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Newcastle set for a 'dry, sunny, beautiful' day this ChristmasIn a subtle yet scathing remark, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, took a swipe at Rivers State governor, Siminialayi Fubara, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) during the birthday celebration of the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, in Port Harcourt, Rivers State on Friday. Akpabio, who was the Special Guest of Honour at the event, mocked Fubara’s handling of the ongoing political crisis in the state. The lecture, titled “Pragmatic Strides of a Visionary Leader and Contemporary Issues of Society,” attracted thousands of Wike’s loyalists, friends, and associates. The event, organised by the NEW Associates, a new political movement coined from the initials of the minister’s name, Nyesom Ezenwo Wike, provided a platform for Akpabio to remind Fubara of the importance of maintaining a good relationship with the legislature. Akpabio recognised Martins Amaewhule as the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and emphasised that every wise governor or president must find a way to work closely with the leadership of the legislature. Akpabio, who spoke from experience as a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, noted that a governor could only be hurt by the House of Assembly. He advised Fubara to fashion out ways to work with the Speaker, just as he did during his tenure. He said: “For those of you who may not understand politics, we were taught that the parliament can turn a woman into a man and a man into a woman. As a governor, my greatest fear was my House of Assembly. “So because of that, I never travelled anywhere without my Speaker. Any time I didn’t see him for a day, I would send somebody to his house to invite him to come and have lunch with me, and I used ideas to look at his face to know whether he was happy with me or not. “The only place that can hurt a governor is the House of Assembly, and no court or democracy can stop that from happening. Any President who wants to survive, like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, must hold the speaker and the Senate President very closely the way he is holding us. “Recently, he conferred on us GCON, Grand Commander of the Order of the Niger, whether he loved it or not, he did it. He muscled the two Chambers together.” The Senate President questioned Fubara’s inability to win over some of the 27 lawmakers loyal to Wike, despite having ample resources at his disposal He expressed concern over the politics of betrayal and treachery, noting that such orientation affects sustainability in governance. Akpabio also observed that the lecture delivered by Prof. Julius Ihonvbere, Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, failed to address the critical issue of sustainability. He said: “I do not know what is happening in Rivers State, but I hope that the successor to Wike realises the fact that no matter how the bird flies, the legs are pointing to the ground. “Something must be wrong. Today is not for politics. Today is for Nyesom Wike. But sometimes I wonder, I would never be the governor, given the resources of Rivers State, and then I disagree with my House of Assembly, and I am not able to poach at least one member out of the other group. If I do not do that, it means that there is something wrong with my political philosophy. “I do not care what people say, we must try to stop this politics of betrayal and politics of treachery because it does not allow for good succession. Prof. Julius, in everything you said here, the word that was missing was ‘sustainability’. “You cannot have sustainability in good policies and governance when the person taking over from you is interested in not destroying you alone but destroying everything that you built. If you are a politician, note, you must have opposition. As people oppose you, they are also the step you can use to go higher.” READ ALSO: Fubara donates gunboats to Navy to combat piracy, protect oil facilities Akpabio, however, said when politicians served with dedication, passion, confidence, and an open heart, God would eventually lift them higher. On his part, Akpabio appreciated the NEW Associates and Chairman of the Organising Committee, Senator George Sekibo, for putting the event together, saying he was not bothered about the ongoing criticisms of a few people. He said: “For me, in life, what is important is if you know what you want to do, and you know how you want to do it, then you go ahead. One thing that I can assure all of you here is that we will continue to make you proud. “I will never be distracted. I will still be focused to achieve the results that Nigerians will know that Mr. President means well. Yes, so many people have talked about criticism, I can assure you, it is even people who inform me that people are criticising me. Frankly speaking, because I do not see them and I don’t hear them and I cannot reply to them.” Wike, who said he was humbled by the crowd that identified with him, said he was satisfied with the support of President Tinubu. He said all the criticisms were designed by his detractors to distract him, adding that the only way to silence the critics was to achieve results for public interest. He said: “I have told most of you, do not bother about criticisms. What is important for you is