Do you have “March Madness”? Here’s the Mario Armstrong cure

You submitted your bracket and now you’re counting down the minutes. You think you’re ready for the madness to begin. But are you, really?

First up, before reading any more blog posts today, put on my “March Madness” mixtape from last year (new one in the works, don’t worry!)

With your soundtrack set-up, now you’re ready to get your streaming and app game in order. Let’s go!

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Next-gen sports data finds a home in the new Baseball viewing experience

One of my favorite sports movies of all time is Moneyball. If you haven’t seen it, the film is based on the true story of how Oakland A’s general manager Billy Beane helped revolutionize the modern game of Baseball in the early 2000’s by applying statistical analysis to the problem of putting together a winning team on a shoestring budget.

That kind of data analysis, generally referred to as sabermetrics, has had wide-reaching effects on not just baseball, but a wide variety of industries. You might know former sabermetrician Nate Silver who has used his FiveThirtyEight blog to predict election results with startling accuracy.

But data isn’t just for professional election watchers and baseball insiders, and the success of Moneyball is a strong sign that even casual fans are interested in how data changes their favorite games. That’s why I’m excited to see the next generation tracking systems in Major League Baseball which will give you, the viewer, tons of data to soak in while you watch the game. Check the video below to see it in action.

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The Super Bowl ads I actually liked this year

best super bowl commercials 2014

The Super Bowl was a big disappointment this year, not just for Broncos fans but for everyone expecting the can’t-miss game of the year. On the other hand, as always, there were a few outstanding ads.

This year don’t waste your time trying to watch or re-watch every single one of the Super Bowl ads on some other site, because I’ve got a list of just the best ones.

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HLN: The Best Football Apps to Check Out This Season

Are you ready??? It’s Football season again and you want to be prepared. So get out your smartphone and grab some of the best apps out there to stay on top of your teams, your fantasy football league, to learn more about the game, and even one for all of you who bleed purple like me to stay on top of the world’s greatest team, THE RAVENS.

NFL Mobile – FREE for basic and $5 a month Premium
Available for Android, Apple, Blackberry, and Windows Phones

This app contains everything you could want to know about the NFL this season. Scores, standings, news, schedules, a link to NFL.com fantasy football, and video highlights. It has custom team alerts. So you can get an alert on everything RAVENS—scores, injuries, highlights, etc. All information tailored to your favorite team. For HUGE Football fans that cannot go without there is a premium upgrade. If you are a Verizon customer, you can upgrade to premium features for access to NFL RedZone which lets you watch games live on Thursdays, Sundays and Mondays. This also gives you access to the NFL Network 24/7.
The Premium upgrade costs $5 per month. Read More