The Seattle Mariners: America's Farm Team

Can't stress enough how bad I feel for the people of Seattle sometimes. They had the NBA stolen from them, they have money stolen out of their pockets everyday by paying more for Starbucks over Dunkin Donuts, and they had a Super Bowl stolen from them. I'm talking about Super Bowl XL vs. the Steelers btw, not the one you're probably thinking of.

In reality, it's the Marlins get a reputation as baseball's farm system more often than anyone else. If I had a nickle for every "Giancarlo Stanton sure will look good at Fenway in 2018" take I've heard...well maybe I could actually afford the price of Starbucks. The Florida/Miami Marlins have had more firesales since 1997's World Series than the Rolling Stones have dropped albums (3-2, if you really wanna know the score).

Lots of people know about the 116-win Seattle Mariners of 2001, and while that team ultimately came up short, they accomplished what they did without Randy Johnson, Ken Griffey Jr., or Alex Rodriguez.

The Mariners traded the Big Unit at the deadline in 1998 and actually got great value (Freddy Garcia and Carlos Guillen, who were fixtures in '01, and future Red Sox great John Halamalama ding dong). Griffey was gone in the winter of 2000 for a decent return, a package headlined by Mike Cameron and Brett Tomko, and you can't argue Seattle made the right decision not matching Texas' offer for Rodriguez.

The Mariners aren't America's farm team because of letting those three high-profile superstars go...rather, they serve as America's farm team for a reign of error dating back over 20 years now, a notion that crossed my mind while watching last night's Baltimore-Toronto game.

Note: I wrote most of this in the early innings of the O's-Jays game. I said Buck Showalter made the worst managerial decision since Grady Little by not going with Zach Britton at the time, but after sleeping on it, this move was much, MUCH worse. At least Little put his faith in a future Hall of Famer (Pedro). Showalter put his trust in Ubaldo Jimenez.

Three significant Orioles (Chris Tillman, Adam Jones and Mark Trumbo) all headed to Camden Yards via Safeco Field, and I'm not sure which deals were more lopsided.

Mark Trumbo is your classic all-or-nothing slugger, but he hit 47 home runs this year -- 46 more than the man he was traded for, Steve Clevenger, and caused one fewer incident than what caused Skip Bayless to tweet this:

I am embarrassed to share the same skin color as Steve Clevenger https://t.co/cwo1ppO6Rx

— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) September 23, 2016

Tillman and Jones, then prospects, went to Baltimore as part of a package for 2011 Red Sox hero Erik Bedard, who was 15-14 for the Mariners over four injury-riddle seasons. As esteemed Tavern reader/Baltimore enthusiast Shawn Sayia points out, the Birds also got an all-star closer in George Sherrill in the deal. Total oversight on my part.

No, the O's haven't won a World Series with Jones or Tillman as centerpieces, but they've been a big part of Baltimore's competitive resurgence since 2012...making the deal similar to a Dan Duquette heist from 1997, when the Red Sox grabbed minor leaguers Derek Lowe and Jason Varitek for Heathcliff Slocumb. Two players who would be centerpieces on a championship team -- two for Tek.

Where did the Duke turn to to grab Lowe and Varitek? Seattle.

Seriously, other than the Jay Buhner trade, when was the last time the Mariners were on the right side of a deal?

People get on the Twins all the time for releasing David Ortiz...well you know they weren't the only ones to give up on him, right? True story: the Mariners traded a 20-year-old Ortiz to the Twins for some cat named Dave Hollins.

There's a slew of other talented players on playoff rosters this fall that were one-time Mariners, including Adrian Beltre, Asdrubal Cabrera, Shin-soo Choo, J.A. Happ and Michael Saunders. Beltre walked as a free agent after '09, while Cabrera and Choo were each dealt to Cleveland in separate deals in the mid-2000s for zip, zilch and nada.

