For the ESPN Addict: Ten Links

If you're like me, you can only go to ESPN.com so many times before the image of its red title banner and rolling scoreboard starts to haunt the black void behind your eyelids. And even then you still find yourself going back again, not even reading articles anymore, just going to the homepage, glancing at every score and the same month old Sports Guy mailbag. It's nothing -- as sports fans -- we can avoid. The fact is simply that: A. because we are obsessed with sports to the point that the mere sight of a box score comforts us; and B. because ESPN provides the best combination of dependable coverage and solid writing on the web, most of us have little reason to ever venture outside of ESPN.com. Therefore, I have decided to dedicate this list of links to blogs that can be found within the ESPN website. For those who are too loyal (or too lazy) to get acquainted with another sports website, these blogs will keep you informed enough to stand tall in any barstool sports conversation.

To gain a small measure of credibility for these evaluations, I used the IMSA criteria, which includes (but is not limited to), blog materials, blog Influence, content, depth, language, timing, bias, and usefulness. I also separated the blogs into categories, MLB, NBA, NFL, and Fantasy Sports. If you notice the absence of NHL here, good for you. Until the NHL leaves its ridiculous deal with the VS. Network and comes back to basic cable, I will refuse to follow it or acknowledge its existence. Lastly, you can find the links to the following blogs under the linkroll section on the left side of the page. Some blogs can only be viewed in full form by ESPN insiders.

The first baseball blog is probably the one I frequent most on ESPN, given that I am both a baseball loyalist and die hard Red Sox fan. Peter Gammons' credentials need little mention, beyond the fact that he is enshrined in the MLB Hall of Fame outstanding writing. For a straight forward, old school approach to baseball journalism, a better read than Gammons is hard to find. Year in and year out he provides a solid combination of reporting, news, speculation and MLB updates. For those who want a little less Boston/East Coast bias in their MLB blogs, Buster Olney is a solid alternative to Gammons. Olney writes a similar blog to Gammons, providing a good mix of reporting, insider information, and speculation. Unlike Gammons, Olney also provides good advice for any fantasy baseball players out there who like to get their advice from established journalists as opposed to gurus. The third and final MLB blog here belongs to Curtis Granderson. Granderson is the starting center fielder for the Detroit Tigers, and an up and coming MLB star. His blog lacks the polish of either Olney's or Gammons', but he often writes about subjects that have nothing to do with baseball, which gives his readers a unique insight into the ways players distract themselves from the stress and rigors of an MLB season.

Three NBA blogs that I spend much of my time on are True Hoop (which was already mentioned in that last linkroll entry and will not be further discussed here), Chris Broussard, and Agent Zero. Of the several NBA blogs on ESPN, Broussard's is probably my favorite. Instead of dedicating post after post to the upcoming NBA draft, which I could care less about until June, he focuses on a range of current topics, from the MVP race, to the playoff chase, to each team's coaching state. His writing is polished, and if you want to read a good opinion piece each week, he's your bet. Agent Zero is the last blog. This blog belongs to Washington Wizards' star, Gilbert Arenas. Arenas, along with Curt Schilling, was one of the first star athletes to embrace the blogosphere. He adds something new nearly everyday, and provides his readers with a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the NBA's most eccentric stars.

Ever since the Patriots lost the Super Bowl I haven't been able to stomach ESPN's NFL pages. That said, the first NFL blog I frequent is definitely John Clayton. John Clayton probably knows more about football than any man on the planet outside of Bill Belichick. His blog posts aren't going to remind anyone of James Joyce, but if you want the best source for NFL information on ESPN, John Clayton is your man. Much like Clayton, Len Pasquarelli is another good source for the most up-to-date information about the NFL. Every so often, he also writes very good opinion pieces. Unlike some ESPN writers (cough, Gregg Easterbrook), he rarely gets swept up by the hoopla of an incident (see his very grounded articles on Spygate for example).

The final three blogs are for those in search of fantasy sports advice and information. Probably the best source of advice is Eric Karabell. Winning your fantasy league is all about speculation, and few writers on ESPN have the background, knowledge, and foresight to lead your team to first that Karabell has. Best of all, he covers all three major fantasy sports (NBA, MLB, NFL), so as long as you aren't one of the three people in America who plays fantasy Nascar, you should be able to live off of Karabell. Matthew Berry is another fantasy guru for ESPN. When I read Berry, I'm often torn regarding how I feel about him. On one hand, he provides very sound advice, and often offers you the kind of risky advice that will win you a league (giving us the Corey Harts and Ryan Brauns of the world). On the other hand, at times he gets sidetracked when talking about his personal life. It's funny to hear a joke now and then, but who really wants to read a paragraph about his lack of a dating life when they're looking for fantasy advice. The last blog belongs to Stephania Bell. Stephania is the newest fantasy guru, and while she doesn't offer the same quality advice that Karabell and Berry offer, she often provides in depth, insider information that, in the right hands, can be deadly.

New linkroll items: Doing the hard work for you

Let's face it, there are more sports websites and blogs out there than any one person could ever read. Some are good. Some are bad. Some are credible, and some are little more than a clever title. I've decided to include ten sites that I frequent in the linkroll of my blog. You can find them on the left hand side of the page, under the title "LINKROLL." I will also provide a concise description of each link (I will neglect bigger sites, such as ESPN or Fox Sports, because I'm sure you've heard of them) in the following paragraphs.

Bleacher Report: The site is primarily a collection of blogs. Anyone can write for bleacher report, so the blog posts tend to be biased, and may or may not be credible. I've read many good posts on the site, primarily ones that have been linked to the front page. I've also read a few blogs that give me the sense that they were written by a guy after a long, drunk day at the ball park.

Boston Dirt Dogs: You won't find much in the way of articles on the site, which is linked to The Boston Globe website. Instead, the site consists manly of terse, witty posts, which take jabs at many Boston rivals. The site also provides tracking for many former, and current, Boston players.

CelticsBlog: This is the primary site for Celtics blogging. I haven't read much from the site, but from the small sample I've read, I glean that, similar to Bleacher Report, there are some good blogs and some poor blogs on the site.

Deadspin: The site is similar to Bleacher Report, in that it allows pretty much anyone to comment. The site proclaims in its "Commentist Manifesto" that the first rule of writing for the site is "to be funny," and it is strictly moderated to keep it that way.

Onion Sports: The Onion obviously isn't known for its sports coverage, but the sports articles on here are actually pretty funny, albeit completely false.

Reiss's Pieces: Mike Reiss is a blogger for The Boston Globe. He writes on the Patriots, and while he doesn't often write the longest, or wittiest articles, he provides a lot of "in the locker room" information about that team, that isn't really available anywhere else.

Sons of Sam Horn: Originally dedicated only to the Red Sox, the site has since expanded to all teams in all sports. You won't find any articles on here, but it is a great site for discussion forums.

Sports Guy's World: Every Boston sports fan needs to know who Bill Simmons is. He is probably the most popular sports writer at ESPN, and while you will either love or hate him, because he is a complete homer, he is very funny, very relevant, and a great read.

True Hoop: In my opinion, this is one of the best daily running NBA blogs on the internet. It is highly credible, and can be found at ESPN.

WickedBruinsFan: I'm not very familiar with this blog. But from what I gather, it is pretty much the Bruins version of CelticsBlog. The writing on here is solid, informative, and provides information about a team many people in Boston have forgotten.