Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Giants defensive end Jihad Ward had a brief exchange in Saturday night’s preseason game with referee Alan Eck stepping between the players.
Since Rodgers was mic’d up, the chirping between the two was shown on “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday night.
Ward lightly pushed Rodgers at the end of a play, prompting Rodgers to bow up on Ward. He told Ward to show some respect and added he didn’t even know who he was. Later, after a touchdown throw, Rodgers sought out Ward to tell him, “Don’t poke the bear!”
“See, the thing is, they’re going to entertain,” Ward said Wednesday, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN. “They’re going to show his part -- HBO, whatever stuff is going on, ‘Hard Knocks.’ They’re going to show his part. They weren’t even in the whole scenario of what really went down. They’re going to show his side of the story. . . . It’s all about Aaron Rodgers at the [end] of the day. They sign him; it is what it is. They’re going to show his part and make me look like a sucker. But I ain’t going for that.”
Ward explained he was upset Rodgers and Randall Cobb were laughing in the huddle after the receiver had an illegal blindside block on Giants safety Bobby McCain, who entered concussion protocol.
“Everybody going to get pissed off at that. The whole team was pissed off, you know what I’m saying?” Ward said. “It’s preseason and all that stuff and you’re going to do some reaction like that?
“It’s cool, though. That’s how they roll. I think we play them soon. It is what it is.”
Rodgers said after the game the players were laughing “because that wasn’t a penalty when we started playing. It has been a penalty for a while. So, not the smartest play.”
The teams meet for real on Oct. 29 at MetLife Stadium.
August 31, 2023 at 08:27AM
https://news.google.com/rss/articles/CBMiigFodHRwczovL3d3dy5uYmNzcG9ydHMuY29tL25mbC9wcm9mb290YmFsbHRhbGsvcnVtb3ItbWlsbC9uZXdzL2ppaGFkLXdhcmQtdW5oYXBweS13aXRoLWhhcmQta25vY2tzLXBvcnRyYXlhbC1vZi1leGNoYW5nZS13aXRoLWFhcm9uLXJvZGdlcnPSAQA?oc=5
Jihad Ward unhappy with Hard Knocks' portrayal of exchange with Aaron Rodgers - NBC Sports
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers and Giants defensive end Jihad Ward had a brief exchange in Saturday night’s preseason game with referee Alan Eck stepping between the players.
Since Rodgers was mic’d up, the chirping between the two was shown on “Hard Knocks” on Tuesday night.
Ward lightly pushed Rodgers at the end of a play, prompting Rodgers to bow up on Ward. He told Ward to show some respect and added he didn’t even know who he was. Later, after a touchdown throw, Rodgers sought out Ward to tell him, “Don’t poke the bear!”
“See, the thing is, they’re going to entertain,” Ward said Wednesday, via Jordan Raanan of ESPN. “They’re going to show his part -- HBO, whatever stuff is going on, ‘Hard Knocks.’ They’re going to show his part. They weren’t even in the whole scenario of what really went down. They’re going to show his side of the story. . . . It’s all about Aaron Rodgers at the [end] of the day. They sign him; it is what it is. They’re going to show his part and make me look like a sucker. But I ain’t going for that.”
Ward explained he was upset Rodgers and Randall Cobb were laughing in the huddle after the receiver had an illegal blindside block on Giants safety Bobby McCain, who entered concussion protocol.
“Everybody going to get pissed off at that. The whole team was pissed off, you know what I’m saying?” Ward said. “It’s preseason and all that stuff and you’re going to do some reaction like that?
“It’s cool, though. That’s how they roll. I think we play them soon. It is what it is.”
Rodgers said after the game the players were laughing “because that wasn’t a penalty when we started playing. It has been a penalty for a while. So, not the smartest play.”
The teams meet for real on Oct. 29 at MetLife Stadium.
August 31, 2023 at 08:27AM
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Jihad Ward unhappy with Hard Knocks' portrayal of exchange with Aaron Rodgers - NBC Sports
Mauricio, 22, has enjoyed a standout season thus far in 2023 for Triple-A Syracuse. In 115 games for the Mets' top farm club, he's slashed .295/.349/.511 with 23 home runs, 30 doubles, and 24 stolen bases. While he's spent the large majority of his time in the middle infield, this season he's also seen defensive innings in left field. For his career, he owns a slash line of .269/.312/.444 across parts of five MLB seasons. Coming into the 2022 season, Mauricio was a consensus top-100 overall prospect.
