άίίίίά Ϋίίίίά Ϋ Ϋίίίά άίίίά Ϋίίίά ίίΫίί άίίίά Ϋ Ϋ Ϋίίίί άίίίά ίίΫίί ίίίίά Ϋάάάί Ϋ Ϋ Ϋάάάί Ϋ ίάάά Ϋίίίίά Ϋάάά ΫάάάΫ Ϋ ά Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ ίά Ϋ ά Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ Ϋ ίίίί ί ίίί ί ί ί ίίί ίίίίί ίίίίί ί ί ί ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί Issue III - December, 1993 by D.P. McIntire Ί ΜΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΉ Ί SPORTSBEAT is an electronic publication distributed via the shareware Ί Ί concept of marketing. If you find it worthy, please send a registration Ί Ί of $ 3.00 to: AmeriBoard Enterprises, P.O. Box 445, Penn Run PA 15765. Ί ΜΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΉ Ί SPORTSBEAT may be distributed freely via computerized bulletin board Ί Ί systems. It may be placed on-line as a bulletin, door, or by any other Ί Ί means available. Such distribution will not be considered as a violation Ί Ί of the existing copyright. SPORTSBEAT may also be distributed via CD-ROM Ί Ί diskette without copyright violation. Ί ΜΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΉ Ί SPORTSBEAT may not be distributed via 5.25" or 3.5" diskette, nor may it beΊ Ί copied onto 5.25" or 3.5" diskettes. Such copying or distribution will be Ί Ί considered a violation of copyright law, and violators will be prosecuted Ί Ί under United States Copyright Law or International Copyright Law, whicheverΊ Ί is applicable. Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί TABLE OF CONTENTS. Ί Ί (1) Back-Checking: Memphis miffed by comments. Ί Ί (2) Bernie & Belichick: The Cleveland Brown Bruhaha. Ί Ί (3) Yawn.... Basketball season has started. Ί Ί (4) College Bowl Games: Commentary. Ί Ί (5) The NFL: We now know who, but the question is: Where? Ί Ί (6) Kind of a short issue, huh? Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί BACK-CHECKING: MEMPHIS MIFFED BY COMMENTS. Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Last month in SportsBeat, I did a tounge-in-cheek look at the group trying to garner an NFL expansion franchise for the city of Memphis in 1995. In the article, I mentioned the team's would-be name, "Hound Dogs", fourteen times. I have heard from the people of Memphis on this, and they are miffed. Apparently my commentary on the subject has the people of Memphis barking up a tree. I received five letters and two E-mail comments on SportsBeat's home BBS (AmeriBoard (tm) of Indiana, Pennsylvania), complaining to me that my comments could jeopardize the Memphis expansion bid, and that I shouldn't have used "Hound Dogs" so frequently. Me? Hurt the Memphis NFL expansion bid with my puny little electronic rag? I don't think so, folks. Paul Tagliabue, Neil Austrian, Art Modell, Jerry Jones and Company don't sit around the big table saying, "Well, D.P. McIntire thinks Memphis shouldn't get a franchise, so..." It just doesn't happen. If it did, they'd have added four teams instead of two as I suggested last month. I wish the city of Memphis the best of luck in acquiring an expansion team. Odds are they won't get it, but nonetheless I would like to see the NFL put a team in Memphis. If Memphis doesn't get it this time, maybe later on in the decade, or perhaps the next. ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί BERNIE & BELICHICK: THE CLEVELAND BROWN BRUHAHA. Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Being an avid fan of the Cleveland Browns, I was somewhat surprised by the team's decision to cut loose favorite native son and hero Bernie Kosar, their starting quarterback for the past several years and a native of the area. The team has been in a tailspin ever since, flagging its way through the rest of the regular season. The Browns with Bernie were flashing and slashing their way to the playoffs. Without Kosar, the Browns are bumbling and stumbling towards obscurity. I wasn't bitter about the Kosar move, in fact I thought he should go elsewhere - Bernie's style and injury habits are chaotic at best, and the Browns offensive line has been weak his entire career there. I think that the team he wound up with (Dallas, for those living in a cave) will utilize his skills well, and he'll make