A friend of mine works for a small-town paper [0]. Between his articles in the paper and on the web, his facebook page, and his twitter feed, anyone interested in local sports is going to be pretty much up-to-the-minute. As far as I know, there are no alternative sources. Conversely, if you want to reach an audience in his small town, your options are either his paper or a big sign.

I'd say the solution is going to be a hybrid approach like they've taken. An aggregated "top stories" print solution, a web presence, and mobile presence all highly targeted at the local area.

[0] http://www.idahocountyfreepress.com/