Site Lines: Web holds vast trove of video highlights

The assignment was easy, or at least I thought it was: The gang in "research" needed to find the best sports sites for video.

Unfortunately, those knuckleheads spent all day looking at grainy stuff on YouTube.com. That's too easy. No, the readers need to know where some of the high-quality sports video highlights reside.

With the high-definition wave hitting us, video quality on the Web has increased dramatically, and so has the quality of the video sites.

Let's look at what's out there when you want to relive the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.

ESPN.com

Site: www.espn.com/broadband/video

The skinny: The Worldwide Leader in Sports has done a good job of migrating its video to the Web. These days, you can go to this site to watch chunks of "SportsCenter" highlights or ESPN's online news show, called "SportsCenter Now." That said, if ESPN doesn't have rights to it, you might not see that highlight.

The call: This is a great site that is more news-oriented than most. However, the best part can be searching for old "This is SportsCenter" commercials. Try to dig up the one with Gordie Howe and Keith Olbermann.

Hulu.com

Site: www.hulu.com

The skinny: This site launched last month after being in beta version for a few months. It is a joint venture of NBC and Fox and is available only in the United States. The NBA and the NHL have offered video playoff highlights that appear to be available on this site only. Again, because of restrictions, you can't find all NBC and Fox sports videos, but you will probably find Olympic highlights here come August.

The call: Video quality is top notch. There is even some historical content; type in "fox boise state" and you'll see highlights of that historic Boise State victory over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl.

MSNBC.com

Site: www.msnbc.com/sports

The skinny: Click on the video link, and you'll find an array of highlights, not just from major sports but from NBC Sports affiliates nationwide.

The call: The video player is one of the easiest to use, almost as easy as it is to open a story. Plus, check out MSNBC's original video content, such as "The Mad Dog Minute."

MLB games

Site: www.mlb.tv

The skinny: Major League Baseball has taken charge of its live and taped video content. You can watch live major-league games, as well as game and historical highlights. Games from earlier this season can be viewed in their entirety.

The call: Except for game information or snippets of video, you have to pay for it. MLB.tv has some specials that cover the entire season. It's a little pricey but still less than buying an entire season of games on the cable/satellite MLB Extra Innings package. Plus, you can watch any game over again.

Bonus site: NCAA seats

Site: www.propertyroom.com

The skinny: There's no video here, but one reader alerted us to an interesting auction going on through this weekend. You can bid for folding chairs from the 2008 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament. These are like any padded folding chairs, but they feature the NCAA Tournament logo. They are the chairs that were used as the team benches during the tournament.

The call: I've heard of game-worn jerseys, but game-worn chairs? So far, the bidding is relatively low, some still at less than $30.

About the writer:

• Got a cool web site? E-mail or call Sports Editor Bill Bradley, (916) 321-1224.