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Your new Monday Night Football crew is...

post #1 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:36pm
Thread Starter 
... Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann, and Tony Kornheiser.

Um, interesting. The first African-American sportscaster to call Monday Night Football is a good step, but I wonder how Kornheiser is going to come across outside the more free-wheeling atmosphere of Pardon the Interruption.
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post #2 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:38pm
Kornheiser is funny is pretty much every forum. I think he's a great choice. I'm kind of surprised he agreed to do it, though, given how much he hates air travel.
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post #3 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:42pm
Kornheiser is great and I think Tirico does a great job as well. I think this is a significant upgrade from all current football teams out there right now. Then again, I've never understood people's like of Al Michaels. The Miracle on Ice was a long time ago.
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post #4 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:46pm
Thread Starter 
I'm just basing it off of how far from sports his radio show usually strays, and he's definitely got an East Coast style that might not play well with Middle America. Plus he's never worked a game live as far as I can remember.

I like the guy, don't get me wrong, I watch PTI every chance I get, but he strikes me as a more sports-savvy Dennis Miller.
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post #5 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:48pm
What about his style won't work for Middle America? And it's not like he's going to give updates on the latest 24 during the MNF broadcast.
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post #6 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:54pm
Thread Starter 
He just seems very cosmopolitan to me, not meat and potatoes like Madden or even Dierdorf.

Like I said, I like the choice, but it could be another Howard Cossell deal, where just as many people watch because they can't stand them as they do because they like him.

Which wouldn't be a bad thing, I guess.
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post #7 of 23
2/8/06 at 6:57pm
Well, they need someone with personality and anyone with personality is going to piss some people off (you can't please everyone). But Kornheiser is a guy who's already proven himself to an extent. Pardon the Interuption is a very popular show and I don't know anybody who doesn't watch because he's on it, though I do know people who won't watch when they have substitutes like Jay Mariotti.
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post #8 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:00pm
Kornheiser is a definite upgrade. Over the years, Kornheiser has proven that he can be entertaining with his work on PTI and Full Court Press (for those who live near the District) and he doesn't have to be handcuffed like Miller. Additionally, as DC guys who have known each other for years, Kornheiser and Theismann have a comfort level that will allow for some good interaction.

Tirico gets a little too excited sometimes, but he is definitely a solid play by play guy.

And GFC, count me in as one of those guys who refuses to watch when Mariotti is on.
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post #9 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Jcassady
And GFC, count me in as one of those guys who refuses to watch when Mariotti is on.
It's amazing to me that ESPN picked him up. He's been a joke around Chicago for years. He hates all Chicago teams but they choose him to represent Chicago sports on national TV?
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post #10 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:11pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Guttenberg Fan Club
It's amazing to me that ESPN picked him up. He's been a joke around Chicago for years. He hates all Chicago teams but they choose him to represent Chicago sports on national TV?
I always wondered what people in Chicago thought about him. He screams random opinions that get him airtime, even if they don't follow any sort of logic or reason. When called, on it, he defends himself by just screaming more.

When he attacks the local teams he says something like, "Team X should do this! How could they be doing anything else?!?" Then when Team X does what he suggested and it doesn't work out he screams, "What morons! Anyone who would ever do that should be allowed to live!"

He is the epitome of the screaming heads era of sports broadcasting.
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post #11 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:16pm
Mariotti's a primo douchebag (no offense to douchebags).

I like the new team. I'm glad the Miller Experiment didn't dissuade the powers that be from casting a similar person (which is to say an entertainer and not an analyst) in that role. I think Tirico's a far more engaging lead than Michaels, and he'll help smooth out any rough patches Kornheiser may go through in making the adjustment. It always seemed to me that Michaels resented having someone like Miller in the booth. I liked Miller and the team got broken up right when it seemed like he was finally getting the hang of finding the balance between making his personality more palatable to Middle America while still keeping his uniqueness as a sports personality.

I'm not so big on Theismann, but I found him to be the least offensive of the old Sunday night crew.