to ask yourself if you are focused or if you are doing what is expected of you to do. I tell them, the moment your enemies see that you do not listen to them, and you are focused and are there to achieve results, they will be tired, and when you are being distracted, you are worried, they will say yes, they have now gotten you. “The only way that you can silence your critics is to show them your results. Show them your performance. I am happy that when we were coming last night, I saw the flyovers being painted. I said thank God, so there was work that they are now painting? I said thank God, there was work that is being painted now. I have said, if you are not important, nobody will talk about you. “So, the support Mr. President is giving to me is enough for me. I do not require anything. The moment I know that my Mr. President is happy, the moment I know that my family is happy, the moment I know that my friends and associates are happy, what is my own? I just go on. If you cannot match up with what we have done, why not come out and say look, let the truth be told. “I do not see anybody that will intimidate or threaten me. I have not seen that person. At the appropriate time we will talk politics; now is for the project and project in FCT.” Speaking at the event, the national leadership of the PDP, represented by the Deputy National Chairman, South, Taofeek Arapaja, said despite the antics of persons in the party with entitlement mentality, the majority of the people in the PDP loved and appreciated the Minister. He said the members of the party stood with Wike, describing the minister as one of the most committed and loyal party leaders ever produced in the PDP. He said: “Our mentor and principal that we are celebrating today, who has never left the PDP for a day, is one of the most committed, most loyal party leaders we have ever had. He has done well and he is doing well, and we wish him well in future endeavours. “He is somebody who believes in equity, justice, and fairness. Remember, before the 2023 election, he sang a famous song. I used to follow my leader and Osun State Governor Seyi Makinde. Our leader, I still remember the G5 and I am telling you that many people in the PDP appreciate you. We love you because you are always there for us, not only when you need anything, unlike some leaders who come running to us when they need something. “We know you, and we always love you and we appreciate you. Some people believe in entitlement mentality, but we will always stand by you because you led the G5. You are a man of integrity, a man of honour, and you are a performer.” Arapaja, however, disagreed with some of the remarks of Akpabio against the PDP and wondered why the Senate President, whom he described as a product of the PDP, could attack his party of origin. He said: “The foundation of all political parties is the PDP. So I am surprised when someone who is a product of the PDP comes here and says those things. I do not understand. But that is not politics. Nobody can dispute the fact that the present Senate President was a governor of Akwa Ibom State under the PDP, and he performed.” The Guest Lecturer, Ihonvbere, highlighted the problems of the country as insecurity, unemployment, poor infrastructure, corruption, religious and ethnic factors, as well as poor educational facilities, and said fixing them was not rocket science. “Our problems can be solved. The Nigerian ruling class in fraction will be ashamed that it has not managed any of our problems successfully. We have created millions and billions, but their legacies are hardly sustained. It is not lack of resources but management. Fixing Nigeria is not rocket science. It requires focus and staying the course,” he said. The Chairman of the occasion and former President of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), OCJ Okocha, described Wike as a superlative performer with a Midas touch. “This is a man that we have given to Nigeria and we are proud to be his friends and associates. I want to thank us all for organising this public lecture in his honour. Knowing him, he would have opposed it, but I think the pressure on him was too much that his friends won the day and said, let us honour you,” he said.best casino sites australia 。

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NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Darren Rizzi would be an unconventional choice to take over the New Orleans Saints' head coaching job on a permanent basis. That doesn't mean it can't happen. The Saints (4-7) had been on a seven-game skid when Rizzi, the club's special teams coordinator, was promoted. They've since won two straight, and as the club entered its Week 12 bye, prominent players were already discussing their desire to continue improving Rizzi's resume. “He’s definitely had an impact on our football team,” quarterback Derek Carr said after New Orleans' 35-14 victory over Cleveland last weekend. “We want to keep winning so that maybe he gets a chance to be the coach here for a long time. “That’s what we want as players,” Carr continued. "Hopefully, we can continue to have success, keep winning and give him that opportunity.” Before the Saints' demoralizing defeat at Carolina precipitated the firing of third-year coach Dennis Allen , Rizzi had never been a head coach at the NFL or major college level. The north New Jersey native and former Rhode