Rams vs. Dolphins: Game could be blacked out locally

The Miami Dolphins are at risk of having their Week 6 game against the St. Louis Rams blacked out locally, reports Ben Volin of the Palm Beach Post. Unless Miami can sell 51,000 (of 60,000) tickets by 1 p.m. on Thursday, the game may be unavailable on local television. Miami would also be able to request a 24-hour extension of the deadline.

The Dolphins have not been blacked out since 1998, when they failed to sell enough tickets for a Week 7 contest that was also against the Rams. According to the league's blackout policy, which has been changed slightly for the 2012 season, teams have to sell 85% of available seats at least 72 hours before kickoff. There are remedies available to the team should fans fail to buy the tickets -- if team ownership pays 34% of the face value of the seats, the blackout is lifted.

The San Diego Chargers were able to avoid a blackout earlier in the season when a last-minute PR campaign brought fans into the stadium, but the 2-3 Dolphins may not be so lucky.