Some will focus on Michael Jenkins’ catch on a 3rd and 10 that wasn’t overturned by replay. Others will talk about the pass interference call on Tavares Gooden.

Most will fixate on Roddy White’s push-off.

But they shouldn’t. The Ravens didn’t lose to the Falcons on Thursday night because of the refs. They lost because they were dominated for most of the night and couldn’t catch a break or two down the stretch.

Here’s the way I would tally the final drive of Atlanta’s dramatic 26-21 win:

Jenkins’ Reception: It was a catch. The second replay showed that Jenkins kept a kung fu grip on the ball with his fingers and secured it while getting both feet down.

Pass Interference Call: I’m surprised Gooden didn’t get stopped at the Atlanta airport and picked up for the molestation of Tony Gonzalez. It was a good call – Gooden was draped all over him.

White’s Push-Off: It was clear as day – the ref missed it. I think a stiff wind could have knocked Josh Wilson down, but nevertheless White pushed off and it was a bad no call. He should have been flagged, the Falcons should have been backed up and who knows – maybe Baltimore is 7-2 and Atlanta is 6-3.

But you know what? The Ravens have nobody to blame but themselves and here’s why:

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The network has him ranked #34 all time, and he’s upset about it.

Deion is going to be partial to defense (and himself), but he brings up an interesting point that there’s a huge disparity between the number of offensive players that were selected compared to the number of defensive players. But is that surprising? Offensive players put up gaudy stats while you usually can’t fully appreciate how good a defender is unless you watch film. Nnamdi Asomugha’s interception totals are always low, but he’s widely regarded as the best corner in the league because quarterbacks don’t dare throw his way.

That said, Sanders was the greatest cover corner to have played the game and maybe he does have right to complain about his No. 34 ranking. As he alludes to, quarterbacks used to stay away from his side of the field and he still found ways to make plays. He was also a highlight reel waiting to happen on special teams and even though he’s often criticized for not tackling, that doesn’t take away from how outstanding he was in coverage.

Does he have a beef? Should he be in the top 10 or is his ranking justified?

Sports Illustrated put out this list of what it believes to be the Top 20 all-time sportscasters. Some of these guys are before my time, but unfortunately, most of them are not. Anyway, here is the list and a snappy comment or two, as well as who they missed and who I’m glad is not on here:

1. Jim McKay—The Bob Costas of his time. McKay hosted ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” as well as The Olympics. It’s hard to argue with putting him on top here, but it’s also easy to argue for a few of these others to be #1.

2. Vin Scully—If I hear ol’ Vin doing a game on TV, and with the MLB package it’s nice to still hear him doing Dodgers’ games, I don’t care who is playing….I stop and watch, and listen. It’s just comforting to hear the guy’s voice, which was made for broadcasting baseball.

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DirecTV subscribers may be wondering if the NFL Network’s new channel, “NFL RedZone” is the same as the RedZone Channel that is available as part of the Sunday Ticket package. The answer is yes…and no. It’s not the exact same channel. It has a different host and a different studio, but the concept is the same.

The channel will bounce around from game to game to show live action or instant highlights from a multitude of games. I’ve watched the DirecTV version for six hours straight, and it’s a great way for fantasy football enthusiasts to spend a Sunday. I assume that the NFL Network’s version will be just as good.

I have long been critical of the NFL’s decision to make the Sunday TIcket exclusive to DirecTV, largely because I’m a diehard Packer fan living in a California condo with no view of the southern horizon (making me one of the millions of football fans that simply can’t get DirecTV without moving). The DirecTV monopoly exclusive rights extend through 2014, though the package may be available to non-DirecTV subscribers in 2012. I mention the Sunday Ticket debacle because this NFL Network Red Zone channel is a step in the right direction.

Of course, the NFL Network is still at odds with several cable companies — including my carrier, Time Warner — as they haggle over carriage fees for the channel. Actually, “haggle” would imply that the two sides are negotiating. As far as I know, they’ve both walked away from the table.

The cable giant wants to offer NFL Network on a sports tier, while the NFL Network wants the channel to be on the basic tier, which due to its high carriage cost, would have a significant impact on the bottom line and increase cable rates for all subscribers. Essentially, the Network wants every subscriber to pay for the channel even if they don’t want it in their lineup.

