Italian Language and Culture

I love the Italian Serie A. I love everything about it. However, sometimes I find myself liking the English Premier League at times because I can actually understand the games and all the talk shows and all the websites on it. I am wondering, I want to get a better hold of Italian. I don't have time or money to take a class. So, what is the best way I can pick up Italian on the web or in a book? I know Spanish really well and I heard Spanish and Italian have really similar words. So can anyone help me out? Thanks.