A sports apparatus for monitoring movement of a sport projectile, comprising: a sensor disposed within the sport projectile; a wireless interface disposed within the sport projectile for communicating sampled data signals from the sensor; a portable communication device that can be coupled in wireless communication with the sensor in the sport projectile for receiving sampled data signals from the sensor, the sampled data signals indicative of a motion of the sport projectile; wherein the portable communication device comprises a controller having a memory including programming instructions that when executed by the processor are configured to cause the controller to: detect a sensor signal from the wireless interface, the sensor signal comprising sampled data signals from the sensor; determine a motion characteristic of the sport projectile from the motion characteristic from the sensor signal; and determine if the motion characteristic comprises passage of the sports projectile through a goal structure; determine if the motion characteristic comprises motion of the sports projectile after a shot; and determine if the motion characteristic comprises an impact of the sport projectile with an object by: detecting a period of small changes in the sensor data by comparing an amplitude of the sensor data to a first predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period and determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is less than the predetermined threshold and substantially constant within the predetermined time period; and detecting a period of rapidly changing sensor data by determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is greater than the predetermined threshold and is varying within the predetermined time period. a sensor disposed within the sport projectile; a wireless interface disposed within the sport projectile for communicating sampled data signals from the sensor; a portable communication device that can be coupled in wireless communication with the sensor in the sport projectile for receiving sampled data signals from the sensor, the sampled data signals indicative of a motion of the sport projectile; wherein the portable communication device comprises a controller having a memory including programming instructions that when executed by the processor are configured to cause the controller to: detect a sensor signal from the wireless interface, the sensor signal comprising sampled data signals from the sensor; determine a motion characteristic of the sport projectile from the motion characteristic from the sensor signal; and determine if the motion characteristic comprises passage of the sports projectile through a goal structure; determine if the motion characteristic comprises motion of the sports projectile after a shot; and determine if the motion characteristic comprises an impact of the sport projectile with an object by: detecting a period of small changes in the sensor data by comparing an amplitude of the sensor data to a first predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period and determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is less than the predetermined threshold and substantially constant within the predetermined time period; and detecting a period of rapidly changing sensor data by determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is greater than the predetermined threshold and is varying within the predetermined time period. detect a sensor signal from the wireless interface, the sensor signal comprising sampled data signals from the sensor; determine a motion characteristic of the sport projectile from the motion characteristic from the sensor signal; and determine if the motion characteristic comprises passage of the sports projectile through a goal structure; determine if the motion characteristic comprises motion of the sports projectile after a shot; and determine if the motion characteristic comprises an impact of the sport projectile with an object by: detecting a period of small changes in the sensor data by comparing an amplitude of the sensor data to a first predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period and determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is less than the predetermined threshold and substantially constant within the predetermined time period; and detecting a period of rapidly changing sensor data by determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is greater than the predetermined threshold and is varying within the predetermined time period. detecting a period of small changes in the sensor data by comparing an amplitude of the sensor data to a first predetermined threshold within a predetermined time period and determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is less than the predetermined threshold and substantially constant within the predetermined time period; and detecting a period of rapidly changing sensor data by determining that the amplitude of the sensor data is greater than the predetermined threshold and is varying within the predetermined time period.