But, when it came right down to it, I didn't know which offered the best sports programming - Dish Network or Direct TV. That's when I decided to give them both a try and see which came out ahead.

Now, you might think I'm a bit crazy, trying out both systems, but I figured since my family already owns a small house in the mountains where we like to escape to on the weekends (which, by the way happens to be peak sports watching time), I figured "what'd we have to lose?" So, I took the plunge and ordered a subscription to both Dish Network and Direct TV.

Right from the beginning, I noticed that there was a big difference between the two services. Each offers a good selection of different packages, but Direct TV definitely does offer more premier sporting events - including the much coveted NFL Sunday Ticket - a must-have for my house!

My teenagers have also enjoyed all of the special music concerts that Direct TV offers. Another benefit of Direct TV is their ability to customize customer packages to basically give you exactly what you want and none of what you don't.

Once I had both of my systems hooked up, it was time to sit my keester in front of the tube and relax with my favorite sporting events and announcers.

During my many hours of viewing time that followed, I wasn't disappointed with either satellite provider. Both offered a great mix of games at a competitive price, a fantastic picture and uninterrupted service. I never once lost the signal on either system during a big game - even during the worst summer thunderstorm or winter snow squall.

While both satellite service companies provided about the same service for the same price, I did notice two differences.

First, Direct TV offers this great interactive mix, which allows me to watch up to eight live channels of sports or news on the same screen at the same time! Imagine, watching eight separate games at once! I have to admit, it's totally awesome!

Even though Dish Network doesn't offer that cool special, they do offer automatic renewal for the sporting packages I subscribe to. That way, I don't ever have to think about sign-up deadlines or missing a game again. Once I sign up for a package, it is automatically renewed the next season without even a phone call. On opening day, the games just appear on my television set. No more thinking - just watching! And, no more fights with my wife when I ask her to call and sign me up for the next season - it's already done.

So, which service provider do I like best - Dish Network or Direct TV? To be honest, I'm glad I don't have to answer that - after all I have two households to service, so I think I'll just keep both.

But if you forced me to choose I'd have to say Direct TV is the better choice for the diehard sports fan. They just have too much power with all those sports packages behind them for Dish to compete on this playing field.