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You mean other than Miami being in the final last year... and Indiana being the only bye team to win a game?

Yespage said:

You mean other than Miami being in the final last year... and Indiana being the only bye team to win a game?

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No, I was actually referring to outside of the Top 8, but should have been Top 12 ...

I guess I should have looked at the bracket from last year first ...

I'm more thinking about them trying to expect a 15 to beat a 5 seed or there abouts .

And no teams deserve a bye! Injuries are the largest part of the game that you cant practice for them. Any team can suffer the worst injury at any position on any play. No favorites.

AZ. said:

And no teams deserve a bye! Injuries are the largest part of the game that you cant practice for them. Any team can suffer the worst injury at any position on any play. No favorites.

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While the bye can help the top four teams and those the Cartels would like to protect in the playoff, I think the bye is also about making the Cartel championships mean something. One problem with a playoff is it does diminish the conference title a bit.

Yespage said:

While the bye can help the top four teams and those the Cartels would like to protect in the playoff, I think the bye is also about making the Cartel championships mean something. One problem with a playoff is it does diminish the conference title a bit.

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Once the 24 gets here, there won't be anymore Conference Championships .... or so they say.

Oh what the hell, we really don't need Conferences anymore either ...

Jimbo said:

I'm more thinking about them trying to expect a 15 to beat a 5 seed or there abouts .

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I mean you get upsets all the time.

Just a couple of weeks ago. Unranked Florida knocked off number 7 texas. Unranked Auburn beat number 1 Georgia.

This week unranked Cincinnati beat number 8 texas Tech. Unranked UCF beat number 2 BYU.

No reason to think similar upsets wont happen in the playoffs where a low seed can upset a higher one.

Ronnie- said:

I mean you get upsets all the time.

Just a couple of weeks ago. Unranked Florida knocked off number 7 texas. Unranked Auburn beat number 1 Georgia.

This week unranked Cincinnati beat number 8 texas Tech. Unranked UCF beat number 2 BYU.

No reason to think similar upsets wont happen in the playoffs where a low seed can upset a higher one.

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Yep, wonder why we rank the top 25 in 2 poles still? Do the ranking change much if they are unranked or have many loses? They sure do, any given day never take your opponent as a cake walk.....

Ronnie- said:

I mean you get upsets all the time.

Just a couple of weeks ago. Unranked Florida knocked off number 7 texas. Unranked Auburn beat number 1 Georgia.

This week unranked Cincinnati beat number 8 texas Tech. Unranked UCF beat number 2 BYU.

No reason to think similar upsets wont happen in the playoffs where a low seed can upset a higher one.

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Correct, you Do get upsets from time to time ....however .
You Don't get teams UPSETTING teams for 5 weeks in a row.

They are trying to make this Basketball and its a far cry from the way that is played.

How long till they go to 32 teams ? Then they will say, well, the NFL is 32 teams, we can make more money that way .... except the NFL is 32 teams, that are a set number of teams and divisions, you don't have that in College ... oh but they will try.

They would have to choose what teams they would want in and thats it.
Hopefully that NEVER happens.

I can see the NCAA going away and the CFP taking that portion over and a Collective Bargaining agreement coming in the not to distant future.

The problem with rankings and playoffs is that they are designed to hype the game and make money. Period.

The only reason that BYU and Texas Tech were upsets is that they were hyped up in the standings in the first place. I love watching BYU and Bear Bachmeier. They are a fun and talented team, but not nearly so strong, fast, big, and skilled as a true top ten team. Does anyone truly believe they could compete with the likes of Georgia, Ohio State, Indiana, Alabama, etc.? Yet, they were ranked above those teams.

Each year, there are 10 to 12 teams who truly could compete for the championship if it depended on winning more than one game in a playoff. Including teams like James Madison, Tulane, BYU, etc. in a playoff has nothing to do with determining a national champion. It's just about money.

I am an old time radio DXer. Always liked to listen to distant stations on car radio and local news while traveling.

Recently bought a Tesla without an AM radio. Thought I would miss AM more then I do.
During 4000 miles of road tripping this summer I found most major cities have AM stations on FM translators.
Granted, a lot of them are low power.
Found most AM stations are available on Tune-in.
FM stations do have EMS and received several weather alerts through them.

The Tesla FM takes some getting used to. You can directly input a frequency if you know it, but the radio mainly will show Icons or stations it can receive. It's different but very useable.

I find myself usually listening to XM or other sources since the sound system is so good.