"Mauricio is a switch hitter who can impact the baseball, albeit often at single-digit launch angles. He has an incredibly aggressive approach as a right-hander, and he's probably more of a second baseman/left fielder in The Show. That's fine. Have you seen some of the lineups the Mets have trotted out there since the deadline? There's no argument against bringing up Mauricio and letting him audition over the coming weeks for a spot on next year's team."
Indeed, the Mets, at a disappointing 61-73 on the season and far back in the NL wild-card race, have little reason not to structure their roster in a way that gives them insight into 2024 and beyond. That's what they'll do with Mauricio, whose power potential will make him one to watch over the final month of the regular season.
August 31, 2023 at 09:27AM
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Mets to call up hard-hitting prospect Ronny Mauricio, per report - CBS Sports
Jordan Raanan is a reporter for NFL Nation at ESPN. Raanan covers the New York Giants. You can follow him via Twitter @JordanRaanan.
New York Giants defensive end Jihad Ward did not like the way his interaction with New York Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was portrayed on "Hard Knocks," saying his actions stemmed from disgust with an illegal block by Jets wide receiver Randall Cobb that left Giants safety Bobby McCain concussed, and the Jets' overall reaction to the situation.
"Hard Knocks" showed the Jets players laughing in the huddle after Rodgers called out Cobb for the blindside block.
"Everybody going to get pissed off at that. The whole team was pissed off, you know what I'm saying?" Ward said. "It's preseason and all that stuff and you're going to do some reaction like that?
"It's cool, though. That's how they roll. I think we play them soon, it is what it is."
This sets the stage for the crosstown rivalry to heat up once again. It hasn't been the same since Rex Ryan and the Jets tried to seize the city more than a decade ago.
The Giants and Jets meet again on Oct. 29 at MetLife Stadium. It's the team with all the preseason hype, the Jets, playing against the team that made the playoffs last season but has somehow flown under the local radar this summer.
"They know what they did. I know what [Cobb] did, coaches know what he did, my teammates know what he did," Ward said. "I'm the only one sticking up for [McCain]."
McCain was in the concussion protocol this week.
Ward waited to speak until Wednesday afternoon after practice. Following Friday night's preseason game, he politely declined to get into specifics about his interactions with Rodgers.
He wanted to see what Rodgers said first.
"I kind of bumped him, too. Wait for 'Hard Knocks,'" Rodgers said after the game. "Some good content."
Ward gave Rodgers a light push at the end of a play in the first quarter on the drive after the Cobb block. The two could be seen chirping face-to-face. After Rodgers threw a 14-yard touchdown pass to Garrett Wilson on the very next play, the two had words once again.
Ward is entering his eighth professional season and played significant snaps last season when the Giants beat Rodgers and his former team, the Green Bay Packers, in London. He didn't seem to appreciate the way the scene was cut for the TV show.
"See, the thing is, they're going to entertain. They're going to show his part -- HBO, whatever stuff is going on, 'Hard Knocks.' They're going to show his part. They weren't even in the whole scenario of what really went down. They're going to show his side of the story. ... It's all about Aaron Rodgers at the [end] of the day. They sign him, it is what it is. They're going to show his part and make me look like a sucker. But I ain't going for that."
What's Ward's side of the story?
"My side of the story is I'm not going to let none of my teammates be backed down like that," he said. "I'm going to ride for my teammates."
Rodgers was seen on "Hard Knocks" getting on Cobb for the illegal block, which sent McClain flying and earned the Jets a 15-yard penalty. He immediately knew it wasn't good.
"I couldn't believe it. I've been around Randall Cobb forever. We talk about smart players and doing smart things on the field. I don't know what was in that. I was watching that in slow motion going, 'No, no, no Cobby, what are you doing?'" Rodgers said after the game. "We were laughing because that wasn't a penalty when we started playing. It has been a penalty for a while. So, not the smartest play.
"I said, 'Bro, you've got a third kid on the way. You just took money out of your pocket. You're going to have to buy [your wife] Aiyda something nice for that.'"
