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Photo: Sling TV Image 1 of / 8 Caption Close Image 2 of 8 Photo: Karen Warren, Staff Image 3 of 8 AJ Foyt says he will be at the Indy 500. Cord cutters can watch a couple different ways. AJ Foyt says he will be at the Indy 500. Cord cutters can watch a couple different ways. Photo: John Raoux, Associated Press Image 4 of 8 Sling TV gives access to many major spring sporting events. Sling TV gives access to many major spring sporting events. Photo: Business Wire Image 5 of 8 Image 6 of 8 Who will the top draft picks be? You can watch the NFL Draft with Sling TV. Who will the top draft picks be? You can watch the NFL Draft with Sling TV. Photo: Paul Vernon, Associated Press Image 7 of 8 Could this be Undertaker's last match? You can watch online with WWE Network. Could this be Undertaker's last match? You can watch online with WWE Network. Photo: JP Yim, Getty Images Image 8 of 8 Spring sports guide for cord cutters 1 / 8 Back to Gallery

[Note: Watching sports is one of the toughest challenges for someone wanting to drop cable and use streaming services for television viewing. Fortunately, it’s getting easier to get your sports fix. In this guest post, Chris Brantner of CutCableToday.com explains why spring is a great time to be a sports fan and a cord cutter. – D.S.]

Spring is one of the best times of the year for sports. From tournaments like March Madness and the Masters to MLB opening day and the NFL Draft, there’s something to look forward to for all types of sports fans.

And it just so happens, the spring sports season is particularly good for cord cutters, as most of the major sporting events have a legal cable TV alternative for viewing (although blackouts can hinder cord cutters from viewing their local team in some cases – more on that later).

Of course, as is usually the case with cord cutting, there isn’t necessarily one answer for all your sports viewing needs. So to help you out, I’ve out together this handy Spring Sports Guide for Cord Cutters, detailing the major sporting events on the horizon and your legal viewing options.

March Madness

Whether you follow college basketball all year or just check in come tournament time, it’s tough to not watch as much basketball as possible over the last few weeks in March. This season there are several teams who look quite even atop the rankings, so there’s certainly no clear-cut favorite at this point. And as I’ve talked about in my March Madness Cord Cutting Guide, you don’t need cable to partake of all the action beginning on March 15.

The best source for March Madness streaming? Sling TV. TBS and TNT are included in the starting package, both of which will be broadcasting a ton of March Madness games including the championship game. Plus, you can also include truTV, which will be broadcasting some March Madness games. Remember, you’ll need a streaming box like a Roku or something similar to watch on your TV.

Of course, CBS also has partial TV rights for the tournament. The easiest way to view their games is with a trusty old-fashioned antenna. If you aren’t sure if you can pick up CBS, head over to TVFool.com and learn more about signals in your area.

Masters Tournament

The Masters is a golf tournament unlike any other, due to the tradition and history at Augusta National and golf’s first major of the season. Every year the best of the best look to win the first major of the year, and last year Jordan Spieth dominated the field. Some people are saying golf has a new big four with Spieth, Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, and Rickie Fowler, so it will be interesting to see if one of these four can close it out for a major victory down in Augusta.

So how can you watch the Masters without cable on April 7th? Similar to March Madness, you’re looking at a combination of Sling TV and antenna. ESPN and ESPN2 are included on Sling TV, and they will broadcast live coverage on Thursday and Friday, as well as the Par 3 Challenge on Wednesday.

CBS will take over the broadcast for the weekend and will be broadcasting highlight shows during the first days of the tournament. As mentioned above, you can watch CBS with an antenna by receiving the over-the-air network broadcast.

MLB Season Begins

Last season ended with another thrilling postseason including the Kansas City Royals returning for their second straight World Series appearance (which is a hot button issue for us Astros fans, to be sure). This year should be equally as great, if not better, as we have high expectations for this young Astros team.

Cord cutting options for MLB are a bit different than I’ve mentioned so far. The MLB has a great streaming service called MLB.TV that shows all the games. They offer various affordable pricing options that give you as much baseball as you could want. But there’s one major problem: blackouts.

What it boils down to with the MLB’s streaming service is that you can get all the games you want… EXCEPT for your local team’s games. Those games are all blacked out due to exclusive TV rights. So if you’re a Houstonian looking to watch the Astros, MLB.TV does you no good. You have to have ROOT Sports to watch the Astros.

The good news is that the MLB has been in some trouble in the courts over these blackouts. As a result, blackouts will begin to go away in 2017. However, as of right now, you will still need to have a pay-TV login to stream in-market games (which is no help to cord cutters looking to ditch cable).

That being said, cord cutters still have access to other games via MLB.TV. And if your favorite team is from somewhere else, well then you’re covered. For a complete write up of baseball coverage for cord cutters, check out my guide here.

NBA Playoffs

The best 16 teams in basketball face off starting April 16 in the NBA Playoffs. There are clear favorites at this point in the season, and the two best teams in the NBA, Warriors and Spurs, are both located in the Western Conference. Both are on pace for record setting years, but only one of them can make it into the NBA Finals (and much to my chagrin, the Rockets…well…let’s just say this year has been a bit of a letdown).

On the Eastern Conference side, the Cavaliers are looking to make it into a second-straight NBA Finals, but teams like the Raptors, Hawks, and Celtics are not too far behind. Any team with Lebron James is usually the favorite to win the conference, but they will certainly have some competition.

