As far as cutting cable goes, I "cut" it quite a few years ago though they offered me a faster speed and limited basic cable + HBO for 12 months for less than what I was paying for internet alone.  

 

Before the 12 months ended I called them up telling them I didn't care about the cable tv and that I just wanted the internet, then they offered me another package for 12 months with a faster speed and 45 channels for less than what I was paying the previous month.  I did the same again, I got the same speed but I got more channels for the same price ($63) currently.

 

So that seems like the trick is just to call every year telling them you want to kill the TV and they'll just throw packages at you, you don't get a choice in what tv package you get but I didn't care about the tv anyways I just wanted the internet (which was more by itself than with the package).

 

For sports MLB.tv gives you all the baseball you could want,minus the lame blackout restrictions (can't watch the Rays straight up) but there are workarounds for that. I believe NBA and NHL have similar services but I don't care about either sport enough to check them out. 

 

 NFL is a bit tricky but as mentioned above there is gamepass, you just need a work around *cough*, I find the European version seems to offer more stuff but the Canadian version seems to run smoother (I guess the ping).  I used it for a season and a piece then I found a free/hd alternative 

---