ChaCha: A Sports Fan’s Best Friend

     If you haven’t already heard about ChaCha, you are in for a treat.  ChaCha is “a mobile answers service for people on the go” according to their website.  Here is how it works: You text a question to CHA-CHA (242-242).  A ChaCha guide receives your question, searches for the answer on the internet, and texts you back with the answer. The service is free.  It counts as a standard text message so if you have unlimited text messaging it is free. It also includes a link to the source where the ChaCha guide got his or her information so you can verify that the information you get is correct.  You can text them any question and if the answer can be found on the internet you will have your answer along with the source it was found in a minute or two. You can even text the letter “w” and your zip code and they will send you the weather forecast. The service is marketed as a way to turn any phone into a smart phone but for me, it turns my phone into SportsCenter.  Yesterday I was driving to the Braves game at Turner Field in Atlanta and wanted to know how the Nadal-Federer match was going.  My brother texted the question to ChaCha and it gave him the score. Its unfortunate that we didn’t ask ChaCha what the weather was going to be so we could have known that there were going to be heavy thunderstorms.  While ChaCha isn’t marketed as a sports tool necessarily, it is perfect for sports fans without smartphones.  If you want to know how your favorite team is doing, no problem. ChaCha is also extremely useful when you are having a sports argument with a friend.  How many championships has Sam Cassell won? ChaCha to the rescue. Have fun.