chore: prepare the 3.8.6 release (#794)

Bumps src.__version__ to 3.8.6 and turns Unreleased into ## 3.8.6: the Start
Display on Boot toggle (#792), the rankings edge-case fixes (#791), and
src.common.sports_live_fetch with the get_espn_scoreboard null-events fix
(#793, sports family 9), which the scoreboards adopt by flooring on 3.8.6.
src/common/README.md and docs/SPORTS_UNIFICATION.md say 3.8.6 for the module,
and family 9's heading no longer says it is awaiting a release.

Co-authored-by: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>

CHANGELOG.md

@@ -19,6 +19,55 @@ accepts both, but the store flags the old spelling as deprecated
 
 ## Unreleased
 
+## 3.8.6
+
+A **Start Display on Boot** toggle on the General tab (#792), two fixes to
+the shared rankings code (#791), `get_espn_scoreboard()` no longer caching a
+null-events answer, and sports consolidation family 9:
+`src.common.sports_live_fetch`, which the scoreboards adopt by flooring on
+3.8.6 (#793).
+
+### Features
+
+- General tab: a **Start Display on Boot** toggle turns
+  `ledmatrix.service`'s autostart on or off right away (no Save needed),
+  through the existing `enable_autostart` / `disable_autostart` system
+  actions. It shows systemd's own state, so nothing is stored in
+  `config.json`; the default stays on (the installer enables the unit). The
+  web interface still starts on boot either way. Hidden when the unit's state
+  cannot be read (not installed, or no systemd).
+
+### New modules
+
+- `src/common/sports_live_fetch.py` -- sports consolidation family 9, once the
+  plugins made `_fetch_todays_games` (seven bodies) and `_fetch_odds` (three)
+  one each: `SportsLiveFetchMixin` (`SportsCore`), with the odds worker
+  `_drain_odds_queue` beside them. The live poll asks ESPN on every poll
+  (a copy another reader fetched within the last second is reused) and
+  leaves the answer under the shared `espn_scoreboard_cache_key` for its
+  dates; college basketball is asked by date like every other league; an
+  answer whose `events` is not a list counts as no games. Odds never block
+  `update()`: one daemon worker per manager answers a queue and attaches each
+  line in place under `_games_lock`, one batch in flight at a time. A plugin
+  may inherit the mixin once it floors on 3.8.6, and deletes its copies then.
+  (#793)
+
+### Fixes
+
+- `get_espn_scoreboard()` no longer caches an answer whose `events` is not a
+  list (ESPN has sent `"events": null`): every reader of the shared scoreboard
+  key -- odds-ticker, the other scoreboards -- inherited it until it aged out.
+  The answer is still returned to the caller as it came.
+
+- `SportsRankingsMixin` (#789's deferred review points, now that it is the
+  only copy): a poll entry whose `current` cannot be converted to an
+  integer (`None`, a non-numeric string) is skipped instead of throwing
+  away the whole poll -- which left
+  every team unranked and re-fetched the standings on every update -- and
+  `_ranked_positions()` decides id-or-abbreviation per side, so one side
+  without an id no longer drops the other side's id and lets a shared
+  abbreviation rank the wrong school. Well-formed ESPN data ranks as before.
+
 ## 3.8.5
 
 Fewer ESPN requests on the hourly schedule refresh (#754), and sports

docs/SPORTS_UNIFICATION.md

@@ -95,6 +95,7 @@ more. Shared sports code lives in `src/common`:
 | `sports_favorites.py` | 3.8.2 | `SportsFavoritesMixin`, `SportsUpcomingFavoritesMixin`, `SportsRecentFavoritesMixin` — `_is_favorite_game` and the favourites-only picks, on the `_favorite_key` seam (family 6) |
 | `sports_rotation.py` | 3.8.4 | `SportsRotationMixin` — the other-games rotation (importance order, the window, odds on rotated-in games), on the `_rankings_loaded` seam (family 7) |
 | `sports_rankings.py` | 3.8.5 | `SportsRankingsMixin` — which teams are ranked (by id and abbreviation), the poll choice, stale polls hidden, the "ranked" filter; `choose_top_division_poll()` (family 8) |
+| `sports_live_fetch.py` | 3.8.6 | `SportsLiveFetchMixin` — the live poll's scoreboard request (always fresh, shared key) and odds fetched off the update path by one worker per manager (family 9) |
 
 Each is described in [src/common/README.md](../src/common/README.md).
 
@@ -383,7 +384,7 @@ ufc's MMA managers override `update()` and never build the pools, so the
 rotation is dormant there. `_best_rank`, `_is_ranked_game` and
 `_passes_other_filters` were family 8.
 
-### Family 8: rankings (reconciled; promoted, core 3.8.5)
+### Family 8: rankings (done: core 3.8.5, adopted)
 
 ledmatrix-plugins `scripts/test_rankings.py` (#644) pinned 79 rows across the
 nine plugins first, every ESPN request answered offline from recorded-shape
@@ -415,6 +416,45 @@ its id table too); the two differ only for a poll whose blocks carry ids and
 no abbreviations. The data sources' `fetch_standings` (held with
 `data_sources.py`) is still four bodies; only its endpoint order changed.
 
+### Family 9: live fetch and odds (reconciled; promoted, core 3.8.6)
+
+ledmatrix-plugins `scripts/test_live_fetch_odds.py` (#649) pinned 44 rows
+across the nine plugins first, every ESPN request answered offline the way
+ESPN answered on 2026-10-12 (a single date 200, a range 400): the requests,
+cache keys and TTLs of `_fetch_todays_games` per league and Eastern time,
+the live cache over time, empty, null and failed answers, `_fetch_odds` per
+game kind and odds endpoint on a virtual clock (which thread asks, how long
+the call waits, when the line lands), the real `update()` of every screen
+with a 3 s odds endpoint, and the league overrides (MiLB, HockeyTech, ufc's
+`MMALive`, which stay per-sport). Measuring found seven bodies of
+`_fetch_todays_games`, not five: the fetch service's shared key had split
+the old groups. The reconcile (ledmatrix-plugins #650)
+made `_fetch_todays_games` and `_fetch_odds` one body each on `SportsCore`,
+with the odds worker `_drain_odds_queue` beside them, and added a test that
+runs `update()` and `display()` on two threads against a slow endpoint.
+Every changed cell is one of the decisions below; the harness renders were
+byte-identical once the four fixtures that seeded the old live key seed the
+shared one. `src/common/sports_live_fetch.py` holds the bodies in one mixin,
+`SportsLiveFetchMixin`; `test/test_sports_live_fetch_parity.py` compares them
+with the plugin copies.
+
+Measured `update()` time with a 3 s odds endpoint and four games, before and
+after: Upcoming 6 s (afl, baseball, football, nrl, soccer, ufc), 12 s
+(hockey, lacrosse), 0 s (basketball) to 0 s everywhere; Recent 6 s / 12 s to
+0 s; Live's first pass 8 s / 12 s and next poll 4 s / 6 s to 0 s. The line
+now lands when ESPN answers (3 s here) instead of at the next `update()`
+(15 s for a live game, an hour for an upcoming or recent one) in the six.
+
+Left for later: ufc's MMA Recent manager never asks for odds and its Upcoming
+manager asks for every fight in the window before trimming to the headliners
+(both in `mma.py`'s `update()` overrides, family 13); basketball's NCAA
+Recent/Upcoming fallback still caches the undated scoreboard under
+`<sport_key>_scoreboard_current` with `limit=1000`, which ESPN truncates (held
+with the data fetching); `_attach_odds_to_rotated_games` still starts its own
+thread per rotation and can route through `_fetch_odds` once every plugin
+inherits this mixin; and ESPN lists only some college basketball games
+without `groups=50` (7 of 21 on 2026-03-14), dated or not.
+
 ### Why the method changes
 
