THE SPORTS BAR INTERACTIVE SPORTS NEWSLETTER

                    One Shining Moment

Volume 32  Number 49  Whole Number 1670

Issue Date:  Monday, April 6, 2026

Email Circulation:  554

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OPENING PITCH:  There is none

The Streak:  1670

The Sports Bar online sports forum sportsbusiness.com online sports marketing and management forum: http://www.sportsbusiness.com

Email:  Brian@sportsbusiness.com

Twitter:  @SBNewsletter

Tuesdays at 11:00pm: Running flag football plays

Played football: 1930+197 days in a row

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CONGRATULATIONS TO THE SPORTS BAR NCCA TOURNAMENT WINNERS:

CHAMPION OF THE 2026 SPORTS BAR NCAA REGULAR POINTS CONTEST:

    Mrs. Casey

CHAMPION OF THE 2026 SPORTS BAR NCAA SEEDED POINTS CONTEST:

    Mrs. Casey

NOT AWFUL ANNOUNCING

I love Ian Eagle. Not only is he a versatile, unassuming, outstanding announcer who's time has come as the lead PBP guy on the NCAA tournament, but he responds to me when I post something on X about how he and his son do such a great job calling games ("Noah's apple does not fall far from the Ian Eagle tree.")

Son Noah is now the lead play caller for NBC's NBA package.

So when Michigan's Elliott Cadeau ("KA-doh") made a play in the NCAA semifinal game, I am sure that Ian had this one his in back pocket, waiting for just the right moment.

My back was turned to the TV, but I can imagine that it was an assist, maybe an alley-oop from Cadeau when Ian Eagle said "He was Waiting for Cadeau".

I am sure most people didn't get it. But it was brilliant.

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waiting_for_Godot)

LAST YEAR: THE HOUSE SETTLMENT

Background at: https://honestgame.com/blog/house-vs-the-ncaa/

One of my favorite days of the year is the annual Villanova Law School sports law seminar, hosted by the Villanova Sports Law institute and its director, Andrew Brandt.

Each year, the former NFL executive presents a series of common-themed sets of interviews and discussions with some of the top people in sports. This often includes player agents, sports lawyers, athletes, team and league officials, and broadcasters.

Last year's theme was the pending House Settlement. It was a court case in which the named plaintiff and NCAA swimmer, Grant House, had sued the NCAA for compensation and benefits. He did not win the case, but he settled in a way that will compensate many past, current, and future college athletes a lot of money.

The result of the settlement is that the NCAA and member schools will have a starting budget of $20.5 million to directly pay student-athletes.

I mean, to directly pay professional student-athletes.

So last year, the Villanova law school sports law seminar had a discussion about the coming House Settlement.

This year they had Grant House.

Grant House set in on a panel discussion but also sat for an unusual one-on-one with Andrew Brandt. It was an enlightening account about how this good-looking, chiseled, college swimmer became the face the case that now allows -- demands actually -- that athletes get compensated by the participating schools.

Most participants on the panel commended House as a hero who bravely stood for the rights of college athletes.

Or, he might go down in history as having destroyed college athletics as we know it.

And if you think there is a flip side to that coin, you are correct.

While the House Settlement calls for member schools to contribute to a payment pool of $20.5 million per university, it fails miserably at any egalitarian distribution of that wealth. While most schools will pay hefty sums to men's football and men's basketball, most other sports are left out.

Some schools have decided to pay softball or volleyball players, which are not among the "revenue sports". Instead, they are called non-revenue or euphamistically "Olympic sports".

So after the Big Boys get paid, some money might filter down to a couple women's programs. But that leaves lacrosse, fencing, swimming, gymnastics, track, chess, and Key Club left out.

Key Club?  Why not?  That is a school activity somewhere on par with football. Bad example? How different are the rowers -- who will not get paid -- from the football team which will get compensated.

The Olympic Sport athletes are apparently not worthy of payment because they don't generate revenues nor eyeballs.

THE MEDIA DON'T GET THAT NIL IS JUST SO 2024.

Let's get one thing straight.

NIL has nothing on the House Settlement.

