awesome: That explains it. May I sum up for you?

Money!

I'm still confused. Why not broadcast it over the air? OK, the cable giants don't show it, but I still have an antenna. Surely enough people would watch some of the games for them to make money selling advertisement time for commercials.

Why was tonight's game not on regular over the air broadcast television?

November 27, 2007 -- Cable industry observers and the Federal Communications Commission will be looking to this Thursday's Dallas Cowboys-Green Bay Packers game - the most significant matchup yet to air exclusively on NFL Network - to gauge consumer demand for the channel.

NFL Network execs are hoping the game will spark enough TV fan outrage in markets where it's unavailable - almost everywhere except Dallas and Green Bay and many markets controlled by Cablevision, Comcast and Time Warner Cable - to compel the industry giants to renew talks about carrying the channel.

Currently, NFL Network can be viewed on satellite via DirecTV and the Dish Network, smaller cable companies, and on some telecom systems like Verizon FiOS.

"There is going to be great demand for that game, and very clearly there's going to be a tremendous customer reaction," said NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell in a conference call last week.

The game, which features two storied franchises with identical 10-1 records, could determine crucial home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs.

"We want the customers to know that the game is not going to be available to them, and they should express themselves to the cable operators, or if they feel like they want to get it, change their service," Goodell said.

Cable operators have been saying publicly and privately there isn't enough demand for NFL Network to carry it on a basic tier. That would increase costs for all subscribers at a time when they've been shedding them at an unexpectedly rapid pace.

"It was the network and the league that made the decision about how games are packaged and where they are made available," said a Time Warner Cable spokesman.

"We have not seen any kind of significant outpouring of complaints or disconnects related to the lack of the NFL Network. If anything, our customers appreciate us holding the line on standard-tier pricing."

The FCC is scheduled to vote today on a number of issues, including the possibility of using binding arbitration to settle disputes between cable operators and channels like the NFL Network.

But even if this issue is taken up and passed, it will still be too late to have any impact on this year's NFL season or the remaining seven games on the network's slate.

rednaz23: I was rooting for Green Bay, still am, but the Cowboys won. The officiating seem to have missed a few calls, but the game was a pretty good one. Green Bay's backup quarterback did a pretty decent job after Favre got hurt. Him being able to run always changes things. A few people didn't like Harris' job on defense, though he got the lucky interception when Owens had it pop out of his hand in the endzone. That kept Green Bay alive at the end of the game. That call early in the game with forward progress and disallowing the interception and even calling it a complete made a difference. And what happened third and 19? Dallas got the first down and things weren't looking so good for Green Bay after that. Dallas was stunned with that run for a touchdown right up the middle, but they answered back so fast it hardly seemed to matter.

Puckish: I learned tonight that there is two different NFL networks. One is this channel 212 you keep talking about, but on Ruben's Dish Satelite it was a different channel. I think 154. The NFL package is something completely different. It is a type of pay-per-view television that let's you watch every NFL game that is played. Ruben does not have that. Now here's a question for you. Why was tonight's game not on regular over the air broadcast television?

The NFL Network for DirecTV here in Minnesota is 212... I think it is national as well... Does that help?

I think the Packers are overrated... They have won games against a couple of teams they should have lost to... Eagles game (last second field goal for the win), first Vikes game (I'm a Vikes fan, the Vikes played better most of the game, and somehow lost... DANG IT), Redskins game (turnovers returned for TD did in the Skins), Broncos game (you remember this crap!?!)...

The Cowboys beating them puts them at 10-2, but it should be 7-5 or 6-6. They look much more like a 7-5 team! If the Pack were in the AFC they would probably be sub .500! That shows the disparity between the conferences in my opinion. AFC plus Dallas are the NFL. (Not quite, but it seems like that!)

On another note; what happened to the Bears, Saints, Seahawks, Cards, 49ers? Were't these suppose to be significantly better teams this year? I don't get it... The Vikes with three more wins might make the playoffs and they have wide receivers and running backs playing quarterback... Don't forget the league worst passing defense... How does that get you into the playoffs? It just might because the NFC is just that bad.

rednaz23: I have thought that the Packers have been over rated and won some games while playing poorly, and I would be surprised to see them in this game near the end, although they have looked much better the past two weeks to me, and i think they have bought into their record, so just maybe they have a chance?

Puckish: Sorry wally, no "ter" see?

Whats the big beef anyway? Just because you went on and on about not getting the game etc... now you dont want to admit that you already get this channel???

Im just curious if it is the same nation wide or not?

Anyway, have fun at your buddies house.....

Walter Montego: Should be a good game! Who do you think will win?

Puckish: I do not know, Pukish. No "C", see?
I haven't turned the television on in over a week. I'm leaving right now to watch the game at my friend's house with the High Definition Television and NFL package.

Walter Montego: Hey Wally, whats the verdict with direct TV and the NFL channel anyway? Do you get it out there or not?

Here is the draw for the European sections for the qualifying for the 2010 World Cup.