Phil T said:

I am an old time radio DXer. Always liked to listen to distant stations on car radio and local news while traveling.

Recently bought a Tesla without an AM radio. Thought I would miss AM more then I do.
During 4000 miles of road tripping this summer I found most major cities have AM stations on FM translators.
Granted, a lot of them are low power.
Found most AM stations are available on Tune-in.
FM stations do have EMS and received several weather alerts through them.

The Tesla FM takes some getting used to. You can directly input a frequency if you know it, but the radio mainly will show Icons or stations it can receive. It's different but very useable.

I find myself usually listening to XM or other sources since the sound system is so good.

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There is a phone app called " tune in" that streams most am and fm radio stations

Streaming is nice but by cheating, a no no!!

Better to do true DXing by mother nature!!

Juan said:

There is a phone app called " tune in" that streams most am and fm radio stations

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There are thousands of miles of roads that have no practical broadband access. That's why they invented satellite radio.

Was curious about timing and carve-outs, via Claude:

Yes, the bill has a few carve-outs and softening provisions:

• Small manufacturers get extra time. The rule can't be applied to manufacturers that made 40,000 or fewer passenger motor vehicles for sale in the U.S. in 2022, at least not on the same timeline as everyone else — they get extra compliance time. house
• An "interim" workaround exists. Until the final rule takes effect, automakers can still sell new vehicles without AM radios — they just have to clearly and conspicuously label those vehicles to inform buyers that they lack AM broadcast reception, rather than being barred from selling them outright. senate
• Sunset clause. The mandate isn't permanent — it comes with a sunset provision of eight years (trimmed down from the ten years originally proposed) so Congress has to revisit it as technology evolves. Radio World
• Study requirement, not a full carve-out. For self-driving/autonomous vehicles, there's no outright exemption, but the House Energy and Commerce Committee added a requirement that the Department of Transportation study potential safety and innovation issues around AM reception in new vehicles with autonomous driving systems. Radio World

The Senate version (S. 315) is Markey and Cruz's companion bill and carries essentially the same exceptions as the House bill — they're near-identical texts, which is why they've been advancing in parallel. Specifically:

• Small manufacturer carve-out. Same threshold as the House version: manufacturers that made 40,000 or fewer passenger vehicles for sale in the U.S. in 2022 get more compliance time — most manufacturers would face a 2-to-3-year compliance window, while smaller manufacturers would get at least 4 years. policyrisk
• Interim labeling option. Same as the House bill: until the DOT's rule takes effect, manufacturers could sell vehicles without AM as long as they clearly label that the vehicle lacks it, and they can't charge extra for AM access once it's required. policyrisk
• No-fee requirement. AM access has to be standard equipment, not a paid add-on — same as the House version.

One difference worth noting from committee reporting: the Senate Commerce Committee's report on S. 315 found the mandate would have a "minimal impact" on automakers, with the Congressional Budget Office estimating the cost at a few million dollars annually industry-wide, and the law bars automakers from passing that cost on to consumers.

As of now, S. 315 has cleared the Senate Commerce Committee but hasn't had a full Senate floor vote yet — after the House passed its version on September 15, 2026, the Senate received the House-passed bill, read it twice, and placed it on the legislative calendar, where it's awaiting further action. So the two chambers still need to reconcile which version (or a merged one) actually goes to the President. yourNEWS

On timing:

Nothing takes effect yet — the bill still needs to pass the full Senate and get signed into law. But once it's enacted, here's the timeline baked into the bill:

• Rulemaking deadline: The Secretary of Transportation has to issue the actual rule within 1 year of the bill being signed into law.
• Rule's effective date: The rule itself then takes effect 2 to 3 years after it's issued.
• So in practice: For most manufacturers, that's roughly 3 to 4 years after enactment before AM radio is actually required as standard equipment.
• Small manufacturers (40,000 or fewer vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2022) get extra runway — at least 4 years from enactment.
• In the meantime: Any new vehicle sold without AM radio during that gap just has to carry clear, conspicuous labeling saying it lacks AM reception — it's not banned outright until the rule kicks in.
• Sunset clause: Once in force, the mandate itself expires after 8 years, unless Congress acts again to renew it.

So best case, if the Senate passed it quickly and it were signed into law soon, you'd be looking at somewhere around 2029-2030 before the requirement is actually binding on most automakers — and that's assuming no further delays in the legislative process, which given this bill's multi-year history is not a given.

I am 1 that wants the AM to Stay ....
That said, since '08 I have had Sat radio available to me ... I think I have turned on AM 3 or 4 times, just to see if its still there.