While most sports commentators and TV sports talk shows are focused (obsessed?) with Name, Image, and Likeness issues and the money that brings to college players, they rarely mention how the House settlement allows for direct pay-for-play by the players.

I have to credit Brandt for being so timely. When NIL was an emerging thing, he dedicated his sports law seminar to that topic. When The House Settlement became an equally important deal as it neared approval in the summer of 2026, he morphed the conversation towards the significance of House.

But the media don't get it. They are hung up on NIL as if NIL is the only source of pay for players.

Far from it.

Colin Cowherd on his "The Herd" talkie on FS1 how this to say the day after Michigan's win in the NCAA Tournament:

   "How is NIL and the transfer portal working for your school?"

He went on to describe the "model" where alums give money to NIL to pay the players.

But NIL is so 2024. As The Sports Bar started to cover last year, there is now a direct pay-for-play model in place. And that's thanks to Grant House.

During the NIT basketball tournament final between Oklahoma and West Virginia, announcer Gus Johnson repeatedly mentioned the incentive for the winning team -- $300,000 in "NIL money". I'm not sure if that really is NIL or coming from some other pool.

A guest on a TV sports talkie said that success in college basketball is about "roster construction, NIL money, and turnover."

Oh, really? Ever hear about the legal settlement which requires schools to distribute $20.5 million to its top programs?

I guess the media folks need to attend the same sports law seminars that I am.

FOR THE GLORY,

See ya somewhere online.

  -- Brian, somewhere near Israel

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For Free Subscription/Removal or Comments: Brian@sportsbusiness.com

The Sports Bar online sports forum: http://www.sportsbusiness.com

Copyright 2026 The Sports Bar Interactive Sports Newsletter. All rights reserved.  No pictures, accounts, or descriptions of this newsletter may be reproduced without the express written permission of Major League Baseball.

Super Bowl Travel Guide

(This article will be updated with additional information as the NFL season progresses).

This guide is designed to assist fans who are traveling to the Super Bowl by a Philadelphia Eagles fan who has traveled to over a dozen Eagles away games and Super Bowl 57 in Arizona where the Eagles lost to the Chiefs.

We will cover the costs and activities at the Super Bowl, trying to make the trip as affordable and enjoyable as possible.

There are several major costs at the Super Bowl:

1. Super Bowl game Tickets

2. Transportation

3. Hotels

4. Car Rentals

5. The NFL experience

SUPER BOWL TICKETS:

Everyone wants to know one thing: How much will a Super Bowl ticket cost me?

It is difficult to provide precise details on ticketing because there are many variables including:

• Ticket reseller
• Timing
• Add-ons
• Fees

However there are some long-term trends that can be useful. Let's break these down before offering some details in the future.

THE BOTTOM LINE:  In the past 6 years that we have been tracking Super Bowl ticket prices, the lowest prices we have seen are in the time frame of Thursday-Saturday before the Super Bowl. Prices bottom out around $3000 on Ticketmaster (plus fees).

1. Super Bowl tickets may go on sale as early as November with add-on packages. While tickets have been trickling in to TickPick.com and SeatGeek.com, the first listings on Ticketmaster.com did not appear until January 13th in 2026. That is the latest we have seen.

4. Tickets become available in a trickle, with tickets being bought and sold daily.

5. We start close price tracking as soon as the 2 Super Bowl teams are decided.

6. Prices on Ticketmaster may start around $6000-$8000.

7. Prices fluctuate like the stock market over the next 2 weeks but slowly drop.

8. On the Thursday-Friday prior to the Super Bowl prices generally drop to around $3000 each.

9. On the day of the game tickets are still available in the $3000-$4000.

As we go along we generally watch Get-In-The-Door ticket prices. If you can afford $10.000+ for a seat between the 20 yards lines then you don't need to be reading this.

We used to track prices excluding fees but for 2026 every price will be "fees inluded" to give a better idea of the actual price you pay. If you want to search tickets without fees, you can expect to pay 18% to 24% additional fees.

Taxes are not figured into our tracking.

For 2026 we have been tracking Tickpick, SeatGeek, and Ticketmaster. Sorry, StubHub.

