In case there was any doubt, here's fresh evidence that this is a football nation

How much do Americans love football? Put it this way: Sunday night’s Pro Football Hall of Fame exhibition between the Buffalo Bills and the Tennessee Titans drew 7.92 million viewers to NBC from 8 p.m. to 11:04 p.m., making it the most-watched sporting event of the week. The game served as Terrell Owens' first appearance on a national stage in a Bills’ motley––in this case, both teams wore their American Football League throwback unis, in a nod to what would have been the AFL’s 50th anniversary––and while the flamboyant crybaby hauled in two catches in his one offensive series, the Titans went on to win by a 21-18 margin. As a scrimmage, the game was meaningless to anyone who isn’t a degenerate gambler (FWIW, the Titans just covered the -2.5 point spread, and you were golden if you took the over), and it had its share of goofy moments, including a hidden-ball trick by backup Tennessee punter A.J. Trapasso from the Buffalo 40 that netted 6 points. What’s fascinating about NBC’s ratings for the HOF skirmish is that the Peacock not only beat out CBS’ afternoon coverage of the final round of the Bridgestone Invitational, but it also bested ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball in head-to-head competition. The final game of a four-date series between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox delivered 4.7 million viewers, making it the most-watched Major League Baseball game on ESPN since 2007. The Yanks got out the brooms, and in doing so, took a commanding 6.5-game lead in the American League East. After having missed the playoffs last season for the first time since 1993, the Bombers look poised for an October run, and while there’s always a good chance that A-Rod’s bat will up and die like Spock at the end of Wrath of Khan once the leaves turn, for now, it appears as if everything is right in the world.

—Posted by Anthony Crupi