A former Yahoo programming executive, Dave Katz, has launched a new social networking website. The online platform is specifically designed for diehard sports fans.

Coincidentally, Dave Katz led Yahoo’s sports, entertainment and studios division. He reportedly cultivated the internet company’s first ‘consistent, home-grown’ content channels. He left Yahoo in December 2006. He spent more than six months working out the SportsFanLive concept. In fact, Katz funded the project on his own before approaching investors who apparently wish to remain anonymous.

Katz has come up with a unique mix of social features plus aggregated news content on SportsFanLive, but will that be a saleable proposition? Will he able to convince users to sign up for the new social network is something that remains to be seen.

Apart from MySpace and Facebook who thoroughly dominate the social networking realm, there are also a number of niche networks, which focus on one domain or another. In sports, Katz is trying to take on some established brand names that boast the resources and reach to adapt and add their own social networking features faster than Katz can think of. It is when and how they will do so remains to be seen.