Island tight end got his first head coaching job at Division II New Haven in 1999. He also coached his alma mater in 2008 before moving to the NFL with Miami in 2009 as a special teams assistant. By 2010, he was the Dolphins' special teams coordinator and added the title of associate head coach in 2017 before ex-Saints coach Sean Payton lured him to New Orleans in 2019. A common thread shared by Payton and Rizzi is that both worked under Bill Parcells. Parcells — known best for winning two Super Bowls as coach of the New York Giants — was coaching the Dallas Cowboys when Payton was his offensive coordinator. Rizzi, who grew up a Giants fan during the Parcells era, got to know his childhood idol during his first couple years in Miami, where Parcells executive vice president of football operations. Since his promotion, Rizzi has spoken to both Payton and Parcells. And he has begun to employ motivational techniques reminiscent of Payton, who left New Orleans in 2022 as the franchise leader in wins (152 in the regular season and nine in the postseason — including New Orleans' lone Super Bowl triumph). Payton as a big believer of symbolic imagery and motivational props, from baseball bats distributed before contests that were expected to be especially physical to gas cans left in the lockers of aging veterans whose performance was key to the club's success. Rizzi, who describes himself as a “blue collar” guy, has his own spin on such things. He began his tenure by asking players to accept individual responsibility for the metaphorical hole the team had dug itself and asked them all to embrace the idea of filling it up — one shovelful at a time. He even has brought a shovel — as well as a hammer, tape measure, level and other construction tools — to team meetings to help make his points. Saints tight end Taysom Hill, who also plays on special teams, has gotten to know Rizzi well during a half-decade of working together. Hill doesn't sound surprised to see Rizzi's combination of work ethic, enthusiasm and personal touch resonating across the entire team now. He also made a lot of changes , from weekly schedule adjustments to reconfiguring players' lockers by position. “He has a really good pulse on what we need collectively as a team to get ready for a football game," said Hill, who scored three touchdowns and accounted for 248 yards as a runner, receiver, passer and returner against Cleveland. “Guys have responded to that.” Because Rizzi's first victory came over the first-place Atlanta Falcons , and because the Falcons lost again last week, the Saints now trail Atlanta by just two games with six to play. Suddenly, the idea of the Saints playing meaningful football down the stretch is not so far-fetched. “We’re starting to get our swag back, and that makes me happy,” Rizzi said. ”We’re going to have some downtime now to kind of press the reset button again and see if we can make a push here." When the Saints return to action at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Dec 1, they'll do so with a level of momentum and positivity that seemed to steadily drain out of the club between their first loss of the season in Week 3 through the six straight setbacks that followed. While Saints players have tended to blame themselves for Allen's demise, they've been quick to credit Rizzi for the turnaround. “He’s pointed us and steered the ship in the right direction,” Carr said. “Hopefully, we can just keep executing at a high level for him, because we love him.” AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nflNoneJudge hears closing arguments on whether Google's advertising tech constitutes a monopoly ALEXANDRIA, Va. (AP) — The Justice Department and Google have made their closing arguments in a trial alleging Google’s online advertising technology constitutes an illegal monopoly. The arguments in federal court Monday in northern Virginia came as Google already faces a possible breakup of the company over its ubiquitous search engine. The Justice Department says it will seek the breakup of Google to remedy its search engine monopoly. The case in Virginia focuses not on the search engine but on technology that matches online advertisers to consumers on the internet. A judge is expected to rule by the end of the year. ‘Busiest Thanksgiving ever’: How the TSA plans to handle record air travel DALLAS (AP) — The Thanksgiving travel rush is expected to be bigger than ever this year. AAA predicts that nearly 80 million people in the U.S. will venture at least 50 miles from home between Tuesday and next Monday — most of them by car. Thanksgiving Day falling so late this year has altered traditional travel patterns. At airports, the Transportation Security Administration says it could screen a record number of U.S. air travelers on Sunday. Meanwhile, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration says a shortage of air traffic controllers could cause flight delays. Transportation analytics company INRIX says roads could be congested on Monday with both commuters and returning holiday travelers. Macy’s says employee hid up to $154 million in expenses, delaying Q3 earnings Macy’s says it’s delaying the release of its fiscal third-quarter earnings results after it discovered an up to $154 million accounting-related issue. The company did provide some preliminary results for its third quarter, including that net sales fell 2.4% to $4.74 billion. It anticipates reporting its full third-quarter financial results by Dec. 11. Newsom says California could offer electric vehicle rebates if Trump eliminates federal tax credit SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California could offer state tax rebates for electric vehicle purchases if the incoming Trump administration eliminates the $7,500 federal EV tax credit. Gov. Gavin Newsom says Monday he'll propose creating a new version of the state’s successful Clean Vehicle Rebate Program, which was phased out in 2023 after funding nearly 600,000 new cars and trucks. Officials didn’t say how much the program would cost or how the rebates would work. Newsom’s proposal is part of his plan to protect California’s progressive policies ahead of Republican President-elect Donald Trump’s second term. But a budget shortfall could complicate California’s resistance efforts. Warren Buffett gives away another $1.1B and plans for distributing his $147B fortune after his death OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — Investor Warren Buffett renewed his Thanksgiving tradition of giving by announcing plans Monday to hand more than $1.1 billion of Berkshire Hathaway stock to four of his family's foundations, and he offered new details about who will be handing out the rest of his fortune after his death. Buffett has said previously that his three kids will distribute his remaining $147.4 billion fortune in the 10 years after his death, but now he has also designated successors for them because it’s possible that Buffett’s children could die before giving it all away. Buffett said he has no regrets about his decision to start giving away his fortune in 2006. Stock market today: Dow hits another record as stocks rise NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks rose, with those benefiting the most from lower interest rates and a stronger economy leading the way. The S&P 500 climbed 0.3% Monday to pull closer to its record set two weeks ago. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 440 points to its own record set on Friday, while the Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%. They got a boost from easing Treasury yields after President-elect Donald Trump said he wants hedge-fund manager Scott Bessent to be his Treasury Secretary. Smaller companies can feel a big boost from easier borrowing costs, and the Russell 2000 index of small stocks finished just shy of its record. Workers at Charlotte airport, an American Airlines hub, go on strike during Thanksgiving travel week CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — American Airlines says it doesn’t expect significant disruptions to flights this week as a result of a labor strike at its hub in Charlotte, North Carolina. Service workers there walked out Monday during a busy week of Thanksgiving travel to protest what they say are unlivable wages. Employees of ABM and Prospect Airport Services authorized the work stoppage. Union spokesperson Sean Keady says the strike is expected to last 24 hours. The companies contract with American Airlines to provide services such as cleaning airplane interiors, removing trash and escorting passengers in wheelchairs. The companies have acknowledged the seriousness of a strike during the holiday travel season. At the crossroads of news and opinion, 'Morning Joe' hosts grapple with aftermath of Trump meeting The reaction of those who defended “Morning Joe” hosts Joe Scarborough and Mika Brzezinski for meeting with President-elect Trump sounds almost quaint in the days of opinionated journalism. Doesn't it makes sense, they said, for hosts of a political news show to meet with such an important figure? But given how “Morning Joe” has attacked Trump, its viewers felt insulted. Many reacted quickly by staying away. It all reflects the broader trend of opinion crowding out traditional journalist in today's marketplace, and the expectations that creates among consumers. By mid-week, the show's audience was less than two-thirds what it has typically been this year. Eggs are available -- but pricier -- as the holiday baking season begins Egg prices are on the rise again as a lingering outbreak of bird flu coincides with high demand during the holiday baking season. The average price for a dozen eggs in U.S. cities was $3.37 in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was up 63% from October 2023, when a dozen eggs cost an average of $2.07. Avian influenza is the main culprit. The current bird flu outbreak that began in February 2022 has led to the slaughter of more than 111 million birds, mostly egg-laying chickens. But the American Egg Board says egg shortages at grocery stores have been isolated and temporary so far. ‘Buy now, pay later’ is more popular than ever. It can cost more than you think NEW YORK (AP) — More shoppers are using ‘buy now, pay later’ plans heading into Black Friday and the holiday season, as the ability to spread out payments looks attractive at a time when Americans still feel the lingering effect of inflation and already have record-high credit card debt. Experts say the short-term loans can lead consumers to overextend themselves and warn that those who use credit cards for the service face higher interest expenses. The data firm Adobe Analytics predicts shoppers will spend 11.4% more this holiday season using buy now, pay later than they did a year ago.

