Best Sports Columnists 2023 If you’re a huge sports fan, you likely already know the importance of the sports column, and of the finest sports writers. They not only keep you up to date, but illuminate your understanding of the sports you’re passionate about.
This article is all about celebrating just how valuable a great sports column can be, as well as helping those of you who haven’t found your favorite writers yet. Most of all, this article is about showcasing the standards we hold for our own sports columnists, so you can see what to expect if you’re new to Captain Gambling.
What makes the best sports columnists?
In a way, much of what makes a sports column something you look forward to is personal. It’s your connection with the writer, with those stories – and we can’t tell you what it is that you individually think and enjoy about a writer. That’s one of the magical things about writing, even the humble sports column: it’s art, and that means we all interpret and enjoy things in different ways.
However, we do think there are still common things most of us enjoy. There’s a foundation of quality before we add the sprinkle of our own thoughts and individuality and make it our own. With that in mind, here’s five things we think lead to a recipe for sports writing greatness.
Informative and practically useful
The thing about sports writing is it’s always a mix of fact and opinion. Both of these things blend together to create something, which when done well, not only provides information but also helps you interpret that information. A sports column which merely states the facts is only worth so much. It’s the ability to expand, contextualize and provide greater meaning that separates one writer from another.
In the world of Captain Gambling, practical usefulness naturally means the ability to use that information to improve your betting strategy. But really, any sports column which allows you to understand facts and figures on a deeper level is more than worth a read.
Entertaining, with their own style
Of course, the sports column is not just there to inform. Much like our favorite sports, they’re also there to entertain. How exactly and in what style this is done, of course, depends on the individual writer. They may make you appreciate the tactics of a team, the emotion of a game, they may simply make you laugh. Think of it like this - the very next time you are entertained by the wrestling news today, that writer has achieved his or her goal.
We should never forget – even when we’re conjuring up intricate strategic bets – that sports are always supposed to be about enjoyment. That’s a big part of the reason we enjoy these kinds of sports articles. Just like gambling always should, they improve our enjoyment and our appreciation of our favorite games. Speaking of which...
The best sports columnists teach you new things
A great sports column can teach you new ways to think about the games you love. It could be something about its history you’ve never heard of, a perspective of the game, or a detail you’ve never considered. Really, a sports column should always be showing you something new. But when it goes beyond simple facts that you can find in any sports news outlet and teaches you something deeper and more impactful, that’s the sign of a truly fabulous writer.
Well-researched
The amount of information on the internet is, in many ways, a really great thing. There are certainly many stories that never would have broken, many facets of not just sport but the whole world, we wouldn’t be aware of without it.
However, the internet being such an open platform means that anyone can write anything. This is both its weakness and its strength. Great sports writers know this means that not everything out there is necessarily true or worth giving the extra oxygen of publicity. That’s why thorough research and fact checking is so important.
Reliability
One of the major issues that the sports column has is one that’s true of pretty much any part of journalism in this day and age, and that's why many simply don’t know what to trust anymore. Part of this is – as we discussed in the previous section – that there’s simply so much information out there, and no filter.
This is why the columnist is so important. You may not be able to trust everything you read online, but you may feel you can trust the opinions and reliability of the information provided to you by an individual. That level of trust and reliability – that you not only expect all the things we’ve discussed so far in their sports column, but can do so consistently and reliably – is arguably the sports columnist's greatest asset.
How to find the best sports column for you
We hope our above points have helped give you an idea of what you can expect from a great sports article. We also discussed at the beginning of the segment how in part, your top sports columnists are not objective. We all like different stuff and we’re not only talking about the sports themselves – although naturally what the sports column covers is important.
They need to not just be about the games and tournaments you’re interested in, the teams you follow, and be tailored to your particular geographical location. The latter point is especially important for American readers looking at sports columns like ours, which are focused on their usefulness in betting markets. They also need to deliver the kind of coverage you want.
Ask yourself whether you’re looking just to be entertained or for something deeper. Do you want to be informed or enthralled? There’s no right or wrong answer. It just comes down to what you prefer. The good news is that whatever you’re after, there should be a great sports column for you.