Saunders was actually dealt to home to Canada for Happ in the winter of 2014, and Seattle later traded Happ to Pittsburgh at the deadline in '15. In related news, Happ was one of two 20-game winners in the American League this season (Pretty Ricky the other).

Kendrys Morales left Seattle via free agency after the 2014 season and won a World Series with the Royals as their DH and primary cleanup hitter.

Brad Miller is probably nothing special but he did hit 30 home runs for Tampa Bay this year after being exiled from Seattle, and he'll only be 27 next season.

Which is all to say, the next time you're wondering which MLB team has the longest current postseason drought and realize it's the Mariners...now you know.

This Week's Football Threads

Per usual, we've got a good menu of alternate uniforms featured in this weekend's college football games. Anytime the topic of collge football alternate uniform's is brought up, Oregon immediately comes to mind because, well, every uniform of theirs is an alternate. This week the Ducks are going with a throwback alternate, which features their old mascot the "Webfoots." Oregon wore versions of these uniforms in their spring game.

This look really defines the term "throwback," as the Webfoots last wore these threads a century ago in 1916. Sure, this setup doesn't have the university's school colors on display, but I can get on board with that because the Ducks never really seem to do that as of late. I'd rather see a lack of school colors for the sake of a retro look as opposed to adding neon/chrome/matte grey/antyhing else they've ever added to their uniforms. I really dig the state flag on the helmet, and the vintage "UO" logo on the shoulders. Speaking of the shoulders, the stripes on there are easily my favorite part of the look. Within the stripes are the words to Oregon's fight song. Typically I'm not really on board with all of Oregon's crazy uniforms, especially when they imply way more bark than bite, but I'm all in on these. Unfortunately for the Ducks/Webfoots, they'll be rocking these as No. 5 Washington comes into town, which should be a blowout. Usually alternate uniforms can give underdogs some momentum against a superior opponent, but that factor does not come into play with the fashionably versatile Ducks.

These Pitt throwbacks were unveiled back in August, but the Panthers will finally be sporting these beauties in their homecoming game against Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Yellow Jackets' defenders might want to avoid any contact with Pitt players because these uniforms are HOT. I think Pitt's standard navy blue/gold combination is a bit bland. Not hideous by any means, but the royal blue/goldish yellow one-two punch just pops more. I'm all about the retro look of grey facemasks too, so these things are good in my book as a whole.

Boston College will be rocking their fantastic Red Bandana alternates in honor of BC alum Welles Crowther, the selfless hero who displayed incredible courage on 9/11. If you somehow don't know the story of the Man in the Red Bandana, you need to watch it right this second.

Now, I'm not the biggest BC guy by any means, but these are the most respectable alternate uniforms in college football. I do like the fact that the alterations are subtle, with the red and white paisley making an appearance only on the helmet stripe, cleats, and gloves. The Eagles will be wearing these threads on Friday night as No. 3 Clemson makes a visit to Chestnut Hill. The combo of these uniforms and a matchup against a top 10 team triggers memories from the 2014 season when BC upset No. 9 USC while wearing their Red Bandana uniforms. If these phenomenal uniforms can work their magic against Deshaun Watson and the Tigers, it will be the Eagles' first ACC win since they beat Syracuse on November 29, 2014. 

Switching things up from college football to the NFL, let's take a look at this Thursday's Color Rush uniforms. Thursday Night Football features the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers this week.

The 49ers will be sporting their all black uniforms below the neck. Typically I love blacked out setups, but the NFL's one-helmet per team rule really ruins these uniforms for me. For starters, the 49ers don't even have black as part of their team colors. So the helmet features three other colors, with no black. Just like the entire Color Rush marketing strategy, these uniforms just seem forced. The Cardinals color rush uniforms looked essentially identical to San Fran's, and their white helmets would pose the same problem. But since the 49ers are wearing all black, Arizona will be rocking their traditional white-on-white road uniforms. Why even release a team's color rush uniform if they're not even going to wear it? I understand that there's plenty of cash flow in it for the league, but it seems like a bit of a tease. I guess I'll just have to choose my battles and be happy that San Francisco won't be in all gold on Thursday. Either way, I won't be watching because Thursday Night Football is trash.

