The NFL doesn't give a damn about the ticket-buying public

[Bicycle Bill]

Although this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.

When the 2015 NFL season schedule was originally announced, the Green Bay Packer/Minnesota Viking game scheduled for Week 17 (Jan 3, 2016) had a start time of 12:00 noon (Central Time).  However, about ten days ago when it appeared that the game was going to have possible implications with regard to whether or not the Packers *OR* the Vikings would make it into the playoffs, the NFL exercised its "flex schedule" policy and rescheduled the game for a 3:15 PM (CT) start so that it would be one of the 'national coverage' games on TV.

Well, the Packers clinched a spot last week with their win over Oakland; and since the Vikes clobbered the Giants yesterday, they have also earned a spot in the playoffs.  But what spot(s), exactly?  It turns out the final regular-season matchup between the Green and Gold and the ViQueens will actually have even more significant importance in terms of who plays whom and where during the post-season tournament.  So the No Fun League muckety-mucks have *AGAIN 'flexed' the start time of the game, moving it to 7:30 PM (CT) on the prime-time NBC Sunday Night Football so that everybody in the freakin' world can see it — on TV.

But pity the poor Packer fans — and to a lesser extent, Viking fans — who, back at the beginning of the season, made plans for a Sunday afternoon at Lambeau.  Originally they could have gone to the game, had a couple of brewskis (or brandies, depending on the weather), gotten home in the early evening, and still been able to get up the next morning to get to work — even if they had to drive back to Eau Claire, La Crosse or even back to the Twin Cities.  *NOW*, however, if they want to attend the game those plans have all been tossed into the dumpster — strictly in the name of TV ratings and TV ad revenue.

-"BB"-

[MajGenl.Meade]

They should become Browns fans and then they wouldn't have to bother with any of that

[Big RR]

Bill-- few years ago I had the same thing happen with a Jets-Bengals game; they put it into the late slot on a freezing night with a howling wind. I had bought a friend of mine tickets to the last game of the season (actually in that stadium) for a 1:00 game, but we sat in subzero temperatures with a big wind chill instead.

Meade--

[Lord Jim]

It turns out the final regular-season matchup between the Green and Gold and the ViQueens will actually have even more significant importance in terms of who plays whom and where during the post-season tournament.

As luck would have it, I just happened to be perusing a Washington Post article earlier today on that very subject... (Note to Cleveland Browns fans: Move along please, nothing to see here, please move along...)

The Washington Redskins claimed the NFC East title on Saturday night — a win that punched their ticket into the playoffs for the first time since 2012. But who will they face in the first round? That question won’t be answered until the final week of the season.

Washington is locked in as the fourth seed and will face the top wild-card team in the NFC. The Redskins could host the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings or Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. Here’s every scenario that can happen in Week 17 to determine the Redskins’ playoff opponent:

For the Seahawks to claim the fifth seed:

Seattle must defeat the Arizona Cardinals on the road and the Packers must beat the Vikings. Green Bay (with a possible 11-5 record) would win the NFC North title and the third seed, while the Seahawks (10-6) would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings (10-6). Minnesota would be the No. 6 seed.

For the Vikings to claim the fifth seed:

Minnesota must lose to the Packers, and the Seahawks must lose to the Cardinals. Green Bay (11-5) would win the NFC North title and the third seed, while the Vikings (10-6) would finish with a better record than the Seahawks (9-7).

For the Packers to claim the fifth seed:

Green Bay must lose to the Vikings. Minnesota (11-5) would win the NFC North title and be the third seed, while the Packers (10-6) would finish ahead of Seattle regardless of whether the Seahawks defeated or lost to the Cardinals.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/foo ... -playoffs/

[MajGenl.Meade]

I had trouble with the word "beat" when it's not preceded by "The Browns got"

[Bicycle Bill]

The Washington Redskins claimed the NFC East title on Saturday night — a win that punched their ticket into the playoffs for the first time since 2012. But who will they face in the first round? That question won’t be answered until the final week of the season.

Washington is locked in as the fourth seed and will face the top wild-card team in the NFC. The Redskins could host the Green Bay Packers, Minnesota Vikings or Seattle Seahawks in the playoffs. Here’s every scenario that can happen in Week 17 to determine the Redskins’ playoff opponent:

For the Seahawks to claim the fifth seed:
Seattle must defeat the Arizona Cardinals on the road and the Packers must beat the Vikings. Green Bay (with a possible 11-5 record) would win the NFC North title and the third seed, while the Seahawks (10-6) would hold the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Vikings (10-6). Minnesota would be the No. 6 seed.

And the first round of NFC playoffs would see Seattle playing at Washington, and a Minnesota/Green Bay rematch back at Green Bay.

For the Vikings to claim the fifth seed:
Minnesota must lose to the Packers, and the Seahawks must lose to the Cardinals. Green Bay (11-5) would win the NFC North title and the third seed, while the Vikings (10-6) would finish with a better record than the Seahawks (9-7).

And this would see the Vikings traveling to Washington, and Seattle coming to Green Bay.
(This is the same scenario if the Packers and the Vikings would play to a tie in week #17)

For the Packers to claim the fifth seed:
Green Bay must lose to the Vikings. Minnesota (11-5) would win the NFC North title and be the third seed, while the Packers (10-6) would finish ahead of Seattle regardless of whether the Seahawks defeated or lost to the Cardinals.

