The world's most useless sports franchise has a new tool in its fight for the West Side Stadium: litigation. In this complaint, the Jets accuse Cablevision of having a "monopoly." Over what? Over "enclosed large-scale spectator events and private spectator suites in Manhattan."

Please. Regular visitors to this page know that I would be the last person to stick up for Cablevision. This complaint, however, is utterly ridiculous. What about Bed Bath & Beyond? Do they have a "monopoly" over underground bed, bath and other home furnishings sales on Broadway between 64th and 65th Street? Could they define the monopoly any narrower?

The complaint goes on to say that it's all about Manhattan. It's not enough that you can get stadium space in Queens or New Jersey--it has to be in Manhattan. In support of this proposition, it says that many musicians often play in New Jersey and Long Island and in Manhattan, because Manhattan is a distinctly important market.

So what? Those musicians aren't asking for what is essentially a $500 million corporate welfare handout from the MTA. It's fitting that the Jets filed this complaint on the same day as three power outages brought chaos the Lexington Avenue subway line.

The reality is that Madison Square Garden--which the New York Jets are picking on because it's easier to insult Cablevision than tell New York City straphangers they should endure more service outages--shows precisely why the West Side stadium is a dismal urban planning proposition. Most of Manhattan is bursting with life, daytime, nighttime, weekends... with the distinct exception of the area around Madison Square Garden. When was the last time anyone ever wanted to hang out on 8th Avenue and 33rd Street, just for fun? You can debate the ability of stadiums to create economic life and jobs generally--in Manhattan, however, there is no question that the worst dead zone of all is in the area right around MSG.

The Jets are just whining after two fair-market bids for the airspace above the rail yards. The Jets can occasionally be a fun team to watch and I have nothing against the players or coach. But as one of the most undistinctive sports franchises of all time, with absolutely no contribution to New York City's civic pride or economic life, and a home game calendar of 8 days per year, the Jets deserve nothing.