File photo

Greene rushed for one TD and 135 yards on 21 carries in the New York Jets’ playoff win today over the Bengals.

This is Greene’s rookie campaign. He played in 14 games, started none, and had 540 yards rushing and two TDs in the regular season.

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By Brian Siguenza

One NFL game could be all you get to see on this final weekend of the regular season, that is if you’re a Mediacom subscriber in the Cedar Rapids-Waterloo market. Unless the cable provider can work out an agreement with Sinclair Broadcast Group in the next few hours, many Eastern Iowans will not have CBS affiliate KGAN (Channel 2) and FOX affiliate KFXA (Channel 28) on their system.

The ramifications go beyond Hawkeye fans not being able to watch the Orange Bowl in their own homes next week. No deal could also mean no NFL playoffs, as every postseason game, except for two Wild Card games on NBC Saturday, Jan. 9, will air on either CBS or FOX. This includes the Super Bowl, which CBS holds the rights to.

Back to this weekend, the only game not to be carried by CBS or FOX will be Cincinnati at N.Y. Jets, the NBC Sunday night game (7:20 p.m.), and while there is Monday night football, it’s the Fiesta Bowl on FOX. ESPN has wrapped up its Monday night schedule for the year.

Should you choose to buy a special antenna or switch to another provider, or if Mediacom and Sinclair miraculously hammer out a compromise, these are the games you’ll see Sunday on KGAN and KFXA. Both channels have a doubleheader.

KGAN
Pittsburgh at Miami, noon
Baltimore at Oakland, 3:15 p.m.

KFXA
N.Y. Giants at Minnesota, noon
Green Bay at Arizona, 3:15 p.m.

Information provided by The506.com and subject to change.

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We have previously found evidence of Washington Redskins and Boston Red Sox fans in Iowa. Now, we got the Packers. We assume this plate is referring to the Green Bay Packers. (This was spotted on Dec. 28, 2009, in Marion, Iowa.)

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Iowa not only has Boston Red Sox fans but there are also Washington Redskins fans. This was spotted in Cedar Rapids on Dec. 26, 2009.

 

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Go here for an update
By Brian Siguenza

In sports, big games are usually reserved for a national stage. They get the pre-game hype from the media and a late afternoon or prime-time slot on one of the Big Four broadcast networks. Yet most Americans won’t get to see what I think are the three biggest games in the NFL this weekend.

Two of those games, Indianapolis at Jacksonville (7:20 p.m. Thurs.) and Dallas at New Orleans (7:20 p.m. Sat.) will air on NFL Network, which is unavailable on many major cable systems, including Mediacom.

Then there’s Cincinnati at San Diego, a game that could determine which of these teams gets a first-round bye in the playoffs. CBS is sending its top announcing team of Jim Nantz and Phil Simms to Qualcomm Stadium, and the 3:05 p.m. game will air in cities like New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, Atlanta and Phoenix.

But just because people in the larger markets get to see it, that doesn’t make it a true national game. In CBS’ defense, they don’t have the doubleheader this week and couldn’t put the game in the early slot. After all, who is going to be in the stadium for a 10 a.m. Pacific Time kickoff?

It seems to me like Bengals-Chargers would have made a great Sunday night game on NBC, but the Peacock is sticking with Minnesota at Carolina at 7:20 p.m. I thought flexible scheduling was created to keep teams with no shot at the postseason, like the 5-8 Panthers, out of prime-time. But what’s the point if you’re not even going to exercise that option?

In essence, these are the games viewers will have to settle for Sunday afternoon in Eastern Iowa. With only five days until Christmas at that point, my advice is spend that time making sure you have presents bought for the people on your list.

• Miami at Tennessee, noon on KGAN-Ch. 2 (Cedar Rapids) and WHBF-Ch. 4 (Quad Cities)
• Chicago at Baltimore, noon on KFXA-Ch. 28 (Cedar Rapids) and KLJB-Ch. 18 (Quad Cities)
• Green Bay at Pittsburgh, 3:15 p.m. on KFXA and KLJB

And your Monday night game (7:30 p.m. on ESPN) is the New York Giants at Washington.

Listings from The506.com and subject to change.

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By Brian Siguenza

Here’s a look at this Sunday’s NFL  games shown in Eastern Iowa:

- Minnesota at Detroit, noon KFXA (Channel 28). Announcers: Ron Pitts and John Lynch.
- Cincinnati at Green Bay, noon KGAN (Channel 2). Announcers: Ian Eagle and Rich Gannon.
- Pittsburgh at Chicago, 3:15 p.m. KGAN (Channel 2). Announcers: Jim Nantz and Phil Simms.

