That's what keeps people tethered to cable. Same situation with my dad. He complains about the cost but that's where they get him (sports).

Some streaming services dabble in sports (Amazon, Peacock, Apple TV) but not nearly as much as cable or satellite.

Not sure there is really a way around it. There is still plenty of football on free TV. As for baseball, not so much. Some people subscribe to MLB.TV and use a VPN to gain access to their hometown team (which is typically blacked out).

Not sure about other sports. Seems that fans of auto racing need cable as well in order to watch most races.

Maybe something like youtube TV, Sling TV, or the like could work? I subscribed to Sling TV a couple of times just for the MLB play offs that are also on cable (which used to be on free TV).