tray

A bit too much sarcasm to take your comments seriously. Anyway, Bulls improved as the season progressed and I hope the Sox will as well. Baldwin, Quero, Meidroth and I hope a few more additions like Elko will make the team better and more interesting for those of us who are Sox fans.

Comcast has worked with (legitimately of illegitimately) local Mayors and municipalities to restrict build outs for Google Fiber and ATT in some suburbs, and that has not always been out in the open. Comcast is wired almost everywhere including my SW suburban neck of the woods. NO ATT or Google Fiber. Oh sure, want a satellite on your roof that has terrible reliability in storms ? Bottom line is that JR/the Sox/Bulls/Hawks got told what the deal was by Comcast and it was not acceptable to them. Hard to say which side(s) were unreasonable without knowing all the facts. I do know that one side had the upper hand and the other (didn't) bow to them.

Look, I am going to defer to another person who commented elsewhere on this: "I’m not sure why they aren’t more scrutinized for anti-trust behaviors in general, and specific to Internet access services. About 80% of US households have one “broadband” option. Traditionally cable TV was the alternative to satellite TV, or OTA (over the air) broadcasts. Data was not in the picture then. The franchise agreements were formed around this time. With data becoming (maybe not legally) a “utility” service since, one would think things should change now. But they really haven’t. What I would like to see happen is competition, but that is really, really expensive. Google Fiber is one of the only “over-builders” in this area. There are some municipal networks now too, small in scale. What is interesting about competition is, Comcast and a collective of cable and telco companies form groups/organizations that lobby and fight off this competition (“overbuilders”). They try to pass state laws that prohibit municipal investments in a fiber network, or even Google Fiber from expanding, etc. And, for whatever reason, this is not considered anti-trust (eg, “cartel”) behavior. It’s not that it (the cable industry) started out a cartel, but with data services they have effectively become that in my eyes (and Netflix, unofficially Google and others). There were hundreds of cable networks, now there are 4 or 5 large ones, who bought up the rest. And they don't compete with each other. This is the definition of cartel per the Sherman Act. It's just not clear IF or what collusion is involved between them as far as setting prices, packages or terms (caps). But like I said, they do form "anti-competition" groups. Probably factoring in their lobbying efforts, they also are able to set (their own) data caps, and speed and general performance standards. No regulatory board is doing that. Other than some very low (basic) customer service requirements (franchise agreement contracts), they are not really regulated when it comes to data offerings. The FCC is trying (Title II), but of course the cartel is fighting that in the courts. And congress is watching the show, if they even are aware there is a show. The latest franchise agreements no longer provide exclusivity, but that was not the case 5 and 10 years ago. Hence, Comcast claims anyone can compete… come and build. They then complain about other things, how they pick the service areas, how the municipalities are involved, etc. Basically, they want competition to compete is ways that cannot work, cannot scale. Using old, 1980’s telco models. The Internet has changed things, except for the grandfathered companies. Another similar/related concept is how the FCC manages RF spectrum, and more specifically how the broadcast TV providers were granted rights back in, I think the 30's and 40’s, to broadcast television. Keep in mind, the airwaves are public domain/property - a public resource. At the time, there was little infrastructure and ability for the government to propagate information (news, Presidential addresses, PSA, etc). ABC, NBC, CBS and like were given an awesome resource, for peanuts. They now reap huge profits off of these resources. Times have changed, it’s time for us to use that RF spectrum in more efficient and better ways. It belongs to the people. The people can get better use, at the expense of loss of some free entertainment. And forcing the companies in question to change, evolve."

Comcast in a monopoly rules over distribution, availability, and subscriptions, and that is no different when it comes to their monopoly over content. So who was holding the upper hand when it came time to dealing with Sox/Bulls/Hawks ? Should the Sox/Bulls/Hawks/Reinsdorfs//Wirtz just accept whatever deal Comcast dictates to them?

Image reminds me of Genesis "All in a Mouse's Night" with the Sox as the mouse. Sox have a shot at maybe one game in the series. I fear the A's are going to blow us out in game one.

The A's have power up and down and they have a lock-down Closer. Sox have to score early and keep adding on runs somehow. Let's go Sox.

