Sports Then and Now

As COVID-19 wreaked havoc across the world last year, the sports industry was severely impacted. As all sporting action came to a crashing halt, fans were left without their weekly fix of sports while franchises were faced with declining revenues and lost opportunities. In the US alone, the NBA is estimated to have lost close to $300 million in terms of ticketing revenue and when considering revenue from all sources, the league missed its targets by as much as $1.5 billion as per AP News. It was a similar story with most other leagues too with the NFL estimated to bear a $1.3 billion loss due to 4 of its teams playing without fans while the MLB’s losses were estimated at almost $5 billion.

However, the show must go on and as things gradually started getting better, sports leagues in the US slowly began considering a return amidst the new normal. Relatively newer entities like the UFC bounced back much sooner by shifting their events to a private island in Abu Dhabi and marching on without in-person attendance. Others like the WWE, who operate within the unique realm of “sports entertainment”, realized that fans were an integral part of their offering and leveraged VR and AR to virtually bring in thousands of fans to participate in live broadcasts.

Eventually, as the Big 4 US sports leagues returned to action, the focus was on leveraging digital technologies to usher in unlimited attendees while creating a raucous stadium like experience. This was done with the help of digital first platforms that were further bolstered by live video editing, engaging graphics and multiple audio feeds mixed in. Elsewhere, global franchises like Formula 1 & MotoGP looked to have their racing drivers engaged in virtual SIM based races to meld motorsports with e-sports to great effect.

Although Apple News+ was introduced over a year ago, it’s still considered new. Many Apple device users don’t know about it. Some already subscribed to it, but don’t know how to use it in a valuable way. 

This is a subscription service, which costs $9.99 per month in the USA. With such a payment, your entire family (up to six people) can access the service. There’s a lot of content to get, but let’s clarify one important thing: how do you use Apple News Plus to access live sports info? Is it possible to get notifications on the specific events you want to follow? 

Let’s discuss everything that sports fans should know about the service!

How to Explore Apple News+ Content

When you access the Apple News app on your iPhone, you’ll see the tab for Apple News+ at the bottom. On Macs and iPads, look into the side bar. 

Here, you’ll be able to explore the content that’s available for subscribers. It includes newspapers and magazines. You can browse the catalogue for your preferred sources of information, and you can add them in your selection. 

Currently, 200+ popular magazines are available in the selection. You can browse through several categories, including sports, parenting, home and garden, hobbies, food, entertainment, finance, lifestyle, beauty, and more. 

It’s a real shame when life gets in the way and you can’t watch your favorite team. When there is a big game on and you don’t have anywhere to watch it, it really feels like you’re missing out. Everybody will know the score before you and you’ll have to avoid talking about it until you finally get a chance to watch it. But the good news is, the situation isn’t as bad as it used to be because of new advances in technology. 

In the past, you only had one chance to catch a game and if you couldn’t get to the stadium or even find a TV to watch it on, you would have to make do with the highlights. But now, you can watch sports whenever you like, wherever you like because you can stream it on your phone. As long as you have an internet connection, you never have to miss a game again. 

If you haven’t tried streaming sports on your phone, read on to find out how to do it, and get some good tips to make sure that you don’t miss any of the action. 

Make Sure Your Internet Connection Is Good 

A good internet connection is the most important thing when you are trying to stream sports on your phone. If you have a bad connection, you will miss out on a lot of the action because the stream will keep cutting out and buffering. If possible, you should try to connect to high speed wifi so the stream is clear. However, this may not always be an option. 

We’re now into a new decade and Liverpool are on route to shattering English Premier League records left, right and centre but how else has the game evolved over the past 10 years?

VAR 

The technology in the Premier League is unquestionably one of the hottest topics on people’s lips this season. The introduction of VAR – video assisted referees – came in at the start of the 2019/20 season and it’s fair to say everyone is divided on whether or not it’s a good thing for the game. The concept was well received but the manner in which it’s being used is killing the game for many fans as celebrations are being put on hold and goals are being determined by the smallest margins with offside decisions becoming laughably tight. 

Then, of course, there is the length of time it takes for decisions to be reached. This and the lack of engagement with fans in the grounds are the biggest complaints with the argument regularly made that the same issues don’t occur in other sports such as the NFL where Super Bowl 2020 will be televised globally in the coming weeks to prove how tech can enhance the game just to rub salt into the wounds of soccer. 

Goal line technology 

Despite the teething issues with VAR it would be too much of a sweeping statement to claim that soccer can’t do technology. In 2013, goal line technology was introduced and has been a roaring success as it transmits a signal in milliseconds to confirm when the ball has crossed the line. Sure, you no longer get talking points like the infamous ‘ghost goal’ but key decisions, such as potentially title deciding decisions like in last years match between Man City and Liverpool,  are correct.

Ever since childhood, I have lived and breathed baseball. As the years went by, I was playing baseball all the time, so I barely had time to keep track of my favorite MLB teams. Currently, as a baseball coach, I have the same problems because my team takes up all of my time.

Gone are the days of being able to sit down and watch my favorite MLB teams every night. So I started looking for better ways to stay up-to-date on MLB news. I quickly came across this helpful website.

Top MLB & Baseball Apps

Now, I simply have to check my phone notifications for the latest baseball news and highlights. Here are a few major benefits from these apps that you can keep in mind as you check them out.

Get the latest news from the MLB

MLB apps make all of the latest news available to you at the touch of a button. These apps make it possible for you to keep up with your favorite teams, favorite players, and other news around the league. Whether you’re checking into the latest power rankings or figuring out which players had the most fantasy points, you can be a more informed fan just by checking your phone.

As the trade deadline approaches, the rumor mill will start churning out some drama. If you don’t want to be left out of the water-cooler talk at work, then you’ll want to keep up with the latest rumors on which big stars are on the move this year. And if this water-cooler talk involves fantasy baseball leagues and trash-talking opponents, you can use these MLB apps as a baseball reference site for the best fantasy baseball information.

The NFL season has begun, which means a lot of football on TV.

Thankfully, there are multiple streaming options available on the internet where you can catch your favorite team without the need to hang around a television set. The top matches of this week include Bears vs Rams, Colts vs Jaguars, Patriots vs Eagles and finally, Texans vs Baltimore.

The best thing about the NFL is that it allows you to watch the games on the platform of your choice. You can easily stream the games on your smartphone, tablet, laptop or any device that suits you best. As NFL often signs new contracts with streaming services, the method to watch the games change with every new policy. Therefore, in this updated guide, we will tell you about some authentic ways to catch your favorite games online.