As a little bonus uniform for this post, I randomly stumbled upon Nicholls State's tribute to some of their local heros, the Thibodaux, Louisiana Fire Department.

Nicholls State is by no means a relevant program, and their game against Stephen F. Austin on Saturday is not one that I have the desire nor ability to tune into, but it's always cool to see a team pay tribute to those who put their life on the line for the safety of the community. It's not often that you see firefighters get a tribute like this, so I thought it was worth mentioning.

Checking in on College Football's Preseason Rankings

At this point it's no secret that college football's preseason rankings are often far from accurate, which honestly should be expected. I mean it's nearly impossible to precisely evaluate every team's talent relative to each other without actually watching anyone go head to head yet. Although there's more than plenty of football left this season, after wrapping up week five we certainly have a much better idea of who's legit and who's not.

So what teams did the Associated Press whiff on already, and how many teams have they been right about so far?

The preseason AP top 25 was as follows:

1. Alabama (33)
2. Clemson (16)
3. Oklahoma (4)
4. Florida State (5)
5. LSU (1)
6. Ohio State (1)
7. Michigan (1)
8. Stanford
9. Tennessee
10. Notre Dame
11. Ole Miss
12. Michigan State
13. TCU
14. Washington
15. Houston
16. UCLA
17. Iowa
18. Georgia
19. Louisville
20. USC
21. Oklahoma State
22. North Carolina
23. Baylor
24. Oregon
25. Florida

The week six AP top 25 is as follows, see if you notice any significant variations:

1. Alabama (53)
2. Ohio State (60
3. Clemson (1)
4. Michigan (1)
5. Washington
6. Houston
7. Louisville
8. Texas A&M
9. Tennessee
10. Miami
11. Wisconsin
12. Baylor
13. Nebraska
14. Ole Miss
15. Stanford
16. Arkansas
17. North Carolina
18. Florida
19. Boise State
20. Oklahoma
21. Colorado
22. West Virginia
23. Florida State
24. Utah
25. Virginia Tech

Of the current top ten, only No. 8 Texas A&M and No. 10 Miami failed to land spots in the preseason top 25. However, these two squads did earn the two most votes of any other team outside of the top 25 (the 'Canes received 159 votes the Aggies received 81). And looking further into the current top ten, the current top five only features one team that was outside of the preseason top 10 ten with Washington as preseason No. 14. But it's important to remember the extent of rarity for a team to drop in the rankings without losing, and it's still the same people ranking teams in week six as it is in the preseason, so the accuracy of these projections is a bit cyclical.

So basically, the only way teams can drop in the rankings, thus slightly discrediting the AP's predictions, is by forcing it with losses. There are a few busts in this bunch, most notably LSU and Notre Dame. As you may have noticed in the "before" and "after" pictures, sort of like an infomercial for a sketchy weight loss product, the AP rankings have lost two preseason top ten teams in just five short weeks! Call and order now! But for real, the Tigers were ranked as preseason No. 5 while also receiving one vote as the nation's top team, and the Irish were sittin' pretty at No. 10. Since then, LSU has lost two games and a longtime head coach, while Brian Kelly and the Golden Domers have fallen short of victory three times already, leaving them with a sub .500 record. The last time they had three losses this early on in the season was 2010.

The "second tier busts" throughout the first five games, in my opinion, are headlined by Florida State and Oklahoma. The Seminoles and Sooners have both lost two games so far in 2016, which warrants a steep fall in the rankings, but the two losses for each team were not particularly horrible. Florida State's first loss came to Louisville who is a great team, but they got absolutely curb stomped so it wasn't by any means a "good loss." The 'Noles second loss came last week thanks to a last second field goal by North Carolina, who sits at the No. 17 spots in the week six rankings. So those two losses came to good teams, but the preseason No. 4 team starting out 3-2 is a joke.