Having said all this, I'm still disappointed they didn't (or couldn't) get John Riggins.
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post #12 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:17pm
Completely. The worst part is that no one from any team will talk to him. He can't talk to athletes, coaches, front office people, etc. because he's burned them all. So, when he's talking about teams, he's doing so from a platform knowing no more than your average fan who reads the paper.
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post #13 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:20pm
John Riggins would've been great, but the league can't have him in the booth. He's just too willing to say exactly how he feels, even if it means critisizing NFL brass.
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post #14 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:26pm
Thread Starter 
I think Theismann may do better without the eternally curmudgeonly Paul McGuire sitting next to him trying to start an argument every five seconds.
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post #15 of 23
2/8/06 at 7:28pm
Or Mike Patrick fellating the guy who just caught a 2 yard pass.
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post #16 of 23
2/8/06 at 9:21pm
Theisman is a horrible choice. I have a feeling Kornheiser won't last long because of the travel.
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post #17 of 23
2/8/06 at 10:26pm
Theismann seems like an unecessary holdover from the laughably bad Sunday night crew, who are practically legendary now in their incompetent game calling.

Kornheiser...sounds like a choice that will start to grate on the audience by the end of one broadcast let alone an entire season of monday night football. Not to say he isnt entertaining. I can imagine it working if he sort of brings "it" down a notch vs. his normal PTI self.
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post #18 of 23
2/8/06 at 10:48pm
You know if something "outrageous" happens during the game, Kornheiser will lose it.
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post #19 of 23
2/15/06 at 2:25pm
Theisman's pedantic, juvenile style of commentary doesn't belong on television, let alone on Monday Night Football. Have the powers that be never watched Maguire and Theisman get into a pointless, rambling argument over a play for five minutes?

The others I will reserve comment on until I actually see how they do.
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post #20 of 23
2/19/06 at 6:37pm
Well, being from Middle America, I have to say Kornheiser is an inspired choice. I loathe Theismann, but Tirico has always come across as polished and professional; Hopefully, Tirico reins in Theismann's worse instincts much as Al Micheals smoothed out Madden's flaws.

I'd have to agree with those who see Kornheiser as being similar to Dennis Miller - Miller's main problem was that he was brought in and pretty well cut himself off at the knees to start with, so as to not offend NFL brass, not to mention it always seemed that Dan Fouts (who is a top-notch broadcaster BTW) resented Miller's presence and undercut him at every opportunity; I recall a few times where Miller made an observation and Fouts basically gave him a "what would you know about it?" response, as opposed to "No, Dennis that's incorrect because...." or "Great observation, and the reason that is happening is...."

At first blush, I like 2/3 of the crew and am willing to give Theismann a 2nd chance.
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post #21 of 23
2/19/06 at 9:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chavez
I'd have to agree with those who see Kornheiser as being similar to Dennis Miller - Miller's main problem was that he was brought in and pretty well cut himself off at the knees to start with, so as to not offend NFL brass ...
I think Miller's biggest problem (and maybe this led directly to tension with Fouts) was that he tried to become a football guy. He used to sit it on meetings and would try his hand at game analysis, when 1) that's not why he was hired, and 2) while he is a smart guy, he never had an ounce of credibility with it. I think if Miller had just been that snarky guy in the corner, not only would Michaels and Fouts have worked better with him, but he would've lasted longer at the gig.

Kornheiser seems to understand this. On his radio show he was talking about how this was Miller's big misstep, and he (Kornheiser) has neither the patience nor the wherewithal to even try it.
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post #22 of 23
2/22/06 at 2:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Dickson
He just seems very cosmopolitan to me, not meat and potatoes like Madden or even Dierdorf.

Like I said, I like the choice, but it could be another Howard Cossell deal, where just as many people watch because they can't stand them as they do because they like him.

Which wouldn't be a bad thing, I guess.

If meat and potatoes you mean talking about Jellybeans, aliens, and what he likes to eat, because thats what I hear so much from John Madden on several occasions. He's a great analyst, but his rants get old.

I would've liked to see Mike Patrick still on. The sunday night crew from ESPN was great.
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post #23 of 23
2/22/06 at 2:59pm
No More Madden!!! Wheee!!!
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