The blackout isn't to protect ticket sales. It's to protect the local cable companies. They don't want you to be able to watch the game on your computer because they you aren't buying cable with CSN. The asinine thing is that some of us don't even have the option to buy a cable TV package with CSN. When I lived in Marshall, IL, the only cable company in town was Mediacom, and they did not offer CSN. However, I was still blocked out from Cubs games because I was in their "home territory." The blackout rules are completely pointless and need to go away.