Looking for sports to watch for free? Here's a FAST way to do it
I was being a couch slouch one night, channel-surfing for sports — one of my favorite activities — when I came across a sport that brought me back to my youth.
Indoor soccer.
As a kid, my introduction to soccer was the indoor game, watching Sting games in the 80s. I remember going to a game at Chicago Stadium against the Dallas Sidekicks with Tatu, the exuberant Brazilian who would celebrate scoring by taking off his jersey, jumping on the sideboards and waving his shirt over his head like a lasso. It was wild to see in person.
So when I happened to catch a San Diego Sockers-Milwaukee Wave game in the Major Arena Soccer League — a successor to the Sting's Major Indoor Soccer League, the MISL — I was in!
But how was I able to experience such nostalgia? What portal had I entered that conjured flashes of Karl-Heinz Granitza, Pato Margetic and Victor Nogueira?
It’s called Unbeaten Sports Channel, a FAST channel that carries the MASL and Ultimate Frisbee Association (home of the Chicago Union), as well as little-known sports such as super netball and armored MMA — yes, armored. It also shows English Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur games and carried the FIBA 3x3 Champions Cup last month.
FAST stands for free ad-supported streaming television. There are hundreds of these niche channels available on your internet-connected TV, the keyword being FREE. Granted, FAST channels don’t carry the biggest games, but in a world where watching sports only gets more expensive, I refer you back to the word FREE.
I wear out the C button on my Xfinity remote calling up the live-sports menu, where I’ve seen these FAST channels, some of which might appeal to you. It’s not easy being a couch slouch (shout-out to the OG, Norman Chad). You have to get the pillows just right, and the coffee table can’t be too far for your feet to reach. But I’m here to serve.
Scripps Sports Network
The E.W. Scripps Company has become a player in sports rights, and it launched a FAST channel last month that carries live women’s sports. The National Women’s Soccer League, Major League Volleyball and the Professional Women’s Hockey League all air on SSN.
Scripps’ Ion channel carries WNBA games, but those will appear only in reruns on SSN. Still, Scripps is taking advantage of a growing market for women’s sports while giving less-publicized leagues, such as the Big Sky Conference, a platform.
Women’s Sports Network & All Women’s Sports Network
Want more women’s sports? Try WSN and AWSN. WSN, which launched first in 2022, has content agreements with better-known U.S. entities, such as Athletes Unlimited, the LPGA and NWSL. AWSN, which co-founder Whoopi Goldberg helped launch in ’24, has deals with FIBA, the Women’s Football Alliance and Women’s Elite Rugby (home of the Chicago Tempest).
Ryz Sports Network
Though it’s playing a part in the continued butchering of the English language — the name is pronounced “rise” — the network has a nice menu of sports that includes the American Association of Professional Baseball (home of the Chicago Dogs), Nippon Professional Baseball and several collegiate conferences, led by the Mountain West.
PickleballTV
Did you get swept up in the pickleball craze that spanned the nation a few years ago? Then maybe you missed the launch of this FAST channel, which offers pickleball content and matches 24/7. You don’t have to visit the local courts to hear the constant clicking of ball meeting paddle. You can get a headache right on your couch.
Stadium
Yes, Stadium is still around. The network, which essentially morphed into Chicago Sports Network, carries Banana Ball baseball games and combat sports (Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship sounds particularly gruesome). What traditionalist baseball fan wouldn’t like a game between the Loco Beach Coconuts and the Party Animals?
Remote patrol
Chicago Sports Network will air the inaugural Blackhawks Hall of Fame induction ceremony at 2 p.m. Saturday. The 12-member class will be inducted Friday at the Blackhawks Ice Center and celebrated during the game Sunday against the Blues, which will air on CHSN.
• Former Fire captain and current MLS analyst Dax McCarty will call his first Fire game Saturday, when his old team hosts Nashville on Apple TV. McCarty spent last season, his first in broadcasting, in the studio. He’s adding game analysis this year.
• The Bulls won’t be playing in the NBA Play-In Tournament this year, but some of you might not have watched anyway. The tournament, which begins Tuesday, will air exclusively on Prime Video.