Cobb's wife Aiyda was shown on "Hard Knocks" telling her two young children that daddy was likely to get fined for his actions on the play. It's expected that Cobb finds out later in the week the amount of the fine.
August 31, 2023 at 05:44AM
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Giants' Jihad Ward miffed by 'Hard Knocks' portrayal of Aaron Rodgers interaction - ESPN - ESPN
The Federal Communications Commission yesterday rejected requests to eliminate an upcoming requirement that Internet service providers list all of their monthly fees.
Five major trade groups representing US broadband providers petitioned the FCC in January to scrap the requirement before it takes effect. In June, Comcast told the FCC that the listing-every-fee rule "impose[s] significant administrative burdens and unnecessary complexity in complying with the broadband label requirements."
The five trade groups kept up the pressure earlier this month in a meeting with FCC officials and in a filing that complained that listing every fee is too hard. The FCC refused to bend, announcing yesterday that the rules will take effect without major changes.
"Every consumer needs transparent information when making decisions about what Internet service offering makes the most sense for their family or household. No one wants to be hit with charges they didn't ask for or they did not expect," FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said.
Yesterday's order "largely affirms the rules... while making some revisions and clarifications such as modifying provider record-keeping requirements when directing consumers to a label on an alternative sales channel and confirming that providers may state 'taxes included' when their price already incorporates taxes," the FCC said.
ISPs don’t want to list all fees
Comcast and other ISPs objected to a requirement that ISPs "list all recurring monthly fees" including "all charges that providers impose at their discretion, i.e., charges not mandated by a government." They complained that the rule will force them "to display the pass-through of fees imposed by federal, state, or local government agencies on the consumer broadband label."
As we've previously written, ISPs could simplify billing and comply with the new broadband-labeling rules by including all costs in their advertised rates. That would give potential customers a clearer idea of how much they have to pay each month and save ISPs the trouble of listing every charge that they currently choose to break out separately.
Rejecting the broadband industry's request, the FCC order yesterday said:
[W]e affirm our requirement that providers display all monthly fees with respect to broadband service on the label to provide consumers with clear and accurate information about the cost of their broadband service. We thus decline providers' request that they not disclose those fees or that they instead display an "up to" price for certain fees they choose to pass through to consumers.
Specifically, "providers must itemize the fees they add to base monthly prices, including fees related to government programs they choose to 'pass through' to consumers, such as fees related to universal service or regulatory fees," the FCC said.
The FCC was ordered by Congress to implement broadband-label rules. The FCC is requiring ISPs to display the labels to consumers at the point of sale and include information such as the monthly price, additional fees, introductory rates, data caps, charges for data overages, and performance metrics. The FCC rules aren't in force yet because they are subject to a federal Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review under the US Paperwork Reduction Act.
August 31, 2023 at 01:28AM
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FCC says “too bad” to ISPs complaining that listing every fee is too hard - Ars Technica
The 11-year-old daughter of power couple Beyoncé and JAY-Z has regularly joined her Grammy-winning mom on the Renaissance World Tour to show off her talents — and former Destiny's Child member, Rowland, 42, is in awe.
"I'm very proud," Rowland told E! News. "She works very freaking hard, period. But how could she not, you know? She sees her mother in action and she sees her father in action and how they apply everything, hard work to everything that they do."
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Blue Ivy Carter performing on stage.
Kevin Mazur/WireImage
Blue Ivy first joined the stage in May when she danced alongside Beyoncé's backup dancers to "My Power" from the 2019 album The Lion King: The Gift. Days later, she made another surprise appearance in London. The oldest Carter kid also appeared in Las Vegas, New York, and Atlanta.
Shortly after her first taste of the stage life, Beyoncé’s mom, Tina Knowles-Lawson, also sang Blue Ivy's praises on Instagram, saying she's “the coolest most confident 11 year old I know!!!!”
“I am truly amazed by the courage that this brave, talented, beautiful 11 year old exhibited last night!” Lawson continued of her granddaughter. “There were almost 70,000 people in that audience. She danced with professional dancers, grown folks, she did complicated choreography and moves that they rehearsed for months! She rehearsed and learned this in a little over a week. She was so smooth with it!”
Blue Ivy Carter performing on stage.
Lawson and Rowland aren't the only people proud of Blue Ivy. Proud mom Beyoncé also took to share in the accolades on Instagram following Blue Ivy's routine.
