I Was Skeptical, But Apple Sports Won Me Over

iPhone Sports App

iPhone Sports App: A Convert's Perspective

For years, iPhone users have relied on third-party apps for sports scores and updates. But Apple recently stepped into the game with its own Sports app, and after some initial skepticism, I'm now a convert. The Apple Sports app was introduced on the iPhone on February 21, 2024. I initially tried it back in February, but it lacked customization, so I didn't use it for long. However, I've returned to using the app for the past two months, and I'm enjoying it much more. Apple has made several improvements that enhance usability, including displaying live games I follow on my lock screen and Apple Watch. Adding or removing games from my "followed" list is now a breeze.

While other apps on my phone (e.g., ESPN, MLB, NFL) offer game tracking, I particularly appreciate how Apple Sports displays real-time countdowns on my lock screen and Apple Watch. Often, the countdown is ahead of what I see on TV, giving me a more "live" feel.

Follow a Specific Game

Following a Specific Game

The screenshot shows the games I'm currently following. In this case, there are NFL games and college basketball games. To follow a game on your lock screen or Apple Sports, simply open the game in the app and tap the icon in the upper right corner of the game details. Tapping the icon again unfollows the game.

The ability to display followed games on the lock screen is a relatively recent addition, introduced within the last two or three months. This feature wasn't available at the app's initial launch and has been a game-changer for me. I often close live updates from other apps like NFL or ESPN, relying on Apple Sports for at-a-glance updates.

Followed Game on Lock Screen

Lock Screen Updates

As shown in the screenshots, Apple Sports provides clear updates on the lock screen and Apple Watch. On my Apple Watch, I receive notifications for scores, end of quarters, and halftime/game endings. These notifications can be customized if you only want to see score updates.

Final Thoughts

I am currently using Apple Sports as my primary app for following my teams. I appreciate the real-time updates, which seem faster than those in other apps. Occasionally, a game might not update correctly, requiring me to force-close and restart the app, but this is a minor inconvenience.

I'm optimistic that Apple will continue to update and improve the Apple Sports experience. If you haven't tried it recently, I encourage you to check it out.

Oliver Attends his First Kansas City Royals Bark at the Park Game and All is Fine

Oliver Tailgating and Ready

We have been talking about taking Oliver to Bark at the Park at the Kansas City Royals games since he was a puppy. We have never done so until this past Tuesday. I saw the date advertised a few times early in the season and we started talking about taking Oliver to his first game. Plus, it would be the first time in two years that Carrie and I would attend a game. We got it booked and planned out the night. 

It was a great time! So many dogs... I later heard there were around 900 dogs in the stadium. Oliver did really good. He barked and growled a few times in the line leading up to the gates. Once we got to our seats, he was fine until about the middle innings. Then he started sitting and growling at other dogs as they would walk by or he could see them in the stands.  Carrie took him up to the top to do his business and when he came back, he was a perfect little gentleman. 

Oliver meets Sluggerrr

Oliver met Sluggerrr at the game. We tried to get the attention of Sluggerrr as he was right next to us, but were unable to get his attention to hold Oliver to get a picture. At one point, they played "The Circle of Life" from The Lion King and in this case, Sluggerrr held up dogs on the jumbotron. It was funny although I think if that would have been Oliver, he would have been scared. 

It happened to be $1 hotdog night, so we had hot dogs for dinner. Oliver had a few bites of hotdog. We noticed some other dogs where that was their meal for the night with meat only and no bun. It was funny to watch all the different dogs and interactions.

The Royals snapped a three-game losing streak, so that was fun. We talked after the game on the way home, with a sleepy Oliver, that this might be a once-a-year thing. I really did not watch any of the first 1 - 4 innings as anxious about Oliver being good and trying to make sure he was not causing issues. 

While there were 900 something dogs there that night, there were not a lot of fans. The Royals playing well and scoring caused a few times when there were loud cheers, yelling, etc., and Oliver did not like that too much. He would coward and slink into the chair or our arms. He did great overall.

Oliver Cheering for his Royals

I think Oliver had a great time. He had a lot of things to see that were new to him. A lot of things to sniff that were different. He behaved well for the most part. He made people around us laugh at his low growling in the middle innings. He met some people that had previously owned a Japanese Chin and remembered his name each time they walked by our row saying "Hi Oliver". Nothing traumatic happened and for that I am grateful. The anxiety levels for both Carrie and I as we were headed to the game were at high levels. It went well.

