The NFL is telling churches they are no longer allowed to show the Superbowl on big screens in their sanctuary.

After a crackdown by the National Football League on big-screen Super Bowl gatherings by churches, the Springfield church has sacked its event. Instead, church members will host parties in their homes.

Immanuel is among a number of churches in the Washington area and elsewhere that have been forced to use a new playbook to satisfy the NFL, which said that airing games at churches on large-screen TV sets violates the NFL copyright.

The issue here is that when lots of people watch the game on a big screen, then there are fewer people watching them on TV's. And Nielsen measures TV sets not people. Which is really a problem with how ratings are measured, not with churches.

Large Super Bowl gatherings around big-screen sets outside of homes shrink TV ratings and can affect advertising revenue, McCarthy said. "We have no objection to churches and others hosting Super Bowl parties as long as they . . . show the game on a television of the type commonly used at home," he said. "It is a matter of copyright law."

It's also a matter of money. The NFL should look at the record industry to see how succuessful it is to attack your fans. And I don't understand why bars are allowed to show the games on huge TV screens and churches are not. I'm betting this rule is changed next year.

Oh, and who do you think wins on Sunday? I'm pulling for Eli.

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