When I see an app like TheScore for iPad, it forces me to think in big-picture terms, as in: this is how sports news was meant to be consumed. Not in some day-old newspaper or tiny iPhone app, but on a big, beautiful screen jam-packed with scores, standings, videos, and blogs.
In other words, I’m really digging TheScore–and I’m not even that into sports. (It says clearly on my Tech Nerds of America membership card that sports are permissible only as a “passing interest” or for “social interaction research.”)
Actually, I do consume a lot of college basketball, which is just one of the dozen-plus major categories covered by the app. Others include MLB, football (both American and Canadian), basketball, hockey, and numerous soccer leagues I’ve never heard of.
Within any selected section, you can scroll through related Top Stories, Buzz, Videos, and Blogs, or check out the latest scores and standings.
The latest baseball scores appear in a scrollable ticker across the top, followed by a search option for looking up players or teams. Search for Detroit Tigers, for example, and you’ll get team headlines, current standing, game schedule, and a list of team leaders (any of which you can tap for a pop-up summary).
TheScore also serves up half a dozen video channels (including “The Basketball Jones” and “The Break”) and an equal number of blogs (“Hockey or Die” and “Branded” among them).
In short, there’s an endless amount of good stuff here for sports fans–and you just can’t beat the price: TheScore is free. (Ad-free, too.)