We worked with this guy once who told us that Sports Illustrated was what newbies read before they switched to the choice for the hardcore, The Sporting News. (Never mind that the guy had a meth problem and lived with his mom; dude just flat knew his sports. He once rattled off the starting lineup of the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals for us, and even if he was wrong, it's the audacity that awed us.)
In the bizarro world of the internet, the opposite is true, as exemplified by John Walter's continued good work on conference's out-of-conference scheduling. (Yes, it's all about cash.) While the print version may be everything it's alleged to be (superficial, overly glossy, and prone toward milking the personal angle till it bleeds,) CNNSI online has been nothing but outstanding: Stewart Mandel on college ball, Dr. Z on pro, Mike Fish, and fellow Gator and all around nice guy Jacob Luft on baseball. If they just had more pointless photos of hot ass...
One thing mainstream sites can't give you? Pics of Pam Grier whenever they want to.
Overall, you get way more substance than the Sporting News' half-assed site offers and without Matt Hayes' Shecky Green impression and abuse of readers. That alone makes it a superior MSM product.
Just for kicks: the un-college related horror show of NFL players' offseason workouts, where we learned that just in case you didn't guess it, Donovan Darius could kick your ass with his pinkie toe.