Since that game, the Royals have been doing very well. Fun to watch and now Oliver has a little extra something to connect with when we are watching at home. As for Carrie and I, we plan to make it to another 2 - 5 games through the season. I cannot wait!

Until next time, have a great rest of the weekend!

Diamond Sports Group Expected to File Bankruptcy Impacting Bally Sports Which has Rights to MLB, Soccer, etc.

Parent company Diamond Sports Group, which owns Bally Sports, is expected to file for bankruptcy next week (see article from Sportico). As you can imagine, there are all kinds of rumors about what this means for sports streaming with rants about losing viewing of all sports to some services (such as MLB) going to providing all of their games on MLB.TV but charging $300 - $400 per year. All rumors at this point as no one knows what will happen.

I hope this opens up the ability for providers, such as YouTube TV, to be able to provide local sports once again. Again, rumors are flowing that the company going bankrupt means YouTube TV, and others, would not be in the market to provide the sports streams at all. It might be a bit early to figure out what will happen with sports streaming after the dust settles, but I have to think it will be a better arrangement for the fan.

Time will tell if this will help or hinder fans from watching their teams. I am hopeful this will help and there is the possibility that leagues could take over their broadcasts meaning no more blackouts. I cannot help but wonder if part of the reason Bally Sports is failing is because of how limited they were in their reach for customers. Bally Sports was available as a pay service which I am not sure many people purchased. Others had the Bally Sports network through their provider such as Cox, Direct Stream, or recently fuboTV. I know many others who simply did not watch as it was too much of a hassle to get their channels as they were not available on their selected platform or they did not want to pay extra for Bally Sports. Many others that acquired the broadcasts through other means. Make it difficult to watch sports and people will find other ways or stop watching entirely.

To early to tell how the upcoming bankruptcy will impact streaming, but have to believe it will have impact on this season that is fast approaching for MLB. What exactly will be impacted is rumor and guessing, but I expect we will hear something impacting Bally Sports in the near future. I will continue to hope for improvement to the current structure to make it easier and better for fans to watch sports.

Until next time, have a great week! I am prepping for the Super Bowl later this evening. I cannot wait! Go Chiefs!

Bally Sports+ Planned Release in Second Quarter for MLB, Soccer, etc. Streaming with a Subscription Required

Bally Sports has finally confirmed that they will be releasing Bally Sports+ here in the second quarter according to an article from The Streamable. How many more things can we have created that are called “+”? This is an aside, but maybe you are wondering the cost to sign up for Bally Sports+. The soft launch will be $19.99 a month or $189.99 a year. Holy crap! $189.99 a year for streaming of sports. This seems rather high to me and not worth the money.

 

I am already using Bally Sports to watch the Royals allbeit from my Mom’s account who lives in Lawrence. I have YouTube TV which does not have Bally Sports because of contract disagreements, but Sling and Dish Network customers are in the same boat where only Direct TV Stream has Bally Sports. I wil note that the Bally Sports app on my Roku, iPad, and iPhone have worked really well since the start of the season, but lately, the app on Roku does not work at all. On my iPhone and iPad, I can watch for a few minutes and then it locks up and has to be restarted. When I read the announcement from The Streamable regarding Bally Sports+ being released soon, that made me wonder if this is on purpose to force us over to the paid subscription.

 

On Roku the Bally Sports app starts, I can go to go to Teams and then the Royals, but if I try to play a recorded or live game, the app shuts down and returns to the main Roku window. This has been happening for three or four weeks now. However, if I open the Bally Sports app on Apple TV, the app works fine and I can watch games. Annoying though that the app is broken on Roku.

 

Just as annoying is that the Bally Sports app on iPad or iPhone simply stops playing video. I have to go out to the main screen of the app and start the feed again. Before long, less than five minutes, it will stop playing stating there is an error. 

 

If Bally Sports decides to make changes so that I can no longer watch Royals through their app from my a TV provider that subscribes to Bally Sports, like Midco in Lawrence, then I will not be paying for their add-on service to simply watch the Royals. I will rely on video clips from YouTube and listen to the radio broadcast. Paying $20 a month to watch the my team is not worth it let alone paying almost $200 a year to be able to watch. Instead, Bally Sports should re-work their deals with YouTube TV, Sling, Dish, Hulu, etc. so that other streaming options are available and likely do it much better than Bally Sports.

