Sarni's Scrolls: Monday Night FB Squared

Why watch one Monday game when you can watch two?

ESPN concludes Week 2 with a Monday Night doubleheader, but it won’t feature two games airing consecutively as it has done in the past, but rather two games that overlap.

Carolina Panthers vs. New Orleans Saints (-3) at 7:15 on ESPN and ESPN 2 and Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Cleveland Browns (-2) at 8:15 on ABC.

ESPN president of content Burke Magnus told The Athletic:

"The thought there is, can we combine total audience and do a little bit like we used to do in the old days of college football where we create a simultaneous national and regional appeal and use our networks to do that in a single window?"

ESPN will repeat the MNF experiment in Week 3 and again in Week 14.

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There are two weeks left in MLB's regular season, and things couldn't be any wilder than in the NL Wild Cards race.

The Phillies have a decided edge for WC No. 1, but five teams are battling for WC No. 2 and WC No. 3.

The contenders with Fangraphs chances: Diamondbacks (56.7%), Marlins (54.7%), Cubs (46%), Reds (30.6%), Giants (13.5%).

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HBO has canceled "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers' Dynasty" after two seasons. It ends with LA losing the 1984 Finals to Boston. Season 2 ratings have been poor.

Alabama's streak of consecutive AP appearances  in Top 10 is over at 128. Second longest behind Miami's 137 (1985-93)...

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NFL's RedZone lived up to its name on Sunday. All eight early games had teams in the Red Zone in the final minute of the first half. A first... Nine of the 13 Sunday games were decided by one score, including two overtime contests...

Deion Sanders' signature Blender sunglasses ($67) will be released in October... "60 Minutes" had a feature on Sanders during Sunday's season premiere...

Al Michaels, asked what current coach would make a good broadcaster, said: Mike Tomlin and Sean McVay. " Slam-dunks."...

Soccer star Gareth Bale has become a playable character in the PGA2K23 golf video game...

Michael Strahan has returned for another season of "The $100,000 Pyramid."...

The NBA is launching a new initiative -- Future Stars Now, showcasing the next generation of stars in a centralized hub of the NBA app...

Tottenham Hotspurs Stadium is officially the Home of the NFL. Two regular-season games will be played there every year through 2029. How long before the NFL adds a European division?...

Instant replay has no flair for the dramatic. I wanted to see if the Patriots could have scored the tying touchdown...

Do you suffer from FOBO -- Fear of Being Obsolete? That your job will become obsolete due to technology...

Sept. 18 is National Cheeseburger Day. Have one in tribute to Jimmy Buffett.

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Jim Sarni, BC Class of '69, is a former sportswriter for The Boston Globe and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He resides in Fort Lauderdale and watches a lot of television.