Take control of March Madness with these sporty Android apps

The field of 68 teams will soon be announced, and the 2015 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament will officially be underway. For many sports fans this is considered the best time of the year. There will be games happening at all hours of the day, buzzer beaters, massive upsets, and tons of excitement. We’ve got a list of essential apps that will help you get the most out of this year’s March Madness.

Brackets

What makes March Madness so exciting? It’s a tournament filled with schools you wouldn’t normally care about, until you fill out a bracket. Suddenly you’re cheering for a school called “Robert Morris” like you’re an alumni. Filling out a bracket and entering it in pools at work or in online challenges is what makes this tournament so fun. We’ve got a few apps that can fill your bracket needs.

ESPN Tournament Challenge

Back in the day joining an office pool meant printing out a dozen brackets and keeping track of winners and losers by hand. ESPN Tournament Challenge makes it much easier. Simply create a group and invite your friends. ESPN will automatically keep track of the brackets and show you who’s winning. It’s also a great place to read news and updates from the tourney. [FREE]

Bracket Tracker

Bracket Tracker is great if you’re just looking for a simple way to fill out and track your bracket. You can create multiple brackets, for both men and women, and keep track of wins and losses. It’s a nice alternative to keeping a folded up bracket in your pocket all day. [FREE]

Scores & News

You might not be interested in filling out brackets, but you still want to keep up with news and scores.. We’ve got a few apps that will help you stay on top of all the happenings from this year’s tournament.

Thuuz Sports

Thuuz is one app that every sports fan should have in their arsenal. It uses an algorithm to rate all live and upcoming games for level of enthusiasm. It will also send alerts when a live game is particularly exciting. This year they used their algorithm to determine that the 2013 Sweet 16 game between Michigan and Kansas was the most exciting tournament game from the last few years. Thuuz is indispensable during March Madness. [FREE]

NCAA Sports

When watching an NCAA sporting event you can’t for wrong with the official NCAA Sports app. With this app you can get live scores and updates, breaking news, custom alerts for your favorite teams, and a special hub for your favorite team. When you want NCAA go to the NCAA. [FREE]

ESPN

The ESPN App gives you up-to-the-minute scores and news with loads of video highlights from the “worldwide leader in sports.” You know ESPN is going to cover every single inch of March Madness goodness. Check out the “NOW” views for real-time updates while the tournament action is hot and heavy. [ESPN]

theScore

If you’re not a fan of the “Mothership,” a.k.a ESPN, you can use my personal favorite sports app: theScore. With the score you get news and scores without all the extra fluff. You can also set up favorite teams and sports to get custom alerts. It’s simple, fast, customizable, and easy to use. [FREE]

CBS Sports

One of the main TV networks to broadcast NCAA Tournament games is CBS, so you know they have a good app for coverage. Follow live action with GameTrackers, scoreboards, stats, and more. Plus you can set up scoring, team news, and breaking news alerts to keep you on top of all the action. [FREE]

Watching Live

The most important thing to do during March Madness is, of course, watch as many basketball games as humanly possible. In order to do this you’ll need much more than just a television. Use these apps to watch games while you’re at work, on the train, in the bathroom, sitting in a waiting room, or any other possible moment of free time.

NCAA March Madness Live

Far and away the best app for watching live tournament games is the official March Madness app. Log in with your TV provider to enjoy unlimited access to live streaming video of all 67 games of the 2014 NCAA® Division I Men’s Basketball Tournament, across TBS, CBS, TNT and truTV. If you don’t have cable a temporary preview period is available for live game streaming before login is required. [FREE]

Sling TV

If you don’t have cable, but still want to watch as many games as you can, consider trying Sling TV. You can get 7 for free and then it’s for a full month. SImply cancel your subscription after March Madness is over. With Sling you’ll get TBS and TNT, which leaves just CBS (free OTA), and truTV. The service is not free, but it’s not a bad price for one month of basketball. [FREE]

Watch these 12 tips for every new Galaxy S6 owner [VIDEO]

When you get a new phone, like the Samsung Galaxy S6, there are a bunch of things you should do first. Some of the things are obvious, but others you may have overlooked. At the launch of the Galaxy S6 we wrote about 13 things every Galaxy S6 owner should do, and now we’re back with a video version of the list. Below you will find 12 things in about 7 minutes that you should do right now.

Read the full step-by-step instructions:
13 things every Samsung Galaxy S6 owner should do

Keep in mind that all of these things will also work on the Samsung Galaxy S6 Edge. If you have the Edge you’ll also want to check out our guide (and video) for all the special Edge Screen features. Whether you have the regular Galaxy S6, or the fancy Galaxy S6 Edge, we’ve got you covered.

Check the list below for even more Galaxy S6 resources:

• Samsung Galaxy S6 Review


• 13 things every Samsung Galaxy S6 owner should do


• Best Samsung Galaxy S6 cases


• Buyers Guide: Samsung Galaxy S6 or Galaxy S6 Edge?


• 50+ Samsung Galaxy S6 Tips & Tricks

If Material Design was a game, it would look like these three Android games [VIDEO]

I love simple games and I love Material Design. So when I first discovered a game called Bing Bong I was very excited. It combined simple and addictive gameplay with a Material-esque design. Then I found out that the same developer had made other games with the same style. The three games can stand on their own, but together they make for an addictive combination. Let’s take a look.

Bing Bong

I’m not sure which game came first, but Bing Bong is the one I played first. In this game you control a green dot that is constantly going up and down across a street of traffic. Each time you successfully get to the other side you earn a point. You have to avoid blocks of varying sizes to cross the street. The green dot is constantly moving, but you can slow it down by pressing your finger on the screen.

The game becomes all about timing. Will you be able to make it past that block at full speed? If you slow down now will that make you hit the next block? You’re constantly adjusting your speed to perfectly cross the street unharmed. It’s easy at first, but gets difficult quickly.

Righty Tighty

In Righty Tighty you play as a red dot. Your goal is to collect the white dots and bring them to the goal. The red dot is constantly moving, but every time you tap the screen it will make a right turn. Like in Bing Bong, there are blocks of varying sizes constantly crossing your path. Also, the red dot is constantly growing, which makes it increasingly more difficult to avoid obstacles. You have to return a white dot to the goal to reset your size.

Pivot

The simplest of the three games is Pivot. You play as a blue dot this time, but you still have to collect white dots to earn points. The blue dot is constantly moving in a circular path. Tap your finger on the screen to go in the opposite direction. There are no goals this time. You get a point for simply collecting a white dot. Blocks of varying sizes are still trying to get in your way, and the wall is also an obstacle.

***

I like these games a lot because they feel like a family. Each one has its unique aspects, but they all share the same basic foundation. They’re beautifully simple, yet extremely addictive. The developer has done a great job with the little details, like how the music intensifies the longer you survive in Bing Bong.

All three games have Google Play Game integration for leaderboards and achievements. The games are free with very few ads (which can be disabled completely for .99). You can download all three in the Play Store. Enjoy!