I had the pleasure of watching every game from the best seat in the house, playing right field for the San Diego Padres for 20 years. Not everyone can be as lucky, and as much as they try, even the biggest fans struggle to catch every game.

We can’t help anyone make the team, but we’re definitely doing our part to make sure fans don’t miss out on any of the action this season. Yahoo! Sports just signed a deal with Major League Baseball to carry each and every game of the 2008 season – live and streaming – on Yahoo! Sports. As you know, we’re already the Internet’s leading sports destination, and this partnership will bring millions of the world’s most devoted fans to Yahoo!.

No more earpieces at the office. No more crowding into the sports bar during lunch. No more erasing your kid’s shows to make room on the DVR. I even had a friend who skipped his youngest brother’s wedding reception – including his speech as best man – so that he could catch the end of a game. Had we announced this partnership a couple of years ago, his sister-in-law may be talking to him today.

All you need to be a loyal fan now is a computer and Yahoo! Sports. Here I was, beginning to worry about how I was going to catch all of my son’s games (sorry, Tony, I’m a busy man!). Now we can all relax and know that America’s Pastime is conveniently waiting for us online, wherever we are at the time. Sorry, you’ll have to supply your own hotdog…

Tony Gwynn
Yahoo! Sports Baseball Expert

Which brings me to this point — fans today have it really good.

It seems like a lifetime ago that I played in the NCAA tournament for North Carolina. That was back in the 80s, when life for a sports fan was nothing like it is today. A bit like walking to school uphill, in the snow, both ways.

Our fans would camp out in long lines to get tickets. If they missed the game, they would have to wait for the morning paper to get stats from the sports page (you know, the stats that some college freshman had to call in to the editor after the game). And they waited for the 11 pm news to catch the highlights. Those were some dedicated Tar Heels fans. But, man, it was hard.

Now don’t get me wrong. As I watch college hoops, I’m still in awe of the fans. Today’s college hoops fans continue to be passionate, but man, technology has made it a whole lot easier for them. They can buy tickets online, set their DVRs to catch the games they miss, sneak video highlights from their desks whenever they want, check stats and get alerts from their mobile phones, read reams of analysis from experts like, ahem, me. And they can use all that addiction to information to prove their mettle in fantasy sports leagues.

It’s a whole new world for fans. They are better informed, more involved and everybody’s an expert. By the way, for all those experts that aren’t as smart as they thought, Yahoo! Sports Tourney Pick’em is offering a Second Chance bracket worth $1 million. Busted bracket? Try it again before next week.

Man, today’s sports fans have it all.

Kenny Smith
Yahoo! Sports Analyst