For those of you hoping for a sellout against the Denver Broncos, so you can cookout at home with your family, or buddies, or to simply sit back after mowing the law and watch the God of the Golden Arm rip off five touchdowns, it's appears less likely, writes Joe Reedy. "After checking around with a couple people, we now have a clearer picture of what “a few thousand” tickets remaining for the opener actually is — around 5,000."
The deadline for an NFL game hoping to avoid a blackout is 72 hours before kickoff. The league has allowed extensions in the past, if it seems likely that a sellout will occur, even if past the deadline. However, with 5,000 tickets left, it doesn't seem seem likely. If the game isn't sold out, then it will be blacked out in the area and the team's "44 consecutive regular-season and postseason game sellouts" will come to an end.
Reedy also points out that as many as six games in the NFL could be blacked out in local markets. Here's an idea. If over a third of the league's games are going to be blacked out, wouldn't it make more sense to lift all black outs for the season opener? How do you expect people to purchase a product, during a depressed economy that's affected many people, if they're not allowed to sample it first.
+ Also on Wednesday, the Bengals filed a lawsuit "asking that the workers compensation claims of 31 former players be moved from California to Ohio."
In its lawsuit filed in Cincinnati, the football team says players' contracts require workers comp to be pursued only in Ohio. The team also says Ohio law allows employers and employees to resolve workers compensation claims exclusively in Ohio.
The team says none of the players lives in California or was injured in California.
Unlike most states, California allows insurance payments to workers who can show they suffered trauma that compounded over a period of time.
Former defensive lineman Reinard Wilson won his California claim and has been paid more than $58,000 by the Bengals. A county judge in Cincinnati has issued an order to stop any further payments to Wilson.