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By CLAIRE RUSH President-elect Donald Trump has once again suggested he wants to revert the name of North America’s tallest mountain — Alaska’s Denali — to Mount McKinley, wading into a sensitive and decades-old conflict about what the peak should be called. Related Articles National Politics | Inside the Gaetz ethics report, a trove of new details alleging payments for sex and drug use National Politics | An analyst looks ahead to how the US economy might fare under Trump National Politics | Trump again calls to buy Greenland after eyeing Canada and the Panama Canal National Politics | House Ethics Committee accuses Gaetz of ‘regularly’ paying for sex, including with 17-year-old girl National Politics | Trump wants mass deportations. For the agents removing immigrants, it’s a painstaking process Former President Barack Obama changed the official name to Denali in 2015 to reflect the traditions of Alaska Natives as well as the preference of many Alaska residents. The federal government in recent years has endeavored to change place-names considered disrespectful to Native people. “Denali” is an Athabascan word meaning “the high one” or “the great one.” A prospector in 1896 dubbed the peak “Mount McKinley” after President William McKinley, who had never been to Alaska. That name was formally recognized by the U.S. government until Obama changed it over opposition from lawmakers in McKinley’s home state of Ohio. Trump suggested in 2016 that he might undo Obama’s action, but he dropped that notion after Alaska’s senators objected. He raised it again during a rally in Phoenix on Sunday. “McKinley was a very good, maybe a great president,” Trump said Sunday. “They took his name off Mount McKinley, right? That’s what they do to people.” Once again, Trump’s suggestion drew quick opposition within Alaska. “Uh. Nope. It’s Denali,” Democratic state Sen. Scott Kawasaki posted on the social platform X Sunday night. Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski , who for years pushed for legislation to change the name to Denali, conveyed a similar sentiment in a post of her own. “There is only one name worthy of North America’s tallest mountain: Denali — the Great One,” Murkowski wrote on X. Various tribes of Athabascan people have lived in the shadow of the 20,310-foot (6,190-meter) mountain for thousands of years. McKinley, a Republican native of Ohio who served as the 25th president, was assassinated early in his second term in 1901 in Buffalo, New York. Alaska and Ohio have been at odds over the name since at least the 1970s. Alaska had a standing request to change the name since 1975, when the legislature passed a resolution and then-Gov. Jay Hammond appealed to the federal government. Known for its majestic views, the mountain is dotted with glaciers and covered at the top with snow year-round, with powerful winds that make it difficult for the adventurous few who seek to climb it. Rush reported from Portland, Oregon.Lee — There is a new glow downtown. The town is in the final steps of completing a new technology rollout that refurbishes its downtown decorative streetlights with energy-efficient LED lighting for better visibility on roads and crosswalks. Courtesy of a $250,800 Massachusetts Rural Development Fund Grant and an additional $79,500 appropriated by the town of Lee as matching funds, the project also added three outdoor Wi-Fi access points to Main Street’s southern end for public use, Town Administrator Christopher Brittain stated in an email response to The Berkshire Edge. Those points stretch from roughly the Lee Town Park to St. Mary’s Church at 140 Main Street, he said, with the municipality previously lacking those points and hindering cell phone service. Other pluses from the update allow for future extensions including digital signage, emergency buttons, and environmental sensors. “Not only do the new fixtures look much better but the new light patterns make Main Street much safer for pedestrians at night,” stated Brittain in a November 25 news release. “The Wi-Fi should be a huge benefit to restaurants and merchants on Main Street that sometimes struggle with poor cellular service.” Audio features are also part of the project package, with the December 6 “Holiday Stroll” serving as the first opportunity to try out the new program. Although all of the project hardware is in place, Brittain stated some software programming is needed “before everything is fully functional.”