 

The season for the Royals has not gone very well thus far. Friday night was our first win in what seemed like many weeks… We had won games on Wednesday and Sunday the past week, but still, it seemed like a long time. We are 11 - 20 or 6.5 games out of first in the AL Central. We have not seen production from some we were expecting and some we would like to leave the team. The way social media is discussing, a complete management replacement is needed. I love my Royals and it makes it difficult to watch when we are struggling, but us Royals fans are used to this too. I just hope that I can continue to watch the Royals even if they are not very good, but hoping that turns around too. 

 

Decided to Add MLB.TV to YouTube TV Again for the Season #MLB #YTTV #YouTubeTV

I changed my mind from when I posted back on March 20 (see post) where I said I was not going to purchase MLB.TV this year. After hearing some updates from other YouTube TV subscribers to MLB.TV with the main change from last year being that you can now link your MLB account to your YTTV subscription. Game changer! This means I can log in and watch games through the MLB.TV app on my iOS devices, TV, or watch on the computer. Last year, the initial rollout of MLB.TV on YouTube TV, I could only watch games (out-of-market) through the YouTube TV site which also means I could record games too. While that was nice last year, it is also a perk to be able to access through the MLB.TV site for condensed games, highlights, etc. that were not available when doing the subscription last year.

It is still the case that while I subscribe to MLB.TV through YouTube TV, blackouts still exist or at least they will once the regular season starts. Yesterday, I watched the Royals through the app on my phone. Worked great! For the past week or so, MLB.TV has been offering free preview of many of the spring training games. That free preview ended yesterday, so that helped me in making my decision to proceed with the purchase again this year.

Who is ready for the season to start? I have two fantasy baseball leagues to draft before the season starts, so working to get things figured out on those leagues. Ready to have some fun and looking forward to a fun season. Enjoy the season!

Relaxed Workout Schedule, Lots of Basketball, Baseball, and YouTube TV Guide Changes Looming

I am a little late on posting my Sunday posting. I usually try to do so during the week, or Saturday, and have it post by midnight Saturday night. Well, this week, other than posting a St. Patrick’s Day post, I did not get it done. It was a short work week for me as I took off of work Thursday half-day and Friday all day to watch basketball. It has been a fun few days off and lots of basketball. Plus, I get to connect with my sister, Dina, to discuss various games. We usually discuss the upsets or of course KU games are discussed, so it has been fun to watch, discuss, and cheer for games this weekend.

My exercising routine did not go well this week. I had planned to work out my regular three times this week, but as it turned out, I only got one workout in today (Sunday). The two earlier in the week never happened. We ended up going out for impromptu dinner Tuesday night when I was planning to ride and when we got back home, I did not feel like riding the bike. I already knew that my Thursday workout was going to be another day to schedule as I was taking off Thursday afternoon and all day Friday. So, I changed and planned to work out Friday morning before the games started, but I could not get motivated to get on the bike. Instead, I stayed in my lounge chair where I would sit for most of the day watching games. So, not a good week for working out which is not good, but hopefully with an hour long bike ride this morning on Sunday, I will get back into the swing of riding again.

MLB spring training started this past week, so I have been tuning into their games. I listened to the Royals spring training game on Friday which was fun (ended in a tie 5-5), but it was good to hear baseball again and hear familiar names of the Royals players. I have also been tuning into every Washburn baseball game to watch it on the MIAA network. There have been some fun games for Washburn baseball. Washburn baseball is 17-7 on the season, so they have been fun. Planning to get out to watch some of their home games here soon too.

I decided that I would not be buying the MLB.TV package from YouTube TV this year. I did it last year as it was the first time they had it, but other than being fun to watch other teams, it does not do a whole lot for me. I already buy the subscription for radio broadcast, so I can tune into any radio broadcast for MLB. The hope of having Royals back on YouTube TV is about gone. I do not see anyway for Royals to be on YouTube TV again.

Related to YouTube TV, I read an article today that Google is testing a new guide for YouTube TV subscribers. We have not picked up the new update yet, but I am excited to see what they do with the changes. An article from 9to5Google shows what some users are seeing in the testing. Some of the mentioned changes are things I have wanted since joining YouTube TV with being able to see descriptions without going to the show. So, I look forward to the change to rollout to our Roku systems.

