5.3. Sports, Weather, and Entertainment General news sites do a great job covering issues that affect the big picturecurrent events, stock market trends, and politics. But sooner or later everybody needs a break from the hard news. Check out the professional hockey scores, peek at the latest Hollywood gossip, or look up the local forecast so you can decide whether to pack an umbrella. 5.3.1. Sports To keep up with the sporting life in all forms, you have plenty of choices. Most print publications like Sports Illustrated (www.si.com) and Sporting News (www.sportingnews.com) have overstuffed Web sites, as do the major sports television networks like EPSN (http://espn.go.com) and FOX Sports (http://msn.foxsports.com). Looking for a place to commiserate with fellow fans? The Sports Fan site (www.sportsfan.com) provides group therapy and verbal sparring matches between fans. If you just want to wallow in All Things Sport, slip on over to The Sports Network (www.sportsnetwork.com), where jock-themed movies, books, and tech products are reviewed alongside a near-complete listing of scores, TV schedules, and news briefs on a huge variety of sporting events. Of course, if you're obsessed with one sport above all others, go straight to the source. Most individual sports and leagues have their own official sites. In addition to bringing you the latest stats, scores, and schedules, official sites also have links to each team's site. You may also find player biographies and fan forums where you can post messages and banter with other fans. You can find things to buy, like tickets, team jerseys, and souvenirs. Here are the sites for popular American major league sports: -
The National Football League (www.nfl.com) -
Major League Baseball (www.mlb.com) -
The National Basketball Association (www.nba.com) -
The Women's National Basketball Association (www.wnba.com) -
The National Hockey League (www.nhl.com) -
Major League Soccer (www.mlsnet.com) -
The Professional Golfer's Association (www.pga.com) -
The Ladies Professional Golf Association (www.lpga.com) -
NASCAR (www.nascar.com) -
Indy Racing League (www.indyracing.com) If international sport is more to your liking, here's your list: -
F d ration International de Football Association (www.fifa.com) -
English Football (www.thefa.com) -
The Canadian Football League (www.cfl.ca) -
Rugby Union (www.irb.com) -
Rugby League (www.rleague.com) -
The Olympics (www.olympic.org) And if you don't like any of those sports, basic Webs searches should bring you links to sites that cover sports like gymnastics, figure skating, archery, and more. Even the National Duckpin Bowling Congress has a Web site (www.ndbc.org).
Tip: If college sports are your thing, visit the school's Web site for all the sports it participates in.
5.3.2. Weather Sites devoted to meteorological observation take on special importance during the more volatile times of the year, like winter in the Northeast and hurricane season in the South. Whether your weather interest lies in browsing for official government data and charts or just getting the weekend forecast up at the ski lodge, there are plenty of good sites to check. -
National Weather Service . You can get your national and local forecasts, read official weather bulletins , check the radar, and see more maps than in a Rand McNally store by visiting the U.S. government's official weather page (www.weather.gov). It's also a good place to learn about aviation and marine conditions, and what to do when a storm 's headed your way. -
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration . NOAA also runs the National Weather Service, but its main site (www.noaa.gov) focuses on global climate and marine matters. It has links to satellite pictures, nautical and navigational charts, plus in-depth coverage of coastal and environmental issues.
Tip: If you live in a coastal region or other area prone to hurricanes and Nor'easter storms, consider bookmarking the National Hurricane Center's home page at www.nhc.noaa.gov. It may help you keep one step ahead of Mother Nature when she's in a bad mood.
