Protest in Guangzhou: Why would you burn garbage?
Barbie Spa: For the cosmopolitan plastic beauty in you
Obama in China: Long gone, and still headlinin'
Cinematheque: Mulan is finally Chinese again! (and other film news)
Lot o' Hotpot: Three Travellers
We wish we were outside right now. The weather as changed (although it will likely change back again) and so have the leaves (although only just a few). This has us in the mood ... in the mood for college football. Unfortunately, in China, college football is usually a craving that goes unsatisfied. Last year, when our satellite would work, we were overjoyed to find some games (albeit the Mountain West conference) on Sports Plus ... but then upon further review realized the games were around a month old. This year, with the introduction of prime-time televised games, we thought surely ESPN Asia would show these games on Sunday mornings (instead of the usual snooker or cheerleading), but that doesn't seem to be the case.
But could Slingbox be coming to our rescue? Some Shanghai bars are planning on using the gadget that lets people watch TV on their computer to air college football games. We should get to see how it works this weekend at Bubba's:
Join the fun at Bubba's Bar-B-Que this Fall with NCAA Football Tailgate Parties! Games are practically live with Bubba's Sling Box/TiVo set up. Tailgate specials include 50 rmb USDA pulled pork sandwiches and 25 rmb USDA pork riblets….all day! Plus our generous 20 rmb happy hour from 2 to 8 p.m. , which includes draft beer (Bud, San Miguel, or Tiger) and house pours. Kick-off is noon, followed by games at 3 and 6 p.m. Don't miss this Sunday, September 10…..its Ohio State @ Texas at 6 p.m.
"Practically live" means 10 hours late. Kickoff for this huge No. 1 vs. No. 2 affair is at 8 am (we would have woken up for that one). Lance, of Freelance fame, told us he plans on using Slingbox to show games legitimately live, into the wee hours of the morning ... but he said it will be a couple of weeks -- the bar's internet connection currently won't handle it. We also talked to Big Bamboo. They said they would be happy to show college football if it was playing on any of their four satellite hookups, but that they wouldn't be opening up early or staying open later than usual for games other than playoffs. They also use Slingbox, but their connection is out of Canada ... so they are unsure of how much American college football that would lead to. They also mentioned that they would be hosting some college football parties for various alumni clubs, but the games they would show at those would be a couple days old at least.
That's all we know right now. Anyone have anything to add? (Like, where we can watch Penn State vs. Notre Dame.)
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Yes! I leech off my friend's Slingbox (in coordination with his Tivo-like device) and it works great.
A frustration for a bar is that it depends how the Internet connection feels that day. For me, usually the quality is good (even at top quality it's not quite TV level), sometimes it's passable, and sometimes it won't even show. You have to be prepared for the possibility of an unnanounced blackout.
I would be careful about mentioning the use of the slingbox in general. Both here (on shanghaiiiiiiist) and by the establishments using them.
Big, **litigious** organizations (Major League Baseball for example) are not fans of the technology in general, and regardless of the fact that it's virtually impossible to get sporting events on a television screen here, I'm sure they'd be even MORE sensitive to putting up their "property" at a public place.
Probably nothing big would happen, except maybe the owners of the slingbox might get their Television service taken away, ruining it for everyone here...
I say show the games, but don't publish the technology used.
So who's showing Bama' vs. Vandy? ok, probably no one, but....anyway, Roll Tide!
uhhh. Allegedly, Penn State @ Notre Dame will be shown at 3 p.m. Sunday at Bubba's.
Ken.
We're dissapointed as you told us that time would be the OU game - no?
I would hate to think a man's word (on college football, no less) would change over a bit of media spotlight.
What will it be? Penn State or your original promise?
Ken's original email said Texas vs. Ohio State at 6 pm. It didn't say anything about a 3 pm game. So I think his word is still good ... and everyone is happy.
If you can get a digital copy of the Penn State-Notre Dame game, please send it to me. I miss watching football.
And thanks for the PSU photo in the article. LET'S GO PSU!
Hey Guys! I'll be at Bubba's at 6 tonight, had their pulled pork before and it is pretty good for being a thousand miles away from its origins! Go Big Ten!!! (Go Spartans!)