Past The Press Box : Colin O'Keefe of The American Sportswriter : On Sportswriting, Social Media, Sports Blogging, Journalism, Sports Marketing

First off, it's pretty basic and about what you'd expect. You get all the live games that aren't blacked out in your area. So, anything that's on TV in some form—ESPN, TNT, NBATV or a regional broadcast—will not be played on your phone. This is kind of a bummer but you'll get used to it. Anyway, the features offered via navigation are 'Live', 'Replay', 'Schedule' 'Highlights' and 'More' (Standings and other random info). All are about what they sound like. It's worth noting that with 'Replay' you don't get the games shortly after they end and it doesn't appear as though you get all of them. As I write this late on Saturday night I only have access to three games from Friday's action. Somewhat disappointing but that's not really the meat of this application. That, of course, is the live games.

I'll be completely honest, this review is based on my experience with one game. But it's the situation where I'd use it the most, which is while on the treadmill at the gym. I fired this this application up once I had everything else set and chose the Cavs-Thunder game. Quite the matchup. I was not using WiFi and instead accessing the game over a 3G connection. Definitely not ideal but, like I said, this was the situation in which I'd be using it the most.

My initial reaction when the video came up and things got going was that I had some trouble tracking the ball. It wasn't necessarily the video quality, which wasn't perfect but still sufficient and about what I'd expect for content being streamed to my phone over a data network, but more-so the size of the screen and the content being displayed on it. The Cavs were wearing their ugly Knicks-colored throwbacks and the ball at times 'hid' in the darker unis while being slightly easier to track on the Thunder whites. This didn't make things impossible to enjoy but it was was still a minor annoyance. It's worth noting that I do have terrible eyesight and was running at the time. The experience may not be the same for you. It is, however, better via WiFi, as I tested out a replay once I got home.

The video quality, however, was not my biggest qualm with the app. My biggest complaint is that the program would randomly cut out and take me back to the game selection screen. From there, I'd have to touch the game, wait for it to buffer and then get going again. This process took between 10 and 15 seconds. However, I came into this game with about 8 minutes left in the 4th quarter and had this happen more than ten times. Not a huge issue but it'd be better if it frose for a second and then came back to live action. So, as this is happening over and over I'm convinced the game will come down to a crucial game-winning shot and has the guy lifts off the ground I'll be kicked back to the game selection screen.

Sure enough, with 20 seconds and the Cavs down 2 LeBron gets an outlet pass and goes screaming downcourt. The Thunder collapse on LeBron leaving Boobie Gibson wide open. LeBron dishes to Gibson, Gibson rises and————————————. That's right, booted. I quickly picked the game again and came back to see the crowd roaring and catch the replays (screenshot up top). This was the last time I was dropped so I did get to see LeBron's ridiculous swat on Durant's attempted game-tying shot but it was still frustrating to miss the go-ahead bucket. Sidenote: game highlights.

While the fact that the connectivity isn't quite what it could be, it's somewhat expected with technology that's being tested for the first time. Also, while not quite seeing the ball sometimes and possibly getting booted at others may be minor pain points, I will be purchasing this app for $20 once the free trial comes to an end. If you have an iPhone (or other applicable device) and have the opportunity to use this on a near-daily basis I advise you to do the same because watching games live on your phone certainly is that amazing.

Every type of content has some quotient of participation value...At the top of the scale are games/shows/movies/events that potential viewers have predicted to have high participation value.  These are events that we look forward to not only watching or attending, but that we plan in advance how we are going to extend our participation.  We may plan on tweeting about it or posting a facebook update because we know our friends are there and we are bragging to each other, while at the same time showing off to friends who cant be there. Think going to the opening of Cowboys stadium, or going to a concert or opening night of a movie, or watching the big game.

Cuban strays a bit and states that “You may watch a Magic game just to be able to tweet to Dwight Howard what you saw while watching the game.” If you’re doing this, you’re delusional. Dwight Howard does just about as good a job of any professional athlete when it comes to interacting with fans but the odds of you being one of the miniscule number of people he does get a chance to reply to are slim.

Before I go any further, let me state that I have never been an NBA diehard. I was a huge fan of Jordan’s Bulls in the 90s and have always been well-versed in the sport—knew the best teams, players etc. while being sure to tune-in for the playoffs—but I never would’ve considered myself an absolute fanatic of the league as a whole. My city, Seattle, lost its NBA team and when they were here I went to less than five games a season. However, this season I purchased NBA League Pass and am attempting to watch as many games as possible.

I can say with absolute certainty that I wouldn’t be doing this if it weren’t for the amount of NBA discussion on Twitter. However, this isn’t caused by likes of Dwight Howards and Shaquille O’Neal. It’s people like Nate Jones and Chris Littmann, Bethlehem Shoasl, J.E. Skeets and Russ Bengtson.

I’ve been on Twitter for a couple years but it wasn’t until last year’s Finals that I realized its value to a sports fan. I created a ‘Sports’ column on Tweetdeck comprised of the most insightful sports fans, bloggers and writers I could find and followed that as I watched the games. Much better than relying on Tirico, Van Gundy and Breen alone for analysis. On top of that, the analysis isn’t one way. I can reply and interact with these writers as well as other fans.

This is how the NBA has gained in popularity via social media. The players and their interaction with fans certainly has a hand in it, but more credit goes to the ongoing discussion amongst the league’s outstanding writers and fans. The line between writers and fans is blurring. This isn’t due to an increase in biases amongst writers, but more fans being knowledgeable on the league and sharing their opinions by way of social media.

These fans, writers and even the athletes to an extent have created an online environment where casual basketball fans are transforming into hoops enthusiasts. Good news for TNT and the NBA.