Bowlen envisions bright future for NFL Network

Lee Rasizer And Jeff Legwold, Rocky Mountain News

Thursday, November 23, 2006

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Broncos owner Pat Bowlen calls the NFL Network a venture that's "very important" to him on a personal level.

And no wonder. As chairman of the league's broadcasting committee, Bowlen was instrumental in bringing the cable-television channel into about 41 million homes the past three years.

So, with the channel set to make its debut as a broadcaster of live games - the schedule begins tonight with the Broncos visiting the Kansas City Chiefs - Bowlen isn't hiding his glee that his team is involved from the get-go.

"I feel it's a historic game," he said.

But, in his mind, it's only the beginning. He is equally excited about the possibilities moving forward.

"I think as you look into the future three or four more years," Bowlen said, "it will be a fully distributed, 365-day, 2 4/7 network. And it won't just be about the NFL."

Yet, before that vision becomes reality, the network will continue to encounter stumbling blocks. While satellite providers such as DirecTV and Dish Network have programming tiers that include the channel, cable giants such as Time Warner and Cablevision have resisted because of subscriber-fee issues.

The game tonight will be simulcast on free television in the Kansas City and Denver markets - it will air on KDVR-Channel 31 in Denver - but outside the Denver area, the game will be unavailable except to those homes that are wired to carry the NFL Network.

Bowlen is concerned about the resistance of some companies to include NFL Network on their systems - "There's going to be some big markets, especially on the East Coast, that don't get the game," he said - but he doesn't believe the league is doing anything wrong in its business dealings to date.

"We're trying to get them to carry it, and we're not asking an unreasonable price," he said, adding, "I'm sensitive to that."

Having Thursday and Saturday night games, in Bowlen's view, "really puts pressure on the cable companies that aren't carrying us to carry us."

Despite those snags, Bowlen described the NFL Network as a successful venture that should continue growing under the leadership of former ESPN/ABC executive Steve Bornstein and expanding its reach beyond pro football.

The channel already has the broadcast rights to the Insight, Senior and Houston bowls.

"I foresee the day when there's college games (on the network) on Saturday and stuff like that," Bowlen said.

STILL GOING: The Broncos are scheduled to participate in a grievance hearing next week with the league and NFL Players Association about whether former wide receiver Ashley Lelie will have to pay the remainder of the money he agreed to before the team traded him to Atlanta in August as part of a three- way deal.

An arbiter ruled Friday that Lelie should have the opportunity to try to recoup $220,000 of the money because it was the prorated part of a $1.1 million option bonus that extended his deal during his time with the Broncos.

The arbiter ruled that under the new collective-bargaining agreement, extended in March, an option bonus could not be treated like a signing bonus and that a player would not have to surrender it for any reason once it is paid.

As of early this week, the Broncos had not notified the league if they would appeal the arbiter's ruling.

The hearing, expected to be Monday, will deal with the fines assessed to Lelie. His penalty totaled $333,000 for missed days in training camp as well as a mandatory three- day minicamp in July to go with the prorated portion of the original $3.3 million signing bonus he agreed to repay.

Lelie, who has a $600,000 base salary this season, was asked to sign a document saying he would pay the money before the trade was finalized.

Coach Mike Shanahan has said he would not comment on any of the proceedings.

TURKEY DAY II: A short week always causes headaches for coaches trying to implement game plans and for players trying to shake off the aches of the game they played only days earlier.

At least the Broncos know the routine. They will become the first team, besides traditional holiday hosts Detroit and Dallas, to play on Thanksgiving in consecutive seasons. The Broncos recorded a 24-21 overtime win at Dallas last year.

"Since we did it last year, it's kind of the same situation, but it's a different year," cornerback Darrent Williams said. "We've got guys, it's their first time starting this year, and they don't really have the right amount of days to prepare. It's kind of a different situation for a few. But for a lot of us that went through it last year, it's kind of similar."

ETC.: The Broncos haven't won in Kansas City since a 37-34 overtime victory in 2002 . . . Broncos defensive linemen Ebenezer Ekuban and Michael Myers, both former Dallas Cowboys, have played the most on Thanksgiving of any the current Broncos players. Tonight will be the sixth appearance for each in the holiday game . . . The Broncos have won their past four road games overall, their longest such streak since 1996, when they also won four straight road games.

Pat Rooney contributed to this report.