We focus on the cheapest "Get In The Door" price.  Prices can vary by hundreds per day for the GITD price or any type of seat.  Here is the TickPick GITD price from January 7 to January 24:

DATE	TICKPICK CHEAPEST	DIFFERENCE
1/7	5588
1/8	5588	0
1/9	5870	282
1/10	5808	-62
1/11	5808	0
1/12	6095	287
1/13	6325	230
1/14	6015	-310
1/15	6279	264
1/16	6279	0
1/17	6072	-207
1/18	5916	-156
1/19	6038	122
1/20	5926	-112
1/21	5813	-113
1/22	5588	-225
1/23	5503	-85
1/24	5532	29
	TOTAL CHANGE	-56

In our experience, the prices will continue to fluctuate like the stock market from the AFC and NFC championship games (We call that Day -14 until the Super Bowl).

But the stock market can also trend, and the trend for prices has been to drop from Day -14 until the Super Bowl.

It would be a mistake to purchase tickets before Day -7.

We suggest you monitor a set of tickets every day.  That Section 412/Row 16 ticket for $9698 that you had your eye on might be sold tomorrow. So look for the Section 412/Row 14 ticket that shows up tomorrow for even less money.

SIDEBAR: The Super Bowl tends to have two soft beverage choices: Buy a souvenir cup of Coke for $14 or go thirsty. Following the game look for left-behind souvenir cups and pick up extras for gifts when you get home. And send me one.

TickPick and other resellers have a Super Bowl ticket price report which they email. Both TickPick and SeatGeek list ticket price charts. But their trends and narrations are limited to their own site prices. You can look at other sites.  Most of our previous experience and lowest prices were found on Ticketmaster as the game approached.

However, in our expanded ticket price watch for 2026, Ticketmaster is way higher as of January 25th for the lowest GITD price:

• TickPick       $5532
• SeatGeek       $6388
• Ticketmaster   $6638

These prices are all for "Upper Corner" seats at Levi's Stadium which are the cheapest seats since we started tracking.

Next 3 Super Bowls:

  2026 Santa Clara/San Francisco 49ers

  2027 Los Angeles

  2028 Atlanta

We will focus on being able to cancel your plans so if your favorite team does not make The Big Game you can cancel plans with no cost.  I held off making a hotel reservation at the Comfort Suites just one mile from State Farm stadium until the Eagles had won the NFC Conference championship 2 weeks before the Super Bowl.

Had the Eagles lost, I would have canceled all of the plans.

1. Transportation

Super Bowl flights tend to cost more than the same flight one week before or after the Super Bowl. There isn't much you can do except to purchase your flights well ahead of time when you can save money and have your choice of flights.

Your flight can also be free.

You can join one or more flight reward programs and sign up for the accompanying credit card with a 50,000-80,000 point bonus after spending $3000. This might be enough points to cover 2 flights if you make reservations to San Francisco, New Orleans, or Atlanta well ahead of the Super Bowl.

Then, if your favorite team does not make it to the big game, you may be able to cancel the flight, get back your points, and wait until next year.

Make certain you keep the flight miles active.

If you happen to live close enough to drive to a Super game then target that game because you just made a much easier trip.

3. HOTELS

There are some useful money saving tips here especially if you want the option to cancel.

For the 2023 Super Bowl in Glendale, Arizona we got a room at the Comfort Suites hotel one mile from the Super Bowl stadium for about $195 a night.

Many hotels still allow you to cancel your room prior to the Big Game, so if you need that option, make plans very, very early before hotels fill up and rates increase and cancellation privileges are removed.

I made 5 reservations for the Arizona Super Bowl, getting a better and better deal each time. Each room was cancellable.

There are 2 hotel chains which take points for any room at only a small premium to the regular rate. So this is where you can get really cheap rooms.

Wyndam Hotels (Wyndham, La Quinta, Hawthorne) and Choice Privileges (Comfort Inn, Comfort Suites) may raise the points price a little for Super Bowl week. Here is how I got a Comfort Suites room with free breakfast for $195.

Normal Price for the room: $150

Super Bowl price:  $699

Normal points price:  20,000

Super Bowl points price: 30,000

Normal cost per point: 1.00 cents

Discount cost per point: .065 cents

Normal price for room with points: $200

Super Bowl price for room with points: $300

Super Bowl price for room with points discount:  $195

Look at that bottom line for the $699 Super Bowl room: $195 per night.