a killing in free agency when the 1993-94 season comes to a close. Bill Belichick, the Browns latest comeback guru (the first was quarterback Brian Sipe of "Cardiac Kids" fame, the second was Marty Schottenheimer, who'd still be the Browns HC had Modell not been such an idiot) decided that Bernie didn't fit into the Browns mold anymore, so he cut him loose. Vinny Testaverde, the so-called "back-up" to Kosar, will in all likelihood take the starting reigns upon his return from injury. Testaverde is a decent quarterback, and he'll in time make the Brown management proud. Maybe even lead them to the brass ring (read "Super Bowl" in the NFL). But the Browns timing was way off on the move. I'm sorry, but cutting loose a player of Kosar's capabilities when his successor is injured just doesn't seem like a smart move to me. Testaverde, hampered now for the better part of the season, couldn't immediately take the reigns and be the "take charge" guy. This position they've temporarily put in the hands of Todd Philcox, who so far has only proved why he's a back-up quarterback in Cleveland, rather than a starter in say, Phoenix. Note to Art Modell, Bill Belichick, et al.: next time you wish to dump your starting quarterback, make damned sure that his replacement isn't injured. The fans won't throw as many dog biscuits at you. ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί YAWN.... BASKETBALL SEASON HAS STARTED. Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ The NBA's 1993-94 season is underway. Have you noticed? Yeah. I'm sure it's started. I'm looking at the USA Today and they've already played 1/7th of the season! Wow! I missed it! So far the NBA isn't getting much attention for two reasons: (1) No Michael Jordan to deify or kick around, depending on whose reporting on him, and (2) Other sports are picking up the coverage. Football is gearing up now as the snow starts to fall, and hockey has boomed the past few years, so basketball suffers in terms of promotion and media coverage as a result. The NBA's top teams as of this writing (New York, Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Houston, Utah, Seattle and Phoenix are the top two in each division) combined don't have the media clout of one Michael Jeffrey Jordan. Patrick Ewing? A New York figure, nationally known, but not necessarily nationally loved. Dominique Wilkins? Who? Haven't heard of him in years now. Alonzo Mourning? Charlotte may be crazy about basketball, but basketball isn't quite crazy about Charlotte yet. Can anyone name more than three Boston Celtics anymore? The Houston Rockets are unbeaten (as of 26 November), but have no true marquee players. Same with Seattle. Utah has Karl Malone, who is an outstanding player and could be Jordan's successor in terms of marketing (he won't be), but the Jazz as a team would give Madison Avenue the blues. Phoenix has one true star, "Sir" Charles Barkley, but even as he is becoming the NBA's next great superstar, its next larger-than-life figure, he's talking retirement. And as the league becomes a larger and larger monolith, player's salaries are skyrocketing as they did in Baseball these past 17 or so years - and that can lead only to trouble. Kevin Johnson, an $ 84 million contract over 10 years? $ 8.4 million a year average doesn't upset too many these days, but everyone in the media seems to be mentioning the $ 84 million, and not mentioning the 10 years. I'm not condoning it, but I thought it was worth mentioning. This just adds to the fans dislike for professional sports, and it will - count on it - hurt the NBA in the long run. So, whip out your remote control and watch the NBA games on NBC (where they'll be until at least 1997). Don't forget your Gatorade... ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί COLLEGE BOWL GAMES - COMMENTARY. Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Bowl games are the only college football I watch on television. I just can't get into a college football game simply because there are literally hundreds of different colleges or universities one can root for. I can't see myself rooting for Notre Dame one week, Ohio State the next, and Florida the next. Bowl games interest me simply because there are just so damned many of them. There are 18 college bowl games: Rose, Orange, Sugar, Cotton, Fiesta, Peach, Holiday, Gator, Independence, Aloha, Copper, John Hancock, Freedom, Liberty, Hall of Fame, Citrus, Silver, and Sunshine. There is also to be another new one, the Alamo Bowl, to be played at the new AlamoDome in San Antonio (and probably no doubt sponsored by Alamo Car Rental). 38 different teams trying to beat one another in an all-important bowl game. Corporate sponsorship of bowl games doesn't bother me that much anymore. I used to cringe when I saw something like the "Sunkist Fiesta Bowl". The Sun Bowl became the John Hancock Bowl, and I shrieked. But now it's become commonplace, and we're so jaded by it all to the point where we don't care. Most football fans still don't refer to the Orange Bowl as the "Federal Express" Orange Bowl, so I suppose it's all right. I don't blame the colleges involved, the NCAA, or the bowl committees, after all they have to self-perpetuate, and they can't without the type of money that corporate sponsorships provide. But the number of bowl games astounds me. Eighteen. What's worse is that three more, the Bluebonnet Bowl, the Cherry Bowl, and the All-American Bowl, ceased to exist in the past fifteen or so years. Add to that the old Garden State Bowl and you've got almost as many bowl games as you do teams in most pro sports leagues. Here's the breakdown on the sponsorship history of college's Bowl Games: ROSE BOWL: Hasn't ever been sponsored, and probably never will be. ORANGE BOWL: Sponsored by Federal Express since 1990. SUGAR BOWL: Sponsored by USF&G Financial Services since 1987. COTTON BOWL: Sponsored by Mobil since 1989. FIESTA BOWL: Sponsored by Sunkist from 1986-1991. Went without a sponsor in 1992, but got a new sponsor in "IBM OS/2" in '93. GATOR BOWL: Sponsored by Mazda Motors from 1986-1991. Sponsor changed to Outback Steak House the following year. LIBERTY BOWL: Previously unsponsored; will be known as the "St. Jude's Hospital Liberty Bowl" starting this year. I used to donate to St. Jude's - now I see where my money's going. PEACH BOWL: Has so far retained its integrity and been without a sponsor. I'm kind of surprised on this one. Coca-Cola would have an inside track I would believe. FLORIDA CITRUS BOWL: This game is so bad off that it requires TWO sponsors. The Tangerine Bowl changed to the Florida Citrus Bowl in 1983 after being sponsored by the Florida Department of Citrus, and starting in 1993 is being sponsored as well by CompUSA. INDEPENDENCE BOWL: Sponsored by Poulan and has been known as the Poulan/Weed Eater Independence Bowl since 1990. HOLIDAY BOWL: Sponsored by Sea World from 1986 to 1990. Got new sponsorship money in 1991 from Thrifty Car Rental. LAS VEGAS BOWL: Has emerged unscathed from corporate sponsorship since moving to Las Vegas from Fresno. But in Fresno, the California Bowl was known from 1989 to 1991 as the California Raisin Bowl. No wonder the game was moved to Nevada. ALOHA BOWL: Sponsored by Chrysler's Jeep/Eagle division since 1987. FREEDOM BOWL: Has been referred to as the Anaheim Freedom Bowl, but apparently has never been sponsored. HALL OF FAME BOWL: This bowl has never been sponsored, probably because no one would dare throw their money down this big a well. COPPER BOWL: Sponsored by Domino's Pizza in 1990 and 1991, the game now has a new sponsor in the Weiser Company (since 1992), and is affectionately known as the Weiser Lock Copper Bowl. How nice. SUNSHINE BOWL: Sponsored since Day One. This game was originally known as the Blockbuster Bowl, from 1990-1993. Blockbuster dropped sponsorship after the 1993 game. Plans were to have the game unsponsored, but along came CarQuest rentals and voila! The CarQuest Bowl. Or the CarQuest Sunshine Bowl... or the Blockbuster CarQuest Sunshine Bowl... oh well. and let us not forget the granddaddy of them all... JOHN HANCOCK BOWL: In 1986 the Sun Bowl became the first collegiate bowl game to take on a corporate sponsor in John Hancock Financial Services. After two years of being known as the John Hancock Sun Bowl, the bowl committee allowed itself to be