How can cord cutters watch the NBA Playoffs? Sling TV will likely be the best resource to watch as many of the NBA Playoffs games as possible. This is because you can watch ESPN, ESPN2, and TNT with your basic Sling TV subscription. Plus, Sling TV’s deal with ESPN lets you watch the ABC broadcasts on WatchESPN. So any of the games broadcast on those three networks will be easily accessed with a Sling TV subscription.

Another easy and affordable way to watch some of the games is an antenna, as you’ll get the games broadcast by ABC in uncompressed HD. There are also some games broadcast on TNT’s website, TNT Overtime. Note that not all of the TNT broadcasts are available, but last year there were a few available for live stream.

NFL Draft

Diehard college fans love to see when their favorite players will get drafted or who will be the first quarterback off the board. It can be exciting to watch your team make a gutsy decision to trade up in the draft for a playmaker, but can also be just as rewarding to see your team make strategic decisions and make smart or safe draft picks. Will the Texans find their franchise quarterback?

The NFL shares the rights to broadcast the draft between ESPN and the NFL Network. ESPN produces a ton of coverage before, during, and after the draft. That being said, Sling TV will be an easy way to watch the entire NFL Draft. You can even watch the draft free on Sling TV if you time the week-long free trial correctly. But if you’re looking to watch the NFL Network’s version, you’re out of luck unless you go to a sports bar or something.

2016 UEFA Europa League Final

Football clubs across Europe battle it out each year in the UEFA Europa League. After several rounds of play the UEFA Europa League Final will determine the winner, who will play the winner of the UEFA Champions League in the UEFA Super Cup in August. Sevilla is the current champion after winning back-to-back titles the last two years. They’re also the most successful club in the competition since they have won four overall titles.

The Round of 32 will be finished by March, and the final will be played on May 18 in Basel, Switzerland. You can watch the final game of the competition with FOX Soccer 2Go. FOX has English broadcasting rights for a wide amount of UEFA play, including the Europa League. It’s a great resource for the diehard soccer fan because you can watch a seemingly endless amount of live games, highlights, and analysis on FOX Soccer 2Go.

So soccer fans feel lucky. Normally, FOX doesn’t make any of their premium sports content available to cord cutters, but soccer is the exception to the rule.

Champions League Final

The UEFA Champions League is a competition between the arguably best (and most popular) football clubs in Europe. It is one of the most prestigious tournaments globally, and each year helps decide who can claim the title as the best team in Europe. Last year, Barcelona defeated Juventus, making it the second straight time a Spanish team won the league. Both teams have made it to the round of 16 and a rematch could potentially be in the cards for this year.

Once again one of the best ways to watch the UEFA Champions League is FOX Soccer 2Go. Need a Spanish-language broadcast? Your option is Sling TV since ESPN Deportes will broadcast the Champions League final in Spanish on May 28th.

Wrestlemania

On April 3rd, Wrestlemania 32 will take place in Arlington, Texas. There are speculations that the event will break WWE wrestling attendance rates at the enormous stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. This will certainly lead to an electric and exhilarating night. The main event will feature Triple H defending his Heavyweight Championship title against Dean Ambrose, Brock Lesnar, or Roman Reigns, dependent upon who wins at the next pay-per-view.

The WWE Network will be the go-to service to watch Wrestlemania. It was launched in 2014 and is not only available in the U.S., but several countries around the world. The event will be live streamed, so you can catch the action as it happens. The service costs only $9.99 per month and currently offers a free trial as well. Not a bad deal considering there is also tons of on-demand content, WWE Originals, and live coverages of other big events.

Indy 500

One of the biggest races of the year, the Indianapolis 500 will take place on May 29th. Juan Pablo Montoya won the second Indy 500 of his career in 2015. He currently sits near the top of the INDYCAR standings along with Scott Dixon and Will Power who were exchanging leads with Montoya down the stretch of last year’s race and both placed in the top 5. ABC owns the rights to the Indy 500, so there are multiple options to watch it without a cable package.

The easiest way to watch is with an antenna. ABC is one of the channels available via over-the-air network broadcasts, so the antenna can easily pick it up and let you watch the race on your big screen. This can be even better when combined with an over-the-air DVR since you could record or pause the race to watch at a later time or rewind if you missed some of the action. However, note that depending on how close you live to the actual race, the Indy 500 may be blacked out for you.

Sling TV is another option to watch the entire Indy 500 live. ABC simulcasts the race on ESPN3 with tons of different camera choices. The broadcast usually starts around Noon EST, so you’ll be able to watch quite a bit of the race. ESPN3 is accessible on WatchESPN by using your Sling TV login. As a plus, you can actually watch the main race on ABC through WatchESPN as well.

Kentucky Derby

The 142nd Kentucky Derby will be on May 7th and it will surely be an exciting day of races. It is an incredibly enthralling event and kicks off the start of the Triple Crown Series in horse racing. American Pharaoh captivated fans last season on the way to being the first Triple Crown winner since 1978. He retired on top at the end of the season, so will not be around most likely to defend his title.

There are not as many options to watch the Kentucky Derby without a cable contract, but the antenna will be your go-to. NBC owns the broadcast for the Kentucky Derby and will be airing tons of coverage throughout the whole day. The antenna will let you watch the race directly in your living room on the big screen.

A Little Something for Everyone

Spring brings a lot in terms of sports. So whatever you’re into, odds are you’ll have it to look forward to. True it can get a bit chaotic (and as Dwight has mentioned, someone will eventually step up and bring order to it all), but in most cases you can find a streaming or over-the-air option for whatever big event you’re looking to watch. Need help finding it? Leave a comment or visit my site for more info!