“My beautiful first born ðŸ™ðŸ¾ I’m so proud and thankful to be your mama,” the singer wrote along a photo and two videos of the first performance. “You bring us so much joy, my sweet angel.”
August 30, 2023 at 04:17AM
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Kelly Rowland Says Blue Ivy Works 'Very Freaking Hard' on Beyoncé's tour: 'So Proud' - PEOPLE
The Cardinals released veteran quarterback Colt McCoy this week, and they refuse to announce a starter for Week 1, all while incumbent No. 1 Kyler Murray is guaranteed to miss at least four games while recovering from an ACL tear. Is it possible Arizona is already eyeing the top pick in the 2024 draft, with heralded QB prospect Caleb Williams as the likely target? Former Super Bowl champion Phil Simms thinks so, arguing Tuesday "it's hard to make a case they're not trying" to tank.
Arizona looks as if it's "trying to get to a certain situation to get a quarterback," Simms said on a conference call with "NFL on CBS" analysts, lamenting on behalf of Cardinals fans that unproven reserves like rookie Clayton Tune and recent trade acquisition Joshua Dobbs are candidates to open the season under center.
"From where I sit right now," colleague Boomer Esiason agreed, "It's probably, in terms of quarterback rooms, the 32nd in the NFL. This is a startover, and I guess have to use the word 'tank.'"
Fellow "NFL Today" analyst Bill Cowher, the former longtime Steelers coach, also agreed with the sentiment. If the Cardinals are in position to secure the No. 1 pick late in the year, he admitted that team brass could be prepared to say, "I'd sacrifice this year to get to the future of this franchise." And in that case, he also believes a total shakeup of the NFL Draft could follow.
"We may be looking at a draft lottery sometime in the near future," Cowher added, suggesting a potential countermeasure to perceived tanking from rebuilding teams.
Former Texans and Cardinals pass rusher J.J. Watt, new to the "NFL on CBS" crew this year, didn't go so far as to say he also believes Arizona will deliberately aim for the top pick. But he admitted he "feels bad" for former teammates on the current roster.
August 30, 2023 at 03:49AM
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Phil Simms on Cardinals potentially tanking for Caleb Williams: 'It's hard to make a case they're not trying' - CBS Sports
Die Hard started out with low expectations and mixed reviews, but it became a beloved classic and a major success at the box office.
Die Hard cemented Bruce Willis as an industry icon and introduced Alan Rickman as a talented actor.
Die Hard 6 was canceled due to the poor reception of the previous film, the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney, and Willis's retirement from the industry, but there are rumors of a reboot in the works.
When Die Hard hit theaters back in 1988, hopes weren't particularly high. And not only that: the reviews following its release weren't necessarily brilliant either. However, as years went by, everyone's perception of John McTiernan's film improved significantly, and Die Hard became one of the greatest classics of the action genre, shaping films of all kinds to this day.
Written by Jeb Stuart and Steven E. de Souza and inspired by Roderick Thorp's novel Nothing Lasts Forever, Die Hard features John McClane, an American cop who travels to Los Angeles on Christmas Eve to attend his estranged wife's work event in hopes of winning her back. But when the party is interrupted by a terrorist group that holds everyone hostage except for him, John is left with no other choice but to confront the attackers on his own in order to save the day.
Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov, Bonnie Bedelia and Reginald VelJohnson are some of the actors joining Willis in this production that became a global hit. Die Hard cemented Bruce Willis as an industry icon and a star player in the action genre, while earning Rickman enormous acclaim for his portrayal of Hans Gruber. While initial reviews were mixed, the film still scored Academy Award nominations for Best Film Editing, Best Visual Effects, Best Sound Effects Editing, and Best Sound. It also became a box office hit with a total gross of over $140 million worldwide. The massive success of Die Hardkicked off a franchise that, two years later, was premiering its first sequel.
Over the years, the Die Hard franchise has released five films, several comic books, and a few video games, and it has also had an impressive impact on the entertainment industry as well as on popular culture. Since the release of the franchise's fifth installment back in 2013 and throughout the past few years, there have been rumors of a sixth installment, but Die Hard 6 was ultimately canceled. Here's why.
What Was the Plan for Die Hard 6?
