Research

There are a number of factors that go into picking the right book for yourself, or someone else, but we recommend spending the time to research using other mediums of sports information. There is a wealth of information on the Internet, television, radio, and print:

Where to watch

TV Services

The easiest way to keep up with your favorite games is from the comfort of your own home. Check with your internet and cable providers for the best sports packages.

• For the general sports entertainment package, this will usually include things like the NFL Redzone, ESPN Goal Line, FCS, NFL Network, MLB Network and beIN Sports.
• If you are only interested in NFL, look out for NFL packages that offer 24/7 football, every Thursday Night Football game, bonus coverage for things like the Super Bowl.
• If you’re interested in NBA: These packages can include: live games, highlights, and expert analysis, or even give you passes to watch games live across devices.
• For MLB look for packages with live games, expert analysis, mlb news, and out of network games.

Things to keep in mind when choosing a package or provider would be whether it has ESPN1 and 2, whether or not there is extended coverage of NFL, MBA, NHL and MLB, and whether or not there are Regional and College Sports available. You should also make sure you have access to Pay Per View events such as MMA fight nights, and make sure that you have a DVR which allows multiple recordings and at least 100 hours of storage. This will be important as there are often many games playing simultaneously.

Two of the best TV services for Sports are DIRECTV’s Premier with the NFL Sunday Ticket, and the XFINITY Preferred with the Sports Entertainment package.

DIRECTV

• NFL Sunday Ticket: this is exclusive to DIRECTV and included at no extra cost and allows you to watch every out of network Sunday game.
• Sports Pack: this includes ESPN Classic, regional sports channels and indepth college coverage.
• League Specific plans are available with give you up to 40 regular season games each week.
• You have access to all boxing and UFC matches
• DVR: The Genie DVR records up to 200 hours of HD television

Xfinity

• Sports Entertainment Package: This is $9.99 extra per month, but will give you 24/7 sports coverage across all major networks.
• You can order Pay-Per-View events and keep up with UFC and Boxing Events
• You can also add League Specific Plans or just add different passes such as the NBA League Pass, MLB Extra Innings, and NHL Center ICE
• X1 HD DVR records up to 6 shows at a time

Leading Online Publications

• ESPN.com
• BleacherReport.com
• Sports.Yahoo.com
• CBSsports.com
• SBNation.com
• SkySports.com
• SI.com

Online Viewing Options

Sling TV

Sling TV is an internet television service owned by Dish Network. This allows you to keep watching ESPN without having to pay for an entire cable subscription. This service can be streamed through smart TVs, digital media players and apps. It also has an extensive sports offering and is only $20/month.

fuboTV

fuboTV is another internet television service priced at $50 a month, but has 69 sports channels- this however does not include ESPN.

League-Provided Steaming

Each of the four major sports leagues now provides its own streaming services online directly to fans. Each costs around $100 to $200 for the regular season. MLB has MLB.TV, NHL has NHL.tv, and NBA has the League Pass. For NFL there is the Game Pass, however this only shows replays of regular season games, and the RedZone Channel, this only live broadcasts scoring plays and highlights from Sunday Games.  The issue with this option is that it generally does not include Postseason games, and games for local teams are blocked from streaming due to rules cable companies have created to keep people using cable.

Facebook and Twitter and Amazon

Facebook and Twitter have both started to broadcast certain games for free. For example, Facebook started to broadcast one MLB game every Friday Night. Amazon is also starting to stream Thursday Night Football games for its Prime Customers. The caveat of these options is that it is very limited in what is available, and therefore not really a viable option for the dedicated fan.

Leading Apps

ESPN

• Android, iOS
• Free
• This app provides the latest sports news and information
• Breaking News
• Updated Scoring Information
• Professional Analysis
• Users can create a custom list of their favorite teams, so you only see the information you are interested in.

WatchESPN

• Android, iOS
• Cable subscription required
• This app allows you to scream live videos or episodes from your phone, as well as the latest live games that the channel carries.

CBS Sports

• Android, iOS
• Free
• Personalized score updates, stats, news and analysis
• Live streaming of certain events (NCAA Basketball, the PGA tour)
• Video of Game Highlights
• CBS Sports Radio

theScore

• Android, iOS
• Free
• Instant Game updates and Statistics
• Event Calendar for upcoming games
• Game reports with statistical breakdowns and play by plays

Yahoo Sports

• Android, iOS
• Free
• Latest news, scores and statistics
• Customizable notifications
• Stream NFL playoff games if you have Verizon’s NFL contract

Bleacher Report

• Android, iOS
• Free
• Highly Customizable, pick your favorite team or franchise for relevant and real time notifications of the content you want to see
• Updates you with scores, stories, pictures and video
• Breaking sports news , blogs and websites

Leading Publications

• Sports Illustrated
• Runner’s World
• Golf Digest
• Tennis
• Golf Magazine
• Flex
• Slam