 Byte-identical promotion has nearly run dry. Measured on ledmatrix-plugins
@@ -502,8 +542,8 @@ release.
 | 5 | Game-over check | `SportsLive._is_game_really_over` (5) | Pure logic, no pixels; one seam, `FINAL_PERIOD`. The pilot for the procedure. Reconciled to one body and promoted as `sports_game_over`; shipped in 3.8.1 and adopted. See [Family 5](#family-5-the-game-over-check-done-core-381-adopted) |
 | 6 | Favourite matching | `_is_favorite_game` (7 across three classes), `_select_games_for_display` (2: nrl), `_select_recent_games_for_display` (3) | Everything that asks "is this a favourite" goes through the 3.5.0 `_favorite_key` seam. Reconciled to one body each and promoted as `sports_favorites`; shipped in 3.8.2 and adopted. See [Family 6](#family-6-favourite-matching-done-core-382-adopted) |
 | 7 | Other-games rotation | `_by_importance`, `_other_games_window`, `_advance_other_games_if_due` (2 each: football), `_rotate_other_games_on_display` (2: ufc), with `_attach_odds_to_rotated_games` (3; ufc had none) | One outlier each; football carried two fixes the other eight lacked. Reconciled to one body each, on a `_rankings_loaded` seam, and promoted as `sports_rotation`; done: core 3.8.4, adopted (ledmatrix-plugins #643). See [Family 7](#family-7-the-other-games-rotation-done-core-384-adopted) |
-| 8 | Rankings | `_fetch_team_rankings` (3), `_choose_poll` (3), `_load_division_team_ids`, `_passes_other_filters`, `_best_rank`, `_is_ranked_game` (2 each: football) | Needs 7; the rank badge and the "ranked only" filter read it. Reconciled to one body each and promoted as `sports_rankings` (core 3.8.5). See [Family 8](#family-8-rankings-reconciled-promoted-core-385) |
+| 8 | Rankings | `_fetch_team_rankings` (3), `_choose_poll` (3), `_load_division_team_ids`, `_passes_other_filters`, `_best_rank`, `_is_ranked_game` (2 each: football) | Needs 7; the rank badge and the "ranked only" filter read it. Reconciled to one body each and promoted as `sports_rankings`; done: core 3.8.5, adopted (ledmatrix-plugins #648). See [Family 8](#family-8-rankings-done-core-385-adopted) |
-| 9 | Live fetch and odds | `_fetch_todays_games` (5), `_fetch_odds` (3), `_attach_odds_to_rotated_games` (3) | The prerequisite for one shared ESPN poller across plugins |
+| 9 | Live fetch and odds | `_fetch_todays_games` (7 when measured), `_fetch_odds` (3); `_attach_odds_to_rotated_games` went with 7 | The prerequisite for one shared ESPN poller across plugins. Reconciled to one body each and promoted as `sports_live_fetch` (core 3.8.6). See [Family 9](#family-9-live-fetch-and-odds-reconciled-promoted-core-386) |
 | 10 | View model | `_extract_game_details_common` (9 of 9) | Every renderer reads it; its keys are additive-only, so reconcile to the superset and leave sport extras in `_extract_game_details` |
 | 11 | Switch scorebug | `_load_fonts` (4), `_load_custom_font_from_element_config` (6), `_get_layout_offset` (5), `_fit_score_font` (2: football), `_load_and_resize_logo` (9), `_draw_dynamic_odds` (9), then `_draw_scorebug_layout` (20: Upcoming 9, Recent 8, Live 2, ufc's Core 1) | Needs 10 and the twin decisions below. Several releases: fonts and offsets, logos, odds, then one mode's layout per release |
 | 12 | Scroll/Vegas card | `game_renderer.py`: `render_game_card` (6), `_load_and_resize_logo` (8), `_load_custom_font`, `preload_logos`, `__init__` (7 each), `_draw_records_or_rankings` (6), `_load_fonts`, `_draw_dynamic_odds`, `_draw_live_game_status`, `_draw_recent_game_status`, `_get_team_display_text` (5 each), `_draw_text_with_outline` (2: football) | Same decisions as 11; sequence after the scroll-performance work on pre-rendered strips lands |
@@ -598,15 +638,26 @@ suspected behaviour that needs a payload or a rig to confirm first.
   seasons. A block without a readable `endDate` counts as current. (f)
   baseball's MLB, MiLB and NCAA Baseball managers drop their class-level
   shared copy of the table (none of those leagues publishes a poll).
-- **9, live fetch and odds.** (a) afl, basketball, nrl and soccer cache the
+- **9, live fetch and odds. Decided 2026-10-12, reconciled.** (a) Live
-  live scoreboard for 30 s under `<sport_key>_scoreboard_current`; the others
+  scores are always fresh: every poll asks ESPN and leaves the answer under
-  do not (the harness fixtures seed that key, so the change shows up there).
+  the shared `espn_scoreboard_cache_key` for its dates (`max_age=1`: only a
-  (b) basketball fetches college games with no `dates` parameter, citing a
+  copy another reader fetched within the last second, the managers of one
-  404 (*verify* now that `espn_dates` handles ranges). (c) odds are fetched
+  display tick, is reused). afl, basketball, nrl and soccer had held it 30 s
-  three ways: blocking (hockey, lacrosse), a thread waited on for 1.5–2 s
+  under `<sport_key>_scoreboard_current`, so with the 15 s default poll every
-  (six plugins), or fire-and-forget for upcoming games (basketball). This
+  other poll repeated the last one; lacrosse and ufc now share their copy.
-  sets how long `update()` takes and when an odds line appears. (d) nrl
+  (b) College basketball is asked by date like every other league: ESPN
-  guards on a missing odds manager; port it.
+  answered single dates for both college leagues on 2026-10-12 (the 404 no
+  longer happens), so the lookback now reaches last night's late games there
+  too. `groups=50` is a separate question (left above). (c) Odds never block
+  `update()`: one daemon worker per manager answers a queue and attaches each
+  line in place under `_games_lock`; one batch in flight per manager, games
+  queued meanwhile join it. A card can draw once without odds and gain them;
+  a pre-rendered scroll strip gains them when it is next rebuilt. (d) The
+  missing-odds-manager guard (nrl's, already in `_attach_odds_to_rotated_games`
+  since family 7) is in `_fetch_odds` too, logged at debug, not ERROR. Fix
+  ported: an answer with `"events": null` is no games instead of a
+  `TypeError` out of the fetch (all nine), and `get_espn_scoreboard` no longer
+  caches it under the shared key.
 - **10, view model.** Per key, whether every sport emits it. Additive only:
   no key is renamed or removed.
 - **11 and 12, the scorebug and the card.** The pinned divergences in

mypy-clean.txt

@@ -39,6 +39,7 @@ src/common/sports_favorites.py
 src/common/sports_fetch.py
 src/common/sports_font_path.py
 src/common/sports_game_over.py
+src/common/sports_live_fetch.py
 src/common/sports_live_scroll.py
 src/common/sports_plugin_host.py
 src/common/sports_rankings.py

src/__init__.py

@@ -4,5 +4,5 @@ LEDMatrix Display System
 Core source package for the LED Matrix Display project.
 """
 
-__version__ = "3.8.5"
+__version__ = "3.8.6"
 

src/common/README.md

@@ -51,6 +51,7 @@ Rules for the package:
 | [`sports_game_over`](#sports_game_over) | Whether a game ESPN still lists as live has ended | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.8.1 |
 | [`sports_game_renderer`](#sports_game_renderer) | Scoreboard scroll/Vegas card geometry | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.3.0 |
 | [`sports_helpers`](#sports_helpers) | Small helpers every scoreboard `sports.py` copies | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.5.0 |
+| [`sports_live_fetch`](#sports_live_fetch) | The live poll's scoreboard request, and odds off the update path | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.8.6 |
 | [`sports_live_scroll`](#sports_live_scroll) | Rebuild a live scroll strip mid-cycle without moving it | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.8.0 |
 | [`sports_plugin_host`](#sports_plugin_host) | Helpers of a scoreboard's plugin class (`manager.py`) | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.8.0 |
 | [`sports_rankings`](#sports_rankings) | Which teams are ranked, in which poll, and the "ranked" filter | Yes (scoreboards) | 3.8.5 |
@@ -370,6 +371,19 @@ shape), `_dispatch_switch_refresh()` (a manager refresh on a daemon thread, so
 `display()` never waits on the network), `get_vegas_content_type()` and small
 dynamic-duration helpers. List it before `BasePlugin`.
 