It was one thing for Time Warner to walk away from negotiations when the NFL Network only carried eight games in a season, but now that TWC’s subscribers will be missing out on this new Red Zone channel, I’d expect the pressure to strike a deal will be amped up. I, for one, am not pleased that this product is readily available and the 2nd-largest cable company in the country does not offer it. What’s the point of having a monopoly if you aren’t going to use your negotiating power to get what you want?

Between the offering of exclusive rights to Sunday Ticket and the high carriage fees of the NFL Network (and presumably, the new RedZone channel), the NFL is not treating a subsection of its fan base very well.

We just want to watch the games — all of them. Why is the league making it so difficult for fans to consume its product?

According to Peter King of SI.com, the NFL Network is furious with Jon Gruden, who nixed a deal with them to replace Tony Kornheiser and join the cast of Monday Night Football.

Do not invite Gruden and NFL Network czar Steve Bornstein to the same event anytime soon, or ever. Bornstein wants to wring Gruden’s neck. The NFL Network is furious with Gruden for jilting the network after he’d verbally agreed to a deal to work there. The former Bucs coach had been very good on the NFL Network, colorful and opinionated, at the NFL scouting combine and the NFL draft, and the network had finalized everything but the signature on the paper for Gruden to begin working there immediately. In fact, he was slated to be at NFL Films this week to begin his job full time. But ESPN swooped in, offered Gruden the Monday night seat vacated by Tony Kornheiser (how convenient), and Gruden took it.

The NFL Network planned to put Gruden on the air all season, then move him to the Thursday night football booth alongside Bob Papa, replacing Cris Collinsworth. Now it’s back to ground zero in its search for a voice to pair with Papa.

One of the reasons the NFL Network is so steamed, I’m told, is that no one from the Gruden camp called Bornstein to tell him. In many cases like this, the league might work with its TV partners to tell them, “Hey, hands off,” or “Play fair here,” but that didn’t happen here. ESPN got to Gruden too fast.

Now there are two people who should have been NFL Network stars this fall — Gruden and ace reporter Adam Schefter — who will instead work for ESPN. And the NFL Network is not pleased about the defection of either one.

The NFL Network has a tough roe to hoe when a bigger network such as ESPN comes a calling for some of their “players”, considering their reach and audience isn’t that big. If you got the opportunity to call a Monday Night Football game when you knew millions of people will be watching on a weekly basis, why would you stay at NFL Network calling late season Thursday night games for an audience of about 12 people?

Still, if this report is true what a crappy move by Gruden. You have to at least have the decency to tell your employer that you’re moving on if you already had an agreement with them to stick around for a while. Either way, he’ll likely be back on the sidelines in 2010, so ESPN will be looking for his replacement soon enough.

Sports Illustrated’s Peter King is reporting that the NFL is close to a deal with Comcast to begin offering the NFL Network on their cable television package. League officials hope to gain momentum with this current agreement and have it carry over to their upcoming negotiations for a new labor agreement with the players association.

King also added that the NFL is on the verge of reaching a two-year contract extension with FOX and CBS to continue broadcasting their Sunday game packages. Many feel that NBC will likely follow suit and agree to a similar deal for their Sunday evening game package sometime before the start of the season.

Here is the breakdown of the potential agreement between the NFL and Comcast:

NFL Network had been carried on a pay sports tier for Comcast’s 24-million subscribers, and the NFL for years has been arguing its channel should be on the regular digital cable package with the ESPNs and CNNs of the cable TV world. Now that is close to happening. The deal would mean that instead of paying about $7 per month for the channel and other pay-TV sports channels, Comcast subscribers will get NFL Network with its regular digital package — and it will increase the number of TV homes the Network is seen in from about 35 million to close to 50 million. More importantly, it could well pave the way for the NFL to make deals with other cable companies similarly chapped at the league’s demand for huge rights fees for a sports channel with only 24 hours of NFL regular-season game programming per year.

Many in the league office feared that without a wider distribution of the NFL Network, the owners would have moved to cease operations of the channel. They were getting frustrated with the lack of movement in their five-year battle against Comcast on the network’s distribution rights.

The NFL will return to the negotiating table later this spring, as talks between the league and the NFL players association will begin on coming to a new collection bargaining agreement.

The Detroit Lions are now on the clock.

