Reviews For Sporting News Magazine

The Sporting News (TSN) was often referred to as the Baseball Bible back in the days in which it published every boxscore of major league baseball games. Its lineage traces back to 1886, when the publishers decided the average baseball fan needed a place to get information about his team that the local scribes might not know or for the casual fan who was in another city. For many years, TSN did not pay much attention to other sports besides baseball. About 15 years ago, when I first started subscribing to TSN it still arrived on my doorstep in newspaper form. This practice continued until maybe three or four years ago, when they turned into a glossier magazine-type of publication. A few weeks ago, they unveiled a new style, sleeker, with a better font for their insights. Despite these changes, TSN remains the place to go for sports information.

What prompted TSN's change to a sleeker style was the birth of ESPN "the Magazine". Even Sports Illustrated, in business since 1954, has taken to copying some of the pictorial style of "the Magazine". What neither of these publications will likely ever be able to emulate, is the depth and breadth of information contained in TSN. Each major league baseball team has their own correspondent that files weekly reports alongside up to date stats. Their recently instituted "See a Different Game" feature takes you into the mind of the manager and the player.

With The Magazine, you get tidbits of information about your team, with TSN, you get a full meal. Though I started with baseball to make my case, football and basketball are covered comprehensively as well, with a wealth of information when the sports are in season. Since we are starting training camp time in football, TSN is right there with analysis at every position and coach.

The explosion of NASCAR's popularity has prompted TSN to add a section for that sport (loosely defined, in my estimation). As with each sport, their is an insider section that gives you the latest rumors and rumblings about the sport.

The feature articles are always outstanding and well-researched. They have strong opinions about the state of the sports that they cover and don't hesitate to point out folly where they see it. I will miss their basketball scribe Dave D'Alessandro who recently left the fold, but Sean Deveney is a seasoned beat writer who will be solid, I am sure.

Dave Kindred's column closes the magazine each week with often touching stories and occasional rants about the state of sports today.

The worst thing about this magazine is Caught on the Fly, complete with a big-mouthed fly graphic. It's puns are often painful and its colloquial style, just does not appeal to me. If I want to get my sports news from the in-crowd, who might refer to the face as the grill, I will read the Magazine.

Generally, I read all the baseball team reports and the baseball articles. It is hard enough to keep up with that on a weekly basis, which is the irony of this publication. Now, fantasy football is about to start and I have to try to keep up with that too. They give you so much to read, it is hard to keep up with every week. Perhaps the Magazine had a good idea when they decided to publish every other week. Then again, they could not publish current information, if they waited two weeks to give it to you.

Another review of TSN pointed out their lack of coverage of women's sports. Sadly, this is still the case. You hardly hear anything about the WNBA, while the Magazine regularly contains features on this new entry into the sports world.

TSN is the place to go for sports information. It has shown in recent years that it can change with the times and respond to new trends and ideas. What has not changed is their commitment to provide the best sports information you will find anywhere.

Recommended:
Yes

The best all around sports magazine ever!! No other sporting magazine gives you the quick, concise inside on the sports that matter the most. There is always a featured article, but it does not waste the readers time on article after article of boring information. I have been a subscriber for the past 8 years and plan on having a subscription for as long as I last. The only improvement I would make on this magazine is more college hoops. It does a very good job covering college football, but come basketball season, they barely devote a page to it. The other major sports have awesome coverage. Each week there is a rundown on what's happening with each team in basketball, football, and baseball--even when the season is over. If you like to track the offseason happenings of your favorite team, this is the magazine for you. A must have for sports lovers. Unlike Sport's Illustrated which is always about two months behind what is happening now, The Sporting News comes out weekly and is up to date with what is going on.


Recommended:
Yes

In an era when sports magazines are everywhere you look, the old reliable is still number one. What's that? The bible of baseball, The Sporting News.

Now, the first question has to be, what makes it such a good mag? Well, first, the stats are in every volume, and I do mean volume! League leaders, team leaders, and more. Furthermore, there are articles that match up to the best of the other weeklies, like SI, but are far more up to date, and inclusive of all the major sports.

Unlike some of the monthly magazines, which should have higher quality analysis, but don't (yes, that means you, ESPN!), you will actually learn something in each issue. Whether for rotisserie purposes, or just to stay a well informed fan, with TSN, you can't go wrong. I have had subscriptions to SI, Sport, Inside Sports and TSN in my lifetime. Now, only The Sporting News can be found in my mailbox.


Recommended:
Yes

I picked up a copy of the Sporting News on the news stands a couple of weeks ago and now I have a subscription. They provide in depth coverage of your favorite teams in all sports. It is a great source for information about teams you like to follow, but can't find in your local paper. They have nice feature articles and their coverage of sports is very good. A couple of years ago this magazine wasn't much to speak of, but now they are up there or are in some ways better than Sprots Illustrated in the sprots magazine realm. I would almost say this is better because of all the focused team information you get, but Sports Illustrated does have all those great sports columnists. This is still a very good magazine to get your sports news and I highly suggest picking up a copy or even a subscription.


