Adrienne's blog

I love this sport because its competitors are taught honesty and respect at an early age.

I love this sport because I can be outside and enjoy the smell of cut grass without having to mow the lawn.

I love this sport because even after a day of horrible play, one good shot will always bring you back for more.

I love this sport because the girls can beat the boys. You go girl.

I love this sport because the next shot that you hit might be the best shot of your life.

I love this sport because two 40-somethings can play with a 12 year-old and a 77 year-old…and get beat by both.

I love this sport because a girl can still dress like a girl while bombing a 300-yard drive.

I love this sport because watching Golf in HD is almost as good as, well, let's not go there.

I love this sport because a 59 year-old golfing legend can come within one-stroke of winning a Major Championship and making history while beating the young guns. Good for you Tom Watson.

I love this sport because Tiger Woods has provided more “hair-on-the-back-of-your-neck-is-standing-up” moments than I could ever count. His chip-in on the 16th hole at the 2005 Masters is the most exciting golf shot I’ve ever seen (if not the most exciting play in sports, period). It still gives me chills every time I see it. If you haven’t seen it, watch it here.  I can’t wait for the next one; and there will be a next one.

I love this sport because...

In no particular order...

10. Too expensive. I pay $80+ a month for 1 TV, NO premium channels, NO Comcast digital box or remote, NO On-Demand.

9. I’ve had two price increases within 12 months. Seriously? For what?! It must be those useless digital music channels that I’ve NEVER tuned in to.

8. Their DVR is crap. I own a HD TiVo box that holds 3x the amount of HD programming than the Comcast HD DVR.

7. My TiVo box requires Cable Cards decoders to broadcast the digital programming. This is an area of expertise that Comcast is clearly lacking. It took 4 visits from differnt installers to get the cards operating correctly. I’m not blaming the installers because they were clearly not trained properly on Cable Cards. The Customer Service reps know even less than the installers when it comes to Cable Cards. Very frustrating.

6. The HD picture is completely inferior to that of Satellite TV or Dish Network. The satellite tv companies blow Comcast out of the water when it comes to HD picture quality.

5. As a matter of fact, they blow Comcast out of the water when it comes to digital picture quality, period. Why doesn’t my MSNBC picture look as good as it does on my friend’s Satellite TV? I’m sure they aren’t paying any more than I am.

4. The number of HD channels is pathetic compared to Satellite TV (or even Fios). I live in a suburb of Boston, not some rural area in the mid-west. Why do I only get 40 HD stations? Someone with Satellite TV in the middle of Alaska is watching over 100 hd channels.

3. Customer Service is mediocre. I’ve had good and bad experiences with them, so I guess this would be a minor gripe. I have found the CS agents more helpful than the Supervisors.

2. I live in a large house with 3 apartments; tenants move in and out. On 3 previous occasions, Comcast shut off my service instead of the tenant moving out in one of the other 2 apartments. Of course this required a service call each time to turn it back on, resulting in 2-3 days of no television.

1. Three words: NFL Sunday Ticket. Now I know it’s not Comcast’s fault that Satellite TV shelled out 3 billion dollars to the NFL in order to retain the rights to the Sunday Ticket for at least the next decade, but man, would I love to be able to get it. I’m a huge Patriots fan (haters, hold the comments please), and I love football. I have Sunday Ticket envy. If I could get Satellite TV, I would. Unfortunately, Comcast is currently my only option. Time to cut some trees down in the back yard.

Again, these are my reasons why Comcast service doesn’t work for me. You may have your own opinions, good or bad. Sometimes you just need to vent…

It's no secret that I love my TiVo, iPod and iPhone.  I think they are this generation's greatest inventions.  Can you tell I'm a fan of the latest tech gadgets?  Needless to say, as a HUGE football fan, I was thrilled to read that folks who subscribe to the NFL Sunday Ticket through Satellite TV will be able to watch streaming video of games on their iPhone (through the Supercast Mobile application).  I love this!  Every week I look forward to the next great app for my iPhone.  This one is very cool.  It's also no secret that I'm a die-hard New England Patriots fan, so having Tom Brady literally at my fingertips is going to be awesome.  Keep the good stuff coming Apple and Satellite TV!

The 40th season of Monday Night Football will kick off on ESPN with a doubleheader Monday, Sept. 14 previously announced Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots (7 p.m. ET) and San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders (10:15 p.m.) and will continue with a total of 17 primetime games. Following a successful season that delivered the three biggest cable household audiences of the year, and 13 of the top 15, ESPN's schedule will feature all 12 playoff teams from 2008, including both the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers and NFC champion Arizona Cardinals. You can enjoy all of the Monday Night Football broadcasts in High Def with Satellite TV. ESPN is included with every Satellite TV Channel Package, and you can add HD Access for only $10 more.

Play-by-play commentator Mike Tirico and analysts Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser will call the MNF game telecast each week at 8:30 p.m. with additional MNF and NFL-related content available throughout the day across ESPN's multimedia platforms.

