04/19/24
June 15, 2005
Boom -- Madden Joins NBC: John Madden is reported to be announcing that he is Joining NBC in 2006 to do Sunday Night Football. News Conference scheduled foR this afternoon.
John Madden's still alive!!??
posted by JohnSFO at 11:19 AM on June 15, 2005
Are we really describing it as the "now-defunct "Monday Night Football," as the story states? I thought it was moving to ESPN, not dying.
posted by rcade at 11:26 AM on June 15, 2005
Monday Night Football wil be Around this year on ABC still--right? I am assuming that Big John and Al wil be doing the games this year?? I am sure ESPN will Want to Use their "wonderful" Sunday night team on Monday Night Football Next year!!
posted by daddisamm at 12:23 PM on June 15, 2005
Tough-actin' Tinactin!
posted by worldcup2002 at 01:24 PM on June 15, 2005
Kool enough I like MADDEN, i ENJOY HIS COMMENTATING, BETTER THEN dENNIS MILLER!!! Keeping it real though Im having withdrawals from waiting on football season!! This is my only valid reason why summer sucks.
posted by Rage Rod 74 at 01:31 PM on June 15, 2005
What are YOURE INVALID REASONS?
posted by yerfatma at 01:40 PM on June 15, 2005
I am sure ESPN will Want to Use their "wonderful" Sunday night team on Monday Night Football Next year!! Joe Theisman...another reason to skip MNF.
posted by stofer71 at 01:52 PM on June 15, 2005
"John Madden is the best analyst in the history of the National Football League and, in my opinion, the best analyst of any kind in sports television history," said Dick Ebersol, chairman of NBC Universal Sports & Olympics. "John is much more than a football legend, he's an American icon." Agree? