Say from whence you owe this strange intelligence, or why upon this blasted heath you stop our way with such prophetic greeting. Macbeth, Act 1, Scene 3
Sometimes, those blackout zones make sense from a certain point of view. The Cubs' top affiliate plays in Iowa. I wouldn't be surprised if the logic is to push the Cubs' TV channel into Iowa. At one time, they had WGN showing the vast majority of their games. WGN was on basically every cable/satellite subscription on the same tier as channels like CNN, ESPN and Bravo. It was essentially a non-issue. Then the Cubs started their own RSN. They obviously don't want to shrink their radius because "more TVs = more eyeballs = more money seeing commercials". We in Columbus have a similar issue with the Pirates. At one time, the Columbus baseball team was the top affiliate of the Pirates. The owner of the Pirates (who lived in Central Ohio) wanted a huge Pirates fanbase in Columbus. When the TV lines were being drawn up, Columbus became part of the Pittsburgh RSN area. The problem was that residents in Central Ohio don't really care about the Pirates, the way there's a huge group of Steelers and Penguins fans here. Anyhoo, it's now near-impossible to watch Pirates games here. I think the TV channel is only on two providers out of as many as there are (7? 8? 9?). It was on U-Verse a long time ago, but the contract ended and the channel never came back since U-Verse never came to Pittsburgh.
Iambic pentameter forces writers to use bad grammar. Also, in Shakespeare’s day, double negatives don’t negate each other like a math problem. They reinforced each other. Also, <imagine me shaking my fist at the clouds>
"I will lift mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help." Psalm 121:1 (KJV) Not sure what you are saying about double negatives. There were no double negatives in that Macbeth quote. Not even a single negative.
I think we have established that whence can be used poetically for where. Historically, English commentators had an Oxford/Cambridge and public (i.e. private) school background, were familiar with the classics and would quite often delve into descriptions of proceedings that could only be described as poetry. That sort of legacy is passed down to today's non-elites. And then there's this
Cue the outrage............ Apple TV to Broadcast First Major Professional Live Sporting Event Shot Entirely on iPhone 17 Prohttps://t.co/JvVnciPyNV— MLS Communications (@MLS_PR) May 21, 2026
Is this Apple's subtle suggestion that MLS games don't have enough camera angles? "Look, you don't even need to buy more physical cameras, just use your damn phones!"
Apple to broadcast MLS game shot on iPhone in TV first: More about promotion than the end product? https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/72...unlocked_article_code=1.kFA.5IHp.QmeB04q6HdUV Will there be actual television cameras there to pick up the slack? Will there be an option to watch the actual feed? As someone who will probably tune in to this broadcast, I’d like to know if there’s a backup plan for when it all goes to shit. What about VAR? C’mon Athletic, it’s nice to regurgitate a press release but you could probably ask and answer some questions that matter. Thx, Jay!
I doubt it will all go to shit on a technical level. One thing Apple should know how to do is get a reliable image / signal from each iPhone to the truck, and once it's in the truck I imagine the workflow for the game broadcast will resemble what we are used to seeing. Of course we can scrutinize the image quality and issues of composition that may result from the limitations of the phone lens, but again I doubt they will abandon this plan based on subjective concerns like these. I imagine they've tested this approach and decided it's ready for a live game.
So an iPhones broadcast is VAR-ready? It’s a basic question that should be asked instead of regurgitating a press release. Unfair if they cannot officiate this game like the other 14 this weekend. Thx, Jay!
From an Apple press release. . Apple TV is broadcasting a milestone MLS match between the LA Galaxy and Houston Dynamo filmed entirely on the iPhone 17 Pro. While the broadcast is captured exclusively on smartphones, official match officials utilize their standard, independent Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system for game-deciding plays
28 Years Later had a $60 million budget and was filmed almost entirely on an iPhone 15. I don’t think shooting an MLS match on the iPhone 17 will be an issue at all.
I imagine it would be suitable for VAR, if the video signal from each camera is recorded at the truck rather than recorded locally onboard the phones.
Your concern is understandable. Pre-complaining doesn’t make sense. If this system isn’t VAR ready, the time to complain will be once we know that.
Here's a potential positive. Fans like to bitch and moan about the lack of camera angles, and replay angles. The usual cameras used to broadcast games are very large, and VERY expensive. iPhones comparatively are very small and can be placed virtually anywhere. The league has been using iPhones to shoot in goal camera angles for years now, as well as some in stadium crowd shots. Apple also trialed the use of iPhones for aspects of their Friday Night Baseball broadcasts. The movie 28 Days Later was shot entirely using iPhones. This could be a game changer for penny pinching MLS owners who want a better TV product but don't feel that it is necessary to invest in the game and broadcast production (more cameras, etc.). It's also a potentially game changing thing for Apple and its pursuit of more sports broadcasting rights. It's going to be interesting, that's for sure.
A reporter should ask: “How will VAR work with the Apple phone setup” instead of regurgitating a press release. Thx, Jay!
Stop acting as if Apple and MLS held a press attended conference to discuss this. They didn't even have a conference call about it. MLS and Apple issued SEPARATE press releases about the game being shot on an iPhone 17 Pro. Where and how exactly were reporters supposed to ask soft..... sorry.... hard hitting questions about the specifics of the broadcast?
Copy that. I agree with this. I don't have the same degree of concern about the VAR question -- I think it's probably going to work fine -- but as far as the reporting goes yeah this should be better on behalf of fans.
Fox plans to take its World Cup studio show to games, college football-style https://t.co/HWOB7VA4h2 via @PhillyInquirer— Jonathan Tannenwald (@thegoalkeeper) May 22, 2026 Fox plans to take its World Cup studio show to games, college football-style