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Weather.com . The Web site of TV's Weather Channel (www.weather.com) is just as informative as the cable network, but it lets you find out more about your area's weather patterns without waiting around for the "Local on the 8s." You can click to view the 10-Day Forecast, the Weekend Forecast, and traffic reports . There are also special sections devoted to home and garden, business travel, and ski and golf outlooks. -
AccuWeather . A regular presence on most local TV news programs, "the world's best-known commercial weather service" has its own home on the Web. The site, at http://home.accuweather.com, is full of weather news, trivia, video, gadgets, and even weather blogs for the true weather junkie. -
Hurricane Hunters . At www.hurricanehunters.com, this site details the exploits and history of the Air Force Reserve's 53rd Weather Reconnaissance Squadron. From Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi, its mission since 1944 has been to fly into active hurricanes and take pictures. The site's an intriguing blend of past and present hurricane lore. 5.3.3. Entertainment Web sites devoted to entertainment come in two flavors. First, there are Web sites about the entertainment world, including celebrity sightings, industry news, and vicious, delicious Hollywood gossip. Then there are sites that help you find ways to entertain yourself by listing upcoming events in film, theater, and so on. Most portal and news sites (Section 5.1) have hearty helpings of news from the entertainment universe. If you want to dig deeper, though, try sites like these: -
E! Online . If the cable television channel doesn't saturate you with enough Hollywood news, you can find even more on the E! Web site (www.eonline.com). The Gossip section is your ticket to guilty pleasure . -
Variety . Like showbiz's answer to The Wall Street Journal, Variety is its industry's must-read rag. Also like the WSJ, Variety charges a subscription fee for the online edition. Still, if you have a deep interest in the movies, television, music, and other players in the entertainment business, it's worth checking out at www.variety.com. -
Hollywood Reporter . Another entertainment industry standard, the Hollywood Reporter lets you read more of its content than other show-biz online rags before demanding a subscription fee (www.hollywoodreporter.com). -
Rolling Stone . The groovy rock and roll magazine that floated out of San Francisco in the '60s now sports a companion Web site at www.rollingstone.com. The site combines coverage of current music, movies, and politics with columns , blogs, podcasts, and audio and video samples. -
Entertainment Weekly . The magazine may come out weekly, but its Web site, at www.ew.com, is updated daily with news and opinions spanning the world of pop culture. If you don't care what celebrities are wearing , but want to know if there are any good Broadway musicals headed your way, the following sites are up your alley: -
Citysearch . One of the first and most thorough of the city-guide sites, Citysearch (Figure 5-4) covers about 40 major U.S. cities at www.citysearch.com. It lists local events, shops , spas, restaurants , nightlife, and other leisure activities around town. Figure 5-4. If you live in a major U.S. city, there's probably a Citysearch site that tells you everything to do in town, from concerts and movies to hot new restaurants. You can also find directions and reviews. (The next chapter has even more sites to find reviews written by regular people.)  -
AOL CityGuide . You can find America Online's own city guides in its desktop program or by pointing a Web browser to http://cityguide.aol.com. Either way, you'll find plenty of entertainment opportunities. And after you choose something from the copious listings, you can buy tickets for many events right there. -
Movies.com . This start-to-finish site lets you do everything from read about movies in development to buy tickets for final releases. Movies.com (http://movies.go.com) also includes trailers , gossip, and DVD previews. -
The Internet Movie Database . If you want to know what's playing or who's in it, check out the IMDb at www.imdb.com. (There's more information on this essential site in Section 6.1.1.) -
FilmFestivals . If indie films are more to your liking, check out the Film-Festivals site, which turns the lens on new and upcoming filmmakers (www.filmfestivals.com). -
American Theater Web . With a database of 3,000 theaters around the country, the American Theater Web (www.americantheaterweb.com) provides information on upcoming productions on local and regional stages. -
Broadway.com . A combination news/travel/ticket broker, www.broadway.com puts a spotlight on the New York and London stages with detailed descriptions of the shows currently playing. -
Music.com . At www.music.com, the focus is on contemporary music and video. The Tickets link leads to a long list of schedules and tickets for major music, sports, and theatrical events.
Tip: Remember, if you need directions to a concert or festival, you can always look up the venue 's address on one of the mapping sites mentioned in Section 4.2.
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