+### sports_live_fetch
+
+[`sports_live_fetch.py`](sports_live_fetch.py). Sports family 9:
+`SportsLiveFetchMixin` (`SportsCore`). `_fetch_todays_games` asks ESPN for
+today's scoreboard (and yesterday's while `_needs_previous_day()` says it can
+still hold a live game) on every live poll through `get_espn_scoreboard`, and
+leaves it under the shared `espn_scoreboard_cache_key` for odds-ticker and the
+other scoreboards; an answer without an `events` list is no games.
+`_fetch_odds` queues a game and returns at once; one daemon worker per manager
+(`_drain_odds_queue`) asks the odds manager for each queued game and attaches
+the line in place under `_games_lock`, so a card can draw once without odds and
+gain them. Games queued while the worker is busy join its batch.
+
 ### sports_rankings
 
 [`sports_rankings.py`](sports_rankings.py). Sports family 8:

src/common/espn_dates.py

@@ -947,7 +947,8 @@ def get_espn_scoreboard(
     split as ESPN needs -- caches the result under the canonical key and
     returns it. ``max_age=0`` always fetches (and still caches, for other
     readers). Errors raise exactly as :func:`fetch_espn_scoreboard` does,
-    and nothing is cached then. ``session=None`` uses the fetch service's
+    and nothing is cached then; nor is an answer whose ``events`` is not a
+    list (ESPN has sent ``"events": null``), which is returned as it came. ``session=None`` uses the fetch service's
     pooled session for the ESPN host.
     """
     key = espn_scoreboard_cache_key(sport, league, dates)
@@ -969,5 +970,7 @@ def get_espn_scoreboard(
         # cache read above would have accepted.
         cache_max_age=None if max_age is None else max(0.0, float(max_age)),
     )
-    store_espn_scoreboard_cache(cache_manager, key, data)
+    # Every reader of the shared key would inherit a malformed answer.
+    if isinstance(data, dict) and isinstance(data.get("events"), list):
+        store_espn_scoreboard_cache(cache_manager, key, data)
     return data

src/common/sports_live_fetch.py

@@ -0,0 +1,200 @@
+"""The live poll's scoreboard request and the odds requests (sports family 9).
+
+The scoreboards' live fetch and odds code, reconciled in ledmatrix-plugins
+(family 9) from seven and three bodies into one each, and copied here under
+the existing names. All of it lives on the plugins' ``SportsCore``, so there
+is one mixin, ``SportsLiveFetchMixin``:
+
+- ``_fetch_todays_games()``: today's scoreboard for the live poll, with
+  yesterday's while it can still hold a live game (``_needs_previous_day``),
+  as ``{"events": [...]}``; None when ESPN cannot be reached.
+- ``_fetch_odds(game)``: queue one game for an odds request; returns at once.
+- ``_drain_odds_queue()``: the odds worker that answers the queue.
+
+THE RULES (decided 2026-10-12)
+------------------------------
+Live scores are always fresh. Every poll asks ESPN (``get_espn_scoreboard``
+with ``max_age=1``: only a copy another reader fetched within the last second,
+the managers of one display tick, is reused) and leaves the answer under the
+shared ``espn_scoreboard_cache_key`` for its dates, so odds-ticker and every
+other reader of the same day share it. The plugins' old 30 s cache under
+``<sport_key>_scoreboard_current`` is gone. College basketball is asked by
+date like every other league; ESPN answered single dates for it on 2026-10-12
+(the old no-dates request cited a 404 that no longer happens). An answer whose
+``events`` is not a list counts as no games.
+
+Odds never block ``update()``. ``_fetch_odds`` puts the game on the manager's
+queue and starts one daemon worker if none is running; the worker asks the
+odds manager for each queued game in turn and attaches the line to every
+dict queued for that id, in place, under ``_games_lock`` (display() reads the
+games under it), so a card can draw once without odds and gain them when
+ESPN answers. One batch in flight per manager: a game queued while the worker
+is busy joins its batch, so a slow endpoint never stacks threads or requests.
+The odds manager bounds each request (core's ``BaseOddsManager``: 5 s, then a
+60 s hold-off). A live game's line is cached ``live_odds_update_interval``
+(60 s), any other ``odds_update_interval`` (3600 s). Without ``show_odds``, a
+game id or an odds manager nothing is asked (the last logged at debug).
+
+Before the reconcile, six plugins waited on a worker for 1.5 s (2 s for a
+live game) per game and hockey and lacrosse asked on the calling thread: with
+a 3 s endpoint, ``update()`` of four upcoming games took 6 s and 12 s, and in
+the six the line appeared only at the next ``update()`` (an hour later for an
+upcoming game).
+
+A new module rather than more methods on ``sports_fetch``, for the reason
+``sports_helpers`` gives: a missing module fails at load, where the version
+checks see it; a missing method fails mid-update.
+
+WHAT A HOST MUST PROVIDE
+------------------------
+Derived by walking every ``self.<attr>`` the mixin reads; the host-contract
+test in ``test/test_sports_live_fetch.py`` fails if a read is added without
+being listed here. Every scoreboard ``SportsCore`` supplies all of them.
+
+- ``session``, ``headers``, ``cache_manager``, ``logger``, ``sport``,
+  ``league`` -- the scoreboard request.
+- ``_needs_previous_day`` -- from ``SportsFetchMixin``.
+- ``show_odds``, ``mode_config`` (the two odds intervals), ``sport_key`` (the
+  worker's thread name), ``_games_lock`` (a lock display() also holds).
+- ``odds_manager``, read with ``getattr`` -- ``get_odds(sport=, league=,
+  event_id=, update_interval_seconds=)``.
+- ``_odds_pending`` and ``_odds_worker_busy`` -- the queue and whether a
+  worker is running; created here on first use, under ``_games_lock``.
+
+The game dict's ``id`` and ``is_live`` are read; ``odds`` is written.
+
+BASE ORDER
+----------
+No other mixin defines these names, so the position in the bases does not
+change which body runs; a method on the plugin's own class still wins. The
+mixin has no ``__init__``.
+"""
+
+import threading
+from datetime import datetime, timedelta
+from typing import Any, Callable, Dict, List, Optional, Tuple
+
+import pytz
+import requests
+
+from src.common.espn_dates import get_espn_scoreboard
+
+
+class SportsLiveFetchMixin:
+    """``SportsCore``'s live fetch and odds. See module docstring."""
+
+    # The host contract, declared for type checking only.
+    session: Any
+    headers: Dict[str, str]
+    cache_manager: Any
+    logger: Any
+    sport: str
+    league: str
+    sport_key: str
+    show_odds: bool
+    mode_config: Dict[str, Any]
+    _games_lock: Any
+    _needs_previous_day: Callable[[datetime], bool]
+    odds_manager: Any
+    _odds_pending: Dict[Any, Tuple[List[Dict], Any]]
+    _odds_worker_busy: bool
+
+    def _fetch_todays_games(self) -> Optional[Dict]:
+        """Today's scoreboard for the live poll, with yesterday's while it can
+        still hold a live game (``_needs_previous_day``)."""
+        # ESPN anchors its calendar to Eastern US time.
+        now = datetime.now(pytz.timezone("America/New_York"))
+        today = now.strftime("%Y%m%d")
+        dates = (
+            f"{(now - timedelta(days=1)).strftime('%Y%m%d')}-{today}"
+            if self._needs_previous_day(now) else today
+        )
+        try:
+            # Asked on every poll and left under core's shared key for this
+            # scoreboard and date, so odds-ticker and every other reader of
+            # the same day reuse it. max_age=1: a copy another reader fetched
+            # within the last second (the managers of one display tick) is the
+            # same answer; anything older is asked again.
+            data = get_espn_scoreboard(
+                self.session, self.sport, self.league, dates,
+                cache_manager=self.cache_manager, max_age=1,
+                headers=self.headers, timeout=10, logger=self.logger,
+            )
+        except requests.exceptions.RequestException as e:
+            self.logger.error(
+                f"API error fetching today's games for {self.sport} - {self.league}: {e}"
+            )
+            return None
+        events = data.get("events") if isinstance(data, dict) else None
+        if not isinstance(events, list):
+            events = []  # ESPN can answer "events": null
+        self.logger.info(
+            f"Fetched {len(events)} games for {dates} for {self.sport} - {self.league}"
+        )
+        return {"events": events}
+
+    def _fetch_odds(self, game: Dict) -> None:
+        """Queue ``game`` for an odds request; never waits for the answer.
+
+        One daemon worker per manager asks the odds manager for each queued
+        game in turn and attaches the line to the game dict in place, under
+        ``_games_lock`` (display() reads the games under it), so a card can
+        draw once without odds and gain them when ESPN answers. A game queued
+        while the worker is busy joins its batch, and every dict queued for one
+        id (update() rebuilds them; the list on screen may keep older ones)
+        gets the one answer, so a slow endpoint never stacks threads or
+        requests. The odds manager bounds each request (5 s, then a 60 s
+        hold-off).
+        """
+        if not self.show_odds or game.get("id") is None:
+            return
+        if not getattr(self, "odds_manager", None):
+            self.logger.debug(f"No odds manager; no odds for game {game['id']}")
+            return
+        interval = (
+            self.mode_config.get("live_odds_update_interval", 60)
+            if game.get("is_live", False)
+            else self.mode_config.get("odds_update_interval", 3600)
+        )
+        with self._games_lock:
+            pending = getattr(self, "_odds_pending", None)
+            if pending is None:
+                pending = self._odds_pending = {}
+            games, _ = pending.get(game["id"], ([], None))
+            if not any(queued is game for queued in games):
+                games.append(game)
+            pending[game["id"]] = (games, interval)
+            if getattr(self, "_odds_worker_busy", False):
+                return
+            self._odds_worker_busy = True
+        try:
+            threading.Thread(target=self._drain_odds_queue, daemon=True,
+                             name=f"{self.sport_key}-odds").start()
+        except RuntimeError as e:  # no thread to be had; try again next update
+            with self._games_lock:
+                self._odds_worker_busy = False
+            self.logger.debug(f"Could not start the odds worker: {e}")
+
+    def _drain_odds_queue(self) -> None:
+        """The odds worker: ask for each queued game until none is left."""
+        while True:
+            with self._games_lock:
+                if not self._odds_pending:
+                    self._odds_worker_busy = False
+                    return
+                game_id = next(iter(self._odds_pending))
+                games, interval = self._odds_pending.pop(game_id)
+            try:
+                odds = self.odds_manager.get_odds(
+                    sport=self.sport,
+                    league=self.league,
+                    event_id=game_id,
+                    update_interval_seconds=interval,
+                )
+            except Exception as e:
+                self.logger.debug(f"Odds fetch failed for game {game_id}: {e}")
+                continue
+            if odds:
+                with self._games_lock:
+                    for game in games:
+                        game["odds"] = odds

