Finding web sites to routinely follow is just another form of online dating. Though people won't make as many jokes (at least not to your face) as they would were you looking for your one true love online, it is a very similar process to trying to find that unattainable soul mate.
Many of the same initial questions get asked when trying to decided which sites you want to date (i.e. get your news from) and when you are searching for an online dating service and eventually...members of the opposite sex (or the same, if that's your thing):
Who do I check out? Does it cost anything? Will I get any response?
(Since I'm male and only have experience with females, that is the only bounds I can speak from, so this message of online dating shalt be relayed that way. Feel free to be offended, disgusted, and forget how to scroll down the page.)
Finding women via online dating and finding news sites to even scan can be laborious. You can't just find a service and assume the first woman you take a gander at will be the one.
The same is true with sites. Just Google-ing your interests and clicking on the top choice won't necessarily get what you are ultimately searching for: balanced coverage that covers the gamut of your interests.
Being an absolute sports nut, about the only news I read about is sports-related. I occasionally glance at the headlines on Yahoo when I go to check my e-mail or take a glance at the top headlines that are instantaneously tracked atop my Mozilla Firefox toolbar.
Realizing the top 10 or 15 sites for "sports," according to Google's wacky algorithm, were all the leading sports organizations (ESPN, FoxSports, YahooSports, Sports Illustrated, etc.) that essentially have the same stories, I decided to diversify.
Just as a varying range of blondes, brunettes, and redheads would be ideal in eventually finding a true love or soul mate, sports are best discovered through a variety of mediums.
The Supermodel - ESPN
Instead of just selecting a host of Bar Rafaeli, Marisa Miller, and Adriana Lima's, the glamourous swimsuit and fashion models that are the ESPN, Sports Illustrated, and other big name, large-corporation-backed news sites, I chose just one. I stuck with the self-proclaimed "Worldwide Leader in Sports," ESPN because of their overarching coverage of all the major sports and their strong cavalry of writers.
The Dangerous Girl (Megan Fox) - Deadspin
I then chose to try out the mysterious, dark-haired girl covered in tattoos that doesn't mince her words regardless of who is in the room.
In the sports web site world, the Megan Fox is definitively Deadspin. They are vulgar, sometimes vile, don't give a shit what you think, and really difficult not to be attracted to. With Deadspin's propensity to speak freely, break news, and praise or attack the last player on the bench just as they would the star, they do an incredible job of covering sports, and that has led them from a small blog to the largest independent sports site.
Deadspin now has a cult following, which makes it even more difficult to click away from the site. Not only are the articles typically well-written but with one of the strongest communities, it's hard not to get caught up reading and laughing at the collection of off-the-wall comments.
Having a much more liberal filter than a mainstream media site like ESPN, Deadspin is able to cover a broad array of topics -- some obscure, some strange, and some that may not be in the best taste, but they manage to do it well enough to keep their corporate advertisers and readers around.
The Redhead (Christina Hendricks) - Yardbarker
Any attempt to get the full spectrum of women is incomplete without the incorporation of a fiery redhead. Similarly, including a site like Yardbarker is necessary to get a complete look at sports on the internet.
Similar to a redhead such as Mad Men's Christina Hendricks, Yardbarker is a site with attitude and some large features unseen on other sports web sites. Unlike ESPN or Deadspin, the Yard, as it is affectionately known to its members, is a portal where users can submit stories of interest found elsewhere online.
Although there are other useful sports portals, including BallHype and Bloguin, Yardbarker's attitude -- their secondary slogan is "Beast Mode" -- and ability to give fans an insider's look sets them apart.
Their insider information comes from the "dozens of top professional athletes [that] blog on Yardbarker." From Superbowl hero Santonio Holmes to former heavyweight boxing champion Buster Douglas to mixed martial arts sweetheart Gina Carano to the 2007 NBA Draft's #1 overall pick Greg Oden, Yardbarker has athletes past and present sharing their opinions on everything from their feelings on other players to politics to relationships.
Like Deadspin, Yardbarker has a vibrant community willing to offer their opinions. Comments in the Yard, however, are more strictly moderated, so it is a much more family-friendly environment.
But like every male fantasy, why choose just one of these sites when you could have a menage-a-trois or a foursome? Instead, getting the penultimate experience requires getting the well-rounded coverage that the three sites together provide, which is why I will be closely following these three sites this semester.
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