Fwiw, if theres a Major disaster or bad weather or whatever, the chances of me finding out about it by going to the AM side of the radio is SLIM and None.
Even FM, I haven't really had on since '13ish, I may turn it on from time to time, just to see if its still there.

I don't know why DISH doesn't just start a streaming version of DISH and then if you can't see the western arc you go with streaming versions and then they could keep customers if they had good internet speeds. I mean Sling TV could be changed to Streaming DISH TV if they wanted since both companies are under Echostar. Then you would still be able to use your ota antenna with Air TV devices like I do with Air TV Anywhere with 4 ota tuners.

MikeD-C05 said:

I don't know why DISH doesn't just start a streaming version of DISH

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I have the same wish.

Even if you are broadcasting old SD-only shows, I would think advertisers would still want their commercials to look good.

Strega said:

Even if you are broadcasting old SD-only shows, I would think advertisers would still want their commercials to look good.

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Advertisers on SD channels are probably Far and Few, very hard to find, they have very few viewers to watch them.

Jimbo said:

Advertisers on SD channels are probably Far and Few, very hard to find, they have very few viewers to watch them.

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I watch mostly SD channels (H&I, Start and ION, etc.). There are plenty of advertisers, this time of the year it is mostly Medicare Advantage plans, auto extended warranties and the occasional walk-in-tub. They know who is watching.

Mister B said:

I watch mostly SD channels (H&I, Start and ION, etc.). There are plenty of advertisers, this time of the year it is mostly Medicare Advantage plans, auto extended warranties and the occasional walk-in-tub. They know who is watching.

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can't forget the little blue m&m's

slow_poke_pete said:

can't forget the little blue m&m's

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That's what my wife calls my Viagra!!

Scott Greczkowski said:

I have the same wish.

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Why?
A lot of people do not have fast internet.
That is why they use satellite

bnewt said:

Why?
A lot of people do not have fast internet.
That is why they use satellite

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DISH will happily sell them a Starlink system and service.

Why didn't Charlie end up launching starlink

telstar_1 said:

Why didn't Charlie end up launching starlink

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Because he didn't have a fleet of reusable rockets. Starlink works because SpaceX is able to launch hundreds (thousands?) of their Starlink satellites for what a single geostationary Internet satellite costs to build and launch on a disposable launcher.

But how is it reusable if it's disposable

charlesrshell said:

That's what my wife calls my Viagra!!

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My gf is 29 years younger than me

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFmPEgNuELM

When you need a battery, you need a battery.

If you can wait, new technologies are on the not-too-distant horizon.

You're probably doing something wrong if you're only getting a year out of an AGM battery. Heat and infrequent charging both significantly reduce lifetime.

harshness said:

You're probably doing something wrong if you're only getting a year out of an AGM battery. Heat and infrequent charging both significantly reduce lifetime.

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Huh? How can I be doing something wrong.....I took out the original battery, that was 6 yrs old and put in a new one.....kinda hard to screw that up. I figure it was just a bad battery....it happens.


The biggest takeaway I got from this video was the Walmart batteries only had something like 85% of battery life left even though they were brand NEW. The ones from O'Reilly all tested 100% of life left.

dishstaller said:

Huh? How can I be doing something wrong.....I took out the original battery, that was 6 yrs old and put in a new one.....kinda hard to screw that up. I figure it was just a bad battery....it happens.


The biggest takeaway I got from this video was the Walmart batteries only had something like 85% of battery life left even though they were brand NEW. The ones from O'Reilly all tested 100% of life left.

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And the Walmart ones mostly had very little warranty.

My last AGM (using now) I got from O Rielly's, its the Super Start ... I got the Platnium, they had several to choose from.

He sounds like he's trying to sell me a pocket hose.

I just had to replace a car battery this week and thought I'd look into LiFePo4. Amazon has plenty of them, but all have top posts and only one 'also' has side connections (Group 75).Then I read that they're really lousy in the cold. So, an AGM, but again, almost nothing with side terminals instead of top. In researching that, I read that most mfrs in recent years have dropped side terminals and gone back to the old top posts, which is surprising to me since those are more corrosion-prone, cause the battery to need more space and are generally more hazardous. Finally I just threw up my hands and bought a regular lead-acid at Sam's Club. They had a Group 75 "Duracell" with side terminals only. It was virtually the only such battery with side posts on their shelves

Had a Die Hard in my folks cellar for over 6 years. Pulled it out, slapped it on a charger for a day. Put it in my 'Cuda and drove it around for a week of my vacation. Next year, the same. But my dad kept it topped off for me.It was a mid 80's battery in early 1990.