Oklahoma's losses are actually to two very, very good teams in Houston and Ohio State, two potential playoff teams. So the Sooners' performance in 2016 can't be totally thrashed (yet), but they undoubtedly did not deserve to be deemed the third best team in the country.

Another HUGE stinker from the preseason top 25 is Iowa, who started at the No. 17 spot. Since then, they've completely dropped out of the rankings and lost twice; once to Northwestern and once to North Dakota State. Yes, North Dakota State, the FCS team. The Hawkeyes' three wins have come against Miami of Ohio, Iowa State, and Rutgers. Those three teams have a combined total of three wins this season. Not a good look for Iowa, and not a good look for the Associated Press thinking that the Hawkeyes would be legit.

Just a few more random tidbits while on the topic of the current rankings compared to the preseason rankings:

In terms of stock value due to the weekly rankings over the course of these five weeks, the ACC's stock has risen the most of the Power Five conferences. The preseason top 25 featured four ACC teams, and the most recent rankings feature six ACC teams. The ACC is the only Power Five Conference that has more teams in the top 25 now than in the preseason rankings. The SEC and BIG 10 both have the same amount of teams in the rankings now than they did to start the season (SEC with 6, BIG 10 with 4). The Pac 12 and Big 12, aka the weakest of the Power Five Conferences, have both seen slight decreases in stock values. The Big 12 started the season with four top 25 teams and now have three. The Pac 12 began the season with the second most teams in the top 25 (only SEC had more) with five teams featured, and now have dropped to four teams.

Projecting the Over/Under for Boston's upcoming activities vs. Cleveland

In case you haven't heard, Sunday Funday is officially a go: the Pats will welcome back Tom Brady at 1, with the Red Sox-Indians Game 3 to follow at 4. So in the highly unlikely case Cleveland finds itself up 2-0 heading into Sunday's action, David Ortiz's potentially final game ever will get its own window.

To make matters even better, Mike Reiss is reporting we will NOT get a Jim Nantz/Phil Simms broadcast and we WILL get former NESN great Jamie Erdahl on the sidelines. The Sox game is on TBS, so one can only hope that also means a talent NESN willingly let go, Don Orsillo, will be in our living rooms.

So now that it's all nice and tidy, we're guaranteed a minimum of four games between the Patriots/Red Sox and Browns/Indians.

I don't need to remind you of the championship scoreboard between Boston and Cleveland, but lots of talk that Cleveland's on the up and up since Bronny brought the Cavs back from 3-1 down to win the city's first title since Pete Best was still a member of the Beatles.

It's time to restore the Earth to its proper tilt on its axis of 23.5 degrees, to put Cleveland back in its place. To ensure the Browns stay on the right track to 0-16 while the Patriots march towards a new meaning of 18-1, and to ensure the Indians sneaky World Series drought continues to grow towards 70 years (been since 1948 for the Tribe, with only the Cubbies more desperate).

I feel bad for Cleveland in a sense, and I kind of wish it was the Yankees and Jets or Giants that were about to feel the wrath, but beggars can't be choosers.

Add it all together, and it's time to figure out how many points Brady is going to drop on the Browns and how many runs the Sox can string together on the Indians' dinged-up rotation.

The Patriots are averaging just 20.25 points per game thanks to Sunday's abomination, while the Browns are giving up 28.75. Of course, Cleveland has given up 30 and 31 points the last two weeks, respectively, to the Miami Dolphins and Washington Redskins, a.k.a. Jimmy Garoppolo and Jacoby Brissett's future destinations. Add in an enraged Tom Brady and I'd have to say the Pats should score about 45 points on Sunday.

