Seahawks coach Pete Carroll made a surprising statement at his press conference today, saying the kickoff time for Sunday’s Cardinals-Seahawks game could change because of a conflict with the Seattle Mariners.
The Seahawks are currently scheduled to kick off at home at 1:05 p.m. Pacific Time on Sunday, and the Mariners could play Game 4 of the American League Division Series against the Houston Astros that afternoon as well. Both teams would likely prefer not to have their games happening simultaneously.
Realistically, however, it’s hard to believe that the NFL would change the time of a game to accommodate baseball. The NFL is accustomed to being the 800-pound gorilla of the sports world, and the league’s attitude is likely that if Major League Baseball doesn’t want a conflict, then baseball can schedule its game accordingly.
Furthermore, the baseball game might not even happen, as the ALDS is a best-of-5 series, and with Game 3 on Saturday, it could be over before Sunday. The NFL isn’t going to want to move the Seahawks game only to have the issue become moot because the Mariners’ series is over before Sunday.
So expect the Seahawks and Cardinals to kick off as scheduled at 4:05 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday. Even if Carroll is leaving the door open to a change.
