If you enjoy sports, and enjoy using your computer to surf the Internet, just about any time of the year is a good time of the year.  But our current time of year is especially fun for sports fans.  Consider the following:

• Major league baseball’s spring training games are in full swing and several national and international star players are taking part in the inaugural World Baseball Classic
• Fans of college basketball, of course, will be in heaven when the annual NCAA tournament starts this Thursday—and copy machines across the land are already churning out brackets for countless office pools
• If professional basketball or hockey is your sport, both the NBA and NHL are winding down their regular seasons and getting ready for the excitement of the playoffs
• Fans of auto racing can also rejoice that NASCAR’s season recently began with the annual running of the Daytona 500
• Even football fans (at least those in this area) have reason to cheer; a certain college team in Lincoln that tends to attract a lot of attention will be starting spring practice soon.  Plus the Super Bowl wasn’t that long ago that the glow has worn off (especially for Steelers fans like your Info Bytes author).

So it’s a great time to follow sports.  And if you use the Internet, you can easily stay on top of all your favorites with a few helpful sites.

First of all, there are general sports reporting sites that provide you all the up-to-the-minute information you need about the world of sports.  Some of the most popular are ESPN.com, Sports Illustrated, CBSSportsLine.com, and NBC Sports.

Individual sports also have their own Web sites.  Go to MLB.com for all the latest on major league baseball, including the official Web sites of all 30 teams.  You can also get video highlights and subscribe to live audio broadcasts of any regular season game, plus shop for official merchandise online.

If pro basketball is your game, then NBA.com is the site for you.  You get the latest news, merchandise, official sites of all 30 teams, and links to video highlights and audio broadcasts.

Getting infected with March Madness?  The only known cure is frequent Internet visits to NCAA Sports.com for live score updates and the chance to subscribe to live audio/video of the greatest college tournament in sports.

Hockey?  NHL.com has you covered with the official team sites, news, merchandise, and media links—but on this site, you don’t have to subscribe to listen to a game.  All NHL games are available for free.

Football fans can check out NFL.com.  In season and out, it has all the latest news, official team sites, merchandise, and media links—plus opinion updates from former players and columnists that are always interesting.  As a matter of fact, it probably has the most diverse information of all the professional league sites in matching news and opinion.

Auto racing is growing in popularity as a sport, and you can get all the latest NASCAR information at NASCAR.com.  Live race updates and driver profiles come together with a very good history section and shop area to give you everything you need to follow a fast growing sport with a very devoted fan base.  RacingOne.com is also a good site with all racing circuits in addition to NASCAR, and most drivers have their own Web sites as well.

And speaking of devoted fan bases . . . there are several sites that satisfy the need for local college football fans to follow their Huskers.  The official site is at Huskers.com; however, you can also check out Huskerpedia.com and HuskersIllustrated.com for more information about the Big Red.

Also, if you follow a team in a different city, that city’s local newspapers are an invaluable resource to get the scoop with a local flavor.  Go to your favorite search engine (our February 14 Info Bytes article gives you some tips for using it) and type in the phrase “(your city’s name) AND newspaper” to see how to access the newspapers that give you the local perspective on the team you love.

More and more people are enjoying spectator sports . . . and you can use the Internet to enhance your enjoyment as you root for your favorite teams and players.