The Cardinals finally got their first preseason win under the guidance of head coach Ken Whisenhunt Saturday night with a 27-17 win over the Kansas City Chiefs. My first thought was “who cares?”

NFL preseason football is the biggest scam perpetrated on the American sports fan ever. Invariably I get jacked up for the first preseason game, only to be reminded about 6 minutes into the ballgame why it sucks. Football fans don’t want to watch players who aren’t good enough to play in the NFL. That’s why the XFL didn’t work. It’s why Mark Cuban’s proposed springtime league never got off the ground. Fans don’t like minor league football dressed up and presented as major league football.

But the players weren’t even the most minor league aspect of Saturday’s game. That honor would go to the telecast. The game was carried locally on ABC15 and ABC15 HD. I tried watching the game on HD, although the HD dropped off several times during the broadcast, at least on Cox Cable. But the worst part was the ABC15 scoreboard graphic. The bar was entirely too big, and for most of the first half, was displayed about halfway down the screen. Honestly, the graphic obscured wide receivers who lined up toward the top of the formation. Terrible. Play-by-play broadcaster Mike Goldberg of UFC fame, was solid in his Cardinal preseason debut, and Bill Lewis was credible on the color commentary.

The other horrible part about the broadcast was the segment in which team president Michael Bidwill joined the crew in the booth for a couple of segments. Nothing like being distracted from the action by an infomercial about the Arizona Cardinals. If I’m already watching a meaningless preseason game, chances are I’m probably a Cardinal fan. Why are you marketing to me if I’m already in? Wouldn’t it make more sense to try to reach out to new fans, or try to convert fans of other teams into being Cardinal fans?

Anyway, about the game…nothing new on the quarterback front, really. Kurt Warner started and completed 6 of 9 for 54 yards, and led the Cards on a touchdown drive culminating in a 4-yard touchdown run by Tim Hightower in the 1st quarter. Matt Leinart came in and completed 7 of 11 for 62 yards and a touchdown. Warner, in my opinion, remains the better quarterback, and the player who gives the Cardinals their best chance to win. And I won’t believe otherwise until I see it.

J.J. Arrington had a couple of flashes, with a 9-yard run and a 78-yard kickoff return. It’s his ability to return kicks that could save his job for another year with the Cardinals.

Neil Rackers missed an extra point. I’m still not sure why the Cardinals didn’t bring in another kicker to push Rackers during camp after two straight lackluster seasons.

After doing a nice job against the run vs. New Orleans in their first preseason game, the Cardinals defense took a couple of steps back. The Chiefs ran for 153 yards and averaged 5.3 yards a pop. The tackling for much of the game was atrocious.

Up Next: Cardinals take on the Oakland Raiders in California on Saturday night. Head coach Ken Whisenhunt has already named Matt Leinart the starter for the game, with Kurt Warner also seeing some time.

Join the discussion at The Fanster Forums. Arizona Sports 24/7.