20th Century Fox
So far, the latest installment of the Die Hard franchise hit theaters in 2013 under the title A Good Day to Die Hard. In this production, helmed by John Moore and written by Skip Woods, the audience once again met John McClane, this time traveling to Moscow to reunite with his estranged son only to get caught in the midst of a terrorist attack.
When A Good Day to Die Hard went into production, rumors began to swirl about a sixth installment in the franchise. In it, Willis was meant to reprise the character that turned him into a major global star for the last time. In 2017, Len Wiseman, who directed Live Free or Die Hard, started to cast actors for the younger version of John McClane, as the sixth installment of the franchise would feature two separate timelines, one involving McClane and his wife back in the 1970s and the other one set in the present day, with Willis and a few other cast members making a comeback.
The production was inspired by the comic series Die Hard: Year One and would be titled McClane. By 2019, the filmmaking team involved in the project consisted of Wiseman, producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura, writers Chad Hayes and Carey W. Hayes, and even Tobey Maguire, who joined as a producer as well (via Men's Journal). But things took a turn for the worse.
Why Was Die Hard 6 Canceled?
20th Century Fox
The sixth film in the Die Hard franchise would have vindicated both the film series and Willis' career, as he had been involved in poorly reviewed productions for a while up to this point. Regarding the action franchise in particular, A Good Day to Die Hard became the worst-reviewed movie in the entire series, and despite a decent performance at the box office, it utterly disappointed critics. This kind of flop doesn't seem very promising when it comes to adding a new production to the franchise. Still, Die Hard 6 remained active for several years, with many of the legendary cast members eager to return.
In 2019, and after some back and forth in this film's production, The Walt Disney Company acquired 20th Century Fox, the film studio that owned the franchise led by Willis. As a result of this acquisition and its aftermath, many projects that were already in development were either shelved or canceled altogether. As a result Die Hard 6 was put on hold for a while and eventually canceled.
Is It the End of the Road for This Blockbuster Franchise?
20th Century Fox
Not long after Die Hard 6 was officially canceled, Willis' family announced that he had been diagnosed with aphasia and, later on, frontotemporal dementia, both of which affect his acting abilities and led to language and comprehension issues. Following the diagnosis and the progression of his condition, Willis has retired from the industry, so it is unlikely for him to reprise the role of McClane in any potential new installments of the franchise.
However, neither the cancelation of Die Hard 6 nor Willis' retirement seem to be the end of the road for this beloved action franchise, as it is very hard to overlook the success it has had with audiences over the years. In fact, rumors have it that Disney is considering a full reboot of the franchise, so it's only a matter of time before we get to see what the future holds for John McClane.
The subscription model, in which theatergoers buy a season’s worth of shows at a time, had long been waning, but it fell off a cliff during the pandemic.
As a group of stagehands assembled train cars for the set of “Murder on the Orient Express,” Ken Martin looked grimly at his email. His first year as artistic director at the Clarence Brown Theater in Knoxville, Tenn., was coming to an end, and the theater had missed its income goals by several hundred thousand dollars, largely because it had lost about half its subscribers since the start of the pandemic.
“I’ve already had to tear up one show, because of a combination of cost and I don’t think it’s going to sell,” he said. “I’m in the same boat as a lot of theater companies: How do I get the audience back, and once I get them in the door, how do I keep them for the next show?”
The nonprofit theater world’s industrywide crisis, which has led to closings, layoffs and a reduction in the number of shows being staged, is being exacerbated by a steep drop in the number of people who buy theater subscriptions, in which they pay upfront to see most or all of a season’s shows. The once-lucrative subscription model had been waning for years, but it has fallen off a cliff since the pandemic struck.
It is happening across the nation. Seattle’s 5th Avenue Theater had 13,566 subscribers last season, down from 19,770 before the pandemic. In Atlanta, the Alliance Theater ended last season with 3,208, down from a prepandemic 5,086, while Northlight Theater, in Skokie, Ill., is at about 3,200, down from 5,700.
Theaters are losing people like Joanne Guerriero, 61, who dropped her subscription to Paper Mill Playhouse in Millburn, N.J., after realizing she only liked some of the productions there, and would rather be more selective about when and where she saw shows.
“We haven’t missed it,” she said, “which is unfortunate, I suppose, for them.”