With the Red Sox, it's a little harder to pinpoint how many runs they'll score, because they'll play anywhere between three and five games. They averaged 5.42 runs per game in the regular season...and you have to figure with Clay Buchholz getting a start in Game 4, they may need closer to 10 runs to win...I've got Sox in 4, so I bet they cross the plate 25 times in the series.

The official Barnes Road Tavern Over/Under for Boston vs. Cleveland this coming week is 70. If I know Tom Brady and David Ortiz like I think I do, as two guys who are sick and tired of having their names dragged through the mud, I'd project a total closer to 100. Place your bets accordingly.

PS: I will lose all faith in humanity if the Thursday Night Football game between the Cardinals and 49ers this week does a better rating in Boston/Providence/Worcester/etc. than the Red Sox-Indians Game 1. Those ratings are sinking fast. Gotta keep showing @nflcommish what it really looks like when something gets deflated.

UPDATE

Rain is a pretty good bet. Intensity still needs to be worked out. https://t.co/2nIlkPYBSd

— Michael Page (@MichaelPageWx) October 4, 2016

Less than ideal forecast for Sunday. Mike's the best meteorologist in the city so I've gotta take his word for it, but I'm hoping he's wrong this one time.

Tavern Game of the Week: No. 5 Clemson vs. No. 3 Louisville

This Saturday night has a heavyweight matchup in Death Valley as No. 5 Clemson hosts No. 3 Louisville. It seems like for the last two seasons Louisville has consistently been a noteworthy opponent on Clemson's schedule, but more as a trap game rather than an early season ACC playoff game. This top five battle under the lights is triggering some memories from the one game day experience I had at Clemson in 2013 when the No. 5 Florida State Seminoles came in and Jameis Winston had his Heisman coming out party as the Tigers got stomped 51-14. Hopefully for Clemson fans, and for everyone tuning into this game, this one won't be as much of a blowout.

The main attractions of this ACC matchup are the two quarterbacks that have Heisman chatter surrounding them: Clemson's Deshaun Watson and Louisville's Lamar Jackson. The two stars under center are, in my opinion, spot on reflections of their respective teams. Deshaun Watson has been under the Heisman spotlight for months now, much like the Tigers have been considered National Championship contenders since their loss on the big stage to Alabama. Due to these incredibly high expectations, Watson and the Tigers have been a bit underwhelming despite satisfactory performance so far this season. I want to stress the fact that I said "underwhelming" and not "bad." Clemson's overall performance just hasn't quite lived up to the preseason hype. That's partially thanks to their way-too-close of a win over Auburn in week one, and they have not played a nationally noteworthy opponent since. However, this can obviously all change when hosting the No. 3 team in the country and the Heisman front runner on Saturday night. So I don't think it's quite fair to say Clemson and their quarterback haven't fulfilled their potential, they just simply haven't had the chance to yet.

Looking at the Cardinals and their quarterback, the phenom under center is a mirror image of his team as a whole. This team was ranked No. 19 in the preseason polls which obviously entails that they were expected to be good, and Lamar Jackson didn't completely come out of nowhere after he tore it up at the end of the 2015 season. But I don't think many people expected them to make Florida State look foolish, have the most exciting quarterback in the country, and be two point favorites going into Clemson. Although the Cardinals have only had one opportunity to play a "contender" when they hosted the Seminoles, they took advantage of their one shot to establish themselves as contenders by winning 63-20.

Clemson's defense has been playing great so far in 2016, as they've allowed only 219 yards per game (3rd best in the country) and 11 points per game (5th best in the country). However, the glaring issue in Clemson's defensive preparation is the fact that you can't really prepare for a player like Lamar Jackson. What makes Jackson so good is his ability to make electric plays in such an unorthodox manner. He's simply a freak of nature. I think containing Jackson, if even possible, goes much further than X's and O's. Putting pressure on Jackson allows him to scramble into a free-for-all attempt at taking down the best athlete in college football. And it goes without saying that a player of this caliber has the ability to take advantage of a conservative defensive strategy. Jackson has also had some solid assistance from running back Brandon Radcliff, who has averaged 9.3 yards per carry, taking it to the endzone on three separate occasions.

