Dec 27, 2007 4:35 pm US/Eastern
SoFla Fans Get To See Run At Perfect Season
NFL Makes Giants-Patriots Game Available To All
Game Will Be shown On CBS4 at 8 PM Saturday
Game Had Been Scheduled Only Limited-View On NFL Network
MIAMI (CBS4) ―
The players who created the Dolphin legacy of the 16-0 Perfect Season will be able to watch the first real challenge of that record with the rest of us Saturday, after the NFL agreed to allow CBS and another network carry the NFL Network coverage of the 15-0 Patriots and the NY Giants. The Patriots could become the first NFL team to go 16-0 in the regular season, and you can see the game on CBS4 starting at 8 p.m.
The NFL had scheduled Saturday night's game on the NFL Network, which is available in fewer than 40 percent of the nation's homes with TVs. Angry fans had been demanding a chance to see the game, and after first saying it would not change it's corporate mind, the NFL relented Wednesday.
"We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans," commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement after the league announced it was reversing course.
"We appreciate CBS and NBC delivering the NFL Network telecast on Saturday night to the broad audience that deserves to see this potentially historic game."
The decision by the league means South Florida residents will get the chance to see the Patriots match the Dolphins Perfect Season of 1972, when it won all regular season games and went on to win the Super Bowl.
While Saturday's game could let the Patriots equal the Dolphins record for the number of games won n a season, the team would still have to win 3 more games – the divisional playoff, the conference championship, and the Super Bowl – to usurp the Dolphins' "Perfect Season" title.
Die-hard Dolfans will be rooting for the Giants, who at 10-5 are ranked second in the NFC East, 3 games behind Dallas. The Giants will be playing at home, but actually have a better record on the road for the 2007 season.
The NFL had originally allowed TV stations in the home cities of NY and Boston to carry the game, but their decision now means multiple stations will carry the game in those cities, and that has some station managers who are seeing an exclusive skip away.
"The NFL is in clear violation of their agreement with WWOR/My9," the station said in a statement. "We fully expect the league to honor their commitment to My9 as the exclusive free over-the-air broadcaster for Saturday's telecast of the New England Patriots at New York Giants game."
In a statement, NFL Network spokesperson Seth Palansky said: "We are in the process of reviewing the situation as it relates to Channel 9."
According to Palansky, there have been no complaints from the Boston market.
This will be the first three-network simulcast in NFL history and the first simulcast of an NFL game since the inaugural Super Bowl in 1967, when CBS and NBC televised the meeting of the champions of the newly merged National Football League and American Football League.
CBS was set to broadcast the movie "Good Night, and Good Luck" and "48 Hours: Mysteries." Those programs will be re-scheduled, and CBS4 News at 11 will be broadcast as soon as the game concludes.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
Click to enlarge
9/11 Defendants Will Explain Reasons For Attacks 58 mins ago 
I-Team: Tracking The Florida Stimulus Money Trail 
Stumble It!
