NFL News:

• Ben Roethlisberger says it’s his role as a leader to speak to teammates when they need to be spoken to.
  • He obviously thinks this is his doing:

Apologize for all the noise and the distractions Steeler nation let's stay focus #Pushfor7

— AB (@AB84) October 4, 2017

• High emotions between the [Redacteds] and Chiefs on Monday night:
  • Marcus Peters swore at some home fans after giving up a TD, earning a rib-spittled rebuke from Andy Reid after the game.
  • Terrelle Pryor middle-fingered some fans as he was leaving the field Monday night.

• Based on the length of time Mariota’s expected to miss, the Titans went with a short-term solution of Brandon Weeden backing up Matt Cassel.
  • If the timeline is only 2-6 weeks, then sure. If it turns into a whole season, then you’ll hear the wolves.

• Injuries:
  • Josh Norman – injured lung
  • Cliff Avril – neck stinger

Finally, a headline guaranteed to warm the charcoal-blackness of Low Commander’s heart

Melvin Gordon told the L.A. Times. “It’s sad when you’re home and it feels like you’re away, but when you’re 0-4, what can you expect?”

Despite that, the NFL says it will not be considering returning the team to San Diego, which was apparently a thing at some point in time. That was according to Joe Lockhart of the NFL on a conference call Monday, saying that the Chargers are staying put and riding this thing out in Los Angeles.

At least, that’s this week’s answer.

NHL season starts tonight. Of course, your pals at DFO have you covered with a preview of each team & a focus on attendance woes.

For shits & giggles, see how closely the thing I typed yesterday correlates with what Deadspin did today. There’s no implication of plagiarism; but, it is interesting to see how relatively few opinions there are when it comes to discussing how shitty shitty teams will be.

I guarantee you that most of us don’t need the NHL right now. Oh sure, we’ll tune into the home openers and some marquee games at the start of the season, but we’ve still got FOOTBAW to guide us through the week.

However, once the NFL playoffs start in January, and there’s less daily coverage & such, then we’ll welcome hockey back like an old friend. But with Gary Bettman in charge, that friend is also a bum looking for money, so you’ll eventually have to tell him to fuck off.

Tonight’s sports:

• MLB:
  • NL Wild Card Game:
    • Rockies at Diamondbacks – 8:00PM | TBS / Sportsnet1
• NHL:
  • Leafs at Jets – 7:00PM | Sportsnet
  • Blues at Penguins – 8:00PM | NBCSN
  • Flames at Oilers – 10:00PM | Sportsnet
  • Flyers at Sharks – 10:30PM | NBCSN
• NCAA:
  • Football:
    • Arkansas State at Georgia Southern – 8:00PM | ESPN2 / TSN
  • Women’s Volleyball:
    • Texas A&M at Florida – 7:00PM | ESPNU
    • Kansas State at TCU – 9:00PM | ESPNU
• WNBA:
  • Game 5: Los Angeles Sparks at Minnesota Lynx – 8:00PM | ESPN

So, the sports week now looks like:

• Thursday Night Football
• Saturday night NCAA & Hockey Night in Canada
• Sunday football
• Monday Night Football
• Wednesday Night Rivalries (NHL)

YEP – WORKS FOR ME!