Flooded acid batteries like a float voltage of around 13.5-13.8 voltage.
AGM needs a float of 14.2 volts. So if you slap an AGM in where a flooded was. It never gets a full charge.
"Why do they die so fast?" Question answered. There are folks who sell voltage regulators for alternators that are designed to boost float voltage for AGM batteries.
The other way around? Flooded will gas-off a little at 14.2 volts. But seems to tolerate it pretty good.

Lithium car/bike/atv batteries. After 3 batteries in my Harley. The OEM flooded and two AGM's (before the 14.2 volt float requirement to let them live was learned). I bought a lithium for it. 4 year, no gripe warranty after having it tested by an approved store.
The thing started like Thor himself sent a bolt from the sky. Except......try to start it around freezing? Nope. Needed a heating pad.
And I usually like to park it around events in the evening with the parking light on. Looks cool like that.
We could traipse around for a few hours no worries. Hop on, fire it up, and go putt around.
Lithium? A Dakota Lithium at least. The BMS shuts it right down if it discharges below <something>.
Come back. Parking lights off. Won't start. And you know the rest. But it lasted 6 years. A lot better than 'new every two'. And the fact that powersports batteries are warranted for six, maybe nine months. Ludicrous.

I called Noco. Asked all of the right questions. Great warranty. Save some bucks ordering directly, faster service that the wally world alternative.
They addressed (or claimed over the phone) that the shut down was addressed. Sure. The BMS keeps it form being damaged. But if it is shut down because it does become low. Shut down any load (key on, parking or headlights left on) for 10-15 minutes and you get a second try to start your rig. Not a bad thing if it really works. Right?!

Exide, Interstate? Be very afraid. They ain't what they used to be. In Florida my '70 Cutlass had an Interstate (early 90') that lasted 6 years until it dropped its plates at an intersection and boiled over. In Florida, mind you. The last Interstate.....done in 2. Guys down there would suck out the acid and put water in shortly before the warranty ran out. Make it to the auto parts, get them tested. And get a new one pro rated. No more pro rating.
You can't beat an Odyssey. Napa, AC Deco (the better ones). Yup.
The mom and pop Car Quest only sells Die Hard. For a reason, the old man says. So they convinced that a Die HArd Platinum was the hot ticket for me. l will see. Stand by!

You can't cut Mr. Project Farm down. He does great tests of all sorts of things. Not sponsored and pressured to slap a little sugar on his comparisons and reviews. Compared to the Brits and Aussies with their constant overzealous and same sounding (Dave from EEVblog) rant. I like P-Farm a lot. Of course I like AvE (Boltr) too.
Reminds me to beware when wearing shorts around the garage vice.


Opinions may vary.

Jimbo said:

And the Walmart ones mostly had very little warranty.

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The days of the 84-month warranty appear long gone, regardless of brand or where you acquired it. Warranties tend to be shorter, with much greater dependence on quick prorating.

The big problem for lead-acid batteries (whether flooded or AGM) is that the US no longer produces lead (the last smelter closed in 2013) and must import it.

Recycling covers a good chunk of the need (~70%), but it isn't free.

I've always got regular OEM Ford Motorcraft batteries from the dealership and have never really had an issue. On my old Lincoln Aviator (the SUV from the early 00s, not the CUV of today), I had some phantom drain and went though a few batteries, but that was an anomaly and with the standard warranty I got free replacements. Taking the Aviator out of the picture, I've bought two batteries in my 24 years of driving. One battery replacement in my Mountaineer, one in my Navigator. But I probably would have had another one had I kept it around longer. Didn't have the Bronco long enough, and so far still on the factory battery for my Expedition.

I run more than the average bear. Dash cam, two radar detectors (yes, I'm aware that can be problematic when using simultaneously), laser jammers and a police scanner. I'm in Buffalo, 90 degree summers and 0 degree winters. Once in a while in the dead of winter I'll get an alert from the Ford app saying remote features have been disabled to conserve battery, but it starts right up.

EarDemon said:

I run more than the average bear. Dash cam, two radar detectors (yes, I'm aware that can be problematic when using simultaneously), laser jammers and a police scanner.

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Rest in peace. Together again with Spock, Doc, Uhura, and Scotty...

Rest in peace, Checkov, and Bester too...

Rest In Peace

Rest in Peace…