src/common/sports_rankings.py

@@ -216,7 +216,12 @@ class SportsRankingsMixin:
             for team_data in poll.get("ranks", []):
                 team_info = team_data.get("team", {})
                 team_abbr = team_info.get("abbreviation", "")
-                current_rank = team_data.get("current", 0)
+                # One malformed entry (a None or non-numeric "current") is
+                # skipped, not allowed to throw away the whole poll.
+                try:
+                    current_rank = int(team_data.get("current"))
+                except (TypeError, ValueError):
+                    continue
                 if current_rank <= 0:
                     continue
                 if team_abbr:
@@ -337,28 +342,30 @@ class SportsRankingsMixin:
         return self._division_team_ids
 
     def _ranked_positions(self, game: Dict) -> List[int]:
-        """Poll positions held by either side: ids first, abbreviations second.
+        """Poll positions held by either side: by id, else by abbreviation.
 
-        The id table is authoritative whenever the game carries ids and a poll
+        The id table is authoritative whenever a side carries an id and a poll
         has been parsed, because it is built from a top-division poll alone --
         so an FCS side cannot appear in it however it is abbreviated, and an
         abbreviation shared across divisions cannot promote the wrong school.
-        The abbreviation table stays as the fallback for a game dict with no
+        Decided per side: a side without a usable id falls back to its
-        ids on it.
+        abbreviation, without costing the other side its id.
         """
         by_id = getattr(self, "_ranked_team_ids", None) or {}
-        ids = []
-        for side in ("home_id", "away_id"):
-            try:
-                ids.append(int(game.get(side)))  # type: ignore[arg-type]  # None: caught below
-            except (TypeError, ValueError):
-                ids = []
-                break
-        if by_id and ids:
-            return [rank for rank in (by_id.get(i, 0) for i in ids) if rank]
         by_abbr = getattr(self, "_team_rankings_cache", None) or {}
-        return [rank for rank in (by_abbr.get(game.get("home_abbr"), 0),
+        found = []
-                                  by_abbr.get(game.get("away_abbr"), 0)) if rank]
+        for side in ("home", "away"):
+            rank = None
+            if by_id:
+                try:
+                    rank = by_id.get(int(game.get(f"{side}_id")), 0)  # type: ignore[arg-type]  # None: caught below
+                except (TypeError, ValueError):
+                    pass
+            if rank is None:
+                rank = by_abbr.get(game.get(f"{side}_abbr"), 0)
+            if rank:
+                found.append(rank)
+        return found
 
     def _is_ranked_game(self, game: Dict) -> bool:
         return bool(self._ranked_positions(game))

test/js/run_all.js

@@ -32,7 +32,8 @@ const UNIT = ['unit/test_list_filter.js', 'unit/test_render_cards.js',
               'unit/test_page_registry.js', 'unit/test_core_modules.js',
               'unit/test_overview_reconciliation_poll.js',
               'unit/test_display_partial_ids.js',
-              'unit/test_general_web_login_token.js'];
+              'unit/test_general_web_login_token.js',
+              'unit/test_general_display_autostart.js'];
 const DOM = ['dom/test_installed_dom.js', 'dom/test_store_dom.js', 'dom/test_no_double_fetch.js',
              'dom/test_tools_sections.js', 'dom/test_cache_page.js',
              'dom/test_durations_page.js', 'dom/test_operation_history_page.js',

