.KEYWORD sports
.FLYINGHEAD SPORTS CORNER
.TITLE Applications and resources for the sports enthusiast
.OTHER
.SUMMARY As a huge sports fan, Dr. Rodney J. Smith has discovered a number of great resources you can use to keep track of sports news and team schedules. He’ll also give you the scoop on some of the fun sports simulation games available for your Palm device.
.AUTHOR Rodney J. Smith
I’m a huge fan of Palm devices and think the Palm IIIxe is still the best Palm device for your money. I’m also a huge sports fan, so it only makes sense that I’d incorporate the two. There are many ways you can use your Palm device to feed your love of the game. In this article, I’ll share some of the sports resources I’ve discovered.
.H1 AvantGo
If you’re a sports fan and a Palm device user, the first thing you need to do is sign up for AvantGo at http://www.avantgo.com. For those of you not familiar with AvantGo, it’s a free bit of software that enables you to specify information that should be updated and downloaded from the Internet to your Palm device. The conduit is excellent. Once you’ve specified the information you want, it’s updated with each HotSync. You use AvantGo’s mini-browser on your Palm device, and the underlined links work just like they do in Explorer or Netscape.
Sports fans, AvantGo will make sure you constantly have the latest sports news at your fingertips. I subscribe to Fox Sports. Fox Sports gives you both national and regional sports coverage, including all the scores and a dozen or so articles. Their regional coverage adds another half-dozen or so articles in relation to your local area. AvantGo is a great service. As you might imagine, the more channels you subscribe to, the more memory is required. However, like most applications for Palm devices, AvantGo is a memory-miser. The Fox Sports channel occupies only 56K of memory on my Palm IIIxe.
Fox Sports isn’t the only sports channel available. AvantGo offers over sixty recommended channels, including sites on college football and college basketball. If you’re a fantasy sports fan, there are also channels that deliver very comprehensive fantasy sports information and analysis available. These channels could prove invaluable for the die-hard fantasy sports player.
AvantGo has a lot of nice features. It’s quick, easy to use, and it’s free. The only drawback is that it’s not a live connection to the Internet. There are two ways to get Web content to your Palm device: HotSync (i.e., AvantGo) or direct connect (i.e., modem). If you simply must have a live portal to the Internet, you can use a modem and software such as HandWeb or ProxiWeb to surf the Web for your sports fix. I HotSync every morning before leaving for work . I find it easier and quicker than using a modem connection. Besides, I’m not such a sports junkie that I need to constantly know the absolute latest news. However, if you are, you now know how it can be done.
.H1 MobileDB and Memoware
After subscribing to AvantGo, the second thing you should consider doing is obtaining a registered version of MobileDB at http://www.mobilegeneration.com/products/mobiledb/. MobileDB will let you view and create databases of all sorts. One example is the schedule of your favorite teams, as shown in Figure A.
.FIG A With MobileDB, you can create a team schedule database.
You can create these yourself, somebody’s probably already done it for you. Check out Memoware at http://www.memoware.com. Memoware has nearly 200 items regarding sports for free download. Currently, I have the schedules of five different pro and college teams on my Palm device. I only had to create one of them. I found the other four at Memoware. Best of all, though, the schedule I created could be easily uploaded to Memoware, so now it’s available for other fans to download.
These databases not only give you the schedule, but also generally let you record the scores so you can follow your team’s progress all season long. I mentioned obtaining a registered version of MobileDB because the free trial version allows for only two databases to be on your Palm device at any given time. That’s enough to let you check out the software, but not enough to let it be of more than minimal use.
.H1 AnySchedule
An alternative can be found at Quantumlynx.com at http://www.quantumlynx.com. They offer the AnySchedule service. Once you have a copy of their viewer, you’re able to download schedules for free. With AnySchedule, you can keep track of all of your favorite sports teams and leagues. It’s very complete, and they provide the schedules for all major North American professional sports teams (baseball, football, basketball, hockey, and golf). You’re pretty much guaranteed to find the schedule you’re looking for, so this is probably better than relying on the hit-and-miss system provided at Memoware. A demo version is available, but it’ll only let you view one schedule.
.H1 Golf software
If you’re a golfer, check out IntelliGolf or GolfTracker. IntelliGolf, pictured in Figure B, is a complete Palm-based golf tool.
.FIG B IntelliGolf is ideal for the serious golfer.
It includes on-course scoring and wagering. It also includes more than 60 performance statistics to help improve your game. You can find it at http://www.intelligolf.com.
GolfTracker is a scoring utility for you Palm device. GolfTracker allows you to track gross scores and average number of strokes over or under par; it will also calculate putting averages, fairways hits, course slopes, and ratings. There’s also GolfCard, a free golf card for golfers who require a simple way to keep score. With GolfCard, you can keep the score of other golfers, exact handicaps, putts, course and hole details, statistics, and score summaries.
.H1 Fitness software
Vivonic makes a program that can help you make and reach fitness goals. Their PC software asks a series of profile questions and uses this information to create a customized exercise and nutrition plan to help you meet your goals. Once your custom plan has been downloaded to your Palm device, you can start working toward those goals. With the Vivonic Fitness Planner on your Palm device, you can track your activities and calories from anywhere you want, anytime you want. While this program is very thorough, I find it to be a bit pricey at nearly $200. It’s pictured in Figure C.
