Customer Reviews

Sports Illustrated (1-year)

5 star:		(95)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Sports Illustrated has been around forever. Many claim that the magazine has lost relevance in the age of the Internet and ESPN. I disagree. Though the articles are not as timely as those other sources, the writing is still classy and fascinating. To SI the formula is simple and enduring: athletes are people, and the stories behind those people make for great reading. Throw in columnists like Peter King, Michael Silver, and Rick Reilly, and you have three must reads almost every issue. I like my sports with depth and substance, and that is what SI provides. ESPN the Magazine pales in comparison. Though I am still annoyed with SI over their brutal and unnecessary cover article on the University of Miami football program years ago, I still have to respect them for putting their opinion out there, agreed with or not.

That being said, should you wish to subscribe here is some good advice for you on getting the best possible deal. Don't order here. Go to their website and to the subscription inserts in the magazine itself, compare the prices, and request that a billing notice be sent to you instead of paying with a credit card. This way when your subscription is up for renewal, you have the opportunity to cancel without your card being charged. Often times sites like this one utilize a third party service that contracts with the various magazines, your payment goes to them and they auto-renew you. I find it easier to do it through the magazine themselves. Saves me the trouble, and invariably, the magazine comes a lot quicker.

I have been a subscriber to SI for 18 years (since my junior year in high school). Some may be disappointed with the magazine because it is essentially the BusinessWeek of the sports world. But just as we have CNBC for real-time business info, we have ESPN (or CNNSI) for real-time sports info. That's not what SI is supposed to be - never was. SI fills the role of recapping the major developments in the sports world, while adding a great mix of some feature articles (often athlete profiles or controversial issues), "hit-and-run" facts and figures, as well as the obligatory editorials. When I consider what I look forward to each week, it's actually not the wrap-ups of major sports events or some high profile story. It's the "little things":

-the provactive close-up pictures at the beginning
-Letters to the Editor (maybe the only ones I read of any mag)
-Go figure (intriguing numbers that tell a story)
-Rick Reilly's last page column (he has a warm, conversational style that's almost mesmerizing)

Yes, it's true. You'll read more about baseball, football and basketball than you will about swimming, golf, or extreme sports. But accept SI for what it is - a great way to stay current, go deeper than the daily sports page, and be entertained. The price offered here is cheaper than my own subscription - it's also cheaper than a cup of coffee and lasts longer. So if you are even half a sports fan, you should be treating yourself to a weekly SI.

Like the lumbering, over-the-hill heavyweight fighter who still has just enough sting in that legendary left hook to be seen as a contender in the eyes of a promoter looking for a good pay-per-view buy-rate, Sports Illustrated continues to pack just enough punch to keep up with ESPN the Magazine and The Sporting News. But what a fall it has been over the past several years.

When SI was rocked by ESPN the Magazine's hip style (surprisingly, with several former SI staffers designing the award-winning layout), it began to revamp the format; in particular, the front section with quirky, short features and trendy questions and answers from athletes. It was tweaked over the years, but is now getting smaller and smaller.

Where The Sporting News emerged from the abyss with weekly columns covering a wide-range of sports, SI has toiled with its back pages to have quick hits on pro and college athletics. But unlike the TSN columnists - who deliver more opinion than straight news - SI typically plays it safe with facts and stats.

There has been a disturbing trend where it seems that pages are for sale to anyone with a nice check. A recent article on SEC football had all the puff of a paid advertisement and SI relies way too much on book excerpts throughout the year.

Many of the feature stories seemingly could have been penned at any time and then updated with a dash of new material for publication. The recent cover story on Ray Lewis could actually have been used at any point of the football season. And for an editor to allow the quotes from cowards - sources that wouldn't go on the record - critical of Alex Rodriguez was nothing short of tabloid journalism.

The Internet certainly has redefined the publication of weekly magazines. But instead of leading the pack, the editors at SI have been scrambling for years to try and get even with its competitors.

But just like that heavyweight, the time away from serious training in the gym shows in the slow footwork and punches that will just miss the mark.

This is a great value for anyone who loves sports. Amazon's price was better than anywhere I checked.

