Televised Sports To The Rescue

With HDTV, 3DTV and a host of other new ways to consume sports on television popping up recently, more and more emphasis has been put on the video quality of sports broadcasts.  We no longer care as much about what game is on as we do about the coverage itself, and at times we take for granted the fact that we can watch sports - albeit on small screens and in standard definition - from a number of amazing places.  I flew across the country last night and watched Boise State play at Toledo for more than half of the flight, which got me thinking about some of the best places to watch sports on a really shabby screen.

• AIRPLANES: While JetBlue and Virgin America may be considered discount airlines because they lack first class seating, I'll take a JetBlue coach seat with DirecTV over a first class seat without television any day.  In January I watched Stanford play in the Orange Bowl from a JetBlue flight, and nothing makes a long trip better than 36 channels of DirecTV programming.  JetBlue carries ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN News and ESPN Classic (plus the chance of catching sports on ABC, CBS, TBS, etc.), so there's bound to be something good on.

• FITNESS CENTERS:  I'm not a great long distance runner, and don't really enjoy my time on the treadmill.  An iPod definitely helps move a run along, but nothing helps me pump out a long jog like good sports on TV.  Newer treadmills that have individualized screens are ideal (see right).  I like to workout on a Sunday afternoon during NFL football games - pick the time slot where both CBS and FOX are showing games, toggle between the two, and you're all set.  In general, I find faster-paced sports better for the treadmill, so I try to stay away from baseball in favor of basketball, football (the big hits get your adrenaline pumping) or sometimes hockey.  Stay away from NASCAR at all costs, too - nothing makes you conscious of running in circles than watching a bunch of stock cars driving in circles.

• WAITING ROOMS:  I'll never understand why not every doctor's office / hospital waiting room and every airport gate area has a TV in it, but amazingly some don't.  Fortunately, most of the time you can kill some waiting time with TV and, if you're reasonably pushy, can usually get sports on the screen.  I watched some of Team USA's amazing Women's World Cup victory over Brazil from a hospital waiting room, and it made the entire experience much more relaxing.

Of course, it's always best to watch a game on a big HDTV from a nice, comfortable couch.  But when you're on the road and can't make it home by game time, it's nice to be in a place where you can catch some sports coverage.  Now that more and more people have video-enabled phones and tablets and channels like ESPN continue to roll out more live mobile video, the need for TV screens at the gym or in waiting rooms has admittedly shrunk.  But until mobile video is universal, let's show come appreciation for the small screens that bring us sports when we need them most.