Why NFL schedule should expand

And Yankees will clean house if…

Good morning, all. I hope your week is off to a terrific start.

Here is my take after the first two weeks of the NFL season; before too long the regular season will consist of 18 games.

Once upon a time, when the NFL was a distant second to college football in popularity, its season consisted of six exhibition games (Yes, they were called exhibition games back then.) and 12 regular-season games. Then the regular season was expanded to 14 games, along with the six exhibition games.

When the league continued to expand and more games meant mega dollars, the schedule was increased to 16 games and four preseason games. Of course, this year for the first time we are at 17 regular-season games. If the owners had their way the regular-season schedule would be 18 games but the players have balked.

What has happened is that coaches have not been playing their regular players much in preseason for fear of injuries. The result has led to a rash of injuries in the first two weeks of the regular season. The thought is the regulars are getting hurt because they did not play much in the preseason. But all may not be lost. With more games, a team's poor start, say 0-2, is not an automatic relegation to also-ran. Adding one more contest to produce an 18-game regular season would enhance the chances of a team off to a slow start. Reducing the preseason to two games would actually return the NFL to days of yore. The total number of games in a season would be 20, the same as 16-and-4 and 14-and-6 from years ago. Fans would no longer be forced to endure what has become a joke for preseason and coaches would have wiggle room. The owners could rake in even more money and the network ratings would remain high. Throw in another bye week and be sure some of the additional dough is funneled to the players and you have a win-win for the sport. My guess is this change is closer to happening than we think.

Isn't this ridiculous?

Julian Lewis is a middle school student in Carrollton, GA. He is so good as a quarterback he has already been offered a college scholarship by Florida coach Dan Mullen. Lewis is quoted on 247sports.com. Lewis, in fact, is quoted extensively in the story. Really? Maybe it's just old fashioned me, but could we at least wait until our youth get to high school, before offering them college scholarships and treating them like media superstars?

Yankees fans in awkward position

As the New York Yankees continue their free fall, tumbling out of wild card playoff contention, their fans are now in the position of having to root for their crosstown rival New York Mets. The Yankees need the Red Sox to lose and the Mets visit Fenway Park this week to play the Red Sox two games.

Meanwhile, the heat is not only on manager Aaron Boone but Yankees GM Brian Cashman. There are growing calls for owner Hal Steinbrenner to clean house, if the Yankees, who haven't won a World Series in 12 years, don't make a deep playoff run. At this stage the Yankees won't even make the post season. My prediction is, barring a dramatic turnaround, the Yanks will clean house. Steinbrenner will allow Cashman, a loyal employee for more than three decades when he began as an intern, to save face and resign rather than be fired. Boone, in the last year of his contract, will also be shown the door or rehired for another job in the organization.

Well, that it it for today. As always, thank you for your support. I am going to put the newsletter on hold for the next few weeks, while I take a break, but I will return with this publication on October 26. Be well and stay safe.

SPORTSCASTER DAN