test/js/unit/test_general_display_autostart.js

@@ -0,0 +1,77 @@
+// The General tab's "Start Display on Boot" checkbox (setDisplayAutostart in
+// static/v3/js/pages/general.js) posts enable_autostart / disable_autostart
+// to /api/v3/system/action and puts the box back when that is refused --
+// including the route's HTTP-200 {status: "error"} answer for a failed
+// systemctl (e.g. the sudo rule is missing).
+//
+// Fake fetch, no jsdom and no server needed.
+
+const path = require('path');
+const { pathToFileURL } = require('url');
+
+const JS = path.resolve(__dirname, '../../../web_interface/static/v3/js');
+const load = f => import(pathToFileURL(path.join(JS, f)).href);
+
+let pass = 0, fail = 0;
+const ok = (label, cond, extra) => cond
+  ? (pass++, console.log('  ok   ' + label))
+  : (fail++, console.log('  FAIL ' + label + (extra !== undefined ? '  ' + JSON.stringify(extra) : '')));
+
+async function run(checked, answer) {
+  const { createApi } = await load('core/api.js');
+  const general = await load('pages/general.js');
+  const sent = [];
+  const notes = [];
+  const fetch = (url, init) => {
+    sent.push([url, JSON.parse(init.body)]);
+    if (answer === 'network') return Promise.reject(new TypeError('Failed to fetch'));
+    return Promise.resolve({
+      ok: answer.ok, status: answer.ok ? 200 : 500,
+      headers: { get: () => null },
+      text: () => Promise.resolve(JSON.stringify(answer.body)),
+    });
+  };
+  const ctx = { root: {}, state: {}, signal: { aborted: false },
+                api: createApi({ fetch }), notify: (m, t) => notes.push([m, t]) };
+  const box = { checked, disabled: false };
+  await general.setDisplayAutostart(ctx, box);
+  return { box, sent, notes };
+}
+
+(async () => {
+  console.log('\n── General tab: Start Display on Boot ──');
+
+  {
+    const t = await run(false, { ok: true, body: { status: 'success', message: 'ok' } });
+    ok('unchecking posts disable_autostart',
+       t.sent.length === 1 && t.sent[0][0] === '/api/v3/system/action' && t.sent[0][1].action === 'disable_autostart', t.sent);
+    ok('...stays unchecked and re-enabled', t.box.checked === false && t.box.disabled === false);
+    ok('...and reports success', t.notes.some(([, type]) => type === 'success'), t.notes);
+  }
+
+  {
+    const t = await run(true, { ok: true, body: { status: 'success' } });
+    ok('checking posts enable_autostart', t.sent[0][1].action === 'enable_autostart', t.sent);
+  }
+
+  {
+    const t = await run(false, { ok: true, body: { status: 'error', message: 'sudo: a password is required' } });
+    ok('a failed systemctl (HTTP 200, status error) puts the box back', t.box.checked === true && !t.box.disabled);
+    ok('...and shows the route\'s message',
+       t.notes.some(([m, type]) => type === 'error' && /sudo/.test(m)), t.notes);
+  }
+
+  {
+    const t = await run(true, { ok: false, body: { status: 'error', message: 'boom' } });
+    ok('an HTTP error puts the box back', t.box.checked === false && !t.box.disabled);
+  }
+
+  {
+    const t = await run(true, 'network');
+    ok('a network failure puts the box back', t.box.checked === false && !t.box.disabled);
+    ok('...and reports it', t.notes.some(([, type]) => type === 'error'), t.notes);
+  }
+
+  console.log(`\n${pass} passed, ${fail} failed\n`);
+  process.exit(fail ? 1 : 0);
+})().catch(e => { console.log('HARNESS ERROR: ' + e.stack); process.exit(1); });

test/test_espn_scoreboard_cache.py

@@ -392,6 +392,15 @@ class TestGetEspnScoreboard:
                                 "20261004", cache_manager=cache)
         assert cache.records == {}
 
+    @pytest.mark.parametrize("payload", [{"events": None}, {}, {"events": "x"}, []])
+    def test_an_answer_without_an_events_list_is_returned_not_cached(self, service, payload):
+        espn = Espn()
+        espn.get = lambda url, **kwargs: _response(payload, url, None)
+        cache = RecordCache()
+        assert get_espn_scoreboard(espn, "football", "nfl", "20261004",
+                                   cache_manager=cache) == payload
+        assert cache.records == {}
+
     def test_no_cache_manager_just_fetches(self, service):
         espn = Espn()
         get_espn_scoreboard(espn, "football", "nfl", "20261004")

test/test_general_display_autostart.py

@@ -0,0 +1,60 @@
+"""The General tab's "Start Display on Boot" toggle reads systemd's state.
+
+ledmatrix.service enabled -> checked, disabled -> unchecked, unreadable (no
+systemctl, unit not installed) -> no toggle. The toggle itself posts the
+existing enable_autostart / disable_autostart system actions, whose sudo
+grants test_systemctl_sudoers_alignment.py already checks.
+"""
+import subprocess
+import sys
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+PROJECT_ROOT = Path(__file__).parent.parent
+sys.path.insert(0, str(PROJECT_ROOT))
+
+from test.test_web_settings_ui import client  # noqa: F401,E402
+from web_interface.blueprints import pages_v3  # noqa: E402
+
+
+REAL_RUN = subprocess.run
+UNIT_QUERY = ['systemctl', 'is-enabled', 'ledmatrix.service']
+
+
+def _fake_systemctl(monkeypatch, answer):
+    """Answer the unit query with `answer` (stdout, or an exception to
+    raise); every other command (the update channel's git) runs for real."""
+    calls = []
+
+    def run(cmd, *args, **kwargs):
+        if cmd != UNIT_QUERY:
+            return REAL_RUN(cmd, *args, **kwargs)
+        calls.append(cmd)
+        if isinstance(answer, Exception):
+            raise answer
+        return subprocess.CompletedProcess(cmd, 0, stdout=answer, stderr='')
+    monkeypatch.setattr(pages_v3.subprocess, 'run', run)
+    return calls
+
+
+def _toggle(body):
+    start = body.find('data-action="display-autostart"')
+    return None if start < 0 else body[start:body.find('>', start)]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('stdout, checked', [('enabled\n', True), ('disabled\n', False)])
+def test_toggle_reflects_the_unit(client, monkeypatch, stdout, checked):
+    calls = _fake_systemctl(monkeypatch, stdout)
+    tag = _toggle(client.get('/v3/partials/general').get_data(as_text=True))
+    assert calls == [UNIT_QUERY]
+    assert tag is not None
+    assert ('checked' in tag) is checked
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize('outcome', [FileNotFoundError(), 'not-found\n'])
+def test_toggle_hidden_when_state_unreadable(client, monkeypatch, outcome):
+    _fake_systemctl(monkeypatch, outcome)
+    body = client.get('/v3/partials/general').get_data(as_text=True)
+    assert _toggle(body) is None
+    assert 'name="plugins_directory"' in body  # rest of the tab still renders