But all this takes some work.

Both Comfort Suites and Wyndham offer points at a discount several times a year. If you catch it at the right time you can see that we saved money not only by using points but also getting a discount on the points.

I purchased my points for the Comfort Suites during a points sale in October, helping to lower the overall cost. At the time, I could not even reserve a room yet with points. I checked the room availability every day to be certain that I could reserve a room if needed.

At the time, I had to wait until 100 days before the reservation (mid-November) before making a reservation with points.

Just make certain you can cancel the room if your favorite team does not make it to the Super Bowl.

5. THE NFL EXPERIENCE

Besides the game, the go-to event at the Super Bowl is The NFL Experience at a downtown convention center.

For Super Bowl 60 on February 8, tickets when on sale December 8th, 2 months before the Super Bowl.

September 8 10:00am: Visa Card pre-sale.

September 10  10am-: Public sale

At one time the NFL offered a version of a "fast pass" for the activities at the Super Bowl.  We highly recommend this option if they still offer it.

The Sports Bar's 2025 NCAA Contest POSTED NOW

The Sports Bar's 30th annual NCAA bracket contest is posted NOW.

Please use the link to enter either of the 2 scoring contests:  Regular or Seeded Points.

Or you can use one entry for both contests.

This is the primary link to use to play, but you can also see the link on the left menu bar on this page.

http://www.sportsbusinessfiles.info/

or try

http://www.sportsbusinessfiles.info/ncaa2025.html

please do not use a "https://" address.  Do not use the "S".

Deadline to enter will be 12:15 on Thursday when the 64-team bracket starts.  There are also a few games on Tuesday and Wednesday of Selection Week to set the 64-team field.

If you have any browser issues, please try clearing cache or use a different browser.  Remember to use just "http://" NOT "https://"

Please enter as many times as you want, just use a different entry name when you send.  And please invite friends and family to play.

   -- END --

The Sports Bar 2023 NCAA Bracket Contest and Results HERE

The Sports Bar's 2023 NCAA Contest is POSTED NOW.

CLICK HERE FOR Sports Bar 2023 Regular Points Standings

CLICK HERE FOR Sports Bar 2023 Seeded Points Standings

Remember you can enter Regular Points or Seeded Points or both contests.

Enter as many times as you want, just use a different entry name when prompted.

<=====  Click the links on the left sidebar to go to the contests page

Or try using or sending these links:

http://www.sportsbusiness.com/NCAA2023.html

Click here to enter The Sports Bar's 2023 NCAA contest

Deadline to enter is tip-off of the first game of the Round of 64.  That's the Thursday games.

However, as always, if you enter the contest late, don't worry. I trust you. But I will report your tardiness to Jim Boeheim. I understand he has plenty of time on his hands.

Thanks for playing. 

Sports Bar 2022 NCAA Tournament contest posted NOW

 Enter The Sports Bar's 2022 NCAA basketball tournament bracket contest.

This year's contest can be found here:

Sports Bar 2022 NCAA bracket contest

http://www.sportsbusinessfiles.info/NCAA2022.html

Deadline to enter is tip-off of the Thursday games at 12:15pm.

Thanks for playing

NFL Updates Tiebreaking Web Page After Nearly 2 Years

After nearly 2 years of posting incorrect information on its tiebreakers web page at

https://www.nfl.com/standings/tie-breaking-procedures

11-year-old Ryan Youngerman and his dad, Brian, contacted the NFL and 5 days later, the correct page was posted by the league. The Youngermans are from Mount Joy, Lancaster County, in Pennsylvania.

The NFL changed its tiebreaking process in March of 2020, but only made an update to the web page on January 5th, 2022, 5 days after the Youngermans contacted the NFL. Dad and son had been looking over the NFL tiebreakers and realized the information referred to "Two Wild-Cards" and "The second Wild-Card" even though the NFL has had three Wild-Cards since announcing new playoff rules in March of 2020. There were no references on the NFL's site to the "third Wild-Card".  6th-grader Ryan found that the posted NFL draft procedure was also wrong in multiple places since it depends on the number of playoff and non-playoff teams.

