I have told anyone who will listen that one of the great future businesses/applications will be a national (followed by global) sports talk show. It might not take the form of what we currently know as sports talk, but it will be cool and it will take advantage of emerging technology.

Imagine this: you are watching a Major League Baseball game, say the Phillies and Giants (my two favorite teams). Wouldn’t it be cool to have the ability to interact with other fans watching the game? Maybe IM, maybe some actual voice dialog during the game and especially before and after the game. Why did Alou pinch hit for Vizquel in the ninth inning? How can Thome strike out in the clutch so much? You get the picture… fans from all over the world can watch together (in groups of reasonable size) and have a virtual fan fest/talk show clash/hot stove league.

This will work for virtually any sport, but those with a global interest and player base--baseball and basketball--would be hot for starters. These “shows” may or may not have hosts to fuel the fire. You can even use a VOIP client (Skype, for one) to allow fans to communicate during the game. The format and execution of this iea is only limited by one's imagination.

Who is likely to tackle this? Entrepreneurs, for sure. MLB will try. Yahoo! might even take a run as part of its IPTV project. In the meantime, check out this blog that does play by play of computer-generated games. That could be a cool topic or segment for a global sports talk show.