Your “It’s Not Collusion If They All Agree” Monday Evening Open Thread

NFL Nuggets:

• The league owners are having a conference call on Tuesday – in lieu of their cancelled Spring meetings – to debate & vote on the third wild-card game.  
  • It’s widely expected to pass, as it generates additional revenue for them.
  • According to Albert Breer, the league has negotiated contracts with CBS and NBC to broadcast two new wild-card games.
    • The deals would be approved after the playoff format passes.
  • According to professional chili eater Peter King, there had been consideration for a 2-3-1 format, two on Saturday, three Sunday and one Monday night.
    • Unlikely, because a team would come out of the first playoff weekend playing a short-week divisional game.
    • He would expect a possible Monday night wild-card game to come up in future years, however; the difference in rights fees switching from a 1:05 p.m. Saturday game to 8:15 p.m. Monday would be substantial.
  • They are also going to vote on extending its streaming agreement with Amazon through the 2022 season.

• Allegedly, Tom Brady reached out to the Bucs.
  • When they called him on March 18 – and NOT EARLIER, despite rumors to the contrary – it was Brady who apparently made the sales pitch for him to join Tampa Bay.
    • He liked their receiving corps, and felt Bruce Arians’ playbook would allow him to “open up” his arsenal.
      • “The tape to us showed that he had plenty of arm,” GM Jason Licht said.

• An actual signing!
  • Geronimo Allison is leaving the Packers All-Name WR Corps & going to catch flutterballs from Matt Stafford.
    • Allison has agreed to a one-year contract for the veteran’s minimum of $910,000. He will also get a $137,500 signing bonus.
      • He took league minimum to get away from Aaron Rodgers? Rumour time!

Today’s internet good dog is Lambeau, because he was sad I had to go back to school today. Now, it was only for an hour, and only to pick up teaching materials, but he was very sad because I’ve been home & a solid dog companion for two weeks.

To show you how good, here he is posing atop three metres of snow last week.

So handsome.

Tonight’s … entertainment?:

• Antiques Roadshow – 8:00 PM | PBS – From the Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix, AZ.
  • Items featured include a Cartier jadeite pendant necklace and original artwork by Kanye West.
• Whose Line Is It Anyway? – 8:00 PM | CW
  • Guest star appearance by Amber Riley.
  • It’s not the classic episodes from the 90s, but still has genius from Messers Brady, Mochrie & Styles.
• Cops – 10:00 PM | PAR – new episode
  • A suspect bails out of his friend’s car when deputies catch him making a shady move; a nervous driver preemptively denies ownership of all his clothes; and a man’s decision to fire off some rounds puts his neighborhood on edge.
•  Wrasslin’:
  • Monday Night Raw – 8:00PM | USA / Sportsnet360
    • the “go-home” show before the two-night, empty arena Wrestlemania this weekend.
      • They are selling shirts!  
    • FYI – a true descent into hell is trying to read wrestling sites & fanboards trying to glean information about what’s what.
      • I know we shit on U****x a lot, but Stroud at With Spandex does a very admirable job sorting all this noise out.
    • Anyway, the card as currently divined looks like: (lineup courtesy Bleacher Report). Match odds are here, because you can gamble on the outcomes. HAIL GAMBLOR!
      • WWE Championship Match: Drew McIntyre vs. Brock Lesnar
      • NXT Women’s Championship Match: Charlotte Flair vs. Rhea Ripley
      • RAW Women’s Championship Match: Shayna Baszler vs. Becky Lynch
      • Smackdown Women’s Championship Match: Bayley vs. Sasha Banks vs. Lacey Evans vs. Tamina vs. Naomi
      • Bone Yard Match: The Undertaker vs. AJ Styles
      • Smackdown Tag Team Championship Ladder Match: The Miz & John Morrison vs. New Day vs. The Usos
      • WWE Intercontinental Championship Match: Daniel Bryan vs. Sami Zayn
      • Last Man Standing Match: Randy Orton vs. Edge
      • John Cena vs. “The Fiend” Bray Wyatt
      • Aleister Black vs. Bobby Lashley
      • Kevin Owens vs. Seth Rollins
      • Elias vs. King Corbin
      • Otis vs. Dolph Ziggler
    • There is also supposed to be a Goldberg vs. Roman Reigns match, but that’s up in the air since Reigns is still immunocompromised due to his leukemia & pulled out of attending.
      • The Street Profits also have a title match, whose opponents are being revealed tonight.
      • The Smackdown Tag Team Championship Ladder Match between The Miz & John Morrison vs. New Day vs. The Usos is also up in the air since Miz has been quarantined.

Apologies if there’s too much wrestle-talk for some of you. But I hope those who follow do appreciate. Plus – GAMBLOR options for the weekend. You need something else to do besides taking Seamus’ fake money at poker.