StrangeSox

QUOTE (kev211 @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 03:07 PM) Mario Kart 64 is the best in the series. End of Discussion. QUOTE (Jenksismyb**** @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 03:07 PM) +infinity

I'm mostly looking forward to the inevitable PS3 price drop so I can pick one up this winter/fall.

QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 08:52 AM) I promise you that SS gets taxes in Chicago. He is a Democrat and from the area. He is all about taxes. I've never lived in Chicago! And haven't lived in Cook since I was about 8. Also not exactly a Democrat!

QUOTE (Y2HH @ Jun 11, 2013 -> 08:49 AM) That's the thing, in addition to any excuses, refinery issues or supply issues they can come up with, which add 50-60 cents per gallon, in Chicago, add another 60 cents per gallon in taxes, that's easily over a dollar. I wasn't even talking about Chicago's ridiculous prices. Gas is 4.39 out in the non-Cook suburbs as well. It was 3.29 in Florence, S.C. and 3.89 in Key West last week. Listing federal taxes is pretty silly since that's obviously uniform. You'll also have to show me other states' (specifically, SC and FL) taxes if you want to attribute any of the difference to taxation.

Patrick Kane will get another triple-double and win the game in extra innings with a field goal

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:56 PM) Way to not read the post. You don't need to be authenticated. That was the whole point of my adding the f***ing post. You only need to be authenticated for "TV Everywhere". But I digress. We're at this point of the argument due to ignorance, anyway. You didn't read your own links. http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/06/...xtra-providers/ It was the same for the Olympics. Couldn't stream through NBC.com unless you had a cable or satellite package

Yeah, stupid consumers wanting products to be easily accessible and usable! I hope neither of you guys are in marketing.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:54 PM) But you can watch every game. Not without a cable or satellite subscription.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:52 PM) It's as if there are still people somewhere who channel flip and don't have the capability to search within their cable box or have a magical guide. Also, never, ever google it. Also, good God, you bunch of whiners! You CAN watch this s*** on your PC without authenticating. Whoever went through authentication had the wrong link. For the first time ever, the Stanley Cup Final will be streamed live. NBC Sports Live Extra -- the NBC Sports Group’s live streaming product for desktops, mobile devices, and tablets -- will live stream all Stanley Cup Final games. NBC Sports Network games will be live streamed via “TV Everywhere,” the media industry’s effort to make quality content available to MVPD customers both in and out of the home and on multiple platforms. For desktops, NBC Sports Live Extra can be accessed at NBCSports.com/liveextra. The NBC Sports Live Extra app for mobile devices and tablets is available at the App Store for iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, and on select Android handset and tablet devices within Google Play. Stanley Cup Final games airing on: NBC will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra. NBC Sports Network will live stream to PCs, mobile devices and tablets through NBC Sports Live Extra, and to the digital platforms of participating cable, satellite, and telco services, via “TV Everywhere.” “TV Everywhere” is available on an authenticated basis to subscribers of participating MVPDs. Click here for the participating cable/satellite/telco companies offering NBC Sports Live Extra: http://nbcsportsgrouppressbox.com/2013/06/...xtra-providers/ So yeah, you can watch the games for free here. And holy f***, all I had to do was Google it. You've already been told that you have to already have a cable or satellite package to do this. More and more people are "cutting the cord" and dumping cable/satellite. If the NHL thinks the future is in premium-tier sports networks for the fourth-most-popular sport, more power to them.

Man die-hard hockey fans sure do melt down if non-die-hard fans wish they could watch the entirety of the SCF without needing to pay for upgraded cable packages.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:42 PM) LMAO. This has come full circle. Steve, if you could do a Flapship write up on other s*** people can watch on Saturday and Monday night because the NHL f***ing sucks, that'd be great. Maybe he could write about NBC's top-rated primetime lineup?

QUOTE (Chisoxfn @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:38 PM) When you have kids and families there are plenty of people that are going to not be in front of a TV enough to watch every game and to spend an extra $15/month for something like that. And the reality is the big money isn't in the $ spent at the arena's, it is in the overall ratings and the better the ratings the more ad revenues and the bigger the tv contracts. No, the only people who should ever watch the Blackhawks are people who watch every single game. Casual fans generate zero revenue for sports teams.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:37 PM) Aside from on random Sundays and a WGN game here and there, you can NEVER watch the Blackhawks with an OTA, crystal-clear HD signal and an $80 antenna. But now you're a superfan who can't be bothered to find an alternative for 2 possible games that won't be on NBC? Nope, just a guy who would like to watch the Blackhawks throughout the Stanely Cup Finals, generating advertising revenue for the NHL, and annoyed that I can't.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:32 PM) BTW, I'm curious, do people go crazy when NFL games on NFL Network? I can always watch the Bears with an OTA, crystal-clear HD signal and a $80 antenna.

Would the NFL be the dominant force it is if 90+% of its games weren't on network television, with every local game being available OTA?

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:16 PM) That's a deal. you're going to need to be driving one of these to get 5000 people

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 04:02 PM) If you don't have a cable package whatsoever (most sports games are on there), and are relying on every championship game being on network TV so you can watch them and they'll be the only games you watch all year, then no, you aren't exactly a real hockey fan. I haven't claimed to be anything other than a casual fan. Whether that makes me a "real" or "fake" fan, I don't care. They're not going to build my interest further if I can't watch them, though. These arguments sound like stuff from the old bill wirtz era.

Ha, I was wondering why ComEd is always promoting better electricity conservation, effectively encouraging their customers to use less of the product. Now it makes sense.

QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 03:34 PM) Well, if you only have rabbit ears then you can't watch the vast majority of Sox/Bulls/Hawks regular season or playoff games unless you stream them illegally online, and if you're doing that I don't see the point in complaining about having to do it two more times. It's not that big of a deal. It sucks and is inconvenient and hockey is the only major sport that doesn't put their championship on broadcast television. I just found some of the comments in this thread about people not being REAL fans if they don't have cable package XYZ funny. I don't have much time usually to sit around and watch a Sox/Bulls/Hawks game. I'll have it on the radio while I'm working in the garage, cutting grass, etc. so it's not a big deal. I'd have MLBtv if it weren't for the dumb-as-hell blackout rules.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 03:02 PM) Exactly. I wish they'd play the games in my backyard, because that'd be convenient, but alas I will figure out a way to watch NBC and/or NBCSN. It's not hard. exactly. if you don't want to have a $100+/month cable bill, you must be a Friends-watching moron.

QUOTE (Jake @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 03:13 PM) I believe that is only true if you are subscribed to a cable/satellite provider that plays nice with NBC. At least, I had to sign in with my cable account to stream on my computer. Yup, same was true for the Olympics.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 02:30 PM) I have DirecTV. NBC SportsNetwork is freely available on the same tier that has NBA TV and MLB Network. I don't have and don't want DirecTV or Comcast. I'm not entitled to be able to watch the games for free OTA, but I can still b**** about it.

QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Jun 10, 2013 -> 01:53 PM) You may not care, but the NHL has to care. To ignore that is silly. I know they have to care. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

On a related issue, why is gas around Chicago $1 more than gas in S.C. and .50-60 more than gas all the way down in Key West?

I don't care why the TV deal is good if I can't watch it without paying Comcast or DirecTV a bunch of money, and I know I can always find a way to (illegally) stream it. But you know what was nice? Being able to watch the game on Saturday OTA in crystal-clear HD by just turning on my TV, not messing around with low-quality internet streams and hooking my laptop up.