.FIG C Monitor your workout with Vivonic Fitness Planner.
A more in-depth review appeared in the September 2000 issue of PalmPower at http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200009/vivonic001.html.
.H1 Simulation games
Of course, no one can read about sports or physically participate in sports constantly. For other times, you need to have various simulation games on your Palm device.
.H2 Football
If you’re a football fan, check out Pocket Football or HMary Football. With Pocket Football, you can design plays and then execute them on the field. The interface is a bit confusing, but the game can be very enjoyable once you get the hang of it. You can find it at http://store.yahoo.com/pilotgearsw/radicaltek.html, and it’s pictured in Figure D.
.FIG D Design and execute plays with Pocket Football.
If that’s not enough to satisfy your appetite for football, there’s still HMary Football. This is a simple passing game where your goal is to watch the progress of your receiver and determine the best moment to pass the ball so your receiver will be able to catch it. It’s pictured in Figure E.
.FIG E HMary Football is a simple passing game.
Neither of these is the most sophisticated of games, but they’re still a nice diversion when you’ve got a little time to kill.
.H2 Golf
For golf fans, there are several games to choose from. One is HandiGolf at http://www.eclipse.net/~reesley/handigolf.html. In this simulation game you play from an overhead view of the fairways, and when putting, you view from the green. You choose your club, your swing direction, and your swing power. It’s pictured in Figure F.
.FIG F HandiGolf gives you an overhead view of the fairway.
Of course, you might prefer Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf. In this simulation, you play as one of the top players on the PGA Tour. You golf on one of three PGA Tour courses competing against Tiger Woods or another of the PGA Tour Pros. Both games are fun to play, but if you have to choose just one, I recommend that you go with the Tiger Woods version.
.H2 Soccer
ExtraTime is available for the soccer fan. In ExtraTime, you play the goalkeeper. With this game, not only can you play against your Palm device, but you can also play against another player by taking advantage of the IR port. You have two slightly different games to choose from: LastMinute Madness and First to Ten. In LastMinute Madness you have one minute to score more points than your opponent, and in First to Ten, the winner is the first one to score ten goals. This game is not all that sophisticated, but it beats working. It’s pictured in Figure G.
.FIG G Block the goal in ExtraTime.
.H2 Tennis
3D Tennis is available for those who cannot get enough tennis at http://palmdepot.dir.bg/. To hit the ball, simply tap the appropriate area of the screen. It’s fairly easy to learn this game. You choose your opponent from the Top 20 Men’s and Top 20 Women’s single players, and the players database is updated monthly and made available for download. It’s pictured in Figure H.
.FIG H Anyone for 3D Tennis?
.H1 Conclusion
This is just a sampling of all that’s out there, of course. It’s a great start, though, for real sports fans. If there’s software or services I haven’t mentioned that you’d like people to know about, be sure to post the information on the PowerBoards by following the link at the end of this article.
.BEGIN_SIDEBAR
.H1 Product availability and resources
For more information on Avantgo, visit http://www.avantgo.com.
For more information on Fox Sports, visit http://www.foxsports.com.
For more information on HandWeb, visit http://www.qualityimage.com/Downloads20/HandWeb20.html.
For more information on ProxiWeb, visit http://www.proxinet.com.
For more information on MobileDB, visit http://www.mobilegeneration.com/products/mobiledb/.
For more information on AnySchedule, visit http://www.quantumlynx.com.
For more information on IntelliGolf, visit http://www.intelligolf.com.
For more information on GolfTracker, visit http://www.qualityimage.com/Downloads17/GolfTrac204.html.
For more information on GolfCard, visit http://www.cix.co.uk/~mpsystems/golfcard/.
For more information on the Vivonic Fitness Planner visit http://www.vivonic.com/products/palmhand.html.
For the review of the Vivonic Fitness Planner in the September 2000 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200009/vivonic001.html.
For more information on Pocket Football, visit http://store.yahoo.com/pilotgearsw/radicaltek.html.
For more information on HMary Football, visit http://members.tripod.com/yhdoo/HM.txt.
For more information on HandiGolf, visit http://www.eclipse.net/~reesley/handigolf.html.
For more information on Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf, visit http://www.macmillansoftware.com/detail_software.cfm?item=157595267X.
For more information on ExtraTime, visit http://www.spug.org/reviews/rextratime.htm.
For more information on 3D Tennis, visit http://palmdepot.dir.bg/.
For the article, "Golfing and your Palm organizer," by Fred S. Cox in the December 1998 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199812/golf001.html.
For the article, "Sports on the Go," by Heather McDaniel in the May 1999 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199905/ppcoolsite0599001.html.
For Heather McDaniel’s review of Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf, in the October 1999 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue199910/tiger001.html.
For the article, "Health and fitness applications for your Palm device" by Denise Watkins in the September 2000 issue of PalmPower, visit http://www.palmpower.com/issues/issue200009/health001.html.
For more information about Palm computers, visit http://www.palm.com.
.H1 Bulk reprints
Bulk reprints of this article (in quantities of 100 or more) are available for a fee from Reprint Services, a ZATZ business partner. Contact them at reprints@zatz.com or by calling 1-800-217-7874.
.END_SIDEBAR
.BIO Dr. Rodney J. Smith has degrees in both optometry and business administration.
.DISCUSS http://powerboards.zatz.com/cgi-bin/webx?50@@.ee6ee54
