Fantasy sports took the world by storm in the 80's and has become a past time for people all over the world. As a relatively seasoned fantasy player I can tell you that it's massively important to keep up with news in your leagues. In the past people would have to rely on newspapers and sports broadcasts exclusively to help pilot their fantasy team but in the age of the internet it has become considerably easier to keep yourself up to date. Other issues were management of teams and drafting. An app that combines streamlined news about specific players and sports leagues with a system to draft your teams and compete against friends seems like a dream come true. A few years ago I found out that the ESPN Fantasy app seems to be exactly that.
"Does this technically count as a news app?". Since this is my blog I'll give myself a pass. To be fair this app is saturated with sports news. Personally I only play fantasy basketball but I can attest to the saturation of information on the other sports as well. ESPN devotes resources to keeping this app as up to date as possible. If your were to check a player's performance after a game on your team you would likely see a fairly in depth summary of their last game. You can check their stats and get the fresh opinion of sports analysts about nearly anyone in the league. While there is generally more info available on star players, anyone putting forth strong performances are sure to be covered. This is a more reliable way to scout players because the mainstream sports news platforms are flooded with the same handful of stars every week. How is someone supposed to scout lesser known player? The ESPN Fantasy app.
Above is an example of a lineup from the app. If you'll notice the red icons by the names of the players they serve a very important purpose. Clicking said icons brings up the previously mentioned summaries which include things like shooting percentages and points per game, basically any stats that factor into their fantasy score. Another useful touch to this app is that the writers usually give predictions on how the players will perform based on their current performances and suggestions on whether the player will be worth keeping or trading. Another feature is league news, anytime someone has a breakout performance you can find the details and highlights on the news feed. I know for a fact that it's useful to use this feed to see just how badly your friend's players are stomping your team into the ground. Speaking as someone who uses this app as my primary source of game scores and player statistics I think it accomplishes the goal of bringing sports news to fantasy consumers in the most efficient way possible. As an official ESPN app expectations for it are set high to begin with and as far as content it meets those expectations. My only complaint would be the occasional crashes that the app experiences. Overall I would give it an 8.5/10 as a sports news source.
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