NFL NOTEBOOK : Congress Unlikely to Intervene in Flap

Americans are supposed to have certain inalienable rights including life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness and NFL football on TV.

The founding fathers may not have tacked on that last item, but it’s now treated as a right by football fans.

After the lawmakers in Washington got tired of the Redskins’ home games being blacked out in 1972 when the team first went to the Super Bowl, they simply passed a law lifting the blackout for sold out games.

At the time, the NFL strongly opposed the measure, saying it would hurt attendance.

As it turned out, it didn’t hurt attendance. The good teams still attract sellout crowds even though the games are on TV and the bad teams can’t fill their stadiums even though the games aren’t on TV.

Lifting the blackout also helped the TV ratings because the home teams usually attract a bigger audience.

Now the NFL is in the midst of a new flap over TV. It has announced that both CBS and NBC will start scrambling their signals this year so people will satellite dishes can’t pick up the games. ABC, ESPN and TNT aren’t affected because their games are shown nationally.

The decision has sparked a storm of protest, particularly from the operators of sports bars because the NFL won’t sell them a descrambler.

At least one Congressman, Rep. Jim Bates, D-Calif., has said he may introduce legislation to stop the NFL from doing it.

“At this point, it depends on public reaction,” Bates said. “If it continues to come down soundly against the NFL, I think the bill can pass.”

It would seem Congress has more important things to worry about that the NFL games being scrambled. Since satellite dish owners don’t have the clout of the Washington lobbyists who wanted to watch the Redskins 18 years ago, it’s a long shot such a bill would pass.

If it did, though, it would probably benefit the NFL. By scrambling the signal, the NFL loses those fans who form clubs to watch a team from another city.

The networks don’t like fans watching games on their dishes because they bypass the local commercials, but that enthusiasm when fans with a common interest gather in groups is a plus for the NFL.

ESPN caved in last week to Paul Tagliabue, the Cotton Mather of commissioners who isn’t much for having fun.

Tagliabue told the networks they can’t have oddsmakers predicting games by the point spreads in their pre-game shows. Since Jimmy the Greek is long gone and Pete Axthelm was the only sportscaster doing it on an NFL pre-game show last year, the edict seemed to apply just to him.

After waiting several months, ESPN announced Axthelm won’t pick games on “Game Day,” the pre-game show. But he will have some kind of handicapping segment on Sports Center, which precedes Game Day.

If ESPN executives had a sense of humor, they should have had Axthelm on with tape on his mouth holding up cards giving a point spread on a game.

The Denver Broncos aren’t taking any chances. They open the season on the road against the Los Angeles? Raiders on Sept. 9 and they decided to make tentative arrangements in Oakland just in case owner Al Davis makes a last-minute move.

The Raiders have denied all the reports of a last-minute move, but nobody seems sure what they’re going to do. The problem is that Davis is having trouble making up his mind.

He had one of his rare meetings with reporters last week and said, “We’re negotiating with both (Oakland and Los Angeles).”

Hey, Al, the season starts in two weeks. Do something.

Just in case he does move, there are reports a concert planned for Sept. 9 in Oakland will be cancelled.

If he doesn’t move, the Raiders may have some record low crowds in the Los Angeles Coliseum.

Dan Reeves hasn’t lost his sense of humor despite his recent heart problem. The Denver Broncos coach, who was back on the sidelines for the Super Bowl rematch with the San Francisco 49ers last Monday night, saw his Broncos blow a lead and lose, 24-21.

Reeves said, “If that doesn’t give me a heart attack, nothing will.”

The Chicago Bears, the only team in the NFC Central without an indoor practice facility, had a virtual mutiny last Tuesday.

When their grass practice fields were soggy with rain, they walked off the field and a delegation of four players went up to the office of owner Mike McCaskey in their muddy uniforms to demand a facility. They feared injuries on the soggy fields.

So what did McCaskey do? He went on television and urged fans to share their facilities with an NFL team.

The Bears had 140 calls including nine offers they’re considering. A prime contender is an abandoned high school.

Then there were some callers who asked why the Bears couldn’t build their own facility.

Coach Mike Ditka was sympathetic to the players’ complaints. He’s been campaigning for a long time for a facility.

“Do I fault them?” Ditka asked. “No. They were only looking out for their own welfare.”

There continues to be much more talk and speculation than action on the expansion front.

Fred Edelstein, the ESPN commentator who writes a newsletter, rated Baltimore the No. 1 city last week simply because hotel magnate Robert Tisch is interested in owning a Baltimore team.

“With Tisch, Baltimore appears extremely formidable. Without Tisch? All bets are off?” Edelstein wrote.

The only trouble with this logic is that the owners pick the city before they pick the owner even though Tisch may be in the back of their minds. But Baltimore still has to put on one of the two best presentations if it is to get a team.

It also should be noted that two years ago, Edelstein announced the Cardinals were coming to Baltimore.

Don’t look for Steve Wallace of the San Francisco 49ers to attend any family reunions in the near future.

He bought his parents a $179,000 home in 1986 near Atlanta, Ga. with $1,426-a-month mortgage payments.

Wallace recently stopped making the payments and sent his parents this note “Mother, father: Here is the notice. The house will soon foreclose. Sorry. Take Care. Steve Wallace.”

The parents then sued him and he countersued.

Wallace got married five months after buying the house and moved to San Francisco where housing costs are much higher than in Georgia. He lives in a 1,600-square foot condominium. His parents reside in a 3,600-square foot house.

“I didn’t feel good about it,” Wallace said. “I felt I was working more for my parents than myself.”

Wallace made $410,000 last year, will make $465,000 this year and got a $64,000 Super Bowl check last year.

He said he still loves his parents, but said, “I don’t want anything from them. The only thing I want is to let me live my life and stop hanging on. Don’t treat me like I’m some type of gold mine that you dip into every now and then.”

There must be a moral somewhere in this sad story.

In the controversy over shortening the games, there seems to be more complaints about cutting halftime than about cutting plays out of the game.

Coach Joe Gibbs of the Washington Redskins, said, “You’ve got an awful situation at halftime. It’s ridiculous. Part of the game used to be that you went into the locker room and made adjustments. Now you’re really going to be hustling just to get in there and out. There’s no way that can be a better game. It can be shorter, but as far as coaching it, it makes it harder.”

Mike Holmgren, the San Francisco assistant who calls the 49ers’ plays, said he decided to stay in the press box at halftime last Monday night in Denver and dispatched a delegate to the locker room to give instructions to the players.

Supposedly, halftime was only cut from 15 to 12 minutes. But the 15 minutes was loosely enforced. Now they’re enforcing the 12 minutes.