michael silver's take on this was particularly childish.

I've read Plaschke, Simers, Mariotti, Chass, CHB, and other hack columnists. I've listened to Jim Rome and other loudmouth jackass sports radio hosts. Yet that column by Silver easily ranks as one of the douchiest sports related things I've ever read/heard.

michael silver's take on this was particularly childish.

You know, I can forgive him his point. A ton of football fans seem to think that baseball is some dried up old game nobody cares about and pay no attention to the facts (like the FACT that if the city has to choose a horse its going to choose the team with 81 home games).

But his tone is like the prick writing for the high school newspaper who is completely convinced that he's the smartest guy in the room who sees things nobody else does.

There are times, however, when Goodell's 'Get with the program or get run over' sensibilities can be something around which the entire NFL community can rally. And as fate would have it, he was presented Monday with one of those golden opportunities, as if he were a cleanup hitter and Bud Selig's face was tattooed on a hanging curve ball.

Essentially, the Baltimore Orioles and Major League Baseball are standing in the way of the NFL's plans to hold its Thursday night season opener at M&T Bank Stadium, home of the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens.

And with all due (dis)respect to the displaced national pastime, it's time for the Sheriff of Park Avenue to walk all over Selig, his MLB counterpart.

There should not be a third phone call to Selig. At best, he should get a text message saying, "BTW Ravens are hosting opener at 830 on Sept 5. Your move lol."

I'm gonna go ahead and post the worst parts so nobody is tempted to click through.

^ that's from the Silver piece btw, not the linked article.

And with all due (dis)respect to the displaced national pastime, it's time for the Sheriff of Park Avenue to walk all over Selig, his MLB counterpart.

Well, let me see. The Orioles have a contract for the parking. The shared employees work 10 times as many games for the Orioles as for the Ravens, so if they want to keep working the more lucrative job they would side with the Orioles. If I were the Orioles, I would run a dollar a ticket promotion for that day, at least for the cheap seats, so that all of the parking would be filled up. None of which would violate any contracts, but which would totally mess up the Ravens' and NFL season opener. And then I would point out publically that maybe next time the NFL shouldn't act like it was above the law.

Or maybe the NFL could move its opener from a day that they knew had a conflict. Why should MLB feel pressured to violate its own contracts with the MLBPA, just for the NFL's convenience?

Or maybe the NFL could move its opener from a day that they knew had a conflict. Why should MLB feel pressured to violate its own contracts with the MLBPA, just for the NFL's convenience?

Well, to be fair, the NFL has no problem violating contracts with and has no respect for the NFLPA, so this may just be a difference in management cultures.

Hey, if Cuban Pete still claims the Orioles have all these fans in the Washington area, why not move the game to Nationals Park? Of course, you'd then run into a situation where the Chisox (three games in D.C. in April) would have slightly more familiarity with the ballpark this year than the Orioles (two games in D.C. in late May).

Hey, if Cuban Pete still claims the Orioles have all these fans in the Washington area, why not move the game to Nationals Park?

You could also have the Ravens play at Washington's stadium, couldn't you?

i> If I were the Orioles, I would run a dollar a ticket promotion for that day, at least for the cheap seats, so that all of the parking would be filled up. None of which would violate any contracts, but which would totally mess up the Ravens' and NFL season opener. And then I would point out publically that maybe next time the NFL shouldn't act like it was above the law.</i>

You left out, sign Steve Trachsel to pitch so the game is in the 7th inning at 8:30.

The Orioles will probably play hardball, the NFL will pay them a bunch of money, and the baseball game will likely be moved is my guess.

If I were the Orioles, I would run a dollar a ticket promotion for that day, at least for the cheap seats, so that all of the parking would be filled up. None of which would violate any contracts, but which would totally mess up the Ravens' and NFL season opener.

The problem is you would be antagonizing your own city and fanbase.

The problem is you would be antagonizing your own city and fan base.

Hopefully, the O's will drive a hard bargain and reach some arrangement and spin it as "The last thing we want to do is cause our fans or fans of the Ravens, any undo inconvenience. And we want to give the great sports fans of Baltimore the opportunity to go to both games if they wish." But this seems like a lot to ask from Angelos' orginazation.

The $3 seats paired with cheap parking would bring in the football fans who just want a place to park and hang out until their game starts. It'd be an alternative tailgate experience. At that point they'd be happy, the O's would be happy and the only group put out would be the owners of the Ravens. I say pull that trigger immediately.

Speaking of the Orioles and D.C., whoever scheduled the Battle of the Beltways this year is an absolute moron. They knocked it down to just four games, and they're all Monday through Thursday! That really ticks me off.

Speaking of the Orioles and D.C., whoever scheduled the Battle of the Beltways this year is an absolute moron. They knocked it down to just four games, and they're all Monday through Thursday! That really ticks me off.

It's the same thing for all the great regional rivalries. Mets-Yankees, Giants-A's, Astros-Rockies, etc.

Speaking of the Orioles and D.C., whoever scheduled the Battle of the Beltways this year is an absolute moron. They knocked it down to just four games, and they're all Monday through Thursday! That really ticks me off.

It's the same thing for all the great regional rivalries. Mets-Yankees, Giants-A's, Astros-Rockies, etc.

Notice that all the rivalry games are on the same dates? The league probably did that so as to make the first year of 15-team leagues easier to schedule.

It's the same thing for all the great regional rivalries. Mets-Yankees, Giants-A's, Astros-Rockies, etc.

Yes, Astros-Rockies. What Astros fan can forgive Colorado for having those good schools that lured Mike Hampton away? The bitterness endures.
Still, it's a better rivalry than Astros-Rangers.

As for the Ravens, maybe they can play in Milwaukee? Or would that be Green Bay?

There are times, however, when Goodell's 'Get with the program or get run over' sensibilities can be something around which the entire NFL community can rally. And as fate would have it, he was presented Monday with one of those golden opportunities, as if he were a cleanup hitter and Bud Selig's face was tattooed on a hanging curve ball.

Selig's actually way better at getting things done (and getting them to stick), right?

As for the Ravens, maybe they can play in Milwaukee? Or would that be Green Bay?

Or maybe, as the team that isn't flying into town that day, they can play the afternoon game...

The NFL has moved the Ravens game to the road. This makes me far happier than it should.

Agreed Jose, it's fun to see the NFL lose out, though they may plan some party in baltimore that night as a pre game thing, (concert possibly) my guess is it starts t 7:05 eastern time.

Selig's actually way better at getting things done (and getting them to stick), right?

Yeah, it is kind of silly to compare the two in terms of "getting stuff done." Just off the top of my head Selig has gotten inter league play, and expanded playoffs (twice) in a much older and settled league. Off the top of my head Goodell has... strengthened the player's union?

Also, Selig seems to generally have the respect of the players and they don't have any major complaints about him or the way he runs things. Goodell on the other hand...

Haha, NFL schedule comes out today. Ravnes open on the road in Denver.

EDIT: Oh, Jose beat me to it several weeks ago. But still..HA HA.

It's a really good thing the Rockies have an off day on the 4th....

The NFL has moved the Ravens game to the road. This makes me far happier than it should.

So the tradition is to reward the previous champs with a home prime time game to open the season (almost always on Thursday). So instead of the NFL scheduling a Wednesday or Sunday primetime home opener, or even giving the Ravens the 4pm national slot at home, the NFL decides to send them 3/4 of the way across the country to play in one of the more difficult settings in the league.

If I didn't know any better, I would swear the NFL doesn't give a #### about "rewarding" the Ravens.