Look at those lines! They look crooked, don't they? But they're STICK-STRAIGHT. Crazy. In any event, that's the equivalent of what a lot of us (including your humble proprietor) will see tonight if they attempt to watch a a prime time NFL game on TV.

In fact, in a span of five days, NFL fans without cable will lack access to a primetime game: tonight's Colts/Jags matchup on the NFL Network, Saturday's Saints/Cowboys tilt on the NFL Network and Monday's Giants/Washington game on ESPN. The two NFL Network games, in particular, are two of the best games of the week are available to only a fraction of those who probably want to watch them (as noted in less civil and certainly profane terms by friend of RandBall Drew Magary), even though Comcast and the NFL Network patched things up.

In the grand scheme of things, of course, there are far worse fates than not being able to watch football. But it is frustrating, to say the least, to think about football being on when it really isn't on. It's an illusion, just like that picture.

Guess we'll just have to stare at those lines tonight and try to make them straight because there's no way the NFL Network is magically showing up on our TV tonight.