This space won't be going off grid

You already know the Lakers are playing the Celtics on Sunday and the Ducks are currently sweeping through Canada and the Kings probably will be swept in Colorado and Chicago this weekend. Today's column is a football-only zone, beginning with the game everybody must see -- and will be able to see, thanks to some angry football fans who work in Washington . . .

New England Patriots at New York Giants (Saturday, 5:15 p.m., Channel 2 and Channel 4 and NFL Network): The Redskins beating the Giants in Giants Stadium on Dec. 16 was big, but it was mere prelude to the hit Washington put on the NFL's New York offices this week.

Before Wednesday, the Patriots' pursuit of perfection (to quote ESPN's omnipresent on-screen graphic) was going to be seen only by the select few who have access to the league's own NFL Network. Or, anybody up for the old-school tradition of trudging out to a sports bar and mingling with humans for three hours, rather than e-mailing or texting them?

In SoCal, the cry went up: "For 16 weeks, the networks shove Giants telecasts down our throats. Finally, there's a Giants game we want to see -- and we can't see it!"

That changed when the NFL, flinching in the face of congressional heat, announced that the Patriots' bid to go 16-0 would be seen on free over-the-air TV -- on CBS as well as NBC. That enabled NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell to deliver the sanctimonious statement, "We have taken this extraordinary step because it is in the best interest of our fans."

Translation: We have taken this extraordinary step because members of Congress have suggested that the offensive line in charge of protecting the NFL's antitrust exemption might be thinking about taking a few plays off.

So on Saturday, anybody in America can tune in to CBS or NBC and see the NFL Network's live feed of the Patriots-Giants action. That will mean listening to Bryant Gumbel calling the play by play. Sorry, America. Can't have everything.

If Bryant Gumbel is an absolute deal-breaker for you, here's another viewing option for Saturday evening. . . .

Alamo Bowl, Penn State versus Texas A&M (Saturday, 5 p.m., ESPN): The last time the NFL offered a live national simulcast was January 1967, the first Super Bowl, which was broadcast by CBS and NBC -- with each network using its own announcers.

Ah, competition! Creative tension! Freedom of choice!

Those were the days, remembers Joe Paterno, who had just turned 40 when Super Bowl I was played.