test/test_sports_live_fetch.py

@@ -0,0 +1,399 @@
+"""src.common.sports_live_fetch: the live poll's request and the odds queue.
+
+The cases follow ledmatrix-plugins' ``scripts/test_live_fetch_odds.py`` (the
+tables the family 9 reconcile was checked against); the expected values are
+its columns, which agree across all nine scoreboards. The host is the mixin
+over core's ``SportsFetchMixin`` (``_needs_previous_day``), with a session
+answering like ESPN did on 2026-10-12 (a single date is 200, a range 400) and
+a cache that ages entries on a test clock. Nothing reaches the network. The
+odds endpoint is held on an event, so "update() never waits" is shown by the
+call returning while the request is still open.
+"""
+
+import ast
+import json
+import logging
+import threading
+import time
+from datetime import datetime
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+import requests
+
+from src.common import espn_dates, sports_live_fetch
+from src.common import fetch_service as fs
+from src.common.fetch_service import FetchService
+from src.common.sports_fetch import SportsFetchMixin
+from src.common.sports_live_fetch import SportsLiveFetchMixin
+
+LOG = logging.getLogger("test_sports_live_fetch")
+SITE = "https://site.api.espn.com/apis/site/v2/sports/"
+
+
+def _response(url, answer):
+    resp = requests.Response()
+    resp.url = url
+    resp.status_code = answer if isinstance(answer, int) else 200
+    resp._content = answer if isinstance(answer, bytes) else json.dumps(
+        {} if isinstance(answer, int) else answer).encode()
+    return resp
+
+
+class Espn(requests.Session):
+    """Two games a day for a single date; a range is 400, as ESPN answers."""
+
+    def __init__(self, answer=None):
+        super().__init__()
+        self.answer, self.asked = answer, []
+
+    def get(self, url, params=None, **_kwargs):
+        dates = (params or {}).get("dates")
+        self.asked.append((url[len(SITE):], dates))
+        if dates and "-" in dates:
+            return _response(url, 400)
+        if isinstance(self.answer, type):
+            raise self.answer("refused by the test")
+        if self.answer is not None:
+            return _response(url, self.answer)
+        return _response(url, {"events": [{"id": dates[4:] + s} for s in "ab"]})
+
+
+class Cache:
+    """``get(key, max_age)`` against entries stamped on ``clock``."""
+
+    def __init__(self, clock):
+        self.clock, self.store, self.reads = clock, {}, []
+
+    def get(self, key, max_age=None):
+        self.reads.append((key, max_age))
+        if key not in self.store:
+            return None
+        data, stamp = self.store[key]
+        return data if max_age is None or self.clock() - stamp <= max_age else None
+
+    def set(self, key, data, ttl=None):
+        self.store[key] = (data, self.clock())
+
+
+class Clock:
+    def __init__(self):
+        self.now = 100_000.0
+
+    def __call__(self):
+        return self.now
+
+
+class Frozen(datetime):
+    at = datetime(2026, 10, 12, 10, 0)
+
+    @classmethod
+    def now(cls, tz=None):
+        return tz.localize(cls.at) if tz is not None else cls.at
+
+
+class Host(SportsLiveFetchMixin, SportsFetchMixin):
+    """A scoreboard SportsCore as far as the family reaches."""
+
+    sport, league, sport_key = "basketball", "nba", "nba"
+
+    def __init__(self, session=None, cache=None, odds=None, show_odds=True):
+        self.session, self.headers, self.logger = session or Espn(), {}, LOG
+        self.cache_manager = cache
+        self.odds_manager, self.show_odds = odds, show_odds
+        self.mode_config = {}
+        self._games_lock = threading.RLock()
+
+
+@pytest.fixture(autouse=True)
+def offline(monkeypatch):
+    clock = Clock()
+    monkeypatch.setattr(fs, "_service", FetchService({"rate_limits": {}}))
+    monkeypatch.setattr(espn_dates, "_ranges_rejected_until", 0.0)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sports_live_fetch, "datetime", Frozen)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(time, "time", clock)
+    Frozen.at = datetime(2026, 10, 12, 10, 0)
+    return clock
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# The live poll's request
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("hour, asked, key, ids", [
+    (10, [("20261012",)], "espn_scoreboard_basketball_nba_20261012", ["1012a", "1012b"]),
+    (2, [("20261011-20261012",), ("20261011",), ("20261012",)],
+     "espn_scoreboard_basketball_nba_20261011-20261012",
+     ["1011a", "1011b", "1012a", "1012b"]),
+])
+def test_what_the_poll_asks_and_keeps(offline, hour, asked, key, ids):
+    Frozen.at = datetime(2026, 10, 12, hour, 0)
+    espn, cache = Espn(), Cache(offline)
+    data = Host(espn, cache)._fetch_todays_games()
+    assert [(d,) for _, d in espn.asked] == asked
+    assert {path for path, _ in espn.asked} == {"basketball/nba/scoreboard"}
+    assert cache.reads == [(key, 1)]
+    assert list(cache.store) == [key]
+    assert [e["id"] for e in data["events"]] == ids
+
+
+def test_college_basketball_is_asked_by_date(offline):
+    espn, host = Espn(), Host()
+    host.session, host.league = espn, "mens-college-basketball"
+    host._fetch_todays_games()
+    assert espn.asked == [("basketball/mens-college-basketball/scoreboard", "20261012")]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("seed_age, later, requests_made", [
+    (None, 20, [1, 1]),       # every poll asks ESPN; nothing is held 30 s
+    (None, 0.5, [1, 0]),      # a copy from this second is the same answer
+    (0, None, [0]),           # another reader's copy from this second
+    (2, None, [1]),           # ... and one two seconds old is asked again
+])
+def test_every_poll_is_fresh(offline, seed_age, later, requests_made):
+    espn, cache = Espn(), Cache(offline)
+    if seed_age is not None:
+        cache.store["espn_scoreboard_basketball_nba_20261012"] = (
+            {"events": [{"id": "seed"}]}, offline.now - seed_age)
+    host, made = Host(espn, cache), []
+    for step in ([0] if later is None else [0, later]):
+        offline.now += step
+        before = len(espn.asked)
+        host._fetch_todays_games()
+        made.append(len(espn.asked) - before)
+    assert made == requests_made
+
+
+def test_the_old_per_plugin_key_is_not_read(offline):
+    cache = Cache(offline)
+    cache.store["nba_scoreboard_current"] = ({"events": [{"id": "old"}]}, offline.now)
+    data = Host(Espn(), cache)._fetch_todays_games()
+    assert [e["id"] for e in data["events"]] == ["1012a", "1012b"]
+    assert "nba_scoreboard_current" not in {k for k, _ in cache.reads}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("answer, result, cached", [
+    ({}, {"events": []}, False),
+    ({"events": None}, {"events": []}, False),
+    ({"events": []}, {"events": []}, True),
+    (404, None, False),
+    (500, None, False),
+    (requests.ConnectionError, None, False),
+    (requests.Timeout, None, False),
+    (b"<html>", None, False),
+])
+def test_what_a_failed_or_malformed_answer_becomes(offline, answer, result, cached):
+    cache = Cache(offline)
+    assert Host(Espn(answer), cache)._fetch_todays_games() == result
+    assert bool(cache.store) is cached
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Odds
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+class Odds:
+    """An odds endpoint held open until ``release()``, counting what is in
+    flight and how many odds workers are alive while it answers."""
+
+    def __init__(self, answer="odds", held=True):
+        self.answer, self.calls, self.gate = answer, [], threading.Event()
+        if not held:
+            self.gate.set()
+        self.lock, self.active, self.most_active, self.most_workers = threading.Lock(), 0, 0, 0
+
+    def get_odds(self, sport, league, event_id, update_interval_seconds=None):
+        workers = sum(t.name == "nba-odds" and t.is_alive() for t in threading.enumerate())
+        with self.lock:
+            self.calls.append((event_id, update_interval_seconds))
+            self.active += 1
+            self.most_active = max(self.most_active, self.active)
+            self.most_workers = max(self.most_workers, workers)
+        self.gate.wait(10)
+        with self.lock:
+            self.active -= 1
+        if isinstance(self.answer, type):
+            raise self.answer("odds endpoint failed")
+        return {"details": f"{event_id} -3.5"} if self.answer else None
+
+    def release(self):
+        self.gate.set()
+
+
+def settle():
+    for thread in threading.enumerate():
+        if thread.name == "nba-odds":
+            thread.join(10)
+
+
+def game(gid="g1", **flags):
+    return {"id": gid, **flags}
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("flags, interval", [({"is_live": True}, 60), ({"is_upcoming": True}, 3600),
+                                             ({"is_final": True}, 3600)])
+def test_the_call_never_waits_and_the_line_lands_later(flags, interval):
+    odds = Odds()
+    host, g = Host(odds=odds), game(**flags)
+    host._fetch_odds(g)                       # returns while the request is held open
+    assert "odds" not in g
+    odds.release()
+    settle()
+    assert g["odds"] == {"details": "g1 -3.5"}
+    assert odds.calls == [("g1", interval)]
+
+
+def test_the_intervals_come_from_the_mode_config():
+    odds = Odds(held=False)
+    host = Host(odds=odds)
+    host.mode_config = {"live_odds_update_interval": 30, "odds_update_interval": 900}
+    host._fetch_odds(game("l", is_live=True))
+    settle()
+    host._fetch_odds(game("u"))
+    settle()
+    assert odds.calls == [("l", 30), ("u", 900)]
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("answer", [None, RuntimeError])
+def test_no_line_or_a_failed_request_leaves_the_game_bare(caplog, answer):
+    odds = Odds(answer, held=False)
+    host, g = Host(odds=odds), game()
+    with caplog.at_level(logging.DEBUG, logger=LOG.name):
+        host._fetch_odds(g)
+        settle()
+    assert "odds" not in g and host._odds_worker_busy is False
+    assert [r for r in caplog.records if r.levelno >= logging.WARNING] == []
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("host", [
+    Host(odds=Odds(held=False), show_odds=False),
+    Host(odds=None),
+], ids=["show_odds off", "no odds manager"])
+def test_nothing_is_asked(caplog, host):
+    with caplog.at_level(logging.DEBUG, logger=LOG.name):
+        host._fetch_odds(game())
+    assert not [t for t in threading.enumerate() if t.name == "nba-odds"]
+    assert [r.levelname for r in caplog.records] in ([], ["DEBUG"])
+
+
+def test_a_game_without_an_id_is_not_asked():
+    odds = Odds(held=False)
+    Host(odds=odds)._fetch_odds({"is_live": True})
+    settle()
+    assert odds.calls == []
+
+
+def test_one_batch_per_manager_and_every_dict_gets_the_answer():
+    odds = Odds()
+    host = Host(odds=odds)
+    first, again, other = game("g1"), game("g1"), game("g2")
+    with host._games_lock:                   # queued before the worker takes one
+        for g in (first, again, other):      # update() rebuilds the dicts
+            host._fetch_odds(g)
+    odds.release()
+    settle()
+    assert odds.calls == [("g1", 3600), ("g2", 3600)]
+    assert odds.most_workers == 1
+    assert first["odds"] == again["odds"] == {"details": "g1 -3.5"}
+
+
+def test_a_thread_that_will_not_start_is_tried_again(monkeypatch):
+    class NoThread:
+        def __init__(self, *args, **kwargs):
+            pass
+
+        def start(self):
+            raise RuntimeError("can't start new thread")
+
+    odds = Odds(held=False)
+    host = Host(odds=odds)
+    monkeypatch.setattr(sports_live_fetch.threading, "Thread", NoThread)
+    host._fetch_odds(game("g1"))
+    assert host._odds_worker_busy is False
+    monkeypatch.undo()
+    host._fetch_odds(game("g2"))
+    settle()
+    assert [c[0] for c in odds.calls] == ["g1", "g2"]
+
+
+def test_update_and_display_on_two_threads():
+    """Two updaters queueing fresh dicts while a reader walks the games under
+    the lock, as display() does: no exception, one worker, one request at a
+    time, and every dict ends with its line."""
+    odds = Odds(held=False)
+    odds.get_odds = _slowed(odds.get_odds)
+    host, shown, raised = Host(odds=odds), [], []
+
+    def updater():
+        try:
+            for n in range(30):
+                g = game(f"g{n % 4}")
+                with host._games_lock:
+                    shown.append(g)
+                host._fetch_odds(g)
+        except Exception as exc:              # noqa: BLE001
+            raised.append(exc)
+
+    def display():
+        try:
+            for _ in range(300):
+                with host._games_lock:
+                    [g.get("odds") for g in shown]
+        except Exception as exc:              # noqa: BLE001
+            raised.append(exc)
+
+    threads = [threading.Thread(target=updater) for _ in range(2)]
+    threads.append(threading.Thread(target=display))
+    for t in threads:
+        t.start()
+    for t in threads:
+        t.join(30)
+    settle()
+    assert raised == []
+    assert odds.most_active == 1 and odds.most_workers == 1
+    assert all(g.get("odds") for g in shown)
+
+
+def _slowed(get_odds):
+    def slow(**kwargs):
+        time.sleep(0.005)
+        return get_odds(**kwargs)
+    return slow
+
+
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+# Carrier and host contract
+# ---------------------------------------------------------------------------
+
+MEMBERS = ["_drain_odds_queue", "_fetch_odds", "_fetch_todays_games"]
+
+
+def _self_reads():
+    tree = ast.parse(Path(sports_live_fetch.__file__).read_text(encoding="utf-8"))
+    reads = {node.attr for node in ast.walk(tree)
+             if isinstance(node, ast.Attribute) and isinstance(node.ctx, ast.Load)
+             and isinstance(node.value, ast.Name) and node.value.id == "self"}
+    gets = {node.args[1].value for node in ast.walk(tree)
+            if isinstance(node, ast.Call) and getattr(node.func, "id", None) == "getattr"
+            and len(node.args) >= 2 and isinstance(node.args[1], ast.Constant)}
+    return reads | gets
+
+
+class TestHostContract:
+    def test_the_mixin_carries_only_the_family(self):
+        assert sorted(n for n in vars(SportsLiveFetchMixin) if not n.startswith("__")) == MEMBERS
+
+    def test_every_host_read_is_documented(self):
+        undocumented = sorted(n for n in _self_reads() - set(MEMBERS)
+                              if f"``{n}``" not in sports_live_fetch.__doc__)
+        assert undocumented == [], f"read but not in the host contract: {undocumented}"
+
+    def test_no_other_shared_mixin_defines_these(self):
+        from src.common import (sports_display_rules, sports_favorites, sports_helpers,
+                                sports_rankings, sports_rotation, sports_shared)
+        others = [sports_shared.SportsCoreSharedMixin, sports_shared.SportsRecentSharedMixin,
+                  sports_shared.SportsLiveSharedMixin, sports_helpers.SportsHelpersMixin,
+                  sports_favorites.SportsFavoritesMixin, sports_rotation.SportsRotationMixin,
+                  sports_rankings.SportsRankingsMixin, SportsFetchMixin,
+                  sports_display_rules.SportsGameRulesMixin]
+        assert [m for m in MEMBERS if any(m in vars(o) for o in others)] == []