For me, back to watching March Madness, streaming Washburn baseball, and watching the Royals later through my Mom’s Bally Sports account. Enjoy your Sunday and talk to you next week.

Baseball is Back! Excited to Watch and Attend Games Plus Fantasy Baseball to Return

 

Spring is right around the corner. In a typical year, spring training would have started with catchers and picthers reporting. This year though, a MLB strike was in effect since December 2021. On Thursday, March 10 while at home for a snow day and between meetings that were scheduled, I read where the MLB lockout had ended. Suddenly, every social media outlet as well as news outlet was talking about baseball season starting. After feeling the past few weeks that baseball was not going to happen, or be severly delayed, it is good to have it back and know that opening day is set for April 7. Basically, the whole season is pushed back a week, but expect to get in all the games that were planned.

 

Of course, we are gearing up for the end of college basketball with March Madness in full swing and NCAA tournament happening next week, it is good to once again have MLB back in our sites. The day after the announcement sparked conversations with fantasy baseball leagues talking about who is playing this year, when we will draft, etc., so a lot to work out for fantasy baseball leagues as the start of the season is announced. 

 

Anthony Castrovince from MLB.com outlines when Spring Training begins as well as the changes for the season in his article MLB 2022 season FAQ. To quote/reference a few items from his article, Spring Training will tentatively start on March 18. As mentioned earlier, opening day is scheduled for April 7 with the games that were scheduled March 31 through April 6 to be played following the regular season.

 

Castrovince shares that doubleheaders will “revert back to the pre-pandemic era” where we will once again see doubleheaders be nine innings and “there will not be an automatic running at second base at the start of extra innings” (MLB 2022 season FAQ). For those of us that are fans in the American League, a change was made to no longer have a spot in the batting order for the pitcher. Often a debate between fans of American or National League’s, at least for 2022 the DH will be in both leagues. I am sure the debate and conversation will continue througout this year between the two fan bases.

 

Changes also took place in regard to playoffs on how many teams play as well as no longer re-seeding for division series. Plus there will there will no longer be play-in games to decide the playoff spots as noted by Castrovince in the MLB 2022 season FAQ article.

 

A few changes, and some being major changes, the MLB season begins. Not exactly how we thought it would be starting, but it is good to have Spring Training starting and the regular season to start in early April… I cannot wait! Hoping to make it to at least one Royals game this year as I did not make it to any last year. Enjoy the season!

 

Rumor of Apple Possibly Streaming MLB Games for 2022… Yes Please and no Blackouts!

Recent rumors about Apple being involved in MLB streaming (see NY Post) has a lot of buzz happening the past few weeks. Apparently following ESPN losing the contract for weeknight games, Apple might take over the chance to get into the sports world and stream games. I am interested to see what happens with this news. I was happy that YouTube TV added MLB TV to their line up as an add-on option, but with blackouts it really did not do a whole lot for me this past season. I had to watch all of the games this past season through my Mom’s account in Lawrence through her streaming service. It worked, but it would be nice to have a streaming service where I could watch the game with my own account.

With ESPN losing regular Monday and Wednesday games, it does open up a potential for another streaming service to take those spots. As rumored through news releases of Bally Sports with their possibly released streaming service, I like the Apple angle much more. Bally Sports has been rumored to be trying to spin off their own streaming service with a subscription fee separate from providing their feed to services. If they go this direction, I do not plan to by a subscription to Bally Sports. In the same manner, I do not intend to renew my MLB TV subscription through YouTube TV as I could not watch the games live. Yes, I did enjoy watching other games and catching up on games or following out-of-market teams, but I am not sure that is enough for me to spend $100+ this next season.

The price point Apple decides to do for the games if they get the contract will be interesting. I would hope it would be $4.99 or less if only looking at Monday/Wednesday games.

I hold out a hope that MLB will return to YouTube TV, but I know that is far fetched unless Bally Sports changes their model or works with companies such as YouTube TV, Sling, or Dish for a contract that those companies can accept and not impact heavily their customers.