ESPN's Monday Night Football is the most-watched series in cable television history and the only NFL series nominated for a Sports Emmy in the Outstanding Live Sports Series category the past three years (2006-08). In three seasons on ESPN, Monday Night Football has registered seven of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history, led by the Philadelphia Eagles-Dallas Cowboys telecast (9/15/08), which attracted cable's largest household audience ever (an average of 12,953,000 million homes).

The complete Regular Season Schedule is as follows:

Date Time (ET)

Sept. 14  7:00p.m. Buffalo Bills at New England Patriots

Sept. 14  10:15 p.m. San Diego Chargers at Oakland Raiders

Sept. 21  8:30 p.m. Indianapolis Colts at Miami Dolphins

Sept. 28  8:30 p.m. Carolina Panthers at Dallas Cowboys

Oct. 5     8:30 p.m. Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings

Oct. 12   8:30 p.m. New York Jets at Miami Dolphins

Oct. 19   8:30 p.m. Denver Broncos at San Diego Chargers

Oct. 26   8:30 p.m. Philadelphia Eagles at Washington Redskins

Nov. 2    8:30 p.m. Atlanta Falcons at New Orleans Saints

Nov. 9    8:30 p.m. Pittsburgh Steelers at Denver Broncos

Nov. 16  8:30 p.m. Baltimore Ravens at Cleveland Browns

Nov. 23  8:30 p.m. Tennessee Titans at Houston Texans

Nov. 30  8:30 p.m. New England Patriots at New Orleans Saints

Dec. 7   8:30 p.m. Baltimore Ravens at Green Bay Packers

Dec. 14  8:30 p.m. Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers

Dec. 21  8:30 p.m. New York Giants at Washington Redskins

Dec. 28   8:30 p.m. Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears

Jan. 31  7:30 p.m. NFL Pro Bowl: NFC vs. AFC

All games on ESPN and ESPN HD on Satellite TV.

Great news for Satellite TV customers.  According to tvpredictions.com, Satellite TV's new HD satellite yesterday passed another test when the satcaster took 'on-orbit delivery' from the Boeing Company.

The hand-over is a relative formality as a satellite nears its final phase before becoming operational. But it means that the satcaster can now start testing the satellite's signals as it prepares to turn it on; the satellite is expected to be ready in September.

Boeing also said that the hand-over took place eight days ahead of schedule, which could bode well for an early operational launch.

Once operational, the Satellite TV 11 satellite will enable the satcaster to expand its high-def lineup to up to 150 national channels and local HD channels in more than 100 markets by this fall. If you're not already a Satellite TV customer, order today and see how you can receive a FREE Satellite TV HD-DVR to watch all of those brilliant HD channels.

Discovery Channel kicks off a string of premieres beginning August 5, when SMASH LAB, MYTHBUSTERS, MAN VS. WILD and SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED return with all-new episodes guaranteed to add excitement to the summer.

SMASH LAB returns for its second season on Tuesdays at 10PM ET/PT beginning August 5. In every episode, the new SMASH LAB team of maverick engineers -- Deanne Bell, Chuck Messer, Gadget and Nathaniel Taylor -- put their brains together to come up with the best solutions for tackling engineering problems that could have everyday applications. During season two, they smash and crash to develop potentially life-saving mechanisms like an unsinkable car, a portable submarine and a cliff-diving car. Ben Bailey, host of Discovery Channel's Emmy(R) award-winning game show, CASH CAB, narrates the series this season.

MYTHBUSTERS, the hit show that uses science to determine the truth behind urban legends, is back with all-new episodes beginning Wednesday, August 6 at 9PM ET/PT. Called "the best science program on television," MYTHBUSTERS uses scientific method and plain old-fashioned curiosity and ingenuity to test myths widely-known and obscure, potentially life-saving and seemingly trivial. Hosted by Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage, and build team members Tory Belleci, Kari Byron and Grant Imahara, new episodes tackle myths including: Can explosives be used to tenderize a steak? Does driving angry use more gasoline? And the gang tests one of the most widely-discussed questions of this century: Was the NASA moon landing a hoax?

Season three of MAN VS. WILD marks the series' move to Wednesdays beginning Wednesday, August 6 at 10PM ET/PT. MAN VS. WILD brings seasoned adventurer Bear Grylls face to face with the grueling task of navigating remote locations and sharing invaluable survival strategies along the way. The six premiere episodes follow Bear as he parachutes into boulder strewn desert canyons on the Baja Peninsula, trails the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana and survives the rugged conditions and 2000-foot sea cliffs in the west coast of Ireland.

SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED, hosted by correspondent, writer and comedian Brian Unger, will return for its second season this August. Airing Thursdays at 9PM ET/PT beginning August 7, SOME ASSEMBLY REQUIRED throws open the factory doors to showcase how ordinary items are manufactured and mass-produced. Season two delves into products both big and small, including fire trucks, refined sugar and washable crayons.

All shows will be shot entirely in High Definition. Watch the Discovery Channel HD on Satellite TV channel 278.

