As a Longtime Subscriber, This Is My Favorite YouTube TV Upgrade Yet

Over the years, I've accumulated more streaming subscriptions than I care to admit.

Like many sports fans, I've been a YouTube TV subscriber for quite a while. It's become our primary way of watching television, and I honestly can't imagine going back to traditional cable. Between the unlimited DVR and the ability to watch from just about anywhere, it works well for how Carrie and I consume television.

At the same time, I've also subscribed to ESPN Unlimited.

The reason was simple. Some of the college sporting events and other programming I wanted to watch weren't available through the traditional ESPN channels included with YouTube TV. If I wanted access to everything, I needed both services.

For years, I just accepted that as the cost of being a sports fan.

Recently, however, ESPN announced that ESPN Unlimited content is expected to become available through YouTube TV. The integration hasn't happened yet, but it's coming soon, and I'm surprisingly excited about it.

Part of that excitement is financial.

Once the integration is complete, I won't need to maintain a separate ESPN Unlimited subscription. Any time I can eliminate a monthly bill while still getting the content I want, that's a good thing.

Streaming was supposed to simplify television. Instead, it sometimes feels like we've recreated cable with a dozen separate subscriptions. Every opportunity to consolidate services feels like a step in the right direction.

But the savings aren't actually the feature I'm most looking forward to.

The real benefit is the DVR.

One of my favorite features of YouTube TV has always been the unlimited cloud DVR. If there's a football game, basketball game, or television show I want to watch, I simply add it to my library and watch it later.

ESPN Unlimited content hasn't worked that way.

If an event was exclusive to ESPN Unlimited, I generally had to watch it through the ESPN app or find it later if a replay was available. Once the YouTube TV integration arrives, I'll be able to record those events just like anything else on the platform.

For someone who follows college sports, that's a pretty significant improvement.

Not every game starts at a convenient time. Some overlap with other games. Sometimes life gets in the way. Having the ability to record an ESPN Unlimited event and watch it later fits perfectly with how I already use YouTube TV.

It's one of those technology improvements that isn't flashy, but it makes life easier.

And honestly, those are usually my favorite kinds of improvements.

We'll see exactly how the integration works once it launches, but from where I sit, it's a win. I save money, I get a more streamlined viewing experience, and I gain DVR functionality for content that previously lived outside the YouTube TV ecosystem.

That's a pretty good combination.

Until next time, have a great rest of your Sunday and a wonderful week!

Mid-August Musings: Running, Reading, and Random Thoughts

The month of August is almost half over. That is hard to believe. It has already been a busy few weeks. Time is certainly not standing still as the days march on toward the end of the year. It is no joke that the older we get, the faster time seems to go.

Today, I am struggling to decide what to write about, so this post will be a collection of random thoughts.

My running a few times a week had been going extremely well. As I reported, I was able to run twice while I was out of town. This week, though, I struggled to get my runs completed. I was busy on the nights that I usually run and did not make adjustments to run in the mornings or on different days. The last time I ran was August 9. Today is August 16, and although I had planned to run, I simply did not feel like it. Even though the weather is nice, with temperatures in the low 80s, missing two runs this week made it harder to get motivated. I will start again on Tuesday and get back into my routine.

I am doing well on my 2026 reading challenge. My goal was to read 25 books this year. As of today, I have completed 16 books. According to Goodreads, I am one book ahead of schedule. As you may recall, I am trying to read about two books each month to reach my goal. So far, that has gone well. The two books I am currently reading are both lengthy, so I need to spend more time reading if I want to finish at least one of them before the end of August.

The end of baseball season is fast approaching. Well, for the Kansas City Royals, the season has been over for a while. I still manage to watch some of the Royals games, but often turn them off after a few innings. Anymore, I do not tune in to Royals games in the late innings even if we are ahead by a run. In past years, I would have turned the game on to watch the end and hopefully see a win. This season, though, we seem to find ways to lose games. Our bullpen has been awful.

On Saturday, the Kansas City Chiefs played their first preseason game of the season. As you may recall, last season was not the best for the Chiefs. The offensive line struggled, which forced Patrick Mahomes to spend too much time running around and avoiding pressure. Late in the season, he was injured and missed the remainder of the year. He did not play yesterday, but reports say he is ready for the start of the season.

I have high hopes for this team as we get closer to early September. There are still two preseason games remaining before the regular season begins. As is typical during the preseason, the starters do not play much. Mahomes did not play at all yesterday, which was expected, and I am not sure whether he will play in either of the final two preseason games. It will still be interesting to see how the team develops as the season approaches.

Switching to television and movie tracking, I am still enjoying the Trakt app that I mentioned a few weeks ago. It continues to work well and helps us know where to watch our shows and movies. I am still getting used to using Trakt to track everything I watch, but I like it better than TV Time, which I had used previously before discontinuing it in July. I highly recommend giving Trakt a try if you have not used it yet.

That is about it for today and my rambling post. Sometimes these kinds of posts are fun to write, but I was struggling today to think of something specific to share. Have a great rest of your Sunday and a fantastic week.

Oysters, Crab Legs, and a Conference in DC

A fun trip last week took me to Washington, DC, for a conference. I was able to get out and see a little bit of the city on Saturday night. I flew out Saturday morning and arrived in DC by mid-afternoon.

