By Matt Pepin
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: ESPN Fantasy Football
By: ESPN
Price: Free
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android
Should you get it?: Yes, if your fantasy football league is run on the ESPN platform

Colleague Zuri Berry recently pointed out how lousy the NFL '12 app is, and I couldn't agree more. By the second week of the season, I'd abandoned it as my second screen on Sundays, which left the door wide open for something else.

Enter ESPN's Fantasy Football app, a far more entertaining and convenient experience than simply logging on to ESPN.com to follow your fantasy football team.

By Zuri Berry
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: NFL '12
By: NFL Enterprises LLC
Price: Free (with in-app subscription)
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android
Should you get it?: Only if you don't know how to operate your mobile Internet browser.

I think everybody is done complaining about the NFL's impasse with the referees now that there has been a labor resolution. The zebras returned for Thursday night's football game, and harmony was restored on the playing field.

But not in cyberspace. The complaints are still streaming in from the NFL's mobile app (iOS, Android), which went from an incredibly useful secondary screen with video highlights from each game last season, to a slowly updated and now costly expense.

By Damon Kiesow
Boston.com Staff

Reviewing: NBC Olympics Live Extra
Company: NBC
Price: Free
Platforms: iPhone, iPad, Android
Tested on: iPhone 4G / iPad 3
Should you get it? Maybe, if you are a cable TV subscriber.

As stories of #NBCFail bounce around Twitter, it is fair to point out that the broadcaster is at least trying to provide comprehensive live coverage of the Olympics.

While the evening broadcasts are tape-delayed, many of the daytime events are either broadcast on NBC's cable stations, or streamed to the Web and mobile devices (iOS and Android).

The good news: if you want to watch the "Men's Skeet Final" live on your tablet or smartphone, you can with the NBC Olympics Live Extra app. In fact, this morning I counted 20 different live streams available on my iPad - from basketball to volleyball and everything in-between.

By Matt Pepin
Boston.com Sports Editor

Reviewing: Team USA Road to London
By: United States Olympic Committee
Price: Free
Available for: iPad, iPhone, Android
Should you get it? Yes for Olympics fanatics; no for casual observers

As someone who really enjoys the Olympics, I had high hopes for this app, which I discovered when perusing the Team USA web site as I researched some of the athletes from New England who were in line for Olympic team spots.

But it took me a few days to warm up to it and really get to know what content is located where, and the formats in which information is presented. I suspect that kind of learning curve will tax the patience of those who might have been looking for something a little more light-hearted and easy to understand.

By Matt Pepin
Boston.com Staff

In no particular order, here are five sports apps I have come to rely on to embellish the experience of following sports. All of these are official apps produced by either governing bodies or event organizers, and all were tested on an iPad.