ABC's "MNF" "almost certainly will not have the benefit
of a flexible schedule over the final weeks of the 2000
season, though the league could implement the plan in 2001,"
according to Leonard Shapiro of the WASHINGTON POST. NFL
Commissioner Paul Tagliabue had mentioned the possibility of
leaving the final four to six weeks of the "MNF" schedule
open to allow the network to televise the most "compelling
games," but Shapiro writes that league sources "do not
expect a vote" to be taken at the league's annual meetings
in FL in two weeks. No action on the matter would likely
delay any decision until next year. NFL Dir of Broadcasting
Dennis Lewin: "There is a lot of interest, but it's a matter
of us running out of time to put all the pieces together to
make it happen." One network exec called the delay "not
exactly a big surprise" and cited the "logistical problems
and objections" for partners Fox and CBS. But Lewin said
the other two nets "had different views on it. ... [But] I
think they understood the value of getting playoff teams
that would appear on their air exposed in a bigger, higher
way on Monday night" (WASHINGTON POST, 3/15).
