World Series fever brings out major-league Web sites
Oct.
19, 1997
By JIM BROOKS
If you're a Major League Baseball fan, the month of October brings
either heartbreak or euphoria because it's time again for the World
Series.
My favorite team, the Cincinnati Reds, had far from a stellar season,
but for fellow Reds fans there's some consolation from knowing the
team finished ahead of both the Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Cardinals
in the end-of-season division standings.
This World Series brings together two underdogs -- both having
defeated the team with the best record in their respective leagues.
My column last October detailed a number of places on the World
Wide Web to visit for baseball information, and like the rest of
the Internet, sites related to the sport have exploded.
And since the second game of the series is schedule for later this
evening, you've still time to fire up your computer and catch the
latest news on the Web.
FASTBALL. One of the newsiest sites for baseball information
is Fastball, located on the Web at www.fastball.com.
It's a site put together by Cox Interactive Media, and it has something
for both the baseball fan and the fanatic.
Tops on my list are the real-time posting of related sports stories
from the Associated Press wires. You really can read tomorrow's
news today in many cases.
In addition to the AP-provided content, there are original stories
written by Fastball's staff writers, covering all aspects of the
World Series and their opinions on the outcome.
The site archives complete team and season statistics, minor league
team news and an in-depth archive of games and notable sports events
from the past.
THE FALL CLASSIC. One of the top World Series Web sites
is a joint effort that combines the resources of MSNBC, NBC and
Major League Baseball.
The result is "The Fall Classic," a site full of stats,
news and even video pertaining to the two teams facing one another
in the World Series.
The site even offers a "cybercast" -- featuring live,
real-time play-by-play commentary of the on-field action by Cincinnati
Reds standout shortstop Barry Larkin.
You can vote for who you think will win the series, or even play
their online game, "Home Run Derby."
The URL looks complicated, but it's worth the visit, at: http://www.msnbc.com/news/fallclassic_front.asp.
CBS SPORTSLINE. My final recommendation (though not the
last great site pertaining to the Series) is CBS' Sportsline at
http://cbs.sportsline.com/.
Series-related content will be on the main page, but its the World
Series subpage that has the real goodies. Click on the baseball
button at the top menu bar and you'll find it.
You'll find the latest from CBS News on the series, as well as
complete archives and history, trivia, photos, columns and even
ABC Radio News broadcasts in RealAudio format.
You can even vote in their who-will-win-the-series poll. Though
oddsmakers are leaning towards the Marlins, visitors to Sportsline
favored the Cleveland Indians to win it all. Interestingly, when
asked which teams in the playoffs were most driven to get to the
World Series, Sportsline visitors called it correctly -- picking
the Cleveland Indians and the Florida Marlins.
TOP 10 LOSERS. C|Net's Web site, www.cnet.com, posted an
interested feature story last week that all Web users might want
to check out: "Ten technologies that don't stand a chance."
While patterned after David Letterman's Top 10 lists, C|Net's list
expands its answers into mini-articles, detailing why each of the
technologies listed will be the 8-track and Betamax video tapes
of the 1990s.
And the list may surprise you. It includes:
10. "Push" technology;
9. ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network);
8. 56k modems;
7. Internet telephones;
6. Net PCs;
5. spam-blocking software;
4. personal digital assistants (PDAs);
3. PC TV;
2. the JAVA programming language; and finally (and a bit tongue-in-cheek),
1. TV.
Find the complete story at http://www.cnet.com/Content/Features/Dlife/Failure/index.html.
MOVING TO THE WEB. CompuServe, the pioneer in online services,
is moving its proprietary content to the Web, and the computer press
received a sneak preview of the results last week.
The new Web-based service includes the company's long-acclaimed
forums and business-related content and research databases.
The new product initially is being called "C from CompuServe,"
and is aimed at CompuServe's traditional audience: business, professional
and technical-minded customers.
The new Web-based service has had to re-create itself. It's revenues
stream will come from online transactions and advertising, rather
than subscriptions.
Consumers can choose from three levels of access to CompuServe's
content, from free to pay-per-use for some of the databases.
The company, founded in 1969 and acquired recently by America Online,
will formerly launch its new service by year's end.
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