Well, they have been on the clock since the first week of preseason. The unofficial kickoff to the upcoming football season is here, as the 2009 NFL Draft will be the highlight event of the weekend. Your mock draft is due prior to the start of the draft. So be sure to cram in every player’s 40 yard time and wonderlic score during an all-night study session tonight. And if you want to play a good drinking game on Saturday, take a sip when Mel Kiper says “that was a value pick” or “he was the best player available.” I guarantee you will pass out halfway through the first round.

All times ET…

NFL
Sat, 4 PM: 2009 NFL Draft (ESPN/ESPN2/NFL Network)
Sun, 10 AM: 2009 NFL Draft (ESPN/NFL Network)

NBA Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
Fri, 8 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (ESPN2)
Fri, 9:30 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (ESPN)
Sat, 1 PM: Denver Nuggets @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)
Sat, 4 PM: San Antonio Spurs @ Dallas Mavericks (TNT)
Sat, 6:30 PM: Atlanta Hawks @ Miami Heat (TNT)
Sat, 9 PM: Los Angeles Lakers @ Utah Jazz (ESPN)
Sun, 1 PM: Boston Celtics @ Chicago Bulls (ABC)
Sun, 3:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ABC)
Sun, 6:30 PM: Orlando Magic @ Philadelphia 76ers (TNT)
Sun, 9 PM: Portland Trail Blazers @ Houston Rockets (TNT)

NHL Playoffs
Fri, 7 PM: New York Rangers @ Washington Capitals (Versus)
Sat, 1 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ Philadelphia Flyers (NBC)
Sat, 10 PM: Anaheim Ducks @ San Jose Sharks (Versus)
Sun, 2 PM: Washington Capitals @ New York Rangers*if necessary (NBC)
Sun, TBD: New Jersey Devils @ Carolina Hurricanes (Versus)

MLB
Sat, 4:10PM: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (Fox)
Sun., 12 PM: Philadelphia Phillies @ Florida Marlins (TBS)
Sun., 8 PM: New York Yankees @ Boston Red Sox (ESPN)

It’s finally here.

After months of preparation and endless promotion, Super Bowl XLIII will be played this Sunday. The game is scheduled to kickoff at 6:28 PM, but the pregame show festivities will begin at 10 AM with NFL Countdown on ESPN. If that is too early to begin your tailgating day, then tune into the NFL Network at 11:30 AM for their six and half hour NFL GameDay show. For those who are late arrivals to the party, NBC will begin their coverage of Super Sunday at 1 PM with Bob Costas hosting The Super Bowl Pregame Show that features a cast of thousands breaking down the premier matchup of the season.

All times ET…

NFL
Sunday, 6:28 PM: Super Bowl XLIII — Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Arizona Cardinals at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, FL. (NBC)

NBA
Friday, 7 PM: Boston Celtics @ Detroit Pistons (ESPN)
Friday, 9:30 PM: Golden State Warriors @ New Orleans Hornets (ESPN)
Saturday, 7:30 PM: Dallas Mavericks @ Miami Heat (NBA TV)
Sunday, 2:30 PM: Cleveland Cavaliers @ Detroit Pistons (ABC)

NHL
Friday, 7 PM: Pittsburgh Penguins @ New Jersey Devils
Saturday, 1 PM: New York Rangers @ Boston Bruins
Saturday, 10:30 PM: Chicago Black Hawks @ San Jose Sharks

College Basketball
Saturday, 12 PM: #22 Notre Dame @ #3 Pittsburgh (ESPN)
Saturday, 1 PM: Michigan @ #17 Purdue (CBS)
Saturday, 2 PM: #23 Georgetown @ #8 Marquette (ESPN Full Court)
Saturday, 6 PM: San Diego @ #25 Gonzaga (ESPN2)

Tennis: Australian Open
Friday, 3:30 AM: Men’s Semi-Final (ESPN2)
Saturday, 3:30 AM: Women’s Final (ESPN2)
Sunday, 3:30 AM: Men’s Final (ESPN2)

According to NFL Network reporter Adam Schefter, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Tony Gonzalez could quietly request a trade to a contending team soon. The trading deadline is coming up on October 14, the Chiefs would listen to offers for their veteran players on the current roster to acquire draft choices and rebuild the franchise through the upcoming draft.

Various reports have the Chiefs only considering trade proposals involving first-round choices if they decide to trade Gonzalez. No teams have been identified as possible suitors to acquire him at this time.