Sports Then and Now

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is ranked as only the 41st best player in the NFL, according to current players.

Last night, I was watching the NFL Network’s “Top 100 Players of 2011” and saw that Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was ranked 41^st in a poll ranked by current NFL players.

This proves once again, that Roethlisberger is one of the most underrated players in pro football.

Ever since he joined the league back in 2004, all Big Ben has done is win, as he complied a 69-29-career regular season record, 10-3 in the playoffs, and appeared in three Super Bowls, winning two of them.

And this guy is the 41^st best player in the NFL?

I guess one of the reasons Roethlisberger is not ranked so high on the list is the way he plays, which is not pretty at times. Read the rest of this entry →

The NFL network began their fourth season broadcasting games on November 12th.

Like the proverbial question about the sound of a tree in the forest, I have a similar question about the NFL.

If they play an NFL game in prime time and half the people in the country can’t watch is it still considered an NFL game?

That is my question following the game Thursday night between the Chicago Bears and San Francisco 49ers, which was broadcast on the NFL Network.

Like many others across the country, my cable company, Bright House Network, is embroiled in a long-running disagreement with NFL Network over channel placement, pricing and other such things that seem trivial to me, but important to television executives.

Overall, seven of the top 10 cable providers in the country do not offer NFL Network.

Considering that the NFL Network started broadcasting just over six years ago on November 4, 2003, you would think these companies would have settled the disagreement by now, but unfortunately, it looks like many of us will be enduring another year of missing out on some exciting NFL matchups. Read the rest of this entry →