If you love your sports—whatever they are—the abundance of sports-related apps is a wonderful, wonderful thing. Are you sick of scouring a bunch of different websites for the latest news on your favorite teams? Are you looking for a way to watch games while you're on the go? Are you having difficulty keeping track of your fantasy leagues? Are you sick of trying to remember what game is when? Apps can help you with all of these problems and more. But with so many sports apps out there, where do you even get started?
Here are our top five favorite apps for the sports fanatic:
The Streaming App
For many people, one of the most crucial apps to have is an app that will allow you to stream the game when you can't be at home for it. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to kick back on the couch; instead you might find yourself stuck at work or the doctor's office or the kids' music lesson or wherever else. ESPN has a great app that'll allow you to stream any of the games shown on their channels, provided you receive their channels with your current television provider. The app also doubles as a news app, giving you quick access to a plethora of articles about the leagues and teams that you care about.
The VPN App
The reasons for using a VPN are twofold. On the one hand, it's just generally a good practice whenever you're using the internet. By using a VPN, you'll be creating a tunnel between your computer and the sites you're visiting, limiting the amount of information that sites see about you and protecting you from hackers. But the other great thing about a VPN is that it hides your location by using a false IP address, meaning that wherever you are in the world, you'll be able to access your favorite sites and stream games just as if you were back home on the couch, without having to worry about geo-restrictions. You'll want to make sure you have a powerful VPN if you're streaming though; some VPNs are too slow. Secure Thoughts is a great resource for finding the best VPN to fit your needs.
The Team App
You'll find that many of your favorite teams have their own app that covers everything from the game schedule to rosters to statistics to game highlights and more. Of course, if you like a ton of teams, it can be annoying to have a dozen apps dedicated to each different team, but if your team does have their own app, it's a great way to get an in-depth look at your team from time to time, and it's nice to have highlights reels all collected in the same place. It's also a great way to avoid articles that are biased towards your rival team!
The Fantasy League App
If you're interested in fantasy sports, Yahoo Fantasy Sports is a great app that'll allow you to manage your team with minimal frustration. You can use the app for your basketball, baseball, football, or hockey team—or for multiple teams, if you're so inclined. From mock drafts to chatting with other managers, you can do everything here. And best of all, if you're new to fantasy sports or just want an outsider's opinion on your roster, you can get advice from the experts.
The News App
If you want to keep track of the news for all your teams all in one place, Bleacher Report's Team Stream app is one of the best out there. You can select which teams and topics you're interested in, and the app will automatically pull in any new articles, scores, videos, and more. It makes it much easier than having to scout around the internet every day, and because it's put out by Bleacher Report, you can rest assured that you're getting the news as soon as it's breaking, rather than being the last person to find out about the latest news. If you're a big sports fan, you probably want to know everything you can about your team(s) as soon as there's any news, but staying on top of everything can be a bit challenging with our busy lives! Get rid of the hassle by using apps to do everything from watching games on the go to streamlining how you get your news.
Here are our top five favorite apps for the sports fanatic:
The Streaming App
For many people, one of the most crucial apps to have is an app that will allow you to stream the game when you can't be at home for it. Unfortunately, it's not always possible to kick back on the couch; instead you might find yourself stuck at work or the doctor's office or the kids' music lesson or wherever else. ESPN has a great app that'll allow you to stream any of the games shown on their channels, provided you receive their channels with your current television provider. The app also doubles as a news app, giving you quick access to a plethora of articles about the leagues and teams that you care about.
The VPN App
The reasons for using a VPN are twofold. On the one hand, it's just generally a good practice whenever you're using the internet. By using a VPN, you'll be creating a tunnel between your computer and the sites you're visiting, limiting the amount of information that sites see about you and protecting you from hackers. But the other great thing about a VPN is that it hides your location by using a false IP address, meaning that wherever you are in the world, you'll be able to access your favorite sites and stream games just as if you were back home on the couch, without having to worry about geo-restrictions. You'll want to make sure you have a powerful VPN if you're streaming though; some VPNs are too slow. Secure Thoughts is a great resource for finding the best VPN to fit your needs.
The Team App
You'll find that many of your favorite teams have their own app that covers everything from the game schedule to rosters to statistics to game highlights and more. Of course, if you like a ton of teams, it can be annoying to have a dozen apps dedicated to each different team, but if your team does have their own app, it's a great way to get an in-depth look at your team from time to time, and it's nice to have highlights reels all collected in the same place. It's also a great way to avoid articles that are biased towards your rival team!
The Fantasy League App
If you're interested in fantasy sports, Yahoo Fantasy Sports is a great app that'll allow you to manage your team with minimal frustration. You can use the app for your basketball, baseball, football, or hockey team—or for multiple teams, if you're so inclined. From mock drafts to chatting with other managers, you can do everything here. And best of all, if you're new to fantasy sports or just want an outsider's opinion on your roster, you can get advice from the experts.
The News App
If you want to keep track of the news for all your teams all in one place, Bleacher Report's Team Stream app is one of the best out there. You can select which teams and topics you're interested in, and the app will automatically pull in any new articles, scores, videos, and more. It makes it much easier than having to scout around the internet every day, and because it's put out by Bleacher Report, you can rest assured that you're getting the news as soon as it's breaking, rather than being the last person to find out about the latest news. If you're a big sports fan, you probably want to know everything you can about your team(s) as soon as there's any news, but staying on top of everything can be a bit challenging with our busy lives! Get rid of the hassle by using apps to do everything from watching games on the go to streamlining how you get your news.
Moonlighting as a blogger to pursue my interest and enjoyment of sports. Former high school and Division I athlete (now a "retired" family man) that loves watching and discussing all sports. Follow me on Twitter (@HoldoutSports) and like Holdout Sports on Facebook.