The NFL's page still stated that "Clubs not participating in the playoffs shall select in the first through 20th positions in reverse-standings order." However, Ryan knew that the new playoff format meant that the reference should have been "first through 18th positions".

The newly posted tiebreaking procedures indicate the correct process for selecting all three Wild-Cards and the draft order.

Ryan and his dad are NFL fans who are planning on visiting all 32 NFL stadia. They have attended games at 8 NFL stadia in the past 3 seasons.

The elder Youngerman, who has long reported on tiebreaking procedures in his hobbyist Sports Bar weekly sports newsletter, had also written in 2002 about incorrect Wild-Card information posted by the NFL when it failed to update its site when the league expanded to 32 teams. At that time, the NFL switched from three Wild-Card teams back to two Wild-Cards. The wrong information was posted for over a year until the NFL updated its web site.

Contact:  Brian@sportsbusiness.com or @SBNewsletter

- END -

Errors on NFL.COM Tie-breaking Procedures Page

There are errors on the NFL.COM NFL Tie-breaking web site, and other web sites which picked up on the official NFL tie-breaking procedures.  The page is at 

https://www.nfl.com/standings/tie-breaking-procedures

This article first appeared in The Sports Bar interactive Sports Newsletter, the longest-running and oldest hobbyist sports newsletter on the Internet. It has been written and edited for 1443 consecutive weeks (27 years) by Brian Youngerman of Mount Joy, PA.

< ======================================= >

I and my 11-year-old son are in the middle of our quest to visit all NFL stadia. We have seen games in 8 NFL stadia in the past 3 years.

We talk and play football every day. We have played "a football catch" every day for 554 consecutive days and counting.

We also talk NFL tie-breakers and have been finding errors on the NFL Tie-Breaking website and other sites. Ryan and I found several errors on these Internet sites regarding the NFL tie-breaking procedures, including:

https://www.nfl.com/standings/tie-breaking-procedures

https://operations.nfl.com/the-rules/nfl-tie-breaking-procedures/

https://www.espn.com/nfl/news/story?page=tiebreakers

https://dknation.draftkings.com/nfl/2020/11/16/21569858/nfl-playoffs-tiebreaker-procedures-wild-card-division-standings-expanded-teams-2020-2021

These pages state under the section to break a tie among "Three or More Clubs":

   >>> "To Break A Tie For The Wild-Card Team: If it is necessary to break ties to determine the two Wild-Card clubs from each conference, the following steps will be taken."

THIS IS WRONG.  There are three wild card teams, not two, as stated by the NFL, ESPN, etc. on the above links.

Another error under the section "Three or More Clubs":

   >>> "...of the procedure that are necessary to identify the two Wild-Card participants."

THIS IS WRONG. There are now three, not two, Wild-Card participants.

Also, a confusing reference is made by the NFL:

    >>>  When the first Wild-Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild-Card,

You can't really stop here and say "the second Wild-Card," because there are actually THREE Wild-Cards. When you say "The second Wild-Card" you suggest there are only two wild cards.

The NFL tie-breaker page makes several references to the "the second Wild-Card," or "the two Wild-Cards," but not a single reference to "the third Wild-Card" nor "three Wild-Cards."

We assume that the actual tie-breaking procedures are correct, but I have questions about this reference:

   >>> When the first Wild-Card team has been identified, the procedure is repeated to name the second Wild-Card, i.e., eliminate all but the highest-ranked club in each division prior to proceeding to step 2.

Again, "the second Wild-Card" is referenced, but do we proceed the same way for the third unmentioned Wild-Card?  It would help if the NFL explained this step in full detail.

So the errors found by myself and my son is not to say that the tie-breaking procedure itself is wrong.

The NFL also has errors in your section devoted to the "NFL Tie-Breaking Procedure For Selection Meeting":

   >>> Clubs not participating in the playoffs shall select in the first through 20th positions in reverse standings order.

THIS IS WRONG.

The NFL page should state "first through 18th" positions since you moved to 14 playoff teams, not 12.

