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Help! Season Preview Magazines

Jens1893

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The new season is around the corner and I am about to decide what season preview magazines I am going to buy.

I am definitely getting the Phil Steele College FB one .... and here are the other options

College

Sporting News
Athlon

Pro

Sporting News
Pro Football Weekly
Athlon
Lindy´s

I´d ideally like to get 2 each. I know the Sporting News season previews, but I wonder how good their College FB one can possibly be. Does anyone know the Athlon one?
 
The new season is around the corner and I am about to decide what season preview magazines I am going to buy.

I am definitely getting the Phil Steele College FB one .... and here are the other options

College

Sporting News
Athlon

Pro

Sporting News
Pro Football Weekly
Athlon
Lindy´s

I´d ideally like to get 2 each. I know the Sporting News season previews, but I wonder how good their College FB one can possibly be. Does anyone know the Athlon one?

College:

Sporting News > Athlon (and if you get/read TSN weekly, there isn't that much overlap with their magazine)

Pro:

PFW>TSN>Athlon>Lindy's

PFW does some pretty in-depth stuff. Closest thing to Phil Steele's there is for the NFL, I think, although they aren't so much for the obscure stats and more for analysis position by position.

I think you can get Phil Steele's NFL preview free if you buy his CFB preview, as well. I haven't seen it, so can't tell you if it's all that or not.

Come to think of it, that's probably the closest thing to Phil Steele's there is for the NFL... :cool:
 
I think you can get Phil Steele's NFL preview free if you buy his CFB preview, as well. I haven't seen it, so can't tell you if it's all that or not.

I got it last year, it was awful. Most of it was printed on grey newsprint, there was no real insight, and it just generally came across that Steele was only doing this to make more money, not because he actually knows anything about the pro game at all.

Also, my issue didn't arrive until about late October (I did the free mail away thing from his college mag)... gotta say, there's nothing less interesting to read than a season preview mag when teams are already starting to lock up playoff spots. :huh:
 
I got it last year, it was awful. Most of it was printed on grey newsprint, there was no real insight, and it just generally came across that Steele was only doing this to make more money, not because he actually knows anything about the pro game at all.

Also, my issue didn't arrive until about late October (I did the free mail away thing from his college mag)... gotta say, there's nothing less interesting to read than a season preview mag when teams are already starting to lock up playoff spots. :huh:

Yup, although, I haven't bothered to spend money on one these 'pubs' in a long time, because of their shockingly poor reportage. Way back when, there was a good publication -- the Big 8 magazine.

Rivals, and Scout, too, are pretty good compared to their competition -- and I realize that many here won't approve of Scout, but they do provide a lot of information even if you don't like their ratings. The problem -- of course -- is that they want you to pay, and dearly, for the privilege of reading that information.

There are some kernels of knowledge in these pubs but I don't think there are many special insights. What they offer is a breadth of view; what they lack is depth. Therefore, they do offer something for most people, because most of us don't keep up with events on other campuses. I would prefer -- at this point -- a little bit more in-depth coverage, and not the sensationalistic cheerleading, which is what sells. Sports fans are junkies and these pubs are the fix. For instance, there's more interest in any kind of ranking list than the information that led to that list. Fans love that stuff. They could rank the mascots and increase readership by 5%, fans are craving 'information,' any kind of information.
 
I like Athlon and Lindy's. Not quite as much info as PS, but a lot easier to read. I bought PS last year, he's chock full of info, but so is a Dictionary. To me they read about the same.
 
I bought the Athlon's B12 preview in the airport 10 days ago or so. It was pretty good, but it was also the only brand of preview mag in the news stand. It does include an overview of the top 25 and the other conferences but it focused on the B12 which I liked.
 
I like Athlon and Lindy's. Not quite as much info as PS, but a lot easier to read. I bought PS last year, he's chock full of info, but so is a Dictionary. To me they read about the same.

I always get PS, but last year I picked up Athlon's and I thought it was pretty good, and I agree that it's a much easier read. It gives you a quick overview of a team both offensively and defensively, as well as a 2-deep roster from what I can recall.
 
College:

Sporting News > Athlon (and if you get/read TSN weekly, there isn't that much overlap with their magazine)

Do you recall what was better about the Sporting News one over Athlon, or are you going by some reviews you read? Just curious, because last year I almost bought the Sporting News CFB preview but I don't recall exactly why I ended up going with Athlon's instead. Maybe I'll go with Sporting News this year.

EDIT: I found this good website that reviews the preview mags. Not surprisingly, PS comes out on top every year, but one thing I found interesting is that Lindy's is rated pretty high compare to in previous years. They haven't reviewed the Sporting News one yet for this year:

http://preseason.stassen.com/review/
 
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Do you recall what was better about the Sporting News one over Athlon, or are you going by some reviews you read? Just curious, because last year I almost bought the Sporting News CFB preview but I don't recall exactly why I ended up going with Athlon's instead. Maybe I'll go with Sporting News this year.

EDIT: I found this good website that reviews the preview mags. Not surprisingly, PS comes out on top every year, but one thing I found interesting is that Lindy's is rated pretty high compare to in previous years. They haven't reviewed the Sporting News one yet for this year:

http://preseason.stassen.com/review/

I'll admit I'm a little behind the times on Athlon. I quit buying them a few years ago because their info was always SO stale. I know none of them are exactly up to the moment (although Steele does pretty well on that), but I swear some of Athlon's previews had been written before the prior season ended. It's possible they have improved that lately, though...

I've always thought TSN does a good job on the write-ups, and usually use various writers from around the country, which usually adds up to better perspective, especially in areas like the Big XII that tend to get ignored from both coasts...
 
Got all 3 today

Athlon has us ranked 31st in the nation and 3rd in the North ... I´d really like to know why they rank our QB unit 11th in the Big 12 tho.
 
I got the Athlon one a week ago and like it alot! Good breakdown of all the teams and recruits, as well as a Big 12 QB breakdown...
 
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