It’s interesting that game time is kept in multiple systems and can get significantly off. You’d think there would be a master time code broadcast across all equipment with greater accuracy. But then again FSU and SMU made it work with hand signals from the 1950s that were probably more than a second off.

IMO we fortunate that all of our games, and in fact most of FCS, resides in the ESPN universe because, as you point out, some of those other networks are kind of expensive for occasional use. Perhaps what is confusing is Disney’s choice of nomenclature - “ESPN+” used to refer to the streaming platform in general and now it refers to one type of content included in various ESPN streaming packages. I think the package stratification got muddied coming out of the carriage dispute.

Our game is on ACC Network Xtra (ACCNX). This is a streaming-only service through the ESPN App. To gain access in the ESPN app to ACCNX you must have access somewhere to the regular ACC Network. That could be though ESPN Unlimited (in any way shape or form whether purchased direct from Disney or included as part of a package from YouTubeTV or some other service) -OR- it your case since you have ACCN through your cable provider, you need to go into the ESPN app and tell it who your cable provider is and probably sign in with your Spectrum/Comcast account to link it to the ESPN app. Once ESPN has verified that you have paid somewhere for ACCN, the ACCNX stream will become available.

The SMU game will be streamed on ACC Network Xtra (ACCNX) - this is the streaming-only overflow from the ACC Network cable channel (which is owned by ESPN). It will be available to stream in the ESPN app in these conditions--

• ESPN Unlimited package - YES, will appear in your normal list of games
• YoutubeTV, Hulu+LiveTV, or FuboTV - YES, will appear in the same place you've watched the last two games
• Old-fashioned cable/satellite that includes ACC Network - YES, you will need to log into the ESPN app with your cable credentials so the app links your cable subscription.

If you ONLY have the ESPN Select streaming package, this game is not included.

If you aren't sure if you have access to ACCNX, give it a shot this week to make sure. There are random soccer and volleyball games throughout the week.

Color commentator apparently borrowed his headset from the Burger King drive thru. Lots of distortion.

in your case, new this season, YouTubeTV includes a subscription to ESPN Unlimited, which includes all ESPN content. This means it is no longer necessary to pay ESPN separately. Eventually ESPN content will be integrated more fully into the YouTubeTV app. But for now to take advantage you basically have to tell both apps to sign into each other and view in the ESPN app. This should stick after the first time but sometimes if the app updates it can sign out.

if you subscribe to DirectTV and ESPN Select, this is expected behavior. The Poly game was televised on ESPN linear channel, so the app was basically saying you can watch this on the app platform but we have to check to make sure you still have viewing rights based on your DirectTV subscription. Same scenario will apply for EWU and SMU games.

@abridge - the Poly game was produced by ESPN with national TV level equipment because it was broadcast on a linear network. We can expect similar for the EWU game on ESPN2. All of the ESPN+ games are produced by the host school and uploaded to ESPN+. While ESPN enforces some level of minimum standards, they don’t own the production and most schools can afford equipment closer to local news quality.

Correct, YouTubeTV, Fubo, and Spectrum are all starting to offer ESPN Unlimited as an inclusion even if the sign-in is clunky. This was the armistice agreement last year in the Disney/Hulu vs YouTube and Spectrum carriage dispute but has just started to implement in the last few weeks. Basically, the cable companies can offer ESPN Unlimited as long as they carry ABC and don't interfere with Disney's direct-to-consumer ambitions.

I can’t speak for UCD specifically, but here’s a general flow of how it normally works:

• The owner writes a narrative of the project requirements (ex square footage, level of finishes, particular features needed).
• Conceptual Design - a consultant takes that narrative, does some site condition investigation and comes up with sketches and basically asks “is this what you had in mind?” From that they start generating a cost based on how many square feet of glass, roofing, flooring, number of bathrooms, etc. This is usually when you secure your capital budget and start making compromises if your idea exceeds your funding.
• Architecural & Schematic Design - usually a different type of architecture firm and often the Contractor has a seat at the table by this point. This is where you start getting real documents with measurements and they coordinate trade specific engineers like structural, mechanical, electrical, etc. Typically you have milestones at 30%, 60%, 90% drawing completion. By 30% you’re usually committed to a footprint and by 60% you’re mostly committed to an interior layout. This is where a lot of compromise happens - for example mechanical can’t layout until the kitchen specifies equipment, but now you need a bigger air handler so you have to borrow space and then electrical needs to upsize the transformer which needs a different fire wall design and so on.

