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Palm Sports: Getting the Most Out of Sporting Events

© Janice Karin

Pilot Geeks like me use their Pilots for everything. I even wrote part of this article on my pilot. Armed with some of the wonderful applications and database files available, the serious sports fan can keep score at baseball games, make shot charts at basketball games, see who their favorite teams are playing tomorrow or a week from Thursday, look up the official rules of the game, and find out who won the NCAA basketball championship MVP award in 1948.

There are three types of files available for sports enthusiasts:

• Schedules
• Informational
• Scoring

Schedules

There are a lot of different schedule applications and databases available. They fall into four categories:

• Stand-alone applications
• Integrated DateBook records
• JFile databases
• DOC files

Stand-alone Applications

There are several shareware programs that provide schedule information for sporting events. PalmSports makes a series of applications for baseball, football, hockey, and basketball. They provide updated databases weekly that include the scores of previously played games, standings, and some basic statistical information. Each sport has its own shareware application ($10 US).

AnySchedule is a generic schedule viewer that comes with a (Windows) tool for creating schedules. Input the schedule of your favorite professional team or your child's soccer league. Pre-made schedules are for the NFL, CFL, MLB,and professional golf. AnySchedule is shareware ($15 US) but all downloadable schedules are free.

Integrated DateBook Records

Files can integrate directly into the built-in DateBook application. You can add scores or other notes to the entries for a permanent searchable database of games. Unfortunately, not all of available schedules enter timed events. If they did, you could add alarms as reminders to watch specific games. DateBook-integrated schedules are available for baseball, football, basketball, and hockey. These files are generally freeware.

Databases

JFile and MobileDB databases of schedules are also available. These files provide the ability to filter records by team, home/away, or other parameters. You can customize these databases to add division information, final scores, or any other information you wish to track. Databases are available for each Major League Baseball team, NFL teams, Formula One racing, and other racing circuits. These files are generally freeware.

DOC Files

Many schedules are also available in DOC format. This format allows you to view an entire season's schedule at once. Unfortunately, these files are often hard to read due to the lack of formatting available in DOC files. DOC schedules are available for baseball, Australian football, and cricket. These files are generally freeware.

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