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August 30th, 2008 at 3:30 pm

Some say what happens on an NCAA football field beats NFL play in excitement and intensity. Heisman versus Lombardi? What’s your take? Well, whatever your position on the matter, the season of college tail, toss and tackle is now here in force, and so it is only customary that we prep you for the months of memorable footage to come. Everything from video to news and commentary to stat trackers and social apps. So grab your beer, nachos, burritos, salsa and crispy tacos and huddle ‘round.

As you well know, there’s really no set process for consuming sports content. If you’re not watching games on the big screen, you can read line by line what went on between schools. Converse with your friends on Twitter. Watch what others are saying on Twitter Search. Or the reverse order, if you wish.

That said, if you’re yearning for video coverage, ESPN has some clips at its College Football website. For live gameplay, there is ESPN 360. Unfortunately, not all broadband users in the US can enjoy what ESPN 360 has to offer. Verizon and AT&T subscribers may do so because those companies have paid ESPN for exclusive use of the interactive service. Still, those who gain entry will likely enjoy the convenience. If multiple games are occurring at once, viewers can cycle through them on demand, in Wimbledon- or NBCOlympics-like style.

Moving past video, want some news? Again, ESPN is has quite a bit. Same with FoxSports and NCAA Football. Sites like Yahoo Sports’s Rivals.com, Scout’s CollegeFootballNews, the Elite Football Network, and Gameday Network, offer thorough coverage as well. At first glance they may all seem very much alike, but one will grow on you more than others soon enough. Options are options. Take your pick. Are you also fond of polls? College Football Poll is heavy on the stuff. The navigational aspects could take some getting used to, but it’s certainly not starving for material. Among the bunch, I must say I found Elite Football Network and ESPN appeal particularly strongly. The first is a decent resource of background information, while the latter is just overstuffed with content. In a good way, of course.

In the social networking realm, there are many options for college sports fans. For instance, Facebook and Myspace both offer among their third-party sourced applications general statistics for the season now underway in applications like NCAA College Football (Facebook), College Football Game Center (Facebook), Pickoff (Facebook), and College Football Picks (MySpace).

Clearly Facebook users have more choice in software and services that canvas the league, but both networks’ databases also happen to show lots of individual school picks. If you’re taking classes or listed as an alumnus, or simply prefer one name over all others, these can be nice additions to your favorite installations. The options are far too many to count, but do a quick search for “NCAA” or “football” on either network and you might find your team.

If all of the above still doesn’t satisfy, perhaps some fantasy action will suit your taste. We assembled a litany of some 30+ links, comprising college, professional, and youth designations to get you to your desired roster. That one is definitely worth a look.

Source:Mashable!

Labor Day is one of those holidays no one seems to really know much about, but we celebrate and enjoy it nonetheless. In the United States we celebrate it at a different time of the year than other countries, and we have transformed it into an unofficial end of summer. So with a winter that people predict may end up being a nasty one, why not go all out this year? Throw a party, make some decorations, learn about the history of the holiday and more using these 15 resources.

Mashable hopes you have a great Labor Day weekend!

Food

AllRecipes.com - Lots of fun recipes and how-to videos on things like campfire favorites, making homemade ice cream, cutting watermelons and more.

CookEatShare.com - A large selection from lite variety of artichoke dishes to pulled pork BBQ sandwiches - they have it all covered.

FamilyCorner.com - Typically known more for their decorating tips, FamilyCorner offers up a nice selection of recipes perfect to cap off your summer this weekend.

FoodNetwork.com - Watch videos from Sandra Lee with some of her favorite late summer recipes, tons of grilling suggestions, easy picnic recipes and of course some mixed drink ideas thrown in for good measure.

iVillage.com - Offers up several menu suggestions from vegetarian to gourmet and everything in between.

RecipeZaar.com - Has numerous picnic and to-go recipes from the site itself to those submitted by members. A little something here no matter what your taste may be.

History

DOL.gov - The United States Department of Labor gives you a historical overview of the holiday from its founder up through the passing of the law that made it into the official holiday we all know today.

Forbes.com - The well-known business publication talks about the history of a day set aside to celebrate the people who do all of the work.

History.com - Of course History.com has a history of the holiday. Learn what it’s really about, take polls, watch videos and much more.

Infoplease.com - Since the day is all about labor, why not take a look back at the history of labor? Wonder what the minimum wage rate has been over the years? Infoplease has the answer.

USA.gov - Information from the United States government about the history of the holiday, information for traveling, history of labor unions and more.

Decorations & Entertaining

Apples4TheTeacher.com - Built for teachers to use with students, they can learn about Labor Day, enjoy printable activities, coloring pages and more.

Labor-Day-Weekend.com - Ideas for menus, games, party favors, information on the holiday and a whole lot more.

MakingFriends.com - Print out paper dolls for people in different professions as well as paper hats so kids can act out their dream jobs.

MarthaStewart.com - Martha focuses on decorating ideas geared towards the end of summer, but seeing as Americans consider this the unofficial end of the season, it only makes sense.

[Image credit: Justin Grandfield (attribution)]