And this is wrong from the same section on the NFL draft tiebreakers:

   >>> The losers of the Wild Card games shall select 21st through 24th based on won-lost-tied percentage

THIS IS WRONG.

This section should state that under the new 3-team Wild Card rules first used last year, Actually, losers of the Wild Card games shall select 19th through 24th.

This is not the first time The Sports Bar Newsletter found errors and ommissions in the NFL tiebreaking references.  In 2002, when the Houston Texans joined the league and the NFL moved from 3 divisions/3 Wild Cards to 4 divisions/2 Wild Cards, the NFL failed to update references to the correct number of Wild-Cards for more than a year.

We hope the NFL and other sites which mirror the NFL tie-breaking will correct the tie-breaking pages and clarify that the procedures apply to all Wild-Cards.

                                            -  30 -

Play our free NCAA Basketball Tournament contest and team grid

The Sports Bar's 26th (non consecutive) annual NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket contest is ready to enter.

Enter your bracket here

The full address of the link is:  http://www.come_back_later _to_play.com/index.html

As in previous seasons, we will crown several champions at the conclusion of the tournament:

Regular Points champion:  Points based on 1-2-3-5-7-10 per round

Seeded Points champion:  Points based on the seed of the team (upsets are worth more!)

Donegal champion:   Winner from the Lancaster county region of Pennsylvania (Regular points used)

To enter our free bracket contest, please click on the link on the left or above to play your bracket.  

There is also a grid which shows you information about each team.

Deadline to enter is tip-off of the first games on FRIDAY of the 1st round of tournament.   The schedule has changed. The Thursday  play-in games don't count.

Thanks for playing.

Play our free NCAA Basketball Tournament contest and grid

The Sports Bar's 24th annual NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket contest is ready to enter.

As in previous seasons, we will crown several champions at the conclusion of the tournament:

• Regular Points champion:  Points based on 1-2-3-5-7-10 per round
• Seeded Points champion:  Points based on the seed of the team (upsets are worth more!)
• Donegal champion:   Winner from the Lancaster county region of Pennsylvania (Regular points used)

To enter our free bracket contest, please click on the link on the left to play your bracket.  There is also a grid which shows you information about each team.

Deadline to enter is tip-off of the first games on Thursday of the tournament.  The Tuesday/Wednesday play-in games don't count.

Play our free NCAA Basketball Tournament contest and grid

The Sports Bar's 23rd annual NCAA Basketball Tournament bracket contest is ready to enter.

As in previous seasons, we will crown several champions:

• Regular Points champion:  Points based on 1-2-3-5-7-10 per round
• Seeded Points champion:  Points based on the seed of the team (upsets are worth more!)
• Donegal champion:   Winner from the Lancaster county region of Pennsylvania (Regular points used)

To enter our free bracket contest, please click on the link on the left to play your bracket.  There is also a grid which shows you information about each team.

Deadline to enter is tip-off of the first games on Thursday of the tournament.  The Tuesday/Wednesday play-in games don't count.

OTHER WAYS THE NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS CAN CHEAT IN THE SUPER BOWL:

Lost in the little matter of Deflate-Gate is that New England is planning on several new, and creative ways, to cheat in the Super Bowl.

The Sports Bar's investigative staff has uncovered a few ways the Patriots plan on cheating:

1. The Patriots will widen the goal posts in the Seahawks end zone before each half.

2. "Accidentally" removing a few links from the first down chain whenever New England touches the ball

3. Hiring lip readers in case Seahawks coach Pete Carroll forgets to cover his mouth.

4. Replacing all the Seattle playbooks with the ones used by Oakland.

5. When Tom Brady fumbles, secretly replacing the video replay with footage of The Tuck Rule.

(Courtesy of @NASCARLaughs host Brian Youngerman)

THE NFL STORY: WEEK #10

So Tampa Bay and Jacksonville both won, ruining suicide pools everywhere. Including mine.


THE SCORE:
Washington (3-6) 27
MINNESOTA (2-7) 34
THE STATS: Minnesota just 1 penalty for 7 yards.
THE STORY: Redskins taking themselves out of the playoff picture for now, which is difficult to do in the NFC East.


