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NEW YORK -- Dish Network is offering a new skinny bundle of about 50 cable channels that doesnt include ESPN and some other sports channels, giving people who dont care about sports a way to save money on TV without joining the ranks of cord cutters.Sports channels are among the most expensive for cable and satellite TV companies and are usually included in big cable bundles. That drives up the bill for all customers, whether they enjoy watching ball games or not.Dishs new Flex Pack starts at $30 a month, not including fees and taxes, while a big cable bundle typically costs about $90.Dish is not the first cable distributor to sell a smaller basic cable bundle without ESPN, however.Comcast has done so for nearly a decade. And Dishs package is similar to Verizon Fios Custom TV when it launched in April 2015. Verizon also made ESPN (and lots of other channels) add-ons to a smaller cable bundle. Then ESPN sued and other programmers protested. Custom TV was revamped in February to two core bundles, one sports-focused and one not, with fewer options for groups of channels to add.Custom TV has been diluted pretty badly since those changes, said Craig Moffett of MoffettNathanson Research. Verizon spokesman Ray McConville says the revised version of Custom TV is more popular and changes were made in response to customer feedback rather than programmer demands. Verizon settled with ESPN in May.Dish has a good relationship with ESPN and let all the programmers know about the new package, said Warren Schlichting, the Englewood, Colorado, companys executive vice president of marketing, programming and media sales. It takes cooperation on both sides, he said.An ESPN spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment.Moffett says that if entertainment companies dont fight Dish, other cable and satellite companies are likely to copy it, meaning savings for lots of TV lovers who dont watch sports.The Flex package comes as Dishs satellite TV service has been bleeding customers. The traditional TV industry overall has lost about 2 million customers over the past three years, according to research firm SNL Kagan, as online TV alternatives proliferate.Schlichting said that the new Dish bundle is not aimed at cord cutters, or people who have canceled traditional TV. Neither is it meant to compete with Sling, Dishs internet TV package that starts at $20 a month. But it will compete with Dishs existing, bigger bundles and offerings from cable companies and DirecTV.Dishs Flex package has about 50 popular cable channels, including AMC, home to The Walking Dead; channels that show some sports, like TNT; theres also Food Network, FX, A&E and CNN. There are eight groups of channels customers can add that cost extra. Local networks like ABC and CBS cost $10 (theyre also available over the air free with an antenna). Other add-ons include news, sports and kids channels. A DVR costs more, not signing up for autopay means an extra $5 and of course there are the typical taxes that come with cable. Dish says the price of the original bundle stays the same for 2 years. It wont say what the price will be after that.Its cheaper than Dishs other packages, especially if you get local channels with an antenna. But you have to be fine with missing out on popular channels like college-focused regional sports networks, ESPN, Fox News or Disney Channel. If you wanted just those channels, you would have to add a bunch of additional channel packs that bring the bill to $80, more than Dishs existing bundles. Premium channels like HBO are also extra.And then most households will still want fast internet service, which often costs about $40 and higher by itself. Thats a disadvantage for Dish, because cable companies give discounts when customers pay for both TV and internet together.Schlichting said Dish Network Corp. would consider the Flex packages successful if much lower than a majority of customers choose them. Verizon has said the smaller Custom TV cable bundles make up about 40 percent of Fios TV sales.The more successful these sports-less bundles are, the more I think youll see it replicated by peers, said BTIG analyst Rich Greenfield. Thats not good for ESPN, he said, which has already lost millions of subscribers. Swell Drinkfles . -- Nate Robinson has played for seven teams, so beating one of them is no longer a rare occurrence. Swell Water Nederland . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. http://www.swellnederlandkopen.com/ . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . Swell Fles . According the Toronto Star, a knee injury will keep Sundin out of the lineup, which includes former teammates Gary Roberts, Darcy Tucker, Tie Domi and Curtis Joseph. Swell Nederland . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. -- A North Carolina football player charged with misdemeanor sexual battery and assault on a fellow student is scheduled for trial in December.During a brief court hearing Thursday morning, attorneys reserved the weeks of Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 for the case against Allen Artis, a junior reserve linebacker suspended indefinitely from the team.Afterward, Artis attorneys told reporters they would continue to fight the case and were concerned about damage to his reputation.Ill make that clear right now: We are not going to plead guilty to anything, said Steve Lindsay, an Asheville-based attorney. This man has done nothing wrong.Artis, who has been suspended indefinitely from the team, attended the hearing with his parents, an aunt and a godmother.In the front row sat the accuser, Delaney Robinson, and her attorney. The Associated Press typically doesnt identify people who say they are the victims of sexual assault, but Robinson held a Sept. 13 news conference, saying she had filed for the misdemeanor charges after police and prosecutors indicated there wasnt enough evidence to pursue felony charges.Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall has taken the lead on the misdemeanor case and has said it remains an ongoing investigation.According to an arrest warrant, Artis had sex with Robinson against her will in February when he should have reasonably known that the other person was mentally incapacitated and physically helpless. The warrant also said he pulled on her bra strap causing an indentation on her shoulder/back during the encounter.Robinson has said she had become intoxicated after being out with friends and was unable to consent to having sex. Her attorney, Denise Branch, has also criticized the way campus pollice handled a rape kit and the questioning of Artis, who is from Marietta, Georgia.ddddddddddddDelaney Robinson is a rape victim, and she has chosen to exercise her rights as a victim to be involved in these legal proceedings, Branch said in a statement released after Thursdays hearing. We are pleased with the actions Mr. Woodall and his office have taken since Ms. Robinson had the courage to come forward.?Ms. Robinson remains resolute in her pursuit of justice.Artis met with a group of reporters Tuesday to make his first public comments on the allegations. He said the two had consensual sex and that he neither drugged nor raped her. Kerry Sutton, a Durham-based attorney who also is representing Artis, said he passed a polygraph test and reiterated that Thursday.I wanted you to see that he is not a mugshot, said Sutton, who later turned to Artis and said: Allen, tell them, did you rape her?I did not rape her, Artis repeated five times, pausing each time to turn and look into a different camera.Artis indefinitely suspension was the result of an automatic university policy when an athlete is charged with a misdemeanor. Any reinstatement would come after a review from athletic director Bubba Cunningham, head coach Larry Fedora and school officials.Artis has played in 27 career games as a reserve and on special teams with 20 tackles. He last practiced Sept. 11, two days before Robinsons news conference, and said he is still attending classes and plans to graduate in May.---Follow Aaron Beard on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/aaronbeardap and the APs college football site at http://collegefootball.ap.org ' ' '