Who needs the NBA when we've got 'Knights of Mayhem'?

Call me a naive little baby who'll believe just about anything if it involves medieval combat on TV, but I've got a feeling that somebody is going to die on National Geographic's new show, "Knights of Mayhem."

It is as inevitable as the decline of empire, with Americans increasingly more comfortable seeking mental refuge by looking backward in time rather than forward, into a bleak, debt-ridden future.

So a spear through the eye will penetrate the brain. A neck will snap after a fall from a charging horse. I don't want to see it. But I can't stop watching.

The show features men the size of offensive linemen bellowing like pro wrestlers. Add tattoos, a heavy-metal soundtrack, full plate armor, heavy-hooved horses, spears, high impact and fear.

Who needs the NBA?