Sports Apps Keep Fans Updated

Photo Courtesy of ESPN

Statistics, up-to-date scores and injury updates are all examples of essential knowledge for sports fans foaming at the mouth for instant information. The simplest and most promising way to get such data is through applications especially designed for avid enthusiasts.

While there are enough apps of this kind to wade through, there are a handful worth noting for their unique capabilities and offerings to the user. The tried and true go-to for sports news for over 40 years has been ESPN’s SportsCenter; they now have a free app of the same name. It is an all-encompassing app that is user-friendly and includes the basics such as breaking news, favorite team customization and personalized notification alerts.

The sports world is greatly comprised of stat fiends, all of which would become enamored with what theScore can do. Like the ESPN app, theScore provides pressing updates, but it is instantaneous up-to-the-minute information. Special features include a calendar to mark upcoming games that may be of interest, statistics from games that have already been played, thorough breakdowns and an interface that makes sharing across social media outlets simple.

Yahoo, known particularly for its email services, also provides an acclaimed application dedicated to fanatics. What makes Yahoo’s app special is the detail-oriented approach to stats. Simply named Yahoo Sports, this download can give a fan notifications relating to the start of games, team scoring and the very interesting close game situation feature which can usher fans into turning on a match that is coming down to the wire.

Team Stream is perhaps the best example of a no-nonsense sports app that empowers the die-hards with information relevant to their specific team. Unlike all the aforementioned products, Team Stream is not designed to be an umbrella sports information source; instead it will lock into hand-selected franchises. It compiles everything under the sun, including news springs which consists of pictures, videos, stories, scores and of course an overall update on the latest team info.

With a distinctive name that lets on to the even more novel service it provides, Thuuz Sports has a different peg and for that it is gaining recognition. The concept is that it rates upcoming contests as well as games occurring in real time on what they call an “excitement scale.” The scale is measured from zero to 100; the closer to 100 the more buzz the game has. This permits the all-around sports fan to gauge what bouts will be worth tuning in for and which deserve a pass. This app also caters to fantasy football and baseball players who can import teams into the system and get player notifications on an easy to read feed.

The leagues themselves also have well developed applications specific to certain sports. NBA Game Time, NFL Mobile, MLB.com At Bat and NHL GameCenter are all prime examples of association generated products designed to appease fans of a particular creed.

There has truly never been a better time to live as a sports fan; information-hungry aficionados can now be nourished if not gorged with all that is available to them.

brocha@ramapo.edu