test/test_sports_live_fetch_parity.py

@@ -0,0 +1,104 @@
+"""sports_live_fetch still matches every plugin copy.
+
+``src.common.sports_live_fetch`` was copied from the scoreboards once family 9
+had made each method one body in all nine ``SportsCore`` classes:
+``_fetch_todays_games``, ``_fetch_odds`` and ``_drain_odds_queue``. The plugins delete their copies once they floor on the release that
+ships this module. Until each has, a copy that changes on its own is a fix one
+side has and the other lacks.
+
+Point LEDMATRIX_PLUGINS at a ledmatrix-plugins checkout and each method is
+compared with every plugin copy using ``scripts/sports_drift_report.py``'s own
+normalisation (the AST with docstrings and annotations dropped), plus the
+decorators. A copy that is gone counts as adopted when the plugin's ``sports.py`` names the module.
+Without the variable this skips: core CI has no plugins checkout.
+"""
+
+import ast
+import importlib.util
+import os
+from pathlib import Path
+
+import pytest
+
+from src.common import sports_live_fetch
+
+REPO = Path(__file__).resolve().parents[1]
+SPORTS = ("afl", "baseball", "basketball", "football", "hockey", "lacrosse",
+          "nrl", "soccer", "ufc")
+CARRIER, MIXIN = "SportsCore", "SportsLiveFetchMixin"
+METHODS = ("_fetch_todays_games", "_fetch_odds", "_drain_odds_queue")
+
+
+def _drift_report():
+    """scripts/sports_drift_report.py, loaded by path (scripts/ is no package)."""
+    spec = importlib.util.spec_from_file_location(
+        "sports_drift_report", REPO / "scripts" / "sports_drift_report.py")
+    module = importlib.util.module_from_spec(spec)
+    spec.loader.exec_module(module)
+    return module
+
+
+DRIFT = _drift_report()
+
+
+def _plugins_root():
+    root = DRIFT.resolve_plugins_dir(os.environ.get("LEDMATRIX_PLUGINS"))
+    if root is None:
+        pytest.skip("set LEDMATRIX_PLUGINS to a ledmatrix-plugins checkout to "
+                    "compare this module against the plugin copies")
+    return root
+
+
+def _class(tree, name):
+    return next(n for n in tree.body if isinstance(n, ast.ClassDef) and n.name == name)
+
+
+def _method(cls, name):
+    return next((n for n in cls.body
+                 if isinstance(n, ast.FunctionDef) and n.name == name), None)
+
+
+
+def _fingerprint(node):
+    return (DRIFT._digest(node, DRIFT._Canonical()),
+            tuple(ast.unparse(d) for d in node.decorator_list))
+
+
+def _plugin_tree(root, sport):
+    source = (root / f"{sport}-scoreboard" / "sports.py").read_text(encoding="utf-8")
+    return source, ast.parse(source)
+
+
+OURS = _class(ast.parse(Path(sports_live_fetch.__file__).read_text(encoding="utf-8")), MIXIN)
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("sport, name", [(s, n) for s in SPORTS for n in METHODS])
+def test_every_remaining_plugin_copy_matches(sport, name):
+    source, tree = _plugin_tree(_plugins_root(), sport)
+    copy = _method(_class(tree, CARRIER), name)
+    if copy is None:
+        assert sports_live_fetch.__name__ in source, (
+            f"{sport}: no {name} on {CARRIER} and no {sports_live_fetch.__name__} import")
+    else:
+        assert _fingerprint(copy) == _fingerprint(_method(OURS, name)), (
+            f"{CARRIER}.{name} in {sport} differs from sports_live_fetch. "
+            f"Port the change to both, or stop treating it as shared.")
+
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("sport", SPORTS)
+def test_no_other_plugin_class_carries_a_copy(sport):
+    """A copy on another class would shadow the shared one for that class."""
+    _, tree = _plugin_tree(_plugins_root(), sport)
+    strays = [f"{node.name}.{name}" for node in tree.body if isinstance(node, ast.ClassDef)
+              for name in METHODS if node.name != CARRIER and _method(node, name) is not None]
+    assert strays == []
+
+
+def test_the_drift_report_calls_them_identical():
+    families = DRIFT.build(_plugins_root(), ("sports.py",))
+    rows = {(r["file"], r["family"]): r
+            for r in (DRIFT.summarise(k, v) for k, v in families.items())}
+    for name in METHODS:
+        row = rows.get(("sports.py", name))
+        assert row is None or row["worst_class_variants"] == 1, name

