If there's one thing the Portland Trail Blazers organization is really good about, it's making you pay to enjoy their games. For out of market fans who don't want to pay ridiculous amounts of money to get access to their team, this makes watching or listening to the Trail Blazers appear impossible.
Even for local fans, the job of getting access to the Trail Blazers can be tedious. Those living in the team's market realize that the only way they can watch them is by shelling out a ton of money to get Comcast cable, which has been keeping fans hostage for some time now. [In fact, local media man John Canzano constantly writes and discusses on the air this exact hostage situation.]
For fans that either live out of market or for fans who refuse to pay for Comcast, the only alternative is forking over an unreal amount of cash ($169 as of the time this article was written) to get the NBA League Pass, which provides fans access to every live game.
My household has Comcast, so watching the games isn't a problem. However, when I was in a different home or on the road, I didn't always have that easy access to Portland television coverage. Assuming I didn't have radio capabilities either, I would get out my Droid and use the FM Radio app to tune in to 95.5 The Game, which broadcasts every Portland Trail Blazers game.
In a move to (supposedly) gain a wider audience, The Game moved to 750 AM over the summer. Now, not only does the station come in with a ridiculous amount of static (at least on every radio I've ever used for it - and I live in the greater Portland area,) but the move to AM radio ensured that cell phones would not be able to tune in.
That's because today's cell phones don't come equipped with an AM capable antenna. And of course the 750 AM The Game app shuts down during Blazers game in a move to prevent out of market fans from getting (gasp!) free access to hear the games.
So, what should you do if you're an out of market fan (or an in market fan who isn't near a television equipped with Comcast or a radio that, like every one I've heard, doesn't get 750 AM very clearly)?
Try downloading the TuneIn Radio App. As of the 2011-12 season-opener against Philadelphia, the TuneIn app worked perfectly for listenting to the Blazers game on 750 AM The Game - although there's a good chance that one of the bad guys will get access to this information and shut it down before the season ends (and there's also a good chance that it was just a lucky glitch.)
While the app unfortunately costs a of batter power because it uses live streaming (rather than just tuning in to the radio like the FM Radio app,) it does provide crystal clear sound and allows out of market fans to tune in to the Portland radio station.
I hope it works for you, but again, by putting this out on the internet for everyone to see, there's a chance that the information will get into the hands of someone who wants to shut it down. And they may just succeed. But, for now, enjoy listening to the Blazers for free. The NBA gods know Portland fans deserve it for all the annoyances we've had to endure.
© 2011 Max Price - All Rights Reserved.
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