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Post by Copperfields on Apr 12, 2004 12:17:12 GMT -5
The other night Teddy mentioned in an IM that he was having a ball watching games on Yahoo GameChannel ( sports.yahoo.com/mlb/gamechannel). I had never tried GameChannel, but I just visited the site and even though there are no games in progress at the moment I've got to say it looks pretty slick. I usually use ESPN GameCast or the AOL scoreboards feature, but I'm going to give GameChannel a spin. I especially like the "Shrink" option which reduces the display to a tiny window in the corner of your screen. That would make it ideal for keeping an eye on a game while you're busy doing something else. What's your favorite site for watching games in-progress online, and why? I'm talking free, text-based netcasts of games, not the MLB video option. |
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Post by Nick's Picts (archived) on Apr 12, 2004 21:21:45 GMT -5
I'll have to give the Yahoo thing a spin. As for myself, I generally use MLB's Gameday to follow the action. ESPN's Java application is not written particularly well [especially the socket connections] and always seems to cause networking problems for me. I am not particulary please about using MLB's Flash-based extravaganza for the proprietary lockin that it represents. I'm also a bit horked at the way they are treating Real and am curious to know how much Microsoft is paying them to 'down-level' the Real experience in favor of WMP. They've certainly made it nearly impossible to listen to games on Linux at any rate.
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Post by Splinters on Apr 12, 2004 23:24:35 GMT -5
As David mentioned, I enjoy "watching" the games on Yahoo GameChannel. The interface is simple, but seems to work very well without causing problems. For the complete experience, I recommend Gameday Audio from MLB which allows you to listen to the radio broadcast from every game (~$15 for the entire season) with your choice of announcers from the home or away team. There is nothing better than scanning the different games on Yahoo GameChannel to see your guy coming up to bat with the bases loaded then hurriedly switching to the radio broadcast to hear your guy hit a grand slam to win the game in the bottom of extra innings. It happended three years ago, and I remember it like it was yesterday.
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Post by Copperfields on Apr 13, 2004 7:19:58 GMT -5
I generally use MLB's Gameday to follow the action. ESPN's Java application is not written particularly well [especially the socket connections] and always seems to cause networking problems for me. Same here. ESPN's GameCast seems to be a real bandwidth hog and via my dial-up connection at home it always seems to lock up after several innings - especially if you're hopping from game-to-game. Major kudos to Teddy for Yahoo's GameChannel. I tried it out yesterday and it was very slick, without all the useless flash. No real graphics to slow things down (I don't need a photograph of every player as they come to bat) and switching between games was instantaneous. The "shrink" option for a reduced display is especially sweet for keeping tabs on a game while working on other things. Highly recommended - thanks Teddy! David |
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Post by Demreb on Apr 13, 2004 18:44:31 GMT -5
Prior (ooh, bad choice of word for us Cub fans) to this post I, too, used AOL or ESPN for in game status.
But now, now this seems awesome. Thanks to SuperStudSplinter Teddy there is another way to "watch" a game.
Teddy, new to the league, is already paying huge dividends. Now if only he would drop behind me in the standings . . .
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Post by Demreb on Apr 13, 2004 21:48:42 GMT -5
Teddddyyyy!!! Excellent site! This thing gives you everything! Matchups, box score, in-game scoreboard, line score. And David's right. Switching from game to game is instantaneous. Thanks Teddy! Where are we on you dropping in the standings?  Also, since you mentioned you're more of a Chicago fan, any chance of you getting rid of the Sox thingee under your name? How about showing some north side love? |
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Post by Splinters on Apr 13, 2004 23:58:02 GMT -5
I'm glad you guys like the site for Yahoo GameChannel. The only thing that I don't like about the applet is that every now and then it will cut off the bottom of the box score and usually the scoring log. Today, for instance, I was not able to keep up with the stats for my beloved Esteban Loaiza.
Don't worry about passing me in the standings. If three of my key hitters continue to be on the DL for too much longer, it won't be long before I am in the cellar where all new franchises belong. Who would have thought it would be my pitching staff that is holding things together?
You are right - I am a Chicago fan. But, I am one of those rare souls that actually roots for both teams, yet I pull harder for the Sox. Having said that, I am going to the Cubs game Friday with my father-in-law. He is a die-hard Cubs fan (like most everyone else) and constantly reminds me of how he and his best friend became bitter enemies as youngsters when he realized that his friend was a Sox fan. Can't we just all get along?
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Post by stones on Apr 14, 2004 10:29:34 GMT -5
I typically use CBS sportsline to watch games. I will give Yahoo a try and see which I like better. www.cbssportsline.com has a pretty good and update to date "real time" feel to it. If I watch the Brewers on DirecTV they are usually about 5 seconds off the real time reporting. I assume its because some human is inputting content, dang humans! I am all about immediate gratification. (Yes Rebel man, even Brewer fans can feel a sense gratification once in a while! It is usually a dulled sense however.) |
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Post by Mookie on Apr 14, 2004 15:39:02 GMT -5
Well, Bernie beat me to it but I was going to recommend CBS Sportsline as well. It seemed to be a real stable connection with my dial-up last year and now with my CABLE MODEM should be super-sweet. I guess I'll follow the crowd and try out Yahoooooooooo too. Steve is making a habit of this lately. First Miltie, now CBS. What's next Steve? You going to bid a nickle higher than me on Alex Cora Friday?  ? Mahalo Matt |
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Post by stones on Apr 14, 2004 18:08:25 GMT -5
BTW I just watched the Brewers game on DTV, watched on CBSSportsline and on Yahoo. For my simple beta test, CBS was a good minute or two ahead of Yahoo, not that it is a big drawback but it seemed a little slower than real time.
And No Matt, Cora s all yours, I was thinking of going .55 on him and then realized I don't have that much FAAB left!
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Post by Copperfields on Apr 15, 2004 7:21:02 GMT -5
CBS Sportsline's game cast is nice too. The scoreboard feature provides a good snapshot of each game in progress, and there's a TON of information provided in the individual game view. I like the illustration of the location of every pitch.
The problem, of course, is bandwidth for those of us on dial-up (yes, there are still some of us out here). Plus the interface takes up a sizable chunk of your screen real estate. Not a problem if you're sitting in front of the computer to watch a game, but if you just want to keep an eye on things while working on other stuff, the Shrunken Yahoo option is a lot less obtrusive.
Still, Sportsline does get high marks.
David
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? Mahalo