Our own MDS (who as always did a great job filling in while yours truly was tending to the day job) dropped me a line during the 3:00 p.m. EST showing of Outside the Lines on ESPN to explain that Brian Seltzer of ESPN 950 in Philly made an eyebrow-lifting claim regarding the still-raging debate over whether NFL players know that a game can end in a tie.

Per MDS, Seltzer said on the air that one of the officials at Sunday’s Eagles-Bengals game didn’t know about ties, either.

Frankly, we find this hard to believe.  Then again, we would have found it hard to believe four days ago that McNabb didn’t know there could be a tie game.

Our guess?  The McNabb P.R. machine is finally starting to spin, and only two days too late.  Really, what better way to deflect blame from Donovan than to dump on the zebras?

Rich Burg has every reason to rehab McNabb on this issue.  Indeed, there’s already talk that McNabb’s admitted lack of football knowledge could render any potential broadcasting career blowed up and/or debacled.

If so, it makes sense.  In the post-Emmitt NFL media industry, the folks responsible for selecting on-air talent will likely be more careful than ever to ensure that the big-name candidates for big-time jobs won’t embarrass themselves or, more importantly, those who hired them.