In this case the Packers lose home field advantage in the first round of the playoffs and have to go to Washington; Minnesota earns home field advantage for the first round and would host Seattle.

[MajGenl.Meade]

[rubato]

Although this shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone.
... "

You don't have to care. When I was lying in bed with a serious back injury and saw Joe Montana get a similar back injury on the field I said "this isn't fun, this is fucked up" and quit watching football.


High School and College football exploits and permanently breaks the bodies of children for nothing.


yrs,
rubato

[Big RR]

I think the same can be said of most amateur sports; injuries, even serious ones, regularly occur and the athletes get little in the way of compensation. Of course, for sports that have pro opportunities, these amateur sports provide the best chance for entry into them. And for those that don't, a full scholarship to a prestigious school is something, if they take advantage of it.

[rubato]

I think the same can be said of most amateur sports; injuries, even serious ones, regularly occur and the athletes get little in the way of compensation. Of course, for sports that have pro opportunities, these amateur sports provide the best chance for entry into them. And for those that don't, a full scholarship to a prestigious school is something, if they take advantage of it.

No, it cannot. Not all amateur sports have the frequency of life-altering and brain-altering injuries which HS and College football does. That's just dumb.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

No, it cannot. Not all amateur sports have the frequency of life-altering and brain-altering injuries which HS and College football does. That's just dumb.


yrs,
rubato

LOL

You just can't help yourself can you rube? You just cannot make any point without tossing in at least one completely gratuitous unprovoked insult...

If you're compiling a New Year's Resolution List rube, may I suggest adding, "Try to be less of a douche."

[Big RR]

I think the same can be said of most amateur sports; injuries, even serious ones, regularly occur and the athletes get little in the way of compensation. Of course, for sports that have pro opportunities, these amateur sports provide the best chance for entry into them. And for those that don't, a full scholarship to a prestigious school is something, if they take advantage of it.

No, it cannot. Not all amateur sports have the frequency of life-altering and brain-altering injuries which HS and College football does. That's just dumb.


yrs,
rubato

And of course if you had said that, I would not have responded the way I did. Talk about dumb...

[MajGenl.Meade]

He's on the offensive today - must be an excess of eggnog

[rubato]

Whine all you like. But unless you can prove that running, basketball, swimming, baseball, volleyball &c have equivalent numbers of brain and spinal cord injuries per participant then the comparison was dumb and just as insultingly so as calling it dumb was.

Amateur boxing and some of the more recent martial arts I'll grant are worse but the numbers of amateur participants are very small.

What a bunch of whinging little children. Grow a set.


yrs,
rubato

[Lord Jim]

He's on the offensive today - must be an excess of eggnog

the comparison was dumb and just as insultingly so as calling it dumb was.

Too much grog in the nog...

[Big RR]

rubato--even though that wasn't what you initially said, and even though I don't have the time to do the research, sports that have a very high serious injury (including brain and spinal cord injuries) include equestrian sports, hockey, wrestling, lacrosse, and gymnastics. Also high on the list are cheerleading, trampoline, and diving. True, total number of injuries are not the same since football fields much larger teams, but the injuries are often quite severe given the fact that protective equipment is much less.

Of course, you can do the research and see it for your self if you choose, but I'll bet you won't. And that's fine with me.

As for dumb, ...

[oldr_n_wsr]

A 10-6 team may be out of the playoffs.
It's possible two 8-8 teams will be in the playoffs (although either or both could wind up 9-7).

And the NFL is going to do what is best for the NFL money wise.
The buyer runs the risk of being "flexed" into prime time.
Caveat Emptor

[Long Run]

But pity the poor Packer fans — and to a lesser extent, Viking fans — who, back at the beginning of the season, made plans for a Sunday afternoon at Lambeau. 

But you know this going in -- you buy the tickets knowing the NFL can mess with the schedule and upset your plans. TV contract = $gazzillions for all teams. Stadium revenue =$relativepeanuts for home team. The real problem with actual stadium attendance is the number of drunken and out of control idiots allowed to attend (not implying you or anyone here would be anything but a victim of that problem).

[oldr_n_wsr]

I think soccer has been creeping up in the concussion department. They are talking about eliminating heading the ball in the youth leagues around here.
Hockey is another sport where there are numerous concussions.

[Gob]

Rugby anyone?

The England Professional Rugby Injury Surveillance Project, published in collaboration with Premiership Rugby and the Rugby Players’ Association, showed that although the rate of injuries remained stable during the 2013-14 season, the severity of injuries continues to rise in the professional game.

In total 739 injuries were sustained during matches and caused a player to miss training or a game. The average injury caused a player to miss 26 days; in 2002, when the project began, the average severity was 16 days. Meanwhile, training now accounts for a third of all injuries (a total of 414). At any one time during the season the average Premiership club will be without a quarter of their squad. In that context, England missing 12 players for their Six Nations match against Wales was not abnormal.

For the third consecutive season, concussion was the most common match injury. There were a total of 86 match concussions (a further eight in training), up from 54 in the 2012-13 season, which accounted for 12.5 per cent of all match injuries.

On average, there are 10.5 concussions per 1,000 playing hours. By way of comparison there are 17 concussions per 1,000 hours in boxing and 25 per 1,000 hours in jump horse racing. The difference, of course, is that rugby players are not placed in a position to fall nine feet from an object moving at 40mph nor are they asked to purposefully knock each other unconscious.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyu ... eport.html