News
The Refund: Bleacher Report, cable providers to give viewers money back for The Match
Viewers who shelled out $19.99 to watch The Match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be getting their money back. Bleacher Report, Comcast, Spectrum, and other providers have all confirmed they will issue refunds.
Comcast was the first to give to act, issuing a statement late Friday
“Comcast will proactively issue a $19.99 credit to any Xfinity TV customer who purchased ‘The Match’ pay-per-view event. We hope Turner and Bleacher Report will do the same given that the event was made available by them for free on The Bleacher Report website,”
Owing to a glitch in the purchasing mechanism prior to tee off, Bleacher Report elected to make the pay-per-view event, well, not pay-per-view, removing the paywall on B/R Live, thus allowing streaming users to watch the event for free. Those who did purchase the event ahead of time will receive a refund.
In a statement, per ESPN’s Darren Rovell, a Turner representative explained the decision
“We decided to take down the paywall to ensure that fans who already purchased the event would not miss any action. This did not impact the live streaming of the competition and fans were treated to an event that was both engaging and memorable. Unfortunately, the prematch technical issue did occur, and we will offer fans who purchased the event on B/R Live a refund.”
According to USA Today, AT&T, the parent of DirecTV and U-Verse, Cox, and Dish/Sling will issue refunds/credits as well.
It’s unclear, as of Saturday night, if any providers are yet to give viewers their money back. However, it seems reasonable to assume that all will do so.
Nicholas Masafumi Watanabe, a sport and entertainment management professor at the University of South Carolina, told A.J. Perez of USA Today the event needed around 700,000 buys at the $19.99 price point to break even.
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News
Bettinardi BB1 Wide putter review – Club Junkie Reviews
Bettinardi has long been known as one of the best putter manufacturers in golf. The BB line is considered the company’s flagship. This year, Bettinardi took more input from the tour in order to optimize CG placements and refine the feel in the lineup. To optimize the CG and ensure that the sweet sport is in the correct location, Bettinardi engineers reshaped the shoulders and bumpers on the back of the head for better weight placement. The face also features a brand new Perpetual Flymill milling that enhances feel and feedback as well as gets the ball rolling more consistently. You can check out all of the details on the 2024 Bettinardi BB line of putters in our launch report. For a full review check out the Club Junkie podcast on all platforms or on YouTube below.
I have been using a Bettinardi BB8 Wide for the past two years, both previous generations, and really loved those putters. They were the first blade putters I have actually gamed in well over 10 years, so you know I was excited to see the 2024 BB lineup.
The BB1 Wide jumped out to me immediately, because it is similar to the BB8 Wide, just a little softer and with more rounded edges. Out of the box, the BB1 Wide looks great, and I think the new Black Pearl PVD finish has a slight shine to it that looks a little nicer and more high quality than the matte grey from the last generation. The gloss black stepless shaft and bright blue Lamkin grip are solid editions to the whole package and give the putter a little glitz that doesn’t distract. Finally, Bettinardi updated the BB covers to magnetic closure, and I am way too happy about that!
Out on the green, the BB1 Wide frames the ball well and you can easily see that it has a shorter heel-to-toe measurement than the BB8 Wide. From face to back the putter is wide, but I think the stubbiness of the head makes it look a touch wider than it really is. The look from address also greets you with a softer and more rounded look from the bumpers and overall shape of the head. As you would expect the flange is longer and includes a single site line for alignment. I like this setup as a single, longer, site line tends to be what I line up the best. A thicker topline is slightly rolled for a softer and thinner look that blends in well with the profile of this putter head. If you like the larger mallets that have been trending lately then I think you will enjoy looking down at the BB1 Wide.
On the course and the putting green, the Bettinardi BB1 Wide offers a great soft feel at impact, softer to me than last year’s BB8 Wide. Bettinardi’s Perpetual Fly Mill face has deeper grooves that provide this softer feel while still putting a nice roll on the ball. The greens up here in the north are still long and bumpy, but the BB1 Wide provided as smooth of a roll as it could under the conditions. Some playing partners were dealing with big hops and jumps in the first foot of their putts, but I never had that problem with the BB1 Wide. The initial roll limited the hop and skip more than I expected, and I felt like it started the ball on line very well. Aiming the putter was simple and easy as I had the same single site line on my previous putter.
