Guess I'm not so smart after all...

Usually when I write sports related posts, the comments I receive are minimal.

And that's fine, since it's inconceivable or at least highly unlikely, that most people are as passionate about their favorite sports teams as I am about mine.

Tonight I must confess to you that I was wrong and cut myself a piece of that humble pie sitting over there, and it doesn't taste too good.

In a sure sign of spring, the NFL publishes the schedule of games for the upcoming season, either in the last week of March or in the first week or so of April. They also publish, in advance of the full schedule, the nationally televised games for both kickoff weekend and Thanksgiving.

At the end of the 2006 National Football League season, I wrote a post predicting what I thought would be no-brainers for the 2007 schedule. Turns out I was wrong on both accounts.

The NFL today released said schedule for the games I predicted and my team didn't get any love whatsoever from the NFL powers-that-be.

I thought that the New England Patriots would be the logical choice to play the Super Bowl champion Indianapolis Colts for the first game of the season, considering the heated rivalry of the two teams in recent years and given the results of that stunning AFC Championship game. But instead, the Colts opening opponent will be the New Orleans Saints on September 6th. Apparently the NFL wants to save a game of this magnitude for the November sweeps period, probably in the same week of the season that the last two regular season meetings have been played. If that's the case, at least it makes some semblance of sense.

But this one baffles me, and admittedly I had a 50/50 chance of getting it wrong. Instead of the Patriots traveling to Dallas to play on Thanksgiving, the Cowboys get to host the New York Jets instead.

Neither did the Patriots get one of the two games for the opening Monday Night Football doubleheader.

Perhaps, as the rest of the schedule comes out in the next 10 days or so, the Patriots will get more love shown them during the regular season on either Thursday (after Thanksgiving), Sunday or Monday Night Football. Usually the NFL likes to put its best teams on prime time television more often than its not as successful teams.

Regardless, I'll be sure to post both the Patriots schedule directly (in a post and on the sidebar) and provide you with links to the full schedule, as soon as they become available. I do this because I know that, deep in your heart of hearts, you want to know this crucial information.

That you need to know it, so that you can plan your fall Sunday afternoon schedule around your favorite team's games.

But more importantly, so that (in such cases as applicable) you can inform your non-sports-fan significant other (and kids, where applicable) well ahead of time when you will not be available for outside yard work, going to the opera, going shopping or any other activity that does not involve your butt in the couch or recliner with a soda/beer and bag of chips in your hand.

And even better - by knowing this information well in advance, you can invite your significant other and/or kids (where applicable), that they are more than welcome to join you in front of the tube, in the good cause of family bonding and quality together time.


So, without further ado, here's the television lineup, as released by the NFL today:

Sept. 6- New Orleans @ Indianapolis, NBC, 20:30 EDT

Sept. 9- Chicago @ San Diego, FOX, 16:15 EDT
Sept. 9- New York Giants @ Dallas, NBC, 20:15 EDT

Sept. 10- Baltimore @ Cincinnati, ESPN, 19:00 EDT
Sept. 10- Arizona @ San Francisco, ESPN, 22:15 EDT

Nov. 22- Green Bay @ Detroit, FOX, 12:30 EST
Nov. 22- New York Jets @ Dallas, NBC, 16:15 EST
Nov. 22- Indianapolis @ Atlanta, NFL Network, 20:15 EST