Recommended:
Yes

The Sporting News is the most complete sports magazine on newsstands today. One of the many enjoyable qualities of TSN is the previews. Another would be the team reports. The power pole is also an interesting part of TSN. These are just some of its great qualities.
One great aspect of TSN is the previews. TSN previews college football, the NBA, the college football bowl games, and many other sporting events. TSN is very in-depth. It gives you more information than other sports magazines.
Another enjoyable quality of TSN is the team reports. TSN rates a teams performance each week. TSN continues its team reports even into a sport's off season. For example, TSN gives us insight into what is going on in the baseball world even during the winter months. Thanks to TSN we know what a team is looking for in the free agent market and other valuable information.
TSN also rates all the teams in a sport in the power pole. For example, all 31 NFL teams are ranked. TSN also ranks Major League Baseball, college football, and the National Basketball Association. It is interesting to see who is number 1 each week.
There are some bad qualities to TSN. It doesn't cover some of the less popular sports as well as it does basketball, football, baseball, and hockey. The coverage of these sports is spectacular, however.
In conclusion, TSN is a great sports magazine. In my opinion it is the best one on newsstands today. Its good qualities out weigh its bad qualities by far. It is sports news at its finest.


Recommended:
Yes

The Sporting News is a great magazine for those who like to get more than just the headlines. They go behind the scenes and get real involved with their stories. If you are into statistics, this is the magazine to read. They can find out more stats about any player, or team, and never fill you up with useless stats. They have a section called ask the referee, where you can submit any type of sport question about the official rules, and get your questions answered. Not all submissions are printed, but I have submitted 3 questions, and was fortunate to have all mine published. It is nice to see that people actually read the mail they get and care about the readers they have.


Recommended:
Yes

On my recent trip to the dentist's office, I picked up the May 28, 2001 copy of The Sporting News. It had been a long time since I last read The Sporting News.

The cover was about White Sox pitcher, David Wells, with the question, "Why baseball's uneasy rider is the pitcher every team wants----until it has him?" Wells' success on the mound has not stopped him from being with six clubs in seven seasons and an excellent player without a baseball home. I enjoyed reading this well written article by Michael Knisley.

There was information in the "Dustbin", recollecting Harvey Haddix's 12 inning perfect game against the Milwaukee Braves on May 26, 1959. It's been over 40 years since this bizarre event, and remembering that Lew Burdette was the winner and pitched all 13 innings was even more remarkable of an event. With today's players, this would never happen. I bet Haddix and Burdette didn't make in their entire careers what a mediocre pitcher makes in one season today.

There was an interesting article on A-Rod, Shaq, and Allen Iverson. There were also plenty of team statistics, coverage of all sports, and insider views about various teams and players.

There is minimal advertising in The Sporting News. If you are a sports fan be a sport, and pick up an issue, or get a subscription which will keep you current on all sports throughout the year.

Recommended:
Yes

Being an avid football fan I am always looking for information on the sport. The Sporting News was a god-send. It's the only magazine that I have found that has year around coverage of all the teams and their moves, not just the ones that the editors think that everyone wants to hear about.

I must admit that other sports take center stage throughout the year but the football section (which is why "I" read it) is always there. It gets smaller during the off season but that is to be expected.

They give in-depth team-by-team analysis of everything from free agency to the draft to how the team "graded out" during last weeks game. They also have a feature article every week during the season that sometimes gives you a different outlook on some of the goings on in the NFL.

The magazine is very affordable when gotten as a subscription and subscribers get their copy before it hits the news stands. It comes out every week instead of once a month so the information is more current than some of the other publications available.


Recommended:
Yes

There are many sport magazines out there offered to people, but i have to say that sporting news is the best. It offers a variety of sports with good wide coverage of the games. It has good in depth coverage with accurate information. I really like this magazine because it not loaded with all the advertisements like the ESPN. This magazine offers many expert opinions on all sports from football to ice skating and that is what i like. The price is Right i pay only a little over a dollar for an issue and love it. For a hole year i only spend 20.00, which compared to other competitive magazines it a great price and value. i like the power ratings that they have and how they rate each team A-F. I totally recommend this if you are looking for a great magazine for the best price around!


Recommended:
Yes

I love my sports. I've read just about every sporting magazine there is from the sport specific(i.e. Football Digest, Baseball Weekly...etc.) to magazines that cover all sports(Sports Illustrated, Sport) but The Sporting News is so much better than any I've read. If you have a sport, it is covered in depth. You get stats from all teams, grades on each specific team, plus on top of that you get the dirt on all sports to the same high degree. Why buy a magazine for each sport when one covers them all. Also, if you are a Penn State fan you wouldn't want to read about a key player from Notre Dame, The Sporting News is the only magazine that I have seen that covers sports so extensively that you can read about your team, their next opponent, and whatever other conference or league team you wish without having the magazine's pick rammed down your throat. All this plus the price is so much less expensive. Subscribe to this magazine and each week you'll have everything you need to know about sports in front of you.


Recommended:
Yes