railroaded into dropping its name, the Sun Bowl, after 52 years. The John Hancock Bowl has been the result since 1989. Hooray! The NCAA gets revenue from bowl games, which is fine. I say more bowl games! More revenue for the NCAA! Let's see if we can come up with some interesting possibilities: - A bowl game to be held in Rich Stadium near Buffalo, played between the #6 team of the Big 10 (or 11, depending on your concern for being accurate) and the #5 team from the Big Eight conferences, called the "Toro Snow Bowl." Catchy, huh? ESPN or TNT would give millions for that one. If the #6 team in the Big Ten or the #5 team from the Big Eight aren't available due to being in other bowl games (which today is more likely than you think), then make it a fun encounter between teams like Texas A&M and Arizona State - two teams who are totally unaccustomed to playing in cold weather and snow. - A bowl game to be held in Guam, called the Dole Pineapple Bowl. Doesn't matter what two teams play against one another, but Dole could supply to the winning team a year's supply of, what else? Pineapples! - A bowl game to be played in Boston, called the Red Lobster Pot (can't call it the Lobster Bowl now, can we?) We could have a field day with this one. Get two college teams with crustaceans in their names, like "the Fighting Crabs" or the "Mighty Squids", ehr, excuse me. "Mighty Calomari." - A bowl game to be played in Nome Alaska, called the Klondike Frostbite Bowl. You could have two Ivy league schools play in this one, like Yale and Columbia, just so Alaskans could show these soon to be millionaires what life is like in the Great White North. Sell Klondike Ice Cream Bars for 20 cents a piece to try and hook the natives! - Finally, a bowl game to be played in my adopted hometown, Indiana Pennsylvania, called the Eljer Toilet Bowl. I don't know, seems appropriate to me. Have some college from Flushing New York (where else?) come down here and play someone else every year. Has little TV potential, but it would be a big boost to our local economic picture. ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί THE NFL: WE NOW KNOW WHO, BUT THE QUESTION IS: WHERE? Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ The third issue of SportsBeat was literally minutes from being placed "on the lines" as it were when I learned of the NFL's vote to expand to Jacksonville, Florida for 1995. The Jacksonville Jaguars will join the Carolina Panthers, who were selected earlier to join the NFL's glee club starting with the '95 season. Although I'm kind of surprised by the move on the NFL's part, I have a question: where are these two going to fit in the divisional alignments? I brought this topic up in the first SportsBeat issue two months ago: the NFL sorely needs to reorganize itself, and fast. Carolina could have maybe squeezed into the AFC Central without anyone noticing, but Jacksonville? In an NFC West maybe? No chance. Time has come to set it all straight, once and for all... well, at least until someone pulls a Bob Irsay and moves his club without the NFL's okay. There are other questions as well: what about Baltimore and St.Louis? Will they get franchises due to relocation? If so, where would these relocated teams fit in the picture? Well, I don't have an answer for that, but I do have a couple possible solutions for realignment, IF the thirty teams now in the NFL stay where they are. My solution: (a) six divisions of five teams each (which is undoubtedly what the NFL plans as well), or (b) two divisions of eight teams, and two others of seven. How each would work: SIX DIVISION FORMAT ------------------- Keep the divisions as they now are: Eastern, Central and Western in both the AFC and NFC. JACKSONVILLE IN AFC, CAROLINA IN NFC: Put Jacksonville in the AFC East, where a natural rivalry is born between Dolphins and Jaguars fans. Move the Indianapolis Colts to the AFC Central, where they should have been since 1984. In the NFC, do a full re-shuffling: take Dallas and Phoenix out of the NFC East and put them in the West where they belong. Move Atlanta to the NFC East, and put the Carolina Panthers in the NFC Central. CAROLINA IN AFC, JACKSONVILLE