The sole of the BB1 Wide is a little unique as it has a sound slot that runs the length of the cavity from heel to toe. We don’t see a lot of sound slots on retail putters but they are used to fine-tune the sound of a putter at impact. The use of the sound slot on the BB1 Wide definitely increases the audible sound at impact and gives it a slightly more metallic sound. I was a little worried that the sound would have too much “ting” to it or be offensively loud, but I was impressed that it was much more dialed down. Feel off the face was soft, definitely softer than the previous BB line. Now while that softer face is great, it does reduce a little of the feedback on where you struck the shot. You can tell the misses are there but they are a little softer than you would expect from a fully milled putter.
Forgivness with this putter is pretty good, and it will allow you to get away with less-than-perfect strokes. The amount of mass out on the toe and heel make the putter much more stable than a lot of blades. While it isn’t high mallet MOI stable the putter will show you that shots off the toe or heel will stay online well and come to rest right next to the hole. Distance control is precise and you won’t be stunned by a ball that jumps off the face with too much speed or the opposite. Putts on the putting green from the same spot just consistently toll to the same finish line, if they don’t drop into the cup.
Ultimately, a new finish, face milling, and design keep things fresh and high-performance but in a very classic package. Bettinardi did a great job mixing those things to keep the traditionalist and the gear junkies both happy. While the lineup doesn’t feature a massive amount of head shapes, it nails some core designs and should be a big hit for Bettinardi.
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Morning 9: Scheffler starts strong | Nelly stays in touch | Houston Open photos
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Keto 500 Diet
Mar 7, 2019 at 7:02 pm
An intriguing discuesion is worth comment. I believe that you need to write more
on this subject matter, it may not be a taoo matter but
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Many thanks!!
Patch Adams
Dec 19, 2018 at 3:57 pm
How can I rewatch the Match? Does anyone have a source?
Nihonsei
Nov 26, 2018 at 7:17 pm
To boot, every pick I made did not register hole to hole. The rules stated 60 seconds to make a pick upon completion of previous hole. I had 18 red boxes and gave up after the 19th. Pissed and pissed away money. Refund welcome here!
Jack Nash
Nov 26, 2018 at 12:33 pm
The Sporting version of Al Capone’s Vault. 2 mega flops on tv.
JThunder
Nov 25, 2018 at 11:09 pm
Wow, just absolutely an epic fail on all counts.
If you needed proof that millionaires and corporate conglomerates are NOT as smart as they keep telling you they are.
Can’t get a simple match on PPV without crashing, and the whole hyped thing ends on a pitch-n-putt par 3.
Everyone involved should be fired and all money involved be given to charity. Or will the two proud California patriots pocket the unneeded cash while their state burns and people die?
Charkle Barkles
Nov 25, 2018 at 6:56 pm
Cost ’em $100’s of dollars? Ha, that’s generous! You mean, like $80!! Worst clown car show since the snake oil salesmen of the 1800’s!
Well done guys, well done. Way to bring more questionable credibility to two enititled nincompoops living above the law! Between the D.U.I. nonsense, tax dodging, womanizing, car wrecking, scandalous behavior goin’ on…………I mean, I’m just sick of both ‘o deez jokers!! Please get the other robot into the “I’m still active Golf Hall Of Shame…..errrrrrrr Hall Of Infamy……….errrrr, I mean Hall Of Flames!” Please admit ‘im, so we can go on with our lives and keep an eye out for someone NEW!!!!! PLEASE!!!
Nutted One 240 Down The Middle
Nov 25, 2018 at 6:49 pm
I think this thing went down as a bigger flop than the WRX community orig. predicted
Johnny Penso
Nov 25, 2018 at 5:32 pm
“Oh crap, we have a technical glitch. Only 156 people have purchased the pay per view and we go live in two hours. What do we do?”
“I have an idea….”
Brian McGranahan
Nov 25, 2018 at 8:37 am
This is going to cost them hundreds of dollars!
larrybud
Nov 25, 2018 at 5:56 am
This means that they had about 100 paid subscribers and don’t want to give those details, right?
NormW
Nov 26, 2018 at 2:32 pm
Yes! “Needed 700,000”. Yet to state how many they got. Speak-up Media and Golf Channel suck-ups.
Tom
Nov 25, 2018 at 3:22 am
If you aren’t playing with your own money, it should be called ‘The Sham’ not ‘The Match’
James
Nov 24, 2018 at 9:02 pm
I’ll pay for the next one if I know I’m getting my money back. Now, Phil needs to return money to Tiger.