Watching the Pro Bowl Games

It's the week between the NFL conference championships and the Super Bowl. That means it's the week of the Pro Bowl. Well, it used to mean that. Now, it's something completely different.

Beginning this year -- this afternoon, in fact -- the Pro Bowl is no longer being played. Rather, the NFL has the Pro Bowl Games. That makes a meaningless game even more meaningless.

Once upon a time, it was an all-star football game. In fact, it was called the NFL All Star Game before World War II. After the war, it was revived following the merger with the AAFC and was called the Pro Bowl.

It was a straight up football game featuring stars from the two conferences (sometimes Eastern and Western, sometimes National and American).

In recent years, the format was altered in all kinds of ways, and now there's not even a football game. Well, not a real football game. They will play flag football. And do other stuff. There is more than flag football happening:

• Best Catch presented by Uber Eats (Finale): On Sunday, the top vote getters from each conference will compete head-to-head, as they perform in front of panel of celebrity judges. The pass-catcher who accumulates the highest score from the judges will be determined the winner.
• Gridiron Gauntlet: A side-by-side relay race showcasing strength, speed and agility, six players from each conference will compete to see who finishes first and wins three points for his team. The four-part Gauntlet, each segment 40-yards in length, includes a series of breakaway walls, a section of climbing over walls and under tables, a tire run and a blocking sled carrying a Legend coach across the finish line.
• Kick Tac Toe: Each team's kicker, punter and long snapper compete in a giant Tic-Tac-Toe competition to showcase their respective skills. The first team to complete a connecting line of three squares or hit five squares total will be declared the winner and earn three points for his conference.
• Move The Chains: Four teams (two teams from each conference) will compete side by side in a weighted wall pull that will showcase their strength, speed and ingenuity. Each team of five players is responsible for pulling a wall, loaded up with heavy weights, 10-yards as quickly as possible using first-down chains. The winner of the best-of-three playoff will earn three points for their conference.

This will be followed by a series of flag football games that will eventually determine the winning conference. The winning conference gets, oh, I don't know, bragging rights maybe.

Personally, I'm not sure just how much interest there is for this event. However, if it seems interesting, and you want to check it out, you can watch it this afternoon.

ABC

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.
  

ESPN

• Sling Orange, $40/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue, $55/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Fubo TV, $70/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $70/month.
  

ESPN+

ESPN+ is a standalone sports programming service. It is not the same thing as regular ESPN that you get with cable or one of the live streaming services. Some content from ESPN, ESPN2, or other ESPN networks may be available on ESPN+, but often, it's content that is only available on ESPN+.

• ESPN+, $7/month.
• Disney Bundle, $14/month.
  

If this turns out to be a good event, I would be surprised. But, a nice surprise is always a nice surprise. Perhaps it will go well, and this could be a yearly event in my Streaming Life.

Pebble Beach Pro-Am

While the Pebble Beach Pro-Am isn't one of the biggest gold tournaments, it has a long history. It used to be the Bing Crosby National Pro-Am, or the Crosby Clambake. The Pebble Beach event remains one of the most known non-major tournament.

The tournament actually began Thursday, and concludes tomorrow. If you're looking to watch the last round or two, here is how you can do that.

CBS

• Antenna, over the air, free.
• Paramount+ Premium, $10/month.
• Vidgo Plus, $60/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• Fubo TV, $75/month.
• DirecTV Stream Entertainment, $75/month.

Golf Channel

• Sling Blue with Sports Extra, $51/month.
• Sling Orange+Blue with Sports Extra, $66/month.
• YouTube TV, $65/month.
• Hulu+Live TV, $70.
• Fubo TV, $75/month.
• DirecTV Stream Choice, $100/month.
  

ESPN+

ESPN+ is a standalone sports programming service. It is not the same thing as regular ESPN that you get with cable or one of the live streaming services. Some content from ESPN, ESPN2, or other ESPN networks may be available on ESPN+, but often, it's content that is only available on ESPN+.

• ESPN+, $7/month.
• Disney Trio Basic, $13/month.
  

Peacock TV

Peacock is a standalone streaming service that carries NBCUniversal programming, including much sports from NBC as well as exclusive sports programming. Peacock Premium is included with Xfinity Internet plans.

• Peacock Premium, $5/month.

If golf is something you want in your Streaming Life, you have options.
 

Frndly TV gets even more friendly

According to reports, Frndly TV has added more channels to their lineup. And, these are some good channels that many people enjoy.