All information comes from the NFL Broadcast Maps released by The506.com and is subject to change.

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Christoph Trappe Cedar Rapids, Iowa

By Christoph Trappe
Today, I will enjoy the Washington Redskins take on the New York Giants during the NFL’s opening weekend. It’s really the first time that I’m going to pay attention to the NFL  for an extended period of time since last season.

It hasn’t always been like this, though. In years past, I ”managed” my own fantasy football team, was the league’s commissioner and then cheered the Redskins on at the same time. That was hard at times, like when QB Jason Campbell was playing well for the Redskins - my favorite pro team for almost 20 years –  but he was also on my fantasy league opponent’s roster.

Ex-Hawk Ladell Betts is with the Washington Redskins

I’ve spent countless hours researching which player may or may not play on Sunday, which one may or may not get me more points in our fantasies and which player might be the next star.

Heck, I watched some games (of teams I could care less about – like the Chicago Bears, for example) so I could rush to the computer trying to pick up Rex Grossman’s backup after Grossman got hurt. Turns out I wasn’t the only one doing that. As soon as I got the backup (Brian Griese at the time, I think) another fantasy player e-mailed me to let me know that he must have been seconds behind me making the same move.

What happened? Why did I quit? It was just taking too much time and something had to give so it was the fantasy football hobby. Now, I spend my Sunday’s cheering for the Redskins to win. I don’t care if Portis or Cooley get the points.

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By Brian Siguenza

The biggest question on the minds of many football fans here in Eastern Iowa: What channel is showing the Iowa-Iowa State game on Saturday? Officially, it’s being broadcast by FSN, but as Mediacom and ImOn subscribers know, Comcast SportsNet Chicago airs in place of an FSN station. The Cubs will be playing on CSN at noon Saturday, putting the CyHawk Series on the overflow CSN Plus.

Both cable companies will pick up the CSN Plus feed of the game.

• On Mediacom, the game can be found on its Connections channel (22).
• For ImOn customers, CSN Plus will be on channel 4, then move to channel 147 after the game, where it will become part of the digital lineup.
• DirecTV: You must have the Choice package (150+ digital channels) at the least to receive regional sports networks. The three available in this area are: CSN Chicago, FSN Midwest and FSN North. FSN North will be showing the Twins at noon, and I don’t know about the availability of CSN Plus, which is on channel 666 (UPDATE: It appears this channel will have the game), so your best bet is FSN Midwest, channel 671. All info from www.directv.com.
• Dish Network: You must have the Classic Bronze 100+ package at the least to receive regional sports networks. The good news here is that you’ll have a nice selection of which one to watch it on. Nine FSN channels, three CSN channels, Sun Sports (Florida) and MSG Plus (New York) will broadcast Iowa/ISU. All info from www.dishnetwork.com.

So we’ve answered that question, but now you might be wondering if the local stations will show your favorite NFL team’s opening game on Sunday. The506.com has released the NFL coverage maps for Week 1–keep in mind that this is subject to change.

• Kansas City at Baltimore, noon on Ch. 2 — After a dismal 6-26 record the previous two seasons, Chiefs fans are hopeful that a new general manager, new head coach and new quarterback can bring the winning spirit back to Kansas City. (Announcers: Ian Eagle, Rich Gannon)
• Minnesota at Cleveland, noon on Ch. 28 — From the listing on the KFXA website: “Gus Frerotte leads Adrian Peterson and the Vikings in their first game of the regular season against Derek Anderson, D’Qwell Jackson and the Browns.” Brett Favre says nice try, Gus. (Announcers: Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick)
• Washington at N.Y. Giants, 3:15 p.m. on Ch. 28 — A lot could be different about this new NFL season, but it’s nice to know some things don’t change, like Fox making an NFC East matchup its late national game. (Announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman)

Another local note on NFL coverage, Cedar Rapids-born Trent Green will call the Detroit-New Orleans game for Fox with Chris Myers. If you want to see that one, you’ll need DirecTV’s NFL Sunday Ticket. Same goes with any other game that is not airing nationally (Bears and Packers fans will get to see their team in the Sunday night matchup on Channel 7).

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January 2010 update: GRAPHIC: An Ex-Iowa Hawkeye Will Be in the Super Bowl

Here’s a list of the ex-Hawks currently on NFL rosters. (List provided by the UI)

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