updates right before the game began. This resulted in a 25-minute game delay.
Under professional German Basketball League rules, the maximum period of time a game can be delayed is 15 minutes, with this recent delay blowing well past that limit. According to Paderborn Baskets manager Patrick Seidel, the laptop crashed 10 minutes before tip-off and started installing Windows updates after it turned back on.
Related: Has Windows 10 fixed Microsoft’s app store woes? Not exactly
The bad luck facing the Baskets didn’t end there.
Although the team defeated the Niners, 69-62, the Niners filed an appeal, arguing that because the game was delayed for more than the rules allowed, the Baskets should be penalized. The league agreed, and assessed penalty points against the Baskets that had the effect of sending the team to a lower tier.
Unsurprisingly, the Baskets filed an appeal, challenging the assessment. Maybe the team’s luck will change when Windows 10 is released later this year. Or maybe it’s time to look at OS X, Linux and Chrome OS