Lucky old England got croatia again lol

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group One Table
  	  	
1 	Albania
2 	Denmark
3 	Hungary 	
4 	Malta 	
5 	Portugal
6 	Sweden 

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Two Table

1 	Greece
2 	Israel
3 	Latvia
4 	Luxembourg
5 	Moldova 
6 	Switzerland

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Three Table

1 	Czech Republic
2 	Northern Ireland 
3 	Poland 
4 	San Marino 
5 	Slovakia
6 	Slovenia

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Four Table

1 	Azerbaijan
2 	Finland 
3 	Germany
4 	Liechtenstein
5 	Russia 
6 	Wales 

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Five Table

1 	Armenia 
2 	Belgium 
3 	Bosnia-Herzegovina
4 	Estonia 
5 	Spain 
6 	Turkey

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Six Table

1 	Andorra 
2 	Belarus 
3 	Croatia 
4 	England
5 	Kazakhstan 
6 	Ukraine 

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Seven Table

1 	Austria 
2 	Faroe Islands 
3 	France 
4 	Lithuania 
5 	Romania 
6 	Serbia 	

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Eight Table

1 	Bulgaria 
2 	Cyprus 
3 	Georgia 
4 	Italy 
5 	Montenegro 
6 	Rep of Ireland 

FIFA World Cup European Qualifying : Group Nine Table

1 	FYR Macedonia 
2 	Iceland 	
3 	Netherlands 
4 	Norway 
5 	Scotland 

awesome: hahah not my day...

wasn't there some Colby guy who fumbled in some kickoff return or whatever today?

awesome: That was my point,I asked why I benched Smith,he was a beast today

Czuch: once again you MUST do your research before posting: Kolby Smith did not fumble ..he gained 150 yds on 31 carries with 2 TD's...

Jim Dandy: Looked like a good call to bench him after his early fumble....

Czuch: I guess I should have stipulated that the "subject" didn't always corespond with the actual messege
Here in Canada The Riders are a senitmental favorite.I 'm being a good Canadian today,I haven't watched a minute of NFL,just a few looks at my fantasy teams..............why did I bench Colby Smith

Jim Dandy: tha Packers arent eveyones second choice

everybodies 2nd choice when their own team is eliminated

GO RIDERS!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Llp01FjQGnc

awesome: Thats why you wanted to trade with Jim.... again my bad.

Well at least you dont have to travel an hour away to find a sports bar with the NFL package

Czuch:
once again...I grew up in Buffalo... I'm a Bills fan and only a Bills fan...Super Bowl losses and all !!!!

awesome: well, believe me, it was not that long ago that the Pats sucked and your niners were the elite team in the NFL, but I never once wished i was a niners fan or complained that I had to watch their games

Czuch: no problem...we are just not all as fortunate to have the Pats to follow...

awesome: sorry, my bad

Czuch: the Jags are 7-3 ..I'd suggest doing some research before saying that a team sucks....

Walter Montego: Agreed.... and channel 212???

Czuch: I believe they hire them straight from the Ministry of Information and Propaganda. You know, that same department that brought us Weapons of Mass Distruction and Bush Jr's war service record. Television takes them skill, but it pays more than the government jobs and is much more entertaining. Yeah they hype games. Kind of like how NASCAR hypes the chase. BY the way, how is it that the guy with the most points isn't the season champion? Yeah, lets have a re-start in the middle of the season to keep the masses interested. NASCAR has become wrestling. At least wrestling is honest about it. Everyone likes a close finish or game, but if someone has a big lead, they deserve it. Taking it away from them to help the laggers is not very fair. Just imagine if the umpires said, "OK, it's 13-2 that's a big enough lead, you guys only get two outs an inning and we're giving them four until they get within 3 runs." Tony Stewart's outburst earlier in the season about "Fake Cautions" might have been swiftly swept under the rug, but I'd been saying it for a couple of years now. I noticed towards the end of this season the cautions were called a little slower if it was just contact with the wall and the car kept moving. I'm glad the rules that Football changes are for the play of the game and not for the outcome of the final score even if the object of the rules changes is to keep things in balance between defense and offense.

awesome: Yes, I am aware of the wild card, thank you very much

It was meant to be somewhat of a joking post, hence the , I was just making fun of the way the game was being hyped, like nobody knows that both teams really suck, and people are going to tune into the game because there are "playoff implications", just laughing at the way the TV people will say anything they can think up just to make a game they are covering seem more important than it really is

Czuch: are you aware of the "wild card" ... you do not have to win your division to go to the playoffs...

Walter Montego: Take your time getting back to us on this one....

they are billing (no pun intended) the Bills Jags games as one with "playoff implications"

Yeah, if the Bills lose again, then the Patriots win the division again, thats their playoff implication!

Jim Dandy:

It could be worse , I'd be willing to trade you...we get the 49'ers and Raiders regionally.....

Czuch: The downside is I always get The Bills games being that that is my region

Jim Dandy: Yes, NFL TV that is the channel everyone gets, i think, and that is the channel used to broadcast the Thursday night games, IE the Cowboys vs Packers this week

Czuch: With the cable package we have I get NFL tv but not the gane channels.They are alloted channels,but I can't watch them unless I buy the package.Two games at 1 and another two at 4 are about all I can handle anyway,especially with my 9 fantasy teams filling my puter screen,that's my multi-tasking limit I guess.