Bally Sports Kansas City New #Royals Graphics #TogetherRoyal #BallySports

The start of the MLB season started on Thursday, April 1 and with it we saw a new branded channel. Formerly Fox Sports Midwest. It seems like we have watched Royals baseball on Fox Sports Midwest forever, but looking it up the channel launched in March 2008 (according to Wiki). The new branding is Bally Sports. Bally Sports officially launched April 1 but their web site still says “Coming Soon” and the app on my iPhone and Roku devices still says Fox Sports Go. The rumor was that everything was going to change on Opening Day of baseball, but that does not appear to have happened.

What did change was the broadcast. Broadcasters saying “Bally Sports” now and graphics indicate we are watching “Bally Sports” just to remind us over and over. I am still upset that I cannot get Royals baseball on YouTube TV and have to watch through my Mom’s streaming account from Midco. I am happy that is working and hope it continues to work to watch Royals baseball. I am one of the lucky ones as many people are not able to watch their favorite teams with blackouts or their provider no longer carrying the games (see Contract Disputes posted back in January).

For years we have had the same graphics and I have to admit I missed them when I first started watching the game on Thursday. I was so used to seeing the layout in the lower right hand corner when watching Royals baseball that I missed not seeing it in the corner. I am not sure, but I would guess the graphic for pitcher, batter, score, inning, outs, and count had not changed since Fox Sports Midwest launched in 2008, or if it did change it was not by much.

Having seen the same graphics for so many years, I get set in my ways, and expect to see them to start the new season. I think it will be fine with the new graphics, but I can still complain about what I do not like and then compliment the new changes that I do like.

Typical information on the graphics with the score on the left. Inning, bases, outs, and count in the middle. Then on the right side displays other games. The whole graphic is along the bottom of the screen. The center section is also where it displays MPH for a pitch. 

The addition of the running scores of other games is a new addition. I do not recall where scores of other games would post/scroll on Fox Sports Midwest  but I believe it might have been at the top and only if there was an interesting game in session. The most part, I do not think they showed scores of other games at all. That is a nice new addition with the scrolling scores to help keep an eye on those other games.

The center section section where it displays inning, who is on base, outs, and count needs some work is fine, but could use some color changes. Instead of outs showing as black dots, I would rather see red. The other complaint is that outs usually show left to right so it is odd to see them right to left. Again, not a huge issue, but it is going to take a little while to get used to the change. Although it appears this was only for the first game of the season on Opening Day. The second game of the season on Saturday had corrected the sequence of going left to right on outs, so it was better.

Overall, I like the new graphics and especially the scrolling scores of other games. It will take a while to get used to saying Bally Sports Kanas City, but I am sure we will all get used to it as they say it over-and-over throughout the game, commercials, and via social media.

I am so excited to be watching baseball and happy that at least for now, I get to watch Royals baseball. Enjoy the season for whatever team you follow.

YouTube TV Added MLB.TV as an option for Add-on this Past Week and I Added Immediately... I Still Want to See Fox Sports Midwest Available for YouTube TV Customers

Today marks the beginning of spring training for the 2021 season. Looking forward to watching baseball after a shortened 2020 season. This past week, YouTube TV announced they added MLB.TV to their add-on lineup. While a step in the right direction, it still does not address the missing Fox Sports Midwest channels from YouTube TV, Dish, Hulu, Sling, and others as contract disputes continue between providers and Sinclair Broadcast Group.

I was excited when I read the tweet earlier this week that MLB.TV was now available as an add-on for YouTube TV. I added it almost immediately and I look forward to watching more games this year starting with spring training today. I remain disappointed that blackouts still apply and I will not be able to watch the Kansas City Royals as they are blacked out.

Originally, I was thinking that for the 2021 season, I would be listening to MLB games through the radio option of MLB.TV which I still subscribe to and I did not think I would be able to watch any games. I decided to check with my mom to see if I could use her Midco account from Lawrence; I believe I will be able to watch the Kansas City Royals using Fox Sports app and logged into the Midco account. I have tested and it appears to work, but I will not know for sure until the games start later today.

I remain excited to have MLB.TV available on YouTube TV as I have been a subscriber through MLB direct for many years. The past two years though moving to the radio only option, but I did enjoy the watching of live games through MLB.TV  watching key game recaps, key plays, etc. on archived games. While I wish there were not blackouts I am happy to have the ability to watch games again not in my market. I am hopeful that one day I will be able to watch my local sports teams through YouTube TV, but for now, I will watch out of market games through MLB.TV add-on for YouTube TV and my Royals through my mom’s account.