Subscribers were long the lifeblood of many performing arts organizations — a reliable income stream, and a guarantee that many seats would be filled. The pandemic hastened their disappearance for a number of reasons, according to interviews with theater executives around the country and theatergoers who let their subscriptions lapse. Many longtime subscribers simply got out of the habit while theaters were closed. Others grew to appreciate the ease and flexibility of streamed entertainment at home. Some found the recent programming too didactic. And the slow return to offices meant fewer people were commuting into the downtown areas where regional theaters are often located.
Facing a precipitous post-pandemic drop in subscriptions, the Clarence Brown Theater is trying to appeal to new subscribers with a populist lineup of shows this season.Jessica Tezak for The New York Times
Many artistic leaders believe the change is permanent.
“The strategic conversation is no longer ‘What version of a membership brochure is going to bring in more members,’ but how do we replace that revenue, and replenish the relationship with audiences,” said Jeremy Blocker, the executive director of New York Theater Workshop, an Off Broadway nonprofit that has seen its average number of members (its term for subscribers) drop by 50 percent since before the pandemic.
Why do subscribers matter?
“No. 1, it reduces your cost of marketing hugely — you’re selling three or five tickets for the cost of one,” said Michael M. Kaiser, the chairman of the DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the University of Maryland. “No. 2, you get the cash up front, which helps fund the rehearsal period and the producing period. And No. 3, subscriptions give you artistic flexibility — if people are willing to buy all the shows, some subset of the total can be less familiar and more challenging, but if you don’t have subscribers, every production is sold on its own merits, and that makes taking artistic risk much more difficult.”
There’s also a strong connection between subscriptions and contributions. “Most donors are subscribers,” said Maggie Mancinelli-Cahill, the producing artistic director of Capital Repertory Theater in Albany, N.Y., “so there’s a cycle here.”
Theaters are simultaneously trying to retain — or reclaim — subscribers, and also reduce their dependence on them. Many are experimenting with ways to make subscriptions more flexible, or more attractive, but also seeing an upside in the need to find new patrons.
“For some theaters, a reliance on an existing homogeneous group of patrons has really shaped the work they’re doing,” said Erica Ezold, managing director of People’s Light, a nonprofit theater in Malvern, Pa. “Ultimately it’s going to be really positive to be not as reliant on subscriber income and have greater diversity in our audiences.”
“I’m in the same boat as a lot of theater companies: How do I get the audience back, and once I get them in the door, how do I keep them for the next show?” said Ken Martin, artistic director of the Clarence Brown Theater.Jessica Tezak for The New York Times
Programming is clearly on the mind of lapsed subscribers around the country. Even as subscriptions have fallen sharply at regional nonprofits whose mission is to develop new voices and present noncommercial work, they have remained steadier at venues that present touring Broadway shows with highly recognizable titles.
“There’s so much going on with the ‘ought-to-see-this-because-you’re-going-to-be-taught-a-lesson’ stuff, and I’m OK with that, but part of me thinks we’re going a little overboard, and I need to have some fun,” said Melissa Ortuno, 61, of Queens. She describes herself as a frequent theatergoer — she has already seen 17 shows this year — but finds herself now preferring to purchase tickets for individual shows, rather than subscriptions. “I want to take a shot, but I don’t want to be dictated to. And this way I can buy what I want.”
But there are other reasons subscribers have stepped away, including age. “We’re all old, that’s the problem,” said Happy Shipley, 77, of Erwinna, Pa., who decided to renew her subscription at the Bucks County Playhouse, but sees others making a different choice. “Many of them don’t stay up late anymore; they’re anxious about parking, walking, crime, public transportation, increased need of restrooms, you name it.”
Arts administrators say that many people who were previously frequent theatergoers remain fans of the art form, but now attend less frequently, a phenomenon confirmed in interviews with supersubscribers — culture vultures who had multiple subscriptions — who say they are scaling back.
Lisa-Karyn Davidoff, 63, of Manhattan, subscribed to 10 theaters before the pandemic; now she is far more choosy, citing a combination of health concerns and reassessed priorities. “If there’s a great cast or something I can’t miss,” she said, “I will go.” Rena Tobey, a 64-year-old New Yorker, had at least 12 theater subscriptions before the pandemic, and now has none, citing an ongoing concern about catching Covid in crowds, a new appreciation for television and streaming, and a sense that theaters are programming shows for people other than her. “For many years, I’ve pushed my boundaries, and I’m just at a point where I don’t want to do it anymore.”