Walter Montego: Yeah, all of the games that are on the NFL channel are on that one, you will like it for other reasons as well, because they do replays of some of the better games, and they do them in an hour (i think), not to mention the 24 hour NFL coverage!

Czuch: OK, I'll give that a try, but it is only one channel. Will it have the Thursday game on it this week? Since my friend has the NFL package, it's a moot point, but I'll certainly give it a try the next time.

Walter Montego: Try channel 212, thats what it is here anyways, and its not part of the "football package". I just pay for the basic plan and I have it here, unblocked

Czuch: No you don't! Least ways, I don't and I have DirecTV here. All of them channels are blocked out and if I go to them they tell me about ordering information.

Jim Dandy: with Direct TV you get the NFL channel in the basic package, you dont have to buy the whole football package

Jim Dandy:

I hate having 900 channels and not being able to find something good to watch....

Walter Montego: My GF insisted we get the mega cable package,so I do get the NFL network amongst our 900 or so channels.Can you imagine if Favre had retired last year? this may end up being his best season ever,short of a Super Bowl

Jim Dandy: Go Packers!

Should be a good game next Thursday. Packers versus Cowboys. If I understand right, it is only being broadcast on the NFL network or paid television. I have a friend who bought a high definition television just prior to the Football season starting. I've only watched one Football game this year Patriots/Colts), but I was hoping to watch this game next Thursday. I mentioned it to him, while telling him about the broadcast rights and blackout area. He happily told me that he'd also bought the NFL network package. So the game is on at his house! :)

Andersp:
It is similar to the reason of why we drive on the park way and park on the drive way. :)

As far as I know, the real reason is through the evolution of Football. The game that predates all of them was called Football. With the addition of the forward pass and then years of modifications to the rules you have modern Football, which is "foot" in name only. Soccer gets its name from Association Football. Soccer was developed as a less violent and safer version of the then current forms of football, such as Rugby. Since we had Football in the United States already Soccer got known by a different name. While over there in England and Europe the Association version came to dominate and they never developed a game similar to our type of Football except for the two main versions of Rugby which still go by that name or just Union or League depending on which version of Rubgy is being played. Rugby is called Rugby here. Soccer is Soccer. Football is Football or depending on which Football it'll be called be it's league or group. College, Arena, Highshcool, Canadian, NFL are the main types of Football. Soccer is a minor sport here. We all know Soccer isn't nothing much compared to real Football even if it is played in so many places and is so popular in so many places. Soccer is an English invention. Somehow the French got into the control of a portion of it and all you Soccer playing Europeans formed leagues and tournaments and there you have it. The French also had a major say in the schism that developed in Rugby and how there came to be two versions even though the split in Rugby was from the northern parts of England and arguing of paid players and other things. I'm trying to remember this stuff, so maybe an English or French Rugby fan can fill it in better than I can. I've never seen Rugby played though there are people that play it around here in Southern California. I can see Soccer getting lots more popular here some day, but for the time being it is strictly a minor league game. I'm not the only that hates Soccer. Soccer itself is one of the most played games where I happen to live. Kids play it all the time in the parks and fields. There's youth and adult leagues. Where I live happens to have one the highest Mexican and Central Amercian influx of immigrants in Califonia if not the United States, along side Vietnamese (Thought I don't know if the Vietnamese immigrants are a soccer playing people). Plus Soccer doesn't require much in the way of equipment or rules to play. Just some guys, a field, and a ball. Same thing for Football, except you need to know more rules to have a decent game of Football. Football also has a lot more different roles and positions for the players to cover. Defense and offense are completely different aspects. Scoring is more complicated. Yep, Football has changed every year. This is one thing I don't like about it, but it is still a lot better of a game in my opinion than soccer ever will be. I say this as a Baseball fan as that is a game I like the best for watching in person, though one of these days I will see an Australian Rules Football game. That looks like real fun game to watch or play. Flowing like Soccer and tough and rugged like Rugby or Football.

Andersp: Excellent question,maybe the game was more rugby influenced when named?
I always thought the British term for football/soccer "footie" was funny,but when you consider the term "movie" is used for a film,it becomes the logical name.

Early on I thought the pack wuz gonna run away with it

Walter Montego: I'm no Colts fan,but the steadying influence of the veteren Harrison should not be underestimated.I expected one or both teams to experience a letdown after all the hype of the game.Harrison is one of the top five recievers in the game,his loss would impact any team.

Walter Montego: Im not so surprised

Jim Dandy: No telling, perhaps the Colts lose even worse? San Diego beat them? On any Sunday, eh?

rednaz23: Which post is that? I haven't ever deleted one in this discussion board and I doubt that MadMonkey recently has. Perhaps it didn't get entered, or you hit the wrong button, or this site went down just after you posted it and the site reverted back to a previous setting? Try posting it again.

Andersp: Actually I found turning up the sound and blocking the video was the way to listen to it!