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I agree with you about the NFL's restrictive broadcast rules. I live in a two-team market (N. Calif.), and we often get cut out of network double-headers, and are forced to settle for mediocre games. I haven't done it yet, but I keep thinking about Direct TV.

I'm also getting frustrated by the decline in quality, in my opinion, of the networks' NFL broadcasts. I think some of the announcers are terrible, and some of the directors make me dizzy. This is especially true with sports on FOX.

Last Fall, when I tried to enjoy the World Series on FOX, I got distracted by the constant replays and tight close-ups between every pitch. I wanted to see the game, including the defense, the wind-up, and the pitch. I don't really need to see the nose hairs on the pitcher's face.

FOX uses a similar style of directing for many NFL games. I want to see the formations, the seconds before the snap, and the snap. I quit counting the times I missed even the snap, because the FOX director held an unrelated close-up shot.

Then there is FOX's dependence on graphics to show us the game. They use a top graphic bar that is too low and partially covers the screen, sometimes add to that another graphic on the lower screen, and even occasionally put a smaller third graphic in the middle of the field. There was one time my screen looked like some kind of video game.

It's not just FOX that disappoints me. During an ESPN broadcast this year of a Steeler/Browns game, sideline commentator Suzie Kolber was talking about Trent Dilfer's indoctrination with his new team. She said Dilfer was told, no matter what else you do, you have to beat the Browns. No Suzie, Dilfer plays for the Browns; they want him to beat the STEELERS. Nobody on the set corrected her.

During the exciting finish of a Raiders/Chiefs game on CBS, the one where Dick Vermiel made the gutsy call to win the game on the last play, announcer Randy Cross was clueless. It never occurred to Cross that Vermiel was playing to win; Cross kept saying how the Chiefs only had time for one quick sideline pass, so they would still have time left for a field goal to tie, and repeated this until the snap, which resulted in a rushing touchdown to win the game. Nobody on the set seemed able to cut in and mention at least the possibility that the Chiefs were trying to win in regulation time. CBS missed the chance to focus on Vermiel's exciting gamble.

I realize that watching an NFL game on TV is a different experience than watching it live from the stands. But it doesn't have to be THAT different.

Perhaps I'm just getting old and crabby, but I miss the days of announcers like Ray Scott, and network directors that made sure the viewers usually saw the formations and snaps.