Maybe NFL commissioner Roger Goodell can argue the big picture merits of the league's television blackout policy, but this much is obvious: It doesn't work in 2009 Detroit.
Sunday, the Lions experienced what should have been a marketing gold mine. Matthew Stafford, their rookie quarterback, was brilliant in a 38-37 victory over the Cleveland Browns. It wasn't just his considerable statistics, but rather the way he pulled himself off the turf after being slammed to it by a 300-pound lineman - and then delivered the win with an injured shoulder.
It was the type of performance Lions' fans have been thirsting for from their quarterback for decades. It was the type of thing that always seems to happen to the Lions, not for them.
Yet, nobody saw it. No television because of the blackout. There were maybe 30,000 Lions fans at Ford Field. The rest were from Cleveland. We're talking about a Metro area of more than 3.5 million people - and less than 1 percent of them actually witnessed the thrilling comeback by Stafford and the Lions.
Hearing about it, reading about it, seeing the highlights on newscasts couldn't possibly do justice to the drama that unfolded at Ford Field Sunday. You had to actually watch it for anywhere near the full impact.
You can't tell me in the long run that doesn't hurt ticket sales. You can't tell me that doesn't impact, negatively, the selling of Lions' marketing garb.
This isn't Gary Bettman we're dealing with here. Goodell clearly has a clue. So far he has been a very good commissioner. Just don't understand why he hasn't figured out the NFL's blackout policy is hurting this franchise far more than helping it.
The economics are bad. The team worse than the economy. The Lions win two home games this season, providing the type of melodrama that separates the NFL from other leagues each time. Essentially nobody sees those victories.
The only time 99 percent of the Lions fans see their team play is when they are getting clocked by two, three or four touchdowns at Minnesota, Chicago, Green Bay or New Orleans - or similarly at home when a powerful teams comes in and Ford Field sells out.
How does it makes sense to only have the public see your worst and not your best?
It's like a hamburger joint handing the burned patties and leaving the properly cooked ones in the back.
Makes no sense at all.

Random Thoughts

- Having Bill Martin say Rich Rodriguez "absolutely" will coach Michigan's football team next season doesn't mean it will turn out that way. Don't be surprised if Michigan makes a run at a new athletic director sooner instead of later - and a new football coach arrives shortly afterward as part of the package. The scene Saturday, with all those Buckeyes taking over the Big House, isn't sitting well. Nor should it

- Michigan State's season has to be classified as a step back. Who did the Spartans beat? Michigan? What does that mean these days? Bottom line: They were a mediocre team in a subpar BCS conference. The Spartans didn't take advantage of not having Ohio State on the schedule. They lost to Central Michigan. And Mark Dantonio might have let the big one get away when quarterback Nick Foles transferred to Arizona.

My column in Monday's Oakland Press about the Lions-Browns game: http://tinyurl.com/ydmnp8x