WELCOME TO THE PARTY

The NFL regular season officially opened last night. The Vikings discovered that it wasn't just Bret Favre who was playing catchup.

There can be little doubt that the whole "will he or won't he" routine in Minnesota left the team with more rust than the patio furniture you forgot to bring in last September.

The Minneapolis coach stated he was caught off guard by the Saints defensive game plan. While we admire Coach Childress's honesty - we gotta wonder why. There's a rumor that he coached against that same team in the Super Bowl and saw just about everything.

Well, not to "take the bloom off the onion" - and while agreeing this is just one of 16 scheduled games for the Vikings - you got to wonder how many there will be in the 2011 season. And, we're not talking about the commish's desire to go from 16 regular season games to 18.

I can see you now as you wave your hands in panic and scream "Hold on! I've got way too many things on my plate already. I'm still trying to figure out my fantasy picks (presumably for the "remedial" Fantasy League) and I'm also attempting to negotiate an agreement with my wife over the purchase of a Dish to get the NFL package."

Welcome to the party! That would be in addition to the "financial collaps" party - which you weren't ready for either.

Yep, this is yet another party for which you're unprepared. No problem. Let me get you a beer and please sit anywhere you want - at least until March -when the CBA (collective bargaining agreement) between the NFL players and the owners runs out. It should be interesting.

The owners say a revenue sharing program that enables the players to get about 60% of
the gross is "way out of line".Hey, can't disagree. But, don't particulary like their entreaty of a decrease to 41% either. So, why not get this whole mess over with and agree on 50% now?

Doubt it will happen. Nothing like a good millionaire/billionaire fight to stir the juices.

I try to look on the bright side though and can't wait to see Jerry Jones try to squeeze into that Arkansas Razorback uniform from his college days as he suits up with the scabs.

The construction cost for his new football stadium was $1.3 billion. Is Jones really one of the guys who is insisting the owners are losing money? Hell, if J. Beresford Tipton sent Michael Anthony over to Jones' house once a month with a cashiers check - do you have any idea how many trips he'd have to make to pay off that sucker?

Even taking public transportation wouldn't enable a guy like Jones to come up with that kind of financing. So, where did it come from?

A recent report reveals the league receives a 1 billion dollar credit that isn't included in the pie that is split with the players. The league is now requesting another 1 billion to help "grow the game." You know, pay operating costs plus money to help finance new stadiums.

I guess, you never know how much studio backdrop sets can cost on the NFL Network Channel. That's the one not included in the income scraped off from the sports channels, the networks and their affiliates.

One cost cutting suggestion is to include synchronized rowing in training camps. Why fly over to London for those pre-season exhibition games?

Switching sports - but, still on the subject of team owners . The divorce proceedings between Dodger team owner(s?) Frank & Jamie McCourt include the problem of the eventual disposition of "over a half dozen" luxury homes. (what, nobody knows the exact number?) Just figuring out which month to spend in each home must have taken a terrible toll on their vacation planner software.

Did we miss something? Perhaps these properties are income producing rentals for a owner that kept increasing the teams revenue but remained passive on increasing salaries or retaining expensive players?

The compaints of team owners everywhere on the subject of profits are leaving arched eyebrows so high on our foreheads that plastic surgeons future financial security will never be in doubt. But, you know the old saw, "If you don't ask - you don't get."

Once again we repeat the question we put to Wall Street executives in previous blogs, "How much is enough?"

So, get ready to watch the scrubs on that 52 inch Sony job for which you're still making interest payments only on your over extended credit card - and again - "WELCOME TO THE PARTY."

"Oh, you want another beer? Sorry pal, this ones gonna cost you!"