Ned Flanders

RIP Gary Rossington...apologies for the poor quality video.

I'm an O's fan in O's "territory" so MLBTV does me no good. MLB's antiquated blackout policies preclude me from seeing O's/Nats without cable/satellite. YouTubeTV does not want to pay the exorbitant RSN "fees" and I don't blame them here. RSNs are on life support however (really interesting subject if you have the time) and this may expedite the end of the MLB blackouts, hopefully.

I saw the Rossington Collins Band in August 1980 in Rochester with Charlie Daniels as the opener. Closed with Free Bird, of course.

Welcome back! Always like a good DirecTV/Sunday Ticket/streaming discussion, especially @nucciwhen he didn't get any love over at DTV. As I've stated in other posts, I dumped DTV after the regular season ended, and went with YouTubeTV. Monthly bill went from $122 to $65. YTTV is ok; really pissed they dropped MLB Network two weeks after I joined though. Hopefully they'll get that fixed before the season starts.

"Does the Pope wear a funny hat?" "Does a frog have a watertight a*%hole?"

Be interesting what YTTV does about the delay...during the Super Bowl, the YTTV broadcast was a full play behind the ESPN app.

They should have ended the show after the Frank Burns character left...one of my favorite shows of all time, but the post-Burns era was painful to watch.

I was with you up until the Spencer Brown analysis...

I believe it was Scherzer, no? Very small sample size, but the spring training games are finishing much faster. That's a good thing. I'm ok with getting rid of the shift, but still hate the "ghost runner" in extra innings.

You can thank Dolphin Killer Thurman Thomas for a large part of Miami's failure.

The Rochester Demigod and Comical will soon be printed in NJ. Sal M said in a tweet this week that the deadline for the next day's paper will soon be 3:00pm, meaning a game story from a Sunday Bills game won't appear until Tuesday's paper. The industry is on life-support.

Good intel, should be pinned.

Two days after I cancelled last month, DTV rep called and wanted to offer a "deal." Told him what I was paying for YTTV and he knew there was no way to match it. Short call. Got an email from DTV just yesterday offering "deals" to come back and the package I had, they wanted to same price to re-up. Some "deal." Was happy with YTTV until they dumped the MLB Network...who knows if they'll ever get it back. The streamers are becoming like the cable/satellite companies now. With sports programming rates skyrocketing, I guess more of this is to be expected...damn shame.

Wonderfully told story of heartbreak and the road to recovery, both physically and emotionally. Thanks for sharing.

Who knows, but with the NFL keeping the networks afloat, MLB/NHL/NBA will need to do some creative thinking....perhaps take control of all their distribution, sending RSNs to the graveyard. They all pretty much do that now, except for the local blackouts. Get rid of the blackouts and for example, sell an MLB package to those who want it via an app like they do now.

The only thing keeping the major networks alive is NFL football...the prime time "entertainment" lineups on every major network are garbage, the only shows we DVR are Jeopardy (I'm old) and Law and Order. However, even the streaming platforms (YouTube TV, Sling, Hulu, etc.) are not the panacea they once were. "Cord cutting" is a outdated phenomenon, as the streamers continue to raise their rates to nearly equal those of the cable/satellite behemoths....and rate increases can be attributed to the upward climb of sports programming costs. YTTV just dropped the MLB Network this week and have, in past years, dropped many of the regional sports networks they once carried, i.e. YES and NESN. We all want more live sports, but the costs are huge, and are, in turn, always passed off to the consumer.

I also went with YTTV after the season; however, earlier this week, they dropped the MLB Network, a mainstay for me. Not very happy with them right now.

Not the greatest quality video, but The Boss opened his first tour in six years last night in Tampa. Seeing him next month here in DC.

God, I wish this thread will soon die...

The Boss tour starts tonight in Tampa, anxious to see the set list tomorrow. I'm seeing him next month here in DC. Update, set list from last night: https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/bruce-springsteen/2023/amalie-arena-tampa-fl-5bbd2bc0.html America's Greatest Showman.

All of them nice players...but HOF worthy? I don't think so.

Heard this the other night; a one-hit-wonder staple.

Made the breakup call yesterday after 23 years. CR was pleasant and when asked why I wanted to leave DTV, I simply replied "price." No real effort to retain me when I stated that YouTube TV would be about half the cost of my current DTV bill. She then proceeded to explain the equipment return process (just take it to FedEx or UPS and they will box/send). And that was that...about a five minute call total. UPDATE: Nice guy from DTV "retention department" called the house last night and asked if there was anything he could do to change my mind. Told him, nope, I've already disconnected and boxed the equipment and am ready to take it to FedEx. I reiterated that "price" was the main factor in me quitting DTV after 23 years, understood and did not even try to counter YouTube TV's monthly fee. Kinda felt sorry for the guy, actually... Hard to think DTV will be around in five years, but I guess their niche subscriber base are those folks without the ability to get high speed internet, but even that population is shrinking.

Was hoping John Brown would score last week just to see what obscure former Bills player CBS would use for his picture.