JOHNSTOWN —
It’s getting easier and easier to keep up with your favorite team when you can’t make it to the game.
Whether it’s the Steelers, Penn State and Pitt, or your local high school football team, technology is making it possible to get updates as long as you have an Internet connection or a smartphone.
College and pro sports have been accessible online for years, but social media sites such as twitter.com have allowed everyone to get in on the act.
The Tribune-Democrat has recently expanded its live coverage of events to include high school football.
The paper’s sports Twitter feed - @tribdemsports – now includes live scoring updates from local games on Friday nights. Depending on which reporter is covering the games, more in-depth coverage may be available.
For the uninitiated, twitter.com allows registered users to post tweets - short (140 characters or fewer) messages - that can be seen by any other registered user.
Setting up an account takes just a few steps, and if you have a number of feeds to “follow” you can begin getting updates instantly.
On opening night, sports writer Mike Mastovich (@masty81) did play-by-play for much of United’s thrilling, 22-21 victory over Marion Center.
Staff member Shawn Curtis (@shawncurtis430) will be doing the same for the games that he covers this season.
On most Friday nights, I’ll be in the office fielding calls from reporters at a variety of other locations throughout western Pennsylvania. I’ll post those on my own personal account (@eric_knopsnyder).
While not a technological hub, the Laurel Highlands does have more than its share of Twitter fans. And the ones that we’ve heard from absolutely love the ability to get instant updates from games that might otherwise be impossible to follow.
I actually started posting high school football scores on my own account last year and quickly found a supportive follower in Richland coach Brandon Bailey (@mrBrandonBailey). He went so far as to send me updates from a game he was scouting so that I could give my followers the very latest scores.
His team (@rhsfootball) is now on Twitter, joining rival Bishop McCort (@crushersports), which covers a variety of the school’s athletic events. Greater Johnstown has its own loyal supporter in Doug Keklak (@dougkeklak), who runs trojannation.net.
As Twitter expands, more and more local schools will realize the potential that exists. If I’ve missed yours, let me know.
Last month’s AAABA Tournament featured the unveiling of the tribdemsports feed, and it grew quickly – with followers from Buffalo, Chicago and Baltimore among those who found ways to get quick-hitting information on how their hometown teams were faring.
We’ll do our best to provide live updates from other events as well, but it can be difficult. The NFL, for instance, prohibits play-by-play tweets from its games.
So while I can provide some commentary from the Heinz Field press box during Sunday’s opener against Atlanta, I can’t describe the action in detail as I can for high school events.
Speaking of the Steelers, Jim Wexell (@jimwexell), who covers the team for The Tribune-Democrat, offers his insights on Twitter as well.
So if you’re already on Twitter, check us out.
If you don’t have an account but are interested in local sports, sign up for one and see what you’re missing.
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Eric Knopsnyder column photo Tribune-Democrat File Photo
Discussion
Keeping track with Twitter
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