You can generate renderings from a conceptual design but they will be inaccurate. You can release better renderings after 30% because it’s based on a real building at that point. Depends on the use case though. For example, in condo construction you have to be very careful about conceptual renderings due to laws around misleading sales. The actual 30/60/90 drawings are unlikely to be released. For security reasons these days you may not want to make public exact layouts and construction materials. Depending on the size of the project, it is not unusual to see site work at 30% and vertical by 60%. You wouldn’t build a house that way but totally normal in complex builds. What they have released is what you’d expect from conceptual design. Less clear if they are proceeding in the background or on pause for funding.

it’s a funny thing. The final spike in the transcontinental railroad and the moon landing were a mere 100 years apart. We probably aren’t that far off from the computers figuring out how to go to the moon without us. And yet, on other things technology has practically stood still because my bathroom surely doesn’t clean itself.

Very cool. It was amazing what engineers and fabricators were able to do in the 1960s with the technology and time available.

one thing I’ve learned is that HR and Title IX investigators may be thorough but the goal is not to find truth. It is to shift liability away from the organization and onto whichever other party a judge or jury will be least sympathetic to. Hard to know for sure if he was the problem or if he just crossed the wrong Karen. Regardless, suing the news has a pretty low success rate. If he’s a good and qualified keynote speaker, then I think UCD was right to hire him for the event. I think it’s healthy to move past cancel culture.

At one point the story was that big time football was going to be such a draw that non-athletes from out of state were going to line up to pay full retail prices and this whole endeavor was going to subsidize the average in-state student.

I have not seen robotic striping machines but sounds cool. I will say there is more than meets the eye to maintaining an excellent grass field in terms of both biology and equipment. And I think @88Aggie that may be up the decider between natural and artificial turf at the high school level at least. Grass is a living thing and has to be responded to in real time. While artificial requires special know how to repair, it can wait for a vendor visit. My high school’s grass was definitely not laser leveled and had gopher holes about the depth of a broken ankle. We probably don’t have good data on what’s safest because so much of the research has been funded by the turf companies. But if I were to hypothesize, artificial turf may be better than a poorly maintained grass field but not as good as a professionally maintained one. @movielover I would vote for real grass here but unlikely to be considered until the turf is worn out. I tend to think it’s worth the water investment when it’s grass people use rather than just look at, especially if reclaimed or irrigation water is available.

, @Pacifico2 I had not heard of hybrid turf before but I looked it up and it is a thing. It’s real grass with about 5% reinforcing fibers sewn in after. In my area we use Bermuda grass for fields, typically Tifway, Latitude, or Celebration. We overseed with annual rye so you still have the lateral strength of the Bermuda but the winter rye grows though for color. When artificial fields came into vogue 25 years ago the argument was lower maintenance and better for the environment. As for maintenance, you trade mowing and striping for raking, blowing, and sewing repairs. For the environment, they didn’t really mention that an artificial fields have a finite number of reps before they must be replaced in whole. I think UCDHS is on its 3rd turf. So water and fertilizer/pest control vs a giant non-recyclable pile of plastic every few years. In severe weather natural turf has the advantage in the heat, artificial turf in late season rain. The artificial turf companies don’t tell you that the pellets get everywhere and may be carcinogenic or that vomit, Gatorade etc are difficult to clean up. I prefer natural turf but I understand the optics of water conservation are a weighty factor in CA.

the college pay premium is evaporating and it sucks but it’s not entirely unjustified. I don’t know whether it’s just the ineffectiveness of zoom, burnt out instructors or what. But as a manager of college age interns, I of course have some top performers, but increasingly I get young people who can recite useless-to-me facts about film history or ethnic poetry or whatever their major is, but struggle to get along with others or think through basic business tasks without explicit direction. A big part of staying relevant is that colleges will need to return to teaching what is actually needed in the job market so that people decide the cost benefit is in favor of investing.

I have no knowledge specific to this project, but it is common to have a quiet period where big dollars from donors, sponsors, and politicians are put together to create critical momentum before they ask you and I to buy an engraved paver. Speed of construction is often based on financial strategy because the full cost of construction typically isn’t just sitting ready in checking. Sure, performance and schedule bonuses can speed up a contractor if the owner wants to pay (like Stanford rebuilding their stadium in 9 months). But other times donors may be splitting contributions over multiple tax years and bonds or loans may be issued on a quarterly schedule. It can slow projects dramatically if the schedule of when you need to buy materials doesn’t quite match what quarter the money is available. Happens in both public and investor projects.

that Big Mountain guy got his chapstick all over Luke Wood’s backside. If it was menthol, sitting is gonna burn.

the MAC wanting Sac is about as delusional as thinking a stripper is actually flirting with you. Only as long as you still have money to spend.

lest we not forget, from his state of the university speech, the financial premise is that FBS football will make Sac a destination university for out-of-state students who will balance his budget by paying higher tuition rates. I’m surprised the ride has lasted this long. Between irresponsible financials and possible corruption with his brother’s business interests, that the CSU president hasn’t said enough is enough.