THE SCORE:
JACKSONVILLE (1-8) 29
Tennessee (4-5) 27
THE STATS: In spite of winning, Jacksonville is outgained by more than 50%, 214 yards to 362.
THE STORY: Those Jaguar fans in London are celebrating today. Both of them.


THE SCORE:
PHILADELPHIA (5-5) 27
Green Bay (5-4) 13
THE STATS: Philadelphia 5-1 on the road.
THE STORY: Note to Green Bay: I heard that Tim Tebow is available.


THE SCORE:
Buffalo (3-7) 10
PITTSBURGH (3-6) 23
THE STATS: Pittsburgh WR Antonio Brown 6-104 receiving; 2-74 punt returns.
THE STORY: Steelers defense give up 82% fewer points this week than last week's 55-point debacle at New England.


THE SCORE:
Oakland (3-6) 20
NY GIANTS (3-6) 24
THE STATS: NY Giants RB Andre Brown 30-115-1 TD.
THE STORY: So let me get this straight. Tim Tebow (lifetime QB rating: 75.3) can't find a job in the NFL, but Terrelle Pryor (69.2) can?


THE SCORE:
ST. LOUIS (4-6) 38
Indianapolis (6-3) 8
THE STATS: St. Louis WR Tavon Austin 2-138-2 TD receiving; 4-145-1 TD punt returns (36.3 avg).
THE STORY: Rams upset helps the NFC to an impressive 4-0 weekend vs. the NFC.


THE SCORE:
SEATTLE (9-1) 33
Atlanta (2-7) 10
THE STATS: Seattle K Steven Hauschka 3-3 XP, 4-4 FG (39, 43, 44, 
53), 15 points.
THE STORY: Most impressive win in a few weeks for Seattle, but they benefit from getting to play Jacksonville, Tampa Bay, and Atlanta (combined 4 wins) this season.


THE SCORE:
Cincinnati (6-4) 17
BALTIMORE (4-5) 20
THE STATS: Cincinnati LB Vincent Rey 10 tackles, 3 sacks, 3 passes defended, 1 interception in the loss.
THE STORY: Baltimore managed to win a game with just 189 yards of offense -- and that included overtime.


THE SCORE:
DETROIT (6-3) 21
Chicago (5-4) 19
THE STATS: Detroit WR Calvin Johnson 6-83-2 TD.
THE STORY: Detroit gets double-win head-to-head tiebreaker over Chicago.


THE SCORE:
CAROLINA (6-3) 10
San Francisco(6-3) 9
THE STATS: Carolina defense holds Colin Kaepernick to 11-22-91-1-0 TD.
THE STORY: Nice 5-game win streak for Carolina, but 5W still not good enough for 1st place in a division headed by New Orleans.


THE SCORE:
Houston (2-7) 24
ARIZONA (5-4) 27
THE STATS: Arizona LB John Abraham 3 sacks, -42 yards lost.
THE STORY: Houston then: 2-0. Houston now: 2-7.


THE SCORE:
DENVER (8-1) 28
San Diego (4-5) 20
THE STATS: Denver WR Demaryius Thomas 7-108-3 TD.
THE STORY: It took until Week #11, but KC and Denver will finally meet next weekend.


THE SCORE:
Dallas (5-5) 17
NEW ORLEANS (7-2) 49
THE STATS: Dallas: 9 first downs; New Orleans: NFL-record 40 first downs.
THE STORY: Dallas still plays each NFC East team once, which will tell us more than an embarrassing, pathetic, drubbing by New Orleans


THE SCORE:
Miami (4-5) 19
TAMPA BAY (1-8) 22
THE STATS: Miami 14 carries for +2 yards rushing (sic). 0.1 yards per rush.
THE STORY: Tampa Bay's first win caps a strange weekend in which the teams with the poorer records went 9-4-1 outright.

THE NFL STORY: WEEK #4

So Major League Baseball has gone to one game playoffs. That's nothing new. The NFL has been doing it for years.

THE SCORE:
SAN FRANCISCO(2-2) 35
St. Louis (1-3) 11
THE STATS: St. Louis 188 net yards offense.
THE STORY: How bad was the St. Louis offense? They punted (11 times) almost as many yards as they gained on the ground (18).


