I like it -- esp. the Dennis Miller part!

Read all about it.

[ February 28, 2002: Message edited by: DCBucky ]

Just beat me to it DC! What a relief to have Miller gone. Al Michaels and John Madden together. Great move! Now if we can just lose Eric Dickerson...

The new Team gets my full support!!!

Maybe this will revive Madden, who had fallen into a parody of his former self in recent years with the incompetent Pat Summerall.

I too love the new hook up. Miller's humor is best suited for HBO specials.

Z

I could never stand Dennis Miller. He's so completely full of himself that he talks like someone who's jacked up on coke. Any scenario with Miller out of MNF is a vast improvement!

Am I the only guy who can't stand Madden? I'm not a big Dennis Miller fan (in the booth -- I like him in other contexts) either, but for me this is out of the frying-pan, into the fire.

Madden's a big joke. His video game presence on the PlayStation 2 calls a better game than he does. He's more coherent when he's talking about his damn 6 legged turkey.

At least when he was working Sundays, I had the option to watch the game he wasn't calling. Mondays I won't have that choice. I guess that's why they invented the "mute" button.

Madden is still a sharp puppy. It was Pat that kept dragging him down.

Z

Yeah!! Great move, ABC. The only thing better than Madden on MNF is NO MORE DENNIS MILLER!!!

Maybe Madden's still sharp -- when compared to Pat lately...or Ronald Reagan lately. But compared to the rest of us, I don't think so. His commentary is slow and obvious. Much like his PS2 self, his banter could either be plugged into almost any situation or he says things that are so painfully obvious that my grandmother says "duh!"

Speaking of, this reminds me of a recent thanksgiving watching football. My dad, my partner, and I all had a silent running joke/bet -- who was going to say more innane/insane things during the first half -- my senile, hard-of-hearing great-uncle Dallas, my preacher uncle who regularly discusses the possibility of members of my family going to hell (in my dad's case, he's Catholic; in my case, I'm f**king men), or Pat and Madden. We lost track but it was neck and neck between Uncle Dallas and Madden.

It's a change, but I've yet to be convinced it's a good one.

I guess they think the current US lurch toward fascism means back to Curt Gowdy.

Amusingly, this shift to the right means losing the totally libertarian Dan Fouts, my total fave sportswise. Dennis was a tantalizing whiff of the late Howard, and I thought he did ok on MNF. I don't dislike Madden - maybe he can go back to his more off-beat days - assuming the Raiders don't claim him.

Where's Fred the Hammer Williamson when we need him?! Oh, I know!! If Marv Albert has been rehabbed, can OJ be far behind???

I guess I'm an army of one here ... but I loved Dennis Miller on MNF. I loved his unscripted banter (although the scripted jokes were a bit stale). He took a little getting used to (last season), but he turned MNF into must-see TV (this season). Viewership in my home certainly was up in 2001. I watched games I ordinarily wouldn't have cared about because the Dennis Miller/Dan Fouts pairing made MNF an event.

I'll always love Al Michaels (his on-air comment in late 2000 calling Katherine Harris "an American heroine" is something that will always love him for). But I miss Dennis and Dan already.

No, you're not the only one who can't stand Madden. His analysis and commentary are okay, but that voice just drives me up the wall. Can't even stand to listen to his commercials. But I'm glad Miller has finally been given the gate.

I too am in the minority. I can't stand Madden, and I probably won't watch any MNF games, unless my fave team is on. But considering their lackluster playing last year...I doubt it. Miller and his comments were great. I laughed more and actually enjoyed the game more with his comments.

Maybe for that $5 million a year salary, Madden will actually start doing his homework. His work on the Super Bowl was a disgrace, and you can't blame Summerall. Forget Madden's ridiculous call on the last drive (just kneel on the ball with 1:21 left, never mind that the Pats defense was totally spent); Madden didn't do his homework on the New England Patriots! He knew almost nothing about the team, completely underestimated their defense, and pretty much gave it away that he hadn't watched them play a single game all year.

You have to wonder if any of the marketing wonks at ABC (or whoever runs the show over there) have ever actually watched a Monday Night Football game, or if just base all their decisions on surveys and focus groups. Yes, I'm so damn glad that Miller's out of there. But is John Madden worth $20 million? Gee, if the guy volunteered for the job, I don't know if I'd put him in the booth.

I enjoy Madden's work. I hope that Summerall's problems dragged him down a bit and the fact that he'll now be with Al Michaels will wake him up a bit.

As for Dennis Miller...GOOD RIDDANCE!!!

[quote] Lisa Simpson (reading the Comic Book Guy's T-shirt): "'C:/DOS. C:/DOS/RUN. RUN/DOS/RUN.' <laughs> Oh, only one person in a million would find that funny. “
Prof. Frink: “Yes, we call that the Dennis Miller ratio.”

---

Upon sealing the deal, Madden said in an interview(paraphrase): "I was really looking to be challenged, to be stretched as a broadcaster..."

Hmmmm, let's see. He goes from being an NFL football analyst on SUNDAYS (and the occasional Thursday), to being an NFL football analyst on MONDAYS (and the occasional Thursday).

Geez, that is a stretch! I hope he can stay awake for the two-minute warning!

You want to "stretch," John? Start analysing the PGA. "WHAM! Did he sink that putt or what?!"

This is going to be interesting. No longer should you watch a MNF game at a loud crowded bar because everyone, including myself, wants to hear what John Madden has to say. I can't wait to hear how the two gel. Because Madden is someone who takes over a broadcast with his couch-potato-beer-in-hand yet articulate style of commentating. But on the other hand Al Michaels has such a strong dominat play-by-play voice. Pat Summerall was the weak, straight man who took a back seat to Madden. But I don't think Al Michaels can do that. Gonna be interesting.

I'll miss Dennis Miller. John Madden I could do without. While Summerall was often comatose, Madden was only a few EKG blips more lively. His analyses are grossly obvious; MNF could really use some younger, more lively commentators. Why not mix it up? Miller, though always off-the-wall and sometimes so bizarre in his non-sequiturs that he merited stunned (or bemused silence), at least breathed fresh (younger) air into the commentary. Let John Madden have his own show--on Fox Sports!

While I'm not a Madden fan, he has become a better anouncer with the passage of time. I am SO glad Dennis Millers's gone, I couldnt stand watching MNF with the that trio. He didn't know the game good enough, and I also didn't like those fancy words he uses to describe everything. This football, not rocket science. I'm hoping a good chemestry developes with this new combo.

John Madden fan....Dennis Miller hater here. I am actually excited about the Madden/Michaels tandem. The pic would be complete with an early exit of Eric Dickerson and a switcharoo of Melissa Starks and ESPN's Suzy Kolber.

I liked Dan Fouts and the funny part about it is, he seemed to hate Dennis Miller as well. I'm sure he'll land on his feet somewhere.

Eric Dickerson IS out. (And he was, despite his status as a former player, more useless than Miller.) Melissa Starks remains, however.