Part of me wants to say that Clemson will come out on top because they are simply a more complete team than Louisville, but that's exactly what I said before the Cardinals took on Florida State and made both me and the Seminoles look like idiots. However, Louisville did have home field advantage against FSU, and coming into Death Valley for a game with this much hype is a difficult feat. I've said from the beginning of the year that I think Clemson will win the National Championship, and I feel like I need to stick to my guns. This is a game that Clemson loses with Tajh Boyd or Cole Stoudt under center, but this is 2016 and the Tigers' offense is led by the country's (now second) best quarterback. I think the Tigers will find a way to cover (Louisville is 2 point favorite) and win by 4.

Now let's get pumped to watch some incredible football on Saturday night:



Also just a friendly reminder for everyone at home: #FreeKodak

MEGA conundrum looming Columbus Day Weekend

I should note, this is a conundrum that is not quite set in stone. It's a conundrum that seems far less plausible than the host of NBC's hit reality series "The Apprentice" becoming president of the United States, but it's a conundrum nonetheless:

There is the POTENTIAL for Tom Brady's return from suspension to coincide with David Ortiz's final game ever.

Here's what we know: the Patriots will face the University of Rhode Island's football team the Cleveland Browns on Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1 p.m. This is signed, sealed and delivered.

What we also know is that Game 3 of each American League Division Series will be taking place that day, at times to be determined.

This is where the unknowns begin to roll in. First things first, the Red Sox need to win one of their final five games (or see the Toronto Blue Jays lose one of their final five games, three of which happen to be vs. Boston) to clinch the American League East, thus assuring themselves a spot in the ALDS. Not a big guarantee guy -- I've been burned in the past -- but I feel fairly confident in saying the Boston Red Sox are your 2016 AL East champs.

So let's assume the above to be true.

The next variable is one I believe we'll be accommodated on. I don't think MLB will schedule a Red Sox game at or coinciding with 1 p.m. There's historical precedence here: Game 4 of the 2004 ALCS was played at night following a 30-20 Patriots victory over the Seattle Seahawks, and who can forget a similar scenario in 2013, when Brady hit Kenbrell Thompkins for a game-winning score over the Saints a few hours before this.

Now again, this is worst-case scenario we're talking, but what if MLB doesn't accommodate the New England market?

And to go truly doom and gloom...let's say Rick Porcello loses a 1-0 heartbreaker at home in Game 1, followed by David Price getting shelled in Game 2...and the Red Sox are down 0-2, meaning another loss would equal the end of David Ortiz's career?

The formal question: if Tom Brady's return from suspension airs at the same time as David Ortiz's potentially last game, which event will your eyes be glued on? And before you scream "uhhh hey Lev, ever heard of DVR?" Yes I have. Doesn't work for live sports, and my landlord is too cheap to pay for it anyways.

After extensively conducting some market research yesterday (I asked two people), the consensus was, no matter what, football rules.

What's interesting is that my sample size was in what you'd consider baseball's go-to demo (late 40s/early 50s). My barber (Paul up at Pete's in Hingham, great guy and a better haircut) and former boss at Pro Sports, Keith (speaking of which, RIP in peace to Pro Sports; it outlasted Sports Authority) both said Brady's first game back, no matter what.

Last time I had to make this type of live-viewing decision was September 2013, when the Breaking Bad finale went head-to-head with a Patriots-Falcons Sunday night game. I went with Heisenberg's sendoff live and caught most of the fourth quarter, and I regret nothing.

Hopefully this is much ado about nothing, the Sox get a prime time game at 7 or 8 at night -- with a 2-0 lead over the Indians, no less! -- and Oct. 9 can put the Funday back in Sunday once and for all.

