DETROIT RESIDENTS SPARED OF WATCHING CRAPPY FOOTBALL

The downtrodden Lions have enjoyed a sellout streak throughout the seven darkest years any NFL team has endured. But the run ends Sunday, when the home game against the Redskins won’t appear on local television. The Lions had previously sold out every game played at Ford Field, which opened in 2002. The run of 51 consecutive sellouts began with the final game of the 2001 season. Asked about the possible non-sellout, Lions coach Rod Marinelli said, “No comment.” Actually, he didn’t. Here’s what he said: “It’s our fault -- that’s my fault. If we were playing better, and if we were executing better and we were winning more, then [the fans] would come.” We appreciate Marinelli’s willingness to take the blame, but it’s not as if the Lions have been tearing it up for the past seven years. We think that the economy is factoring into the end of the streak, coupled with the fact that Ford Field has now been around long enough to have lost its novelty A total of 5,000 tickets were unsold as of 72 hours before kickoff. No 24-hour extension was given, which seems to confirm something we heard earlier this year about this specific aspect of the process. As the legend/theory/rumor goes, an extension is provided only if the team has already lined someone up (often, the local television station airing the game) to buy any leftover tickets. Then, a 24-hour extension is announced in the hopes of getting folks who really want to see the game to buy tickets under the premise that there’s a chance the game won’t be shown on television locally. Meanwhile, a behind-the-scenes sellout already has been arranged, and the folks who buy tickets during the 24-hour window help to reduce the size of the pill that a third party ultimately will swallow.