test/test_sports_rankings.py

@@ -173,6 +173,11 @@ def test_only_a_league_with_a_poll_is_asked(clock, league, asked):
         {"current": 3, "team": {"id": "abc", "abbreviation": "OSU"}},
         {"current": 4, "team": {"abbreviation": "TEX"}}]}]},
      {"OSU": 3, "TEX": 4}, {87: 2}),
+    ({"rankings": [{"name": "AP Top 25", "type": "ap", "ranks": [     # #789: one bad entry
+        {"current": None, "team": {"id": "61", "abbreviation": "UGA"}},
+        {"current": "n/a", "team": {"id": "87", "abbreviation": "ND"}},
+        {"current": 3, "team": {"id": "194", "abbreviation": "OSU"}}]}]},
+     {"OSU": 3}, {194: 3}),
 ])
 def test_payload_shapes(clock, payload, abbr, ids):
     host = Host(payload=payload)
@@ -320,6 +325,17 @@ def test_ranked_and_best_rank(clock, label, best):
     assert host._is_ranked_game(game(label)) is (best != 99)
 
 
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("home, away, best", [
+    (NEWARK, (None, "VAN"), 99),         # Newark's id is unranked; "OSU" must not rank it
+    (("61", None), (None, "VAN"), 1),    # UGA's id still counts with no id on the other side
+])
+def test_each_side_is_ranked_by_its_own_id(clock, home, away, best):
+    """#789: one side's missing id no longer sends both sides to abbreviations."""
+    g = {f"{side}_{key}": value for side, team in (("home", home), ("away", away))
+         for key, value in zip(("id", "abbr"), team) if value is not None}
+    assert loaded()._best_rank(g) == best
+
+
 #: filter -> (quality, divisions, poll loaded?, kept: one Y/. per GAMES entry)
 FILTERS = {
     "any": ("any", (), True, "YYYYYYYY"),

web_interface/blueprints/pages_v3.py

@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@ from html.parser import HTMLParser
 import json
 import logging
 import re
+import subprocess
 from pathlib import Path
 
 # Strict allowlists for URL-derived values used in path and script operations.
@@ -487,9 +488,25 @@ def _load_general_partial():
                              main_config=main_config,
                              auto_update_status=auto_update_status,
                              update_channel_status=update_channel_status,
+                             display_autostart=_display_autostart_state(),
                              web_login=_web_login_state())
 
 
+def _display_autostart_state():
+    """Whether ledmatrix.service starts at boot; None hides the toggle.
+
+    systemd's enablement is the setting itself (the installer enables the
+    unit), so nothing is stored in config.json. None when it cannot be read:
+    no systemctl (a dev machine) or the unit is not installed.
+    """
+    try:
+        result = subprocess.run(['systemctl', 'is-enabled', 'ledmatrix.service'],
+                                capture_output=True, text=True, timeout=5)
+    except (OSError, subprocess.SubprocessError):
+        return None
+    return {'enabled': True, 'disabled': False}.get(result.stdout.strip())
+
+
 def _web_login_state():
     """What the General tab's Security section shows; None hides it.
 

web_interface/static/v3/js/pages/general.js

@@ -191,6 +191,28 @@ export function revokeToken(ctx, id, name) {
     }).catch(failed(ctx));
 }
 
+/**
+ * The "Start Display on Boot" checkbox: enable or disable ledmatrix.service
+ * at once. A refusal (e.g. the sudo rule is missing) puts the box back.
+ */
+export function setDisplayAutostart(ctx, box) {
+    const on = box.checked;
+    box.disabled = true;
+    return send(ctx, 'POST', '/api/v3/system/action', { action: on ? 'enable_autostart' : 'disable_autostart' }).then(function(res) {
+        if (!res) return false;
+        const ok = res.ok && res.d.status === 'success';
+        if (!ok) box.checked = !on;
+        ctx.notify(ok ? (on ? 'The display will start on boot' : 'The display will not start on boot')
+                      : (res.d.message || 'Could not change display autostart'), ok ? 'success' : 'error');
+        return ok;
+    }).catch(function(err) {
+        box.checked = !on;
+        failed(ctx)(err);
+    }).finally(function() {
+        box.disabled = false;
+    });
+}
+
 const FORM_ACTIONS = { 'set-password': setPassword, 'disable-login': disableLogin, 'create-token': createToken };
 
 function drawTimezone(root, ctx) {
@@ -238,6 +260,10 @@ export function init(root, ctx) {
             if (row) revokeToken(ctx, row.dataset.tokenId, button.dataset.tokenName);
         }
     }, on);
+    root.addEventListener('change', function(event) {
+        const box = event.target;
+        if (box && box.dataset && box.dataset.action === 'display-autostart') setDisplayAutostart(ctx, box);
+    }, on);
     drawTimezone(root, ctx);
     active = ctx;
 }

web_interface/templates/v3/partials/general.html

@@ -12,6 +12,22 @@
 
     {{ ui.settings_filter() }}
 
+    {# Display autostart is systemd's enable/disable of ledmatrix.service, not a
+       config.json key: outside the form so Save never posts it. general.js
+       applies it on change. Hidden when the unit's state cannot be read. #}
+    {% if display_autostart is not none %}
+    <div class="form-group mb-6" id="setting-general-display_autostart" data-setting-key="display_autostart">
+        <label class="flex items-center">
+            <input type="checkbox"
+                   data-action="display-autostart"
+                   {% if display_autostart %}checked{% endif %}
+                   class="h-4 w-4 text-blue-600 focus:ring-blue-500 border-gray-300 rounded">
+            <span class="ml-2 text-sm font-medium text-gray-900">Start Display on Boot</span>
+            {{ ui.help_tip('Start the LED display automatically when the device powers on.\nApplies right away; no Save needed.\nWhen off, start it with Start Display on the Overview tab. The web interface still starts on boot.\nDefault: on.', 'Start Display on Boot') }}
+        </label>
+    </div>
+    {% endif %}
+
     <form hx-post="/api/v3/config/main"
           hx-ext="json-enc"
           hx-headers='{"Content-Type": "application/json"}'