Tag: March madness »

Spring is (technically) here again, with the herald of college basketball's annual tournament, the aptly-titled March Madness (though the final game is in April). There's plenty of ways to enjoy the basketball mania from your iOS device. Here's our favorite four apps for March Madness 2013.

NCAA March Madness Live: There's an obvious choice for inclusion in this article, and that's the app that lets you experience the madness live from anywhere. All the tournament's games are available from this app. So watch a scrappy underdog from a tiny college try to beat a team with first-round draft picks working as towel boys. Or watch an additional game to the one on TV. Or get three iOS devices and watch all the games at once, even if it drives you...mad!

ESPN Bracket Bound: The other half of the fun during March Madness is filling out and following your picks for the 64 teams in the bracket. If you use ESPN, their app lets you track your bracket and see how well you're doing. You can also compare your bracket with a variety of other sports analysts, celebrities, and even President Obama. You can also track scores, watch video from ESPN analysts about the games, and track the latest news from the tournament.

SideBets: Of course, anyone can make a bracket full of their wildest picks with no repercussions if they fail, sure. But what about if there was a little something extra behind it? Not real-world gambling because that's illegal, right FBI? But you can legally bet something intangible: your pride. That's what SideBets does, it lets you wager virtual currency with your friends on game results to see who wins. The app features actual gambling lines, so you can get the thrill of gambling on sports without the massive crushing financial losses and broken kneecaps from bookies you owe money to.

StarDunk: All the roundball action might get you thinking that you're gonna want to go out and pound the rock a bit, show those youngsters how it's done. This will probably not go well. Afterward, how about you instead play a game of virtual basketball? And since we're playing virtual basketball, let's go nuts and play a game of basketball...in space. Godzi Lab's classic basketball game features plenty of fast-paced basketball shooting, basketballs with special properties, and online competition to try and take down. Regain some pride if your team gets knocked out or if your bracket gets busted.

Starting this Thursday March 15th, the round of 64 of the NCAA Men's Basketball Championship begins, with the first 32 games being played on Thursday and Friday. That's a lot of basketball to keep track of. The tournament's format allows for the unexpected to happen, and every year the unexpected keeps happening. Some team no one has ever heard of will shock a basketball giant, and there's a good chance that the ultimate upset, a 16-seed beating a 1-seed might actually happen this year. So why be the only person who doesn't know that it happened until the highlights air on SportsCenter later? The only person on earth who can watch and keep track of all these games at once is Timothy Burke of Deadspin. This is his setup for capturing video and screenshots. However, with these four apps, anyone can keep track of the madness from anywhere to a lesser degree.

March Madness Live: Why not kick off this Favorite Four with the app to follow the tournament? For a $3.99 in-app purchase, all the games of the tournament, even the Final Four and National Championship Game, can be watched via this universal app. Follow the big upset on the bus, or watch one game on the iPhone, another on the iPad, while yet another is on the TV. I can't and won't judge, because I'll probably be doing the exact same thing.

Slacker Radio: Can't watch the game for whatever reason? Well, then Slacker Radio is here to the rescue, as the app will be streaming all the games of the tournament for free. Just check the NCAA Broadcasts section of the app for all the basketball goodness. I'm not saying that it's wise to be listening to a game while watching several others simultaneously, just that it's possible. Trying that may lead to a real case of March madness from basketball overload.

ESPN ScoreCenter: Stuck not being able to watch or listen to the game? Or perhaps just alerts of one's favorite team would suffice, because no one cares if South Dakota State can upset Baylor because they're gonna lose in the next round anyway? Well, this app provides live score updates and push notifications. I recommend this app for college basketball scores especially because ESPN employs the trillest college basketball analyst in the land, Jay Bilas (pictured at left).

PlayUp: Want a second screen experience, but only want to track one game at a time? Well, then PlayUp can help users keep track of not just scores of all the games, but to also chat with other fans watching the game. Talk trash, root with fellow fans, or pick up the cause of the underdog when they start to rally against a basketball behemoth. Just remember, that underdog may be the one that busts that carefully-planned bracket.

[img id="media.1.jpg "]This week, historically, is the most important week of the year for the college basketball fan. It all starts with Selection Sunday when the field of 64 (or 65 as it is now) is announced. Then, college basketball fans worldwide struggle for the next 3.5 days to fill out their brackets. And finally, Thursday comes around and the first game tips off. From there it's 4 straight days of basketball nirvana.

Here's a quick round-up of some apps that can help you enjoy this week. Some to fill out your brackets with, and one to even help you catch the games when away from a TV.

CBS Sports NCAA® March Madness on Demand® is back for the second year. This app is on the high end price wise for an app, but it has one really special feature. Along with sports scores, news, and full bracket coverage, this app lets you stream video of every single NCAA Tournament game. That's right every single one of the games, even over 3G and Edge. There's also audio-only coverage if you prefer that. Last year the app worked really well for me. Great if you can't get away from work to watch a game, you can just sneak into the bathroom and watch it there. I'm not too proud admit that I've had to do that once or twice...
There's also a free version minus the streaming.

Hit the jump for more great apps to help you enjoy March Madness.