How following the latest pieces of top sports columnists can improve your betting experience
For most of this page, we’ve talked about sports columns generally. That’s because, well, generally speaking, we think a whole heap of them are great and we don’t want to act like one focus is better than the other.
That said, we are Captain Gambling, and that means our interests and what we know many of you are looking for is how this relates to betting. Everything we do is about making your betting experience more enjoyable and that includes our look at the sports column and all the joy that brings us. So, with that in mind, let’s focus on not just what a sports writer can offer you, but specifically how they can help you out in the world of betting:
Allows you to follow more sports
We’re not sure if you’ve noticed, but there’s an awful lot of sports out there. In the US alone, we’ve got the NBA, the MLB, the NHL and the NFL. That’s if you’re just into the mainstream stuff that most US sports fans enjoy.
When you start looking at the lower leagues, at MMA, boxing, professional wrestling or even international sports like soccer and cricket, the amount is more than anyone can keep up with. You cannot do it without the ability to manipulate time – and if you have those kinds of powers, you don’t need our help with anything.
So, what a sports column does is allow you to follow many more sports than you would logically be able to if you were to watch every match and event. However, if you only want to focus on one sport, tennis for example, then you can also rest assured that our tennis news now will provide exactly what you're looking for. It really is as simple as that.
Sifts through the information to leave you with what’s worthwhile
Part of the reason it’s so very simple is that the best know what’s worth reporting on. On and off the field, there’s a colossus of information. What the greatest sports writers do is more than just write in an entertaining way. They provide a filter where all the useless stuff that’s going to waste your time and lead you to bad predictions gets removed from your screen.
Use that information to inform your betting strategy
Getting more quality information doesn’t just mean that you generally know more about sports – although we certainly do enjoy knowledge simply for the sake of being better informed. No, to the tactical gambler, these are like extra punching power in a boxing match against the bookmaker's odds.
Everything you learn, everything you get better informed about helps you when it comes to making betting predictions. So whether it's the latest fantasy football news, or the NFL itself that's your passion, it's important that you only choose the top sports columnists. The more entertained you are, the more likely you are to retain that information. That’s why quality writing is more than simply stating the facts.
React quickly
How good a sports column is, in a way, is on a timer. Think about it, the world of sports moves so quickly that if sports writers are discussing something that’s old news, surely we can’t consider them to be among the best. It also isn’t especially useful in helping you select the most tactically sound markets.
Great sports articles must be made quickly to respond to the news and thus, can help your bets by allowing you to react quickly. We update our news articles consistently for this reason.
Give direct information to inform your betting strategy
As much of what we have discussed here is about how a general sports column can help you with betting strategy, we have left the most obvious to last. That is, some sporting news and columns deal with things that can directly impact your bets.
This could be news of promotions, particularly generous odds or even simply where you can bet on a certain event. Obviously, this is more in the wheelhouse of the likes of our Captain Gambling columnists, where they’ll produce a sports column and inform you of everything sports related they think will help you with your wagers.
How to follow your favorite sports columnists
Keeping on track with what the best sports columnists are producing is a great way of staying on top of your favorite sports – and doing so has never been easier. The most obvious is to pay attention to when and where they write, as for many, this will be one consistent platform.
Of course, you can read our sports news of the week, but you can also follow us on Twitter or any other relevant social media, and some news sites will even send you alerts of new articles if you agree to allow them to contact you by email. As far as our columnists and news writers go, well, they’re right here, with consistent updates on anything and everything we think you may find useful.
Conclusion: striving for sports journalism perfection
Our investigation here into the importance of the sports column, of course, rings home to us deeply – not just as sports fans, but sports writers too. Our understanding of just how big an impact a great sports writer can have on your enjoyment, knowledge and strategy is a great inspiration. It’s why our writers work so hard to bring you all the news and analysis you can find here every day at Captain Gambling. Our aim, with every article, is to provide all the benefits we’ve discussed here as often and as effectively as we can.
