I suppose I am on the other side on this subject. I am an avid sports fan, especially baseball in all of its glorious history, so it is a bit surprising that I have never read a sports based manga. I'm sure I'd probably like several as I also love character driven works, however I just can't find the interest to start reading it. There are good plots in every genre and what draws the reader into the plot is the setting. In any medium, specifically graphic mediums, the exotic setting tends to grab more attention and real-life situations, to which sports belong, are harder to sell.
Sadly that just seems to be the way it goes, myself specifically I have a hard time getting into anything new even if I know it is good.