For me free OTA broadcasts of TV and FM were fun to tune into back in the day. I delighted in 60's music as my Fisher 500C receiver picked a new generation of FM underground pop stations. WGN TV had mostly Cub coverage. It was great to watch the June swoon and their demise in the summer of '69. I hated the circular UHF antenna needed to watch the Sox. Very poor quality reception. Once Comcast wired-up every house in the world, they proceeded to create a monopoly over advertising, content and subscriptions. Now OTA broadcasts can only serve as a supplement to much more robust cable content. Nice having in a pinch when the cable goes out or when a storm hits. Unfortunately, OTA TV can't compete with cable. That ship sailed decades ago. Yes, OTA has very restricted content, but , personally, I prefer local news (2,5,7,9) to so-called cable "news" - stations that have an undercurrent of politics. A lot of people love a steady diet of political content, but I don't. So I watch OTA broadcasts of local news every morning and local weather at 6 and 10. And yes, Hawks, Bulls Sox on CSHN at night. If I didn't need Comcast for internet I would cut the cable under my carpet so fast it isn't funny. If only 5G internet was faster.

You sound like an angry person who harbors grudges and stalks certain posters. Move on from it. Be better.

Free over-the-air digital broadcasts are the exact opposite of the absurd Sportsvision analog/descrambler set-up. One problem now is that there are some who are too lazy or stupid to set up an antenna and run a cable to it. Those that have are amazed at the cable quality of over-the-air free broadcasts.

Come on, you know his religious faith is irrelevant. Ishbia had a choice of Chicago or Detroit? Is that why he and his brother are owners of Phoenix basketball franchises or why this guy was initially probing the Minnesota Twins organization for a possible takeover. It's funny how people often project things on other people, especially the famous and wealthy inc. sports figures, musicians, etc. Then when if and you get to meet them or know them, your expectations often fall well short.

Why did Ishbia agree to live in the Chicago area when he could live anywhere and why are the Sox an organization he invested in? You think he likes the South side folks? Or is it really just all about the money to him? Same answer to player agents who are looking for the best deal for their clients. Bulshit walks, money talks.

Liam Hendriks, a great ambassador for baseball and specifically, for people overcoming serious illness, unfortunately looked out of sorts, for lack of a better description. I hope the best for him moving forward no matter what if any baseball he has left in him.

I have not been too critical of AV , mainly out of respect for Ron and a few others here, but it is starting to look like AV has to go even if by DFA. It's an awful suggestion but at some point enough rope has been given to him.

Imagine a head count of posters here, especially certain frequent posters....who have even attended one game for the past two or three years. I think I have a good idea which ones haven't. Maybe Kyle could monitor such a poll and reveal who has and hasn't.

You have no hope.

You could care less, right?

Yea, my bad. I was thinking backwards because I prefer Meidroth at 2B. I would have brought up Kyle Teel because he is a better fit, in my opinion, with the Chase Meidroth vibe and he is an athletic catcher. I'm sure Quero is good also, but that's just my opinion.

Baldwin would make an interesting, although for some, unconventional first basemen. He offers a lot more athleticism than AV, is a LH bat, yet still has power. Meanwhile, I like Lenyn Sosa at SS and Meidroth at 2B. Waiting to see how Ramos is doing and if he will be brought up. He showed some power last season which would be great.

An option is not a likely reason that Ishbia sought a minority share. Legally, a minority shareholder maintains certain rights, such as the right to examine the financials of the corporation and access to other corporation documents (i.e., meeting minutes from the last few years, copies of leases and contracts, etc.). Those would be critical to Ishbia for whatever his long term strategy might be.

There are statutes in the Federal Code that pertain to ownership stakes, constructive ownership of a family member's stock etc. There are also stautes and rules pertaining to the rights of minority shareholders including the right to examine the books of the corporation. Ishbias could have purchased Reinsforf stake outright and he has plenty of money to do that. Instead Ishbia is going down one of the typical roads that private equity investment investors often head. Some of those strategies include, for example, destabilizing the corporations financial status, even intentionally. For example, increasing debt dramatically and letting the whole house of cards fold in order to pick up the pieces later while giving the shaft to banks. There are several other strategies that Private Equity Investors can employ, but I am going to leave it to anyone interested in exploring that to do their own research. My own view is that Ishbia is a corporate raider that is guided by one primary financial interest - his own. Can he be stopped? I don't know, but I hope so.

Michael -Squeeze out Ishbia.

I love free CSHN broadcasts. Brings me back to more innocent times when any kid could enjoy the Sox, Bulls and Blackhawks albeit on a b&w CRT. Comcast tried to put a wrench in it.

Your posts too often lack relevance and substance, not because you are not knowledgeable, but because you are consumed with one-upmanship. You almost never just let something go without having the last word and maybe tossing in a personal dig. If there is any consolation, you are not alone among posters on internet forums. Thus my thought about trying to be better.

Too personal. Be better.

Vaughn is on cruise control after signing his new contract. No obvious replacement in the wings (Elko? Quero? Baldwin?) so he isn't under any pressure at all. Sox fans are used to having some pretty good first basemen and AV has disappointed us. Colson needs to prove he can really mash before he even coaxes a second look by the Sox. Questionable performance on both sides of the ball.