And Jeanne Ryan Wolfson, a 67-year-old from Rockville, Md., who had four performing arts subscriptions prepandemic, is just finding she likes an à la carte approach to ticket purchasing; she kept two of her previous subscriptions, dropped two, and added a new one. “I was paying a lot of money for the subscriptions, and some of the productions within those packages were a bit disappointing or might not have the wow factor I was looking for,” she said. “I think what I want to do is pick and choose.”
Martin said the Knoxville theater’s staff has spent much of the summer discussing the drop in subscriber numbers — the theater had about 3,000 before the pandemic, but 1,500 last season — and hired a marketing firm to study the situation.
Now he is picking productions carefully. He has set aside his dream of staging William Congreve’s “The Way of the World,” worried that the Restoration comedy wouldn’t find an audience. This season he’s starting with “Murder on the Orient Express,” which should do well, followed by a war horse — the annual production of “A Christmas Carol” — and “The Giver,” which Martin hopes will appeal to younger audiences because it was adapted from a popular young adult novel.
The Clarence Brown Theater, like about a dozen other professional theaters around the country, is affiliated with a university (the University of Tennessee) which provides it with some financial support.Jessica Tezak for The New York Times
Then comes “Kinky Boots,” the kind of uplifting musical comedy many of today’s audiences seem to want. (“Kinky Boots,” with a plot that involves drag queens, also makes a statement for a theater in Tennessee, where lawmakers have attempted to restrict drag shows.) There will be more adventurous productions, but in a smaller theater: “The Moors” by Jen Silverman, and “Anon(ymous)” by Naomi Iizuka.
But selling tickets show by show, instead of as a package, is challenging and expensive.
“It takes three times as much money, time and effort to bring in someone new,” said Tom Cervone, the theater’s managing director. He said the theater is trying everything it can — print advertising, public radio sponsorships, social media posts, plus appearances at local street fairs and festivals where the theater’s staff will hand out brochures and swag (branded train whistles to promote “Murder on the Orient Express,” for example) while trying to persuade passers-by to come see a show.
The theater, which is on the flagship campus of the University of Tennessee, is less dependent than some on ticket revenue, because, like a number of other regional nonprofits, it is affiliated with a university that subsidizes its operations. Still, the money it earns from ticket sales is essential to balancing the budget.
“It’s been scary some days,” Cervone said, “like, where is everybody?”
August 29, 2023 at 10:54PM
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Hitting Theater Hard: The Loss of Subscribers Who Went to Everything - The New York Times
It's getting harder to find new, cheap cars, according to auto experts.
Consider this: In July, just one car model — the Mitsubishi Mirage — had an average new-vehicle transaction price below $20,000, according to Kelley Blue Book data. By comparison, there were a dozen vehicles that met that pricing criteria five years ago.
The $20,000-or-below barometer is a sort of unofficial price threshold for an affordable new car, said Brian Moody, executive editor for Kelley Blue Book.
"There aren't as many inexpensive new cars as there used to be," Moody said.
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Here's a look at more stories on how to manage, grow and protect your money for the years ahead.
Transaction price doesn't tell the full story, of course, experts said. That price records what the average buyer pays — a variable that depends on factors such as markups and promotions by car dealers and any add-ons selected by buyers at the time of purchase.
Manufacturers such as Kia, Hyundai and Nissan — in addition to Mitsubishi — currently sell cars whose base models carry a sticker price below $20,000, Moody said.
But this list has gotten smaller over the past five or so years, said Tom McParland, owner of Automatch Consulting, a car-buying service for consumers.
"Whether you're buying new or used, that kind of affordable segment — sub-$20,000 — is challenging," he said.
'Americans don't like not having features'
Consumers were able to find entry-level vehicles with a $15,000 starting price as recently as a few years ago, said Paul Waatti, an industry analyst at market research firm AutoPacific.
The dearth of options today is due to a multitude of factors, experts said.
Among them is consumer preferences — people tend to want models with more features, Waatti said.
"Culturally, Americans don't like not having features in their car," such as automatic climate control, a car play screen and parking sensors, said Joseph Yoon, a consumer insights analyst at car website Edmunds.