A report on Cord Cutters News says that Frndly TV has added Ion TV, Grit, and Ion Mystery. Sure enough, those channels are listed on their schedule now.

It's true that these channels are often available over the air on secondary local channels, but these channels do carry a lot of family friendly content that people like.

As of now, the count of channels and networks offered by Frndly TV stands at 46:

• A&E
• BabyFirst
• BYUtv
• Circle
• Cowboy Way Channel
• Crime & Investigation
• CuriosityStream
• Decades
• Dove Channel
• Dove Family Movies
• Dove Kids
• FETV
• FMC
• FYI
• Game Show Network
• GetTV
• Great American Family
• Great American Living
• Grit
• Hallmark Channel
• Hallmark Drama
• Hallmark Movies & Mysteries
• Hallmark Movies Now
• Heartland TV
• Heroes & Icons
• The HISTORY Channel
• INSP
• ION
• ION Mystery
• Lifetime
• Lifetime Movie Network
• Local Now
• MeTV
• Military HISTORY
• Movies!
• Outdoor Channel
• Pixl
• QVC
• Recipe.TV
• Sportsman Channel
• Start TV
• StoryTV
• UPtv
• VICE TV
• The Weather Channel
• World Fishing Network

Frndly TV has been a favorite of mine for some time. And the $7/month price is fantastic. I actually use the $9/month plan. And it's available on Roku, Fire TV, and Apple TV. Frndly TV has been a part of my Streaming Life for quite some time. And it may be worth looking into for you as well.

New Netflix sharing rules

Netflix has introduced new rules to prevent password sharing. The company has been testing ways to stop users from sharing passwords in some South American countries for a little while now. The USA is now reaping the benefits of that testing.

If this is a surprise to you, you have good reason to be surprised. Netflix itself had once, around six years ago, tweeted "Love is sharing a password." That sentiment has changed.

Netflix posted new rules, or guidelines, about what they're doing to make it difficult to share passwords.

When someone signs into your account from a device that is not associated with your Netflix household, or if your account is accessed persistently from a location outside of your household, we may ask you to verify that device before it can be used to watch Netflix. We do this to confirm that the device using the account is authorized to do so.

To verify a device:

1. Netflix sends a link to the email address or phone number associated with the primary account owner.
2. The link opens a page with a 4-digit verification code.
3. The code needs to be entered on the device that requested it within 15 minutes.
• If the code expired, you will need to request a new verification code from the device.
4. Once successful, that device can be used to watch Netflix.
5. Device verification may be required periodically.

If you suspect unauthorized use of your account, we recommend you reset your password immediately. You can also sign out of all the devices connected to it.

The idea is to make it difficult to share passwords. None of these steps will stop password sharing, but it may make it more difficult to use a shared password.

I don't share Netflix passwords. Heck, I rarely use Netflix myself, and I don't share my Netflix password with others. Does that make me a bad person? Actually, quite the opposite. The fact is that Netflix is simply enforcing rules that others have ignored for years. Even Netflix ignored the rules, as that tweet from 2017 indicated.

Some will still share passwords and go through the process to verify access, but Netflix is hoping people will just get their own Netflix account. You know, like they should. What will happen, I think, is that it will make it more difficult for legitimate users. Well, for some, at least.

Will it make users of shared passwords get their own account? Maybe. Probably not. Some will simply stop using Netflix. Others will jump through the new hoops. People have a way of reacting in unexpected ways. Netflix is an important part of many people's Streaming Life. However, they may about to upset a lot of those people.

New Walmart streaming device coming

You may have noticed that the Walmart brand ONN Streaming Device and Stick have both been hard to find lately. Maybe you haven't.

Some people seem to love the devices, and others are more "meh" about them. I'm in the "meh" camp.

As posted a couple of months ago, the devices were disappearing from shelves, with some speculation that Walmart was discontinuing the device altogether.

I had thought this was possible because of the deal to carry the new Xumo player from Comcast and Charter. Or that it was simply the older line being discontinued to make way for an updated line. It now appears the updated line is on the way, according to a tweet from @AndroidTV_Rumor:

Looks like @Walmart is planning to release a new 4K #AndroidTV Dongle this year.

The ODM is @SDMCTECH (model DV6105Z) and it's more than likely using an #Amlogic S905Y4.

Not sure when this year it might hit the shelves.

Maybe the device will have enough of a bump in specs to change my mind about the line. Previously, I said the box was okay but the stick was awful. It would be nice if the devices were upgraded and made a viable alternative when looking for a Google TV device to use in your Streaming Life.