IN NFC: Put Carolina in the AFC East, primarily to lessen travel burdens on other AFC East teams. Move Indianapolis to the AFC Central. In the NFC, again, take Dallas and Phoenix and put them in the NFC West, move Tampa over to the Central, and place Jacksonville in the East. Move Atlanta over to the Central Division. Eastern Division...............Central Division............Western Division Buffalo Bills..................Cleveland Browns..........San Diego Chargers Miami Dolphins.................Cincinnati Bengals.......Los Angeles Raiders New York Jets..................Houston Oilers................Denver Broncos New England Patriots...........Pittsburgh Steelers.........Seattle Seahawks Jacksonville/Carolina..........Indianapolis Colts........Kansas City Chiefs Eastern Division...............Central Division............Western Division New York Giants................Chicago Bears...............Los Angeles Rams Washington Redskins............Detroit Lions...........San Francisco 49'ers Philadelphia Eagles............Minnesota Vikings..........Phoenix Cardinals Tampa Buccaneers...............Green Bay Packers.............Dallas Cowboys Atlanta/Jacksonville...........Carolina/Atlanta..........New Orleans Saints FOUR DIVISION FORMAT -------------------- Get rid of the AFC-NFC garbage and do divisional alignment based purely on geography. Have Eastern, Southern, Central and Western divisions. No AFC, No NFC. Something like this: Eastern.............Southern.............Central.............Western Buffalo.............Miami................Cleveland...........San Francisco New York Jets.......Jacksonville.........Cincinnati..........San Diego New England.........Tampa................Chicago.............L.A. Rams New York Giants.....Atlanta..............Detroit.............L.A. Raiders Philadelphia........New Orleans..........Minnesota...........Phoenix Pittsburgh..........Houston..............Green Bay...........Seattle Washington..........Dallas...............Dallas..............Denver Carolina.............Kansas City Do the regular season as it is now: two games against each team in that division (12 games for Eastern and Western clubs, 14 for Southern and Central), then play four (or two, depending on division) against teams chosen by the league schedule maker, either at random, or based on past rivalries or even by potential television ratings (which is what the NFL folks are geared toward, even though they picked Jacksonville as the 30th club). For playoffs, keep the number of teams at 12. Give the top three teams in each division playoff berths. Give each division champion a bye in the first week of the playoffs (the NFL knows the meaning of the "bye" week well). Have the 2nd and 3rd place teams in each division duke it out in divisional playoffs, with the winners going against the regular season division champs in a divisional championship game. When you get to the final four, seed them #1, #2, #3 and #4 based on the NFL's tiebreaking format. #1 plays #4 while #2 and #3 square off in Semi Finals. The winners go to the Super Bowl, and perhaps, just maybe, the NFL would actually have the best two teams in the entire league going to the Super Bowl each year, instead of the current "NFC team whomps AFC team" format. Great games for NFC fans, lousy ratings and TV revenue for the NFL. Drop a line to Paul Tagliabue, Neil Austrian, and all 28, ehr, whoops, excuse me, 30 NFL team owners, and let them know your suggestions for realignment. YOU ARE THE FANS - they will listen if prodded enough. Even they realize that when it all boils down that without YOU, THE FAN, all the television money in the world won't mean a hill of beans. Because without people to watch the games, be it in the stands or on the couch, they won't last long. ΙΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝ» Ί KIND OF A SHORT ISSUE, HUH? Ί ΘΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΝΌ Well, there's honestly not that much for me to report ("rag") on this month in SportsBeat, so I think I'll quit while I'm ahead of the game. Until next month, keep your eyes on the ball, keep your head in the clouds, and keep your hand on your wallet! - end -