Stocks closed higher on Wall Street at the start of a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% Monday. Several big technology companies helped support the gains, including chip companies Nvidia and Broadcom. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 0.2%, and the Nasdaq composite rose 1%. Honda’s U.S.-listed shares rose sharply after the company said it was in talks about a combination with Nissan in a deal that could also include Mitsubishi Motors. Eli Lilly rose after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Treasury yields rose in the bond market. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. AP’s earlier story follows below. Major stock indexes rose on Wall Street in afternoon trading Monday, after a choppy start to a holiday-shortened week. The S&P 500 rose 0.6%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average recovered from an early slide to gain 29 points, or 0.1% as of 3:40 p.m. Eastern time. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 0.8%. Gains in technology and communications stocks helped outweigh losses in consumer goods companies and elsewhere in the market. Semiconductor giant Nvidia, whose enormous valuation gives it an outsize influence on indexes, rose 3.3%. Broadcom climbed 5.5% to also help support the broader market. Walmart fell 2% and PepsiCo slid 1.2%. Japanese automakers Honda Motor and Nissan said they are talking about combining in a deal that might also include Mitsubishi Motors. U.S.-listed shares in Honda jumped 13.4%, while Nissan slipped 0.2%. Eli Lilly rose 3.5% after announcing that regulators approved Zepbound as the first and only prescription medicine for adults with sleep apnea. Department store Nordstrom fell 1.6% after it agreed to be taken private by Nordstrom family members and a Mexican retail group in a $6.25 billion deal. The Conference Board said that consumer confidence slipped in December. Its consumer confidence index fell back to 104.7 from 112.8 in November. Wall Street was expecting a reading of 113.8. The unexpectedly weak consumer confidence update follows several generally strong economic reports last week. One report showed the overall economy grew at a 3.1% annualized rate during the summer, faster than earlier thought. The latest report on unemployment benefit applications showed that the job market remains solid. A report on Friday said a measure of inflation the Federal Reserve likes to use was slightly lower last month than economists expected. Worries about inflation edging higher again had been weighing on Wall Street and the Fed. The central bank just delivered its third cut to interest rates this year, but inflation has been hovering stubbornly above its target of 2%. It has signaled that it could deliver fewer cuts to interest rates next year than it earlier anticipated because of concerns over inflation. Expectations for more interest rate cuts have helped drive a roughly 25% gain for the S&P 500 in 2024. That drive included 57 all-time highs this year. Inflation concerns have added to uncertainties heading into 2025, which include the labor market's path ahead and shifting economic policies under an incoming President Donald Trump. "Put simply, much of the strong market performance prior to last week was driven by expectations that a best-case scenario was the base case for 2025," said Brent Schutte, chief investment officer at Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Company Treasury yields rose in the bond market. The yield on the 10-year Treasury rose to 4.59% from 4.53% late Friday. European markets were mostly lower, while markets in Asia gained ground. Wall Street has several other economic reports to look forward to this week. On Tuesday, the U.S. will release its November report for sales of newly constructed homes. A weekly update on unemployment benefits is expected on Thursday. Markets in the U.S. will close at 1 p.m. Eastern on Tuesday for Christmas Eve and will remain closed on Wednesday for Christmas. Damian J. Troise And Alex Veiga, The Associated PressYPSILANTI, Mich. (AP) — On a damp Wednesday night with temperatures dipping into the 30s, fans in sparsely filled stands bundled up to watch Buffalo beat Eastern Michigan 37-30 on gray turf. The lopsided game was not particularly notable, but it was played on one of the nights the Mid-American Conference has made its own: A weeknight. “A lot of the general public thinks we play all of our games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, not