Super Bowl ratings lowest since...

Depends on which story you read

Good morning, all. I hope your week is going well!

Super Bowl LV’s ratings were the lowest in 14 years! Or the lowest since LBJ was president. Which is it? Welcome to 2021.

If you want to go back to the waning days of the Johnson administration, then the numbers are the lowest since Jan. 12, 1969, when the Jets upset the Colts in Super Bowl III. That game garnered a 36 rating compared to Sunday’s 38.2. When you compile viewership, it is the least watched since 2006, when the Steelers-Seahawks attracted 90.75 million viewers compared to 91.63M this season

But here is the rub. We now must include those who viewed the game via streaming devices, so tack on another 6 million-plus. Counting streamers and not streakers, the game snagged 96.4M viewers total, making it the lowest viewed since 2007, when the Colts-Bears garnered 93.18M.

At least the game was a hit in the Boston market, Tom Brady’s old stomping grounds. Boston posted the second best rating in the nation at 57.6, besting even Tampa Bay. In fact, the numbers were even better than eight of the nine Super Bowls in which Brady appeared as a New England Patriot. Brady-to-Gronkowski still scores on Boston TV.

Shame on the Washington Post

Marty Schottenheimer, former NFL head coach, died Monday after battling Alzheimer’s. He was 77. The Washington Post is getting roasted - as well it should - for writing a negative obituary.

The criticism of the Post was so heavy, the paper was forced to rewrite the headline and a portion of the story. Schottenheimer deserved better, but we now live in a world of clickbait and even in death, he turned out to be the latest victim. R.I.P. coach!

Not wound too tight

Baseballs used in major league games in 2021 will not be wound as tight as in previous seasons. It is MLB’s attempt to lower the home run rate and place an emphasis on other aspects of the game. Baseball officialdom is claiming the change will not be that noticeable. The first of three strings wound around the ball’s core will be just a tad looser.

I am not so sure the change will not be noticeable. Pitchers and batters are very cognizant of any slight change in the baseball. Did you know, for example, that for decades, baseballs used at the minor league level were different than the balls used in the majors? How is that supposed to aid a player’s development? Fortunately, that scenario is changing. The same ball used in MLB is now used at the AAA and AA levels.

Hopefully, the new baseball will bring more balance to how the game is played. Meanwhile, I will continue to husband my autographed baseball collection, no matter how the horsehide was wound. Or is it cowhide?

Winter bearing down on northeast

As many of you know, I co-host a podcast with meteorologist Brad Field, and he tells us we in the northeast USA are about to face a good, old-fashioned New England winter weather stretch. Click on the link to hear our latest podcast. It has much relevant material, even though the episode includes much about our storm on Tuesday.

That’s it for today’s newsletter. As always, thank you for your support and be well!

SPORTSCASTER DAN