How to Make Your Own Sports GIFs With Yahoo's Slick App Update

Yahoo updated its popular Yahoo! Sports app on Friday, offering a sleek new look for iOS 7 users. But more importantly, loyal sports fan, the update puts power in your hands by letting you create, customize and share your very own GIFs from game highlights.

The feature, called Loops, is a little tough to figure out at first but we walk you through a quick demo of how it's done, below.

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First, you'll need an iPhone or iPod Touch and the updated Yahoo! Sports app [iTunes link]. (Loops is coming to Android and iPad next, but exactly when is unclear.)

Then, go to the app's scoreboard to pick which game to GIF from a range of sports. We'll select the Golden State Warriors' win over the Miami Heat from Thursday night:

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Now pick the Loops tab near the top right corner:

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You'll see some Loops uploaded by other users, but tap the plus-sign in the lower righthand corner to start making your own. Things are about to get cool.

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One option lets you scroll through what's essentially a condensed replay of the game. But, if you already have a specific play in mind, a cooler option lets you go through a play-by-play game log. We happen to know that the "Stephen Curry makes a jump shot from 17 feet out" play at 10:05 came off a sweet through-the-legs pass, so that's what we'll choose.

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Next, tap one of the screenshots at left to pick where you want to start your Loop:

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Then fine-tune the action using the adjustable play bar below the selected play. You can choose playback speed, and whether you want your Loop to loop the traditional way or play in reverse before starting again. The "Effects" button there lets you choose from strobe, slow-motion or freeze-frame enhancements, which you can place wherever you want. The final step after this screen allows you to add a customized caption and decide where in the Loop you want it to appear:

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Voila! Below is our final demo product. We have Curry's fadeaway jumper with an expertly-timed strobe effect and then the hashtag #FullSquad to commemorate the Warriors' potency with their full roster:

Final verdict time now: Is this a much more involved process than simply pointing your phone at a TV replay to create an eternal Vine artifact? Yes. Is it a nice arrow to have in your Modern Internet Sports Fan quiver? Also yes.

Happy GIF-ing, sports fans.