The series that gives a whole new meaning to "for better or for worse" returns to CMT in October with a second season of MY BIG REDNECK WEDDING, with eight, half-hour episodes of rustic nuptials and rowdy receptions. Hosted by Tom Arnold, MY BIG REDNECK WEDDING searches the country to find the most down-home country couples and documents their over-the-top journey down the aisle.

"MY BIG REDNECK WEDDING and host Tom Arnold have really grabbed the hearts and the imaginations of the CMT audience," says Bob Kusbit, head of development for CMT. "The show continues to get more outrageous each week and Tom's hilarious commentary highlights how much these couples truly love each other."

Coming up this season, couples have taken the term "redneck" to a whole new level with receptions complete with mud bogging, redneck games and monster trucks, and camouflage lingerie-filled wedding nights. MY BIG REDNECK WEDDING first premiered on CMT in January 2008 and ranks as one of the network's top-rated series.

For the first time ever in CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK history, A&E will broadcast a special LIVE one-hour episode on Wednesday, July 30 @ 10 PM ET / 7 PM PT a week after the series' fourth season premiere on Wednesday, July 23 at 10 PM ET/PT.

In the special one-hour live episode, "Building Implosion Escape," world-renowned mystifier Criss Angel will be shackled in a 6-story building in Florida that is loaded with explosives and set to detonate. Angel must attempt to escape the restraints and overcome physical obstacles to make it to a hovering helicopter on the roof before the building implodes in front of the crowd, cameras and viewers at home.

Once again stretching the boundaries of reality and belief, the fourth season of CRISS ANGEL MINDFREAK will feature three one-hour specials and 15 all-new half hour episodes premiering every Wednesday at 10 PM ET/PT. The season kicks off with "Walk on Lake," a one-hour series premiere on Wednesday, July 23 at 10 PM in which Criss attempts to walk on the world's largest manmade lake, Lake Mead in Nevada amidst spectators and boaters.

The upcoming season will feature incredible illusions, death defying escapes, fearless demonstrations and astonishing physical feats including being cremated alive, walking through steel and inviting skeptics to be part of a deadly challenge where one wrong move will cost him his life.

Watch A&E in HD on Satellite TV channel 265.

Satellite TV, Inc., the nation's leading satellite television service provider, launched its highly anticipated Satellite TV on Demand service to customers across the country on June 30th. The platform is available at no additional charge to customers with a Satellite TV Plus® HD DVR or R22 DVR receiver, and offers more than 4,000 standard-definition and HD titles, 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week.

The service allows customers to download the programming of their choice from the Satellite TV on Demand library to their DVRs to enjoy whenever they want. The service offers one of the easiest-to-use on demand interfaces on television, with unique features that make navigating through titles simple and quick, including:

• Customized Programmer Homepages - Each programmer has its own on demand channel that highlights the latest shows and movies available from the network. Each programmer page consists of rich graphics and posters that highlight the most popular content. The customized home pages correspond to the programmer's regular channel number with a "1" in front of it (i.e. The Discovery Channel is on 276, The Discovery Channel on Demand is at 1276.) Channel 1000 is the main home page for Satellite TV on Demand.
• Internet Remote Scheduling - On demand customers have access to DVR Scheduler, which will allow them to remotely schedule on demand programming to their DVR from an internet-connected computer or mobile phone.

The Satellite TV on Demand service offers content downloaded via a broadband connection, while other content, primarily blockbuster movies, is pushed to the customer's DVR via satellite. Much of the content, depending on the speed of the customer's broadband connection and type of content, can be viewed in real time as it is being downloaded.

To begin receiving the Satellite TV on Demand service, customers can choose professional installation or request a self-installation kit. Customers will need broadband high-speed internet access, a router or Internet gateway with an available Ethernet port, and equipment to network the HD DVR or R22 DVR.

 

Expanding on the success of the original hit series, "The Real Housewives of Orange County," and the watercooler sensation, "The Real Housewives of New York City," Bravo is heading south for its newest installment, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta." The seven episode series will follow five women from Atlanta's social elite from NBA and NFL wives to sassy single moms as they juggle their burgeoning careers and busy home lives with the whirl of the south's hottest city. The announcement was made by Frances Berwick, Executive Vice President and General Manager, Bravo.

"Bravo's 'Real Housewives' franchise has resonated with our viewers across the country and we think they will be equally fascinated by the lavish lifestyles and personalities of these Atlanta wives," said Berwick. "They let us peek inside their exclusive, affluent community and see how they live their often dramatic lives and manage families and careers. There is truly never a dull day for them."

An up-close and personal look at life in Hotlanta, "The Real Housewives of Atlanta" follows five glamorous southern belles as they balance motherhood, demanding careers and a fast-paced social calendar, and shows what life is like in the most exclusive areas of Atlanta. These driven and ambitious women prove that they're not just "housewives," but entrepreneurs, doting mothers and classy southern women. These ladies show the world what it takes to live large in some of the hottest zip codes in the south.

Bravo will air a 30-minute preview special of the series on Wednesday, July 30 at 12 a.m. ET/PT after the rebroadcast of "Project Runway."