I'm on record that short of actually winning the World Series, I still think John Henry is giving David Ortiz a $34 million check to play next season (symbolism for No. 34). But juuuuuuuuuust in case the games are on at the same time and juuuuuuuuuust in case it really is Papi's last stand...no-brainer, I'm going with the Sox.

Tom Brady isn't worried about the Cleveland Browns, and neither should you. He's worried about Super Bowl LI in Houston on Feb. 5.

And if for some reason your Sunday gets away from you while celebrating the Red Sox win, enjoy your 87 cent iced coffee the next morning for some reassurance that the Patriots are 5-0.

NFL ratings (slightly) down and I'm weirdly ecstatic

Mark Cuban has already turned around lots of things in his career. He turned around the Dallas Mavericks, he turned around Shark Tank, and if the United States are still standing, he'll turn this country around in 2020.

If the NFL would be willing to listen to Cuban, he just might be able to save them from themselves as well. 

Back in March 2014, Cuban (in?)famously said "Pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they're getting hoggy," in regards to the National Football League, mainly a shot at the increased Thursday Night Football package.

Anyone who knows me knows that aside from the one Patriots TNF game per season, I will go out of my way to avoid watching that mockery of a product that masquerades as professional football. I'd rather watch the most generic, vanilla re-run of the Simpsons or Seinfeld for the 1,000th time than watch the Jaguars and Titans play on a short week in those cringe-worthy color rush unis.

Lo and behold, Cuban just might have been right. But this soon? It's been about 36 months since his bold prediction -- way off from his initial 10-year timeline -- and through two weeks of the NFL season...ratings for all seven prime time games are down, via Mike Florio of PFT (not 2 b confused width PFT Comenter).

Now this isn't to say the implosion of the NFL is anywhere near. The game Florio cites as the latest example of negative ratings growth, Bears-Eagles on Monday night, still drew nearly 10 million more viewers than the next highest-rated cable program that evening (SportsCenter, which followed the game). MNF received a 4.5 rating among the 18-49 demographic, while SC got a 1.3. The next highest non-sports program was something called Love & Hip Hop on VH1, which drew a 0.9.

I get extra giddy that the first Thursday Night Football broadcast (not the season opener between Denver and Carolina, which isn't counted towards the TNF ratings for some reason) dropped from a 7.5 in 2015 to a 5.4 this season. Before you say "well it was the Bills and Jets, what did you expect?" New York City is the largest TV market in the country. Yes, last year's Week 2 game (Broncos vs. Chiefs) was likely more compelling, but the Denver and Kansas City TV markets are the 17th and 33rd largest, respectively, per Nielsen.

I'm ecstatic for the rating declines, however minimal they may seem, not because I hate football. I love football, and you probably do too, be it the pros or college.

I do hate what the NFL has slowly been morphing in to, with an inferior product week-to-week. The Thursday Night saturation is only part of the problem, but it's a biggie. Forcing games in London, continuously proposing an 18-game schedule and playoff expansion (not to mention expansion of the league itself)...the NFL is becoming more watered down than "Sip N Dip" coffee, a gross chain over on the East Bay of Rhode Island (I'd rather drink Starbucks, for those keeping score).

Other than whoever saves the country in 2020, another storyline to keep an eye on will be the expiration of the current CBA between the NFL and the NFLPA. The CBA will expire after the 2020 season, likely after the 2021 draft.

2011 was just a warm-up between the sides. If you think the NHL's labor strife has been bad (and it has), and if you think the '94 strike that killed the Montreal Expos was bad...buckle up. I'm not sure how high up the priority list it is, but have you heard a single NFL player or coach talk about how much they love playing on Thursday night? One? One?

It's too bad the Red Sox already have the AL East locked up, or I'd gladly skip the Pats tomorrow night to do my part in declining the ratings. 'Til then, lets see if Jimmy G can 1) play and 2) pick up his third win, which will correlate to a third 1st round pick that he'll be worth.

The Face of Failure...Pending.