just some of them in November,” MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher said in a telephone interview this week. “What it has done is help take what was a pretty darned good regional conference and has given it a national brand and made it a national conference.” When the conference has played football games on ESPN or ESPN2 over the last two seasons, the linear television audience has been 10 times larger than when conference schools meet on Saturdays and get lost in the shuffle when viewers have many more choices. The most-watched MAC game over the last two years was earlier this month on a Wednesday night when Northern Illinois won at Western Michigan and there were 441,600 viewers, a total that doesn’t include streaming that isn’t captured by Nielsen company. During the same span, the linear TV audience has been no larger than 46,100 to watch two MAC teams play on Saturdays. “Having the whole nation watching on Tuesday and Wednesday night is a huge deal for the MAC,” Eastern Michigan tight end Jere Getzinger said. “Everybody wants to watch football so if you put it on TV on a Tuesday or Wednesday, people are going to watch.” ESPN has carried midweek MAC football games since the start of the century. ESPN and the conference signed a 13-year extension a decade ago that extends their relationship through at least the 2026-27 season. The conference has made the most of the opportunities, using MACtion as a tag on social media for more than a decade and it has become a catchy marketing term for the Group of Five football programs that usually operate under the radar in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois and New York. Attendance does tend to go down with weeknight games, keeping some students out of stadiums because they have class or homework and leading to adults staying away home because they have to work the next morning. “The tradeoff is the national exposure,” Buffalo coach Pete Lembo said. “You know November nights midweek the average fan is going to park on the couch, have a bowl of chips and salsa out in front, and watch the game from there." When the Bulls beat Ball State 51-48 in an overtime thriller on a Tuesday night earlier this month, the announced attendance was 12,708 and that appeared to be generous. There were many empty seats after halftime. “You watch the games on TV, the stadiums all look like this,” Buffalo fan Jeff Wojcicki said. “They are not packed, but it’s the only game on, and you know where to find it.” Sleep and practice schedules take a hit as well, creating another wave of challenges for students to attend class and coaches to prepare without the usual rhythm of preparing all week to play on Saturday. “Last week when we played at Ohio in Athens, we had a 4-four bus ride home and got home at about 3:30 a.m.,” Eastern Michigan center Broderick Roman said. “We still had to go to class and that was tough, but it's part of what you commit to as an athlete.” That happens a lot in November when the MAC shifts its unique schedule. During the first two weeks of the month, the conference had 10 games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays exclusively. This week, there were five games on Tuesday and Wednesday while only one was left in the traditional Saturday slot with Ball State hosting Bowling Green. Next week, Toledo plays at Akron and Kent State visits Buffalo on Tuesday night before the MAC schedule wraps up with games next Friday and Saturday to determine which teams will meet in the conference title game on Dec. 7 in Detroit. In all, MAC teams will end up playing about 75% of their games on a Saturday and the rest on November weeknights. When the Eagles wrapped up practice earlier this week, two days before they played the Bulls, tight end Jere Getzinger provided some insight into the effects of the scheduling quirk. “It's Monday, but for us it's like a Thursday,” he said. Bowling Green coach Scot Loeffler said he frankly has a hard time remembering what day it is when the schedule shift hits in November. “The entire week gets turned upside down,” Loeffler said. “It’s wild, but it’s great for the league because there’s two days a week this time of year that people around the country will watch MAC games.” AP freelance writer Jonah Bronstein contributed to this report. Get poll alerts and updates on the AP Top 25 throughout the season. Sign up here . AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

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