football: Are the Patriots their own league now?

Has anyone else noticed, on ESPN, that the New England Patriots now have their own category on the ticker at the bottom of the screen?

You know, the categories that usually say "NFL" or "MLB."

As much as I personally dislike the Patriots, I understand that they're the biggest story in sports right now. So I can understand showing ticker stories with the latest updates about their season.

But those updates should still appear under "NFL," like ever other NFL story, score and update on the ticker.