Yes, Sports Illustrated is mainstream and often predictable. Yes, the swimsuit issue is prehistoric and offensive to many. And yes, they've put Michael Jordan on the cover 50 times. But it's usually pretty well written (and sometimes very well written), they do cover a pretty broad variety of sports, and the photographs are always stunning. It's amazing that in this age of televised live digital technology, Sports Illustrated's photos still are often more interesting to view than the televised events. If you like sports but don't have time or have better things to do than watch Sportscenter every night, Sports Illustrated is a reliable, quick, and enjoyable way to stay on top of the US's major sports stories week by week. It's also the magazine that I always pick up first at the dentist's office.

SI has been around for fifty years and has only gotten better with age. The writing is still top notch and the pictures are breathtaking. Quite simply SI is journalism at its finest.

I have been reading SI for over 10 years and I am simply addicted to it. Since I now work in Asia, it is not always easy to find its issuess on a timely manner, and ordering previous issues of SI has become a routine for me every once in a while.

SI has the following 3 strengths which no other magazine can match: 1) Its pictures are always the best in terms of quality and creativity, 2) Its team of writers (Tom Verducci, Phil Taylor, Frank Deford..)is the most professional and well connected that its articles are not just merely sports coverage, but profiles of athletes and the sports itself. Plus SI likes to follow athletes throughout their career so SI has very high collectible value, for example I have got the first SI article covering Tiger (make me so proud) 3) Its tradition, everybody knows the influence of an SI cover.

Every sports fan should subscribe one, really.

I've been an off-and-on subscriber to SI since I was a kid. I've grown to love the magazine and idolize a few of the staff writers. Despite being the best, the magazine is far from perfect. Lately, I've found that many of the articles deal with things that I, and many sports fans, probably don't care about. And they give too much coverage to pro football when it's in season, even though I've noticed that the football coverage is among the worst in the magazine. There are a few writers who I can't stand (die Austin Murphy!) and some who think they are better than they really are (Rick Reilly), and some who are underappreciated (Steve Rushin). However, some of the finest reading I've ever done has been in Sports Illustrated. There are some stories that stick with you for years. SI beats the crap out of the terrible ESPN magazine, which seems more interested in comedy than in sports.

Sports Illustrated is the only place to go in Weekly sports subscriptions. So many things make is simply spectacular and few have ever been able to match it.

Sports Illustrated is pretty simple. It's a weekly magazine that covers the biggest events in sports. They recap highlights from the previous week and they preview things that are coming up. They really only do the big four sports in the U.S.A., but if something is drawing HEADLINES they will tell you. They have always been great about doing that. They don't mention a lot about smaller sports unless its during something like the Olympics.

The pictures are great in Sports Ill. I'm not sure if all of there pictures come from there Photographers, but they have the best shots out there. You can be garunteed to get the best photos from the biggest events with Sports Ill.

Sports Ill tends to play not to favortism a lot. They do commonly jump on bandwagons, but they have to sell issues and they do follow the headlines so it's understandable. I still wish they wouldn't talk about Tiger Woods so much and they do love the media favored teams.

One of the best reasons to get Sports Ill is because of Rick Reily. His column is on the last page of every issue and is one of the best weekly columns in the world. His column is ever changing because he writes about everything. He writes with a lot of passion and emotion. He is simply fantastic as are almost all of the writers that write for Sports Ill.

If you love sports and want to read about them weekly then you must pick this up. There has been a subscription for more than 15 years between me and my father and we absolutely love it. No other weekly magazine comes close to offering you what Sports Illustrated does. If your a big sports fan subscribe to this now, you will not regret it.

My husband loves this mag so I told him I would add it to his Christmas list. He gets a VERY flattering renewal notice in mail - valued member since 1984, special renewal rates for him etc... His SPECIAL renewal rate was $100.24!!!!!! For one year. Checking online I saw several sites offering about $39.00/yr. Getting ticked off I called SI and basically told the girl this is bull what's the deal? I was told I could renew online at the $39.00 rate and guess what? A window pops up asking me if I would like to send someone else a subscription for the same year for ONE DOLLAR!! My son is now very happy too! Just watch it - if you are stupid enough to send the envelope back with your hundred dollar check they will take it!