The Bigger They Are . . .

I just wanted to quickly weight in on the current state of affairs of the NFL. Labor disputes between the owners and the players. Revenue sharing problems between the owners and the owners. Years of a cap system about to get shredded and thrown aside.

Beautiful.

Now, I love football as much as the next guy. Don't think I don't. It's just that I've grown tired of hearing how the NFL is the greatest sports league in the world - the archetype of what a professional league should be.

And I'm tired of hearing that.

Especially as a baseball fan. After the strike of '94, baseball lost its hold on being the national pasttime and allowed football to slide in. But now, now everyone will be able to see that not even football can hold it together.

The NHL lost a complete season and dropped out of the Big Four national sports, leaving a triumvirate of MLB, NFL, and NBA. That's not going to happen to the NFL. But a labor dispute will hurt the NFL. Teams are cutting players that normally they wouldn't have to only since they have no idea what's going to happen. And as a sports franchise, that's not a good place to be in. Just take a look at the Washington Nationals. They don't even know if they're allowed to call themselves that.

All in all though, I'd be glad to see the NFL brought back down to Earth. Now it's time for leagues like MLB to play up the fact that it's been over ten years since the last stoppage or labor dispute. This is the opportunity for baseball to move back up the pasttime ladder.

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