Showdown Gets Historic TV Treatment 

The New England Patriots and New York Giants meet Saturday at Giants Stadium in a regular season finale that means nothing in terms of the playoffs: Both teams are locked into their seedings.

So, of course, the game, scheduled to start at 8:15 p.m., will be on three channels: CBS, NBC and the NFL Network -- an unprecedented triple-cast. 

The NFL originally slated the game to only be on the NFL Network -- available to only 40 percent of viewers because of a dispute with cable carriers like Time Warner.

But with the Patriots going for a slew of team and personal records -- including the first-ever 16-0 regular season -- pressure mounted on the NFL to make the game more widely available. The result is this week's agreement to simulcast the game on broadcast TV. 

So records could fall. Fans in the Capital Region and elsewhere who don't get the NFL Network can see the game. The NFL gets exposure for its network, and cable companies can say the league caved to pressure. Everybody wins, right?

Everybody except sports bars that pay extra for the NFL Network and were counting on large crowds for Saturday's game. 

"We were expecting a huge night, very big," said Mike Arduini, owner of the Across the Street Pub in Guilderland. "I'm disappointed. ... It's Saturday night. Hopefully, we'll do business."