The only thing I've done for the past two weeks...

Okay, so I haven't really done very much homework since March 19. Instead, I've been on ESPN.com and Yahoo! Sports, editing and perfecting my bracket in anticipation for the most glorious sporting event in the history of the universe, the NCAA tournament. I've had plans to go to Detroit ever since SU earned a 3-seed in the easiest region and I WILL drive 10 hours to get there no problem. To sum it up, I LOVE BASKETBALL. All this nonsense aside, I decided to check ESPN while I was brainstorming for this post, and I found the perfect idea--the website itself.

This is their homepage. Note the grid, combining three columns with a larger image, etc. Scroll down a bit more, and this is what you see:

Note the same type of three column grid, now with six at the bottom. Instead, its a 6 column grid. This reminds me a lot of a newspaper, something classic like the New York Times, that doesn't have any column breakage and uses different numbers of columns simply to make it easier to find changes in articles. 

ESPN also publishes a magazine (aptly titled, ESPN the Magazine). The grid system on their website, at least in my opinion, channels that of a magazine with the strict set of columns. I think their layout works well, because they highlight the big stories of the day across all of the sports, and at the top they provide links to specific leagues (NFL, NBA, College Basketball, etc.). ESPN knows what their readers/watchers want, and they provide it at the top, as soon as their eyes grace the page. 

I think their layout is especially effective this time of the year, when thousands of people like myself are constantly checking sports websites for information on teams in the tournament that can make or break brackets. It's clear through all of the stories under the "headlines" category on the right and through the featured videos and articles that basketball is on the brain for most of America, and personally I really like it. It works well when I need to check stats/scores/info on schedules in an instant while watching a game or discussing with my friends. I probably need more hobbies.