That evening, I visited two cool spots. The first was a fun place to relax on the patio with some drinks and oysters. With beautiful weather and cool temperatures, it was a great evening to spend outside. I was with a co-worker, Homer, who grew up in the area, so it was fun hearing him talk about some of his favorite places from when he lived there years ago.

Our first stop was Ragtime in Arlington, Virginia. It was a lively place with plenty of people, and the food looked great, too. We had originally planned to stop in just for drinks, but we ended up ordering oysters as a snack before heading to our dinner reservation.

We had 9:00 p.m. reservations at Quarterdeck Restaurant, which specializes in blue crab and crab legs. Of course, I had to try the blue crab. It was a lot of work trying to get the meat out of those crabs. Granted, I probably did not know what I was doing. The little bit of meat I managed to get tasted good, but I still prefer crab legs. I know how to work my way through crab legs, and I was able to get some good chunks of meat out of them. The hush puppies that came with the meal were also excellent.

I ordered far too much food, so Homer helped me finish the blue crab. I took care of the crab legs and enjoyed a few of the hush puppies as well.

This was my third trip to the DC area. The first was way back when I was in junior high. I traveled there with my parents and my sister, Jen. I still remember that trip because we drove all the way from Kansas. One thing that stands out is that we stayed at the Watergate. I remember hearing all the stories about why the hotel was famous. We visited the Reflecting Pool, monuments, and many of the other sights around the city. It remains one of those great childhood memories with my family.

I also visited the DC area last March while attending a work meeting. Unfortunately, I did not make any time to explore the city during that trip. It was all conference and meetings. This time, though, I was able to get out and see a little bit of the area on Saturday night before the conference began.

After that, it was conference sessions from Sunday through Tuesday. I flew back home Tuesday afternoon, which made for a short work week. The conference was good, and I am already thinking about attending again next year.

So, that was my trip to DC, complete with my usual rambling updates about where I ate. I only took two pictures from dinner, so there is not much to share beyond that. With that, I will wrap up this week's post. Have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week ahead.

Five Things I'm Looking Forward to This Fall

It is Saturday morning, and I am thinking through what to post for this week. I am struggling a bit, so I am going to keep this one relatively simple and write about five things I am looking forward to this fall. It is a simple post, but I think it can be a good opportunity to reflect on what is ahead as we move toward the end of 2026.

Summer is about to end. We are nearing the final weeks of the season. Friday brought beautiful weather to Topeka. Carrie and I sat outside for a few hours Friday evening, enjoying the nice breeze and cool temperatures. It felt odd to be sitting outside comfortably on the last day of July. I mentioned how, in past years, our lawn would be burned up by July 31. We had plenty of rain before the summer heat arrived, and over the past couple of weeks, we have had several good rainstorms. As a result, the lawns still look lush and green without having to water them.

It is always a little sad when the summer months come to an end. At the same time, I am looking forward to being able to spend time outside without burning up in the heat. Friday gave us a nice preview of what we will experience over the next few months. We have a lot of limbs that have come down from various storms, so we plan to have our fire pit going most weekends. I look forward to hanging out with Carrie and spending time in our backyard. Yes, it still feels odd to be outdoors and not have our little Oliver running around, keeping watch on the neighbors and other dogs.

The fall semester is fast approaching. We are just a few weeks away from classes starting at Washburn University. It has been a busy summer preparing the campus, and a variety of projects have been priorities throughout the break. It will be good to have the campus bustling with students again. I say it every year, but it seriously feels as though the semester just ended. It feels like only yesterday that the 2025-2026 academic year was beginning. Now here we are, and a new year is about to start. I look forward to a packed campus and the challenge of finding parking spots with all the faculty, staff, and students back on campus.

Football season is just a few weeks away as well. Washburn plays its first game on August 29, and it will be an away game. Our first home game is September 5. Again, it seems like only yesterday that we were heading to Washburn football games and tailgating in our spot. We will be out there again this year. I renewed our season tickets, even though we rarely go inside the stadium, and we kept our tailgate spot.

Chiefs season starts up soon, too, with preseason beginning on August 15. I already have one of my fantasy football draft dates set, and I am working with the other league I am in to get that draft scheduled as well. I look forward to a fresh season for both my Ichabods and the Chiefs. Both teams struggled last season. I am excited to follow them throughout the year and hope they can get off to strong starts in their opening games.

We have only been camping once this year. Sad! We went back in May, and that has been our only trip so far. Traveling and then losing Oliver changed our plans to camp more often this summer. Instead, we are left planning a few camping trips to finish out the year. We already have one planned for October, and we may be able to fit in one more before the season ends. It is disappointing that we have only managed one trip so far, but hopefully we can squeeze in at least two more before the weather turns cold.

My running routine is going well. I was able to run three times last week. I have extended my running intervals and can now run a half mile before walking. I am gradually building up my stamina so I can eventually run the entire distance without walking. Right now, that is not happening, but I am making progress. This past week, I took a short break because I had a medical appointment on Thursday. That interrupted my normal running schedule, which usually includes runs on Tuesday and Thursday. I will be back at it Sunday morning.

That is all for today. I hope you have a great rest of your weekend and a wonderful week.