It’s looking like the NFL is about to see some hard times of their own due to the economy. Everybody knew it was coming, and we are seeing the first signs of it as there are 10 to 12 teams that may not sell out every game. This would mean mass local blackouts on TV broadcasts for many supportive fans.
Last season there were only three teams that didn’t sell out games and not surprisingly the list was Oakland, Detroit, and St. Louis. They combined for a total of nine blacked out games last season. I can’t blame any of the fans for not going to those games though, especially since I’m a Raiders fan and value paying to see them as much as going to see “Thunder from Down Under” for a bachelor party in Vegas. Despite the fact that there are about one third of teams finding it difficult to sell out, the blackout rule will stay in effect for it’s 37th straight year. The Jaguars have stated that they may not even sell out one home game all season. Sorry Jacksonville fans, you have to sign up for Direct TV and pay an extra $200 just to watch your local team for those eight games.
Tim Keown explored the reasons why the blackouts are out dated, and only hurt the league. I fully agree, as it deters possible fans that would have to watch the locally televised games. Many times a casual fan that lives in the area is exposed to the local team to the point where they start to follow them. I’ve had that transformation since my move to Southern California about three years ago. I used to root mildly for the Giants as a Northern California resident, but without being able to watch them, I now root for the Dodgers since I see them on TV nearly every day. I definitely never thought that I’d say four years ago when I was living in Northern California surrounded by that media market.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fair weather fan, I’ll always be a fan of the A’s, Raiders, and Warriors which sholuld say enough looking at their track records this past decade. I’ll root for all the Oakland teams no matter where I live, but every sports fan has “other teams” or man crushes on a certain players so we follow them. If they’re in the local media market, they are certainly going to be watched. That won’t happen if eight of a teams games are being blacked out. How can anyone get attached to a player or team that isn’t shoved down your throat? It won’t happen, and that’s why this rule that’s older than Al Davis needs to be changed.
Sometimes we’ve been saved from these blackouts by local companies that will buy up the rest of the tickets, so that the game can be televised. In these uncertain economic times it’s much less likely that companies are going to open up their wallets to get a game televised. Teams that have had no problem selling out all their tickets in the past like the Cheifs, Dolphins, and Jets are struggling to sell tickets, and have noticeably ramped up the promotions to get people out to the games. San Diego, Miami, and Minnesota are on the list of teams that might not sell out all their tickets, and they were all playoff teams last season. If I was jobless, and couldn’t watch my team play on their way to a playoff run I’d be mad. The NFL is still in great shape either way financially, so why not give the fans a break. It’s bad enough that the fans are asked to spend taxpayer money on the ridiculously large stadiums, and they expect people to be okay with them not being on their local programming!
Goodell is too smooth of a talker to be able to trust!
This quote pretty much sums up how much Goodell and the NFL care about the fans that support the game and teams of their home towns.
Sean McManus, president of CBS Sports and CBS News, said last week that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell told him that “he is not going to make any major adjustment to a rule that has lasted a long time just because of a short-term economic problem.”
When asked if CBS had concerns about blacked-out games, McManus said, “I don’t think there is any way they are going to change it, so it is pointless to talk to them about it.”
Chris Carter, who was the main reason for my attending the game, did not disappoint. I missed his first at-bat, where he flew out to right field. In his second at-bat, however, he came to the plate with the bases loaded, after a Matt Carson single, and back to back walks to Brett Wallace and Aaron Cunningham. Perhaps the most important note is Carter’s music. He walked to the plate to the tune of E-40 and Keak the Sneak. Gotta love that! Anyway, with the River Cats holding a 1-0 lead, he pulled a Ryan Sadowski fastball down the left field line for a bases-clearing, 3 run double that rolled all the way to the fence. In his next AB, he roped a broken bat RBI single to left for his 4th RBI of the night. I made my departure before his next plate appearance, but he finished the night 3-5 with 4 RBI. Not bad at all for his AAA debut. Let’s just hope he finishes out the year here, as opposed to being rushed to the majors for the pointless final month of the season. 
On the Giants’ side, Buster Posey looked TERRIBLE. In the only AB I remember, he hit a very weak grounder up the middle, but he did manage to beat it out for an infield single. Behind the plate, there were three plays that stood out to me. First, he caught a Sadowski fastball, with his facemask. The batter didn’t even swing, so he must’ve been expecting a breaking ball. Either way, it was NOT pretty. Next, he tried to gun down Eric Patterson stealing second. No catcher will have much chance catching him, but Posey bounced one in front of the bag that rolled into center field, allowing Patterson to advance to third, and a run to score. The next inning, Posey did it again. With Carson on the move – not exactly Usain Bolt on the basepaths – Posey rushed the throw and sailed it into center field, again allowing the runner to take third as well.
This off-season has been highlighted by Cable’s haymaker, but I’d say that last season’s Jevon Walker saga was much more dysfunctional. At least this season, it was football related. Plus, I really like that he did it. It makes me feel like he really cares. Whatever happens, I’m glad we have a coach that gets fired up enough to sock someone. If I was a player, he’d have my respect instantly. Anyways, if we’re going to win a significant amount of games this season it all falls on Jemarcus and his ability to lead this offense.
Jevon Walker made his first appearance 
They could address a number of needs and still have a two headed monster that teams covet in the backfield. They don’t even need to go for a receiver that I stated they need so desperately. They could upgrade the offensive or defensive line. In this scenario, I’d much rather see Fargas go as he runs into his own linemen more than tacklers, but if it takes Bush to make a drastic improvement in any of the above mentioned areas, I’m all for it. I’m not saying that Mr. Davis would make a sensible move such as this one, but we can hope. I’m ready for the Chargers on the Monday edition of season openers!
With the PGA Season wrapping up, it’s time to evaluate whether anyone not named Tiger has a chance to win the Player of the Year honors pending the FedEx Cup results. It’s almost a given each year that Tiger will win the award, but sometimes there are a few players that give Tiger a run for his money. I have no idea how they figure out who had the best season or what the exact criteria is, but here are some of my picks for players that had a good enough season to be considered!
He is the only player to post a win in a major and a win in another PGA tournament. His year will undoubtedly be known for beating the best player in the world in the final pairing of the PGA Championship. He showed us something that nobody else has, he can fist pump as good as Tiger when making a charge in the final round. He is easily the runner up for player of the year in my mind. I hope we get to see him and Tiger can battle it out again in the FedEx Cup.
He won the next weekend as well. Perry also had the lead in the Masters through 16 holes. He needed to finish with a par and a bogey to win. His chipping hurt him as he finished with two straight bogeys and handed the trophy over to Cink.
He is also the golfer who played the least PGA events (21) on my player of the year list. He either needs a new pair of shades or to grow a little taller before you’ll find me rooting for him.
Brett Favre made his “comeback” Friday night in Minneapolis and left much to be desired. Favre completed just one of four pass attempts, a four yard completion to rookie Percy Harvin. I know often times a box score doesn’t tell the whole story, but did anyone in Minnesota or Kansas City catch the game? Was their any silver lining in this performance? Was their a lack of protection? Or did Favre simply complete another phase in the decline of a legend? Post a comment if you watched the game.
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Doin Work 