Auto manufacturers know this to be true and use it to their advantage in marketing, Waatti said.
"Automakers obviously want to be able to tell that they're offering an affordable vehicle and they can do that in messaging," he added. "But when it comes down to it, they're not building many of those lower-price models."
Instead, automakers will make more of the higher-end models with features that consumers want, added Yoon.
In fact, car sales in the luxury market segment have increased, Moody said. They now account for about 20% of total new car sales, up from roughly 10% to 13% before the Covid-19 pandemic, he said.
Five years ago, there were 12 vehicles selling for an average price of more than $100,000. Today, there are 32 vehicles, according to Kelley Blue Book data. Both tallies exclude "super exotics" from companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini and Rolls-Royce.
Inflation for new and used cars also surged during the pandemic era, leading to higher vehicle prices. Materials and supplies became more expensive, driving up production costs for auto companies, said Waatti, and those higher costs are at least partly passed on to buyers.
Higher interest rates may also be keeping would-be buyers out of the car market right now, experts said.
Since buyers who generally shop for the least expensive cars tend to be budget-constrained, their absence from the market may be skewing average purchase prices higher, they said.
The average new-vehicle purchase price today is about $48,000, up from about $30,000 in 2012, according to Kelley Blue Book.
Four tips for consumers to find cars at a good price
Here are some general tips for consumers to find a reasonably priced car.
1. Know your budget — really
Most car buyers use monthly payments to conceptualize how expensive a car is.
However, consumers should know their overall budget before shopping by using an online auto loan calculator, McParland said. Otherwise, it's hard to know if you're getting a good deal, he added.
Certain auto loan calculators let consumers work backwards, by plugging in a monthly payment that fits their budget, along with other estimated information such as the loan's term and interest rate. The output: the total vehicle price a buyer can afford.
"This is probably the best step any customer can take," McParland said.
2. Look outside your local market
Casting a wide net during a car search yields more potential inventory and leverage against dealerships, McParland said. Some markets are "better than others," and looking even an hour or two away will "very likely get you a more competitive deal," he added.
3. Get prices in writing beforehand
Confirm car prices in writing with a dealer before walking in the door, McParland said. A refusal to do so is a red flag, he said.
"It's code for, 'We're going to try to rip you off,'" he said.
4. Shop your financing
Don't depend on a dealer's financing offer.
Dealers can profit off consumers by offering a higher-than-necessary interest rate, experts said. That's why it's a good idea to get pre-approval for an auto loan — perhaps from a local bank, credit union or online lender — before setting foot in the dealership, they said.
These offers can provide leverage for a better rate at the dealership and are especially useful for buyers with credit scores below 700, who are unlikely to qualify for the best available rates, McParland said.
August 29, 2023 at 12:22AM
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Why it's hard to find an inexpensive new car these days - CNBC
A conservative group opposed to Donald Trump is putting the former president on blast in a new ad demanding “consequences” for his misdeeds in the White House.
The spot from the Republican Accountability Project, which will run on Fox News in several markets, points out that Trump’s constant lies had many people saying in frustration that “nothing matters.”
But the voiceover states it’s not true that nothing matters.
“Because in America, the rule of law still matters,” the voice states. “And that’s why Donald Trump has been charged with 91 felonies in four separate cases for attempting to steal an election, falsifying business records and mishandling classified information.”
Then, the spot points out what doesn’t matter... and what does.
“It doesn’t matter that Donald Trump was president of the United States. It doesn’t matter that he is currently running for the presidency,” the voiceover says. “This is America. No one is above the law. That’s why it matters that Donald Trump faces consequences for his actions.”
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The video is part of a six-figure ad campaign, with spots appearing on Fox News this week in the key swing-state markets of Phoenix, Milwaukee and Atlanta.
That last location is where Trump was indicted most recently, on charges related to election interference in the state.
The campaign will also include a video billboard in Times Square showing all of Trump’s 91 criminal indictments:
The Republican Accountability Project has been running ads against Trump as well as members of the party who've enabled him and his lies about the 2020 election.
August 29, 2023 at 01:27PM
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'No One Is Above The Law': Republican Group Hits Trump Hard In Damning Fox News Ad - HuffPost
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