THE SCORE:
Pittsburgh (0-4) 27
MINNESOTA (1-3) 34
THE STATS: Minnesota WR Greg Jennings 3-92-2 TD.
THE STORY: If I told you that one Pittsburgh pro sports team would be in the playoffs, and another one would be at the bottom of the division, this is not what you would have had in mind.


THE SCORE:
Baltimore (2-2) 20
BUFFALO (2-2) 23
THE STATS: Buffalo overcomes 11 penalties.
THE STORY: Somehow, Baltimore QB Joe Flacco managed to throw for 347 yards in spite of throwing 5 interceptions, which must be a record for someone not named Brett Favre.


THE SCORE:
Cincinnati (2-2) 6
CLEVELAND (2-2) 17
THE STATS: Cleveland QB Brian Hoyer 25-38-269-0-2 TD, 103.9 rating.
THE STORY: Only takes a couple of back-to-back wins as the starter at QB to be a hero in Cleveland.


THE SCORE:
INDIANAPOLIS (3-1) 37
Jacksonville (0-4) 3
THE STATS: Indianapolis LB Robert Mathis: 3 sacks.
THE STORY: Jacksonville has 3 TDs. Not in the game, but for the entire SEASON.


THE SCORE:
SEATTLE (4-0) 23
Houston (2-2) 20
THE STATS: Seattle 206 fewer offensive yards, 30 fewer offensive plays, just 3-14 on 3rd downs in the win.
THE STORY: The Game Everyone Wants To See may be set up for Monday, December 2nd in Seattle. Both the Saints and Seahawks could be 11-0 at the time. Don't laugh; in the weak NFC, this is very possible.


THE SCORE:
ARIZONA (2-2) 13
Tampa Bay (0-4) 10
THE STATS: Arizona overcomes 10 penalties.
THE STORY: Tampa Bay: New quarterback (Mike Glennon), same results.


THE SCORE:
Chicago (3-1) 32
DETROIT (3-1) 40
THE STATS: Detroit K David Akers 4-4 XP, 4-4 FG (23, 31, 41, 43).
THE STORY: Not your dad's Chicago defense.


THE SCORE:
NY Giants (0-4) 7
KANSAS CITY (4-0) 31
THE STATS: NY Giants 1-14 on 4rd down conversions.
THE STORY: After Week #4, Kansas City has already almost swept the NFC East (beaten Dallas, Philadelphia, NY Giants).


THE SCORE:
NY Jets (2-2) 13
TENNESSEE (3-1) 38
THE STATS: NY Jets 4 turnovers to zero for Tennessee.
THE STORY: Tennessee QB Jake Locker is lost "for a few weeks" with a sprained hip. Time to see if Tim Tebow is available in your fantasy league.


THE SCORE:
Dallas (2-2) 21
SAN DIEGO (2-2) 30
THE STATS: San Diego outscores Dallas 17-0 in 2nd half to turn 8 point deficit into 9 point win.
THE STORY: Good win for San Diego, but how do they compete in a division with two undefeated teams?


THE SCORE:
WASHINGTON (1-3) 24
Oakland (1-3) 14
THE STATS: Washington defense 7 sacks, season-low 14 points allowed.
THE STORY: Redskins 1-3 record leaves them just 1 game behind Dallas for first place in the NFL's worst division.


THE SCORE:
Philadelphia (1-3) 20
DENVER (4-0) 52
THE STATS: Peyton Manning 4 TDs; 16 TDs, 0 INTs on the season.
THE STORY: Are the Eagles the worst team in the NFL's worst division? Next week vs. 0-4 Giants will tell us.


THE SCORE:
NEW ENGLAND (4-0) 30
Atlanta (1-3) 23
THE STATS: New England WR Kenbrell Thompkin 6-127-1 TD.
THE STORY: New England might be the worst of all the 4-0 teams in the NFL, if such a thing can exist.

THE SCORE:
Miami (3-1) 17
NEW ORLEANS (4-0) 38
THE STATS: New Orleans RB Darren Sproles 4-28-1 TD rushing; 7-114-1 TD receiving; 2-26 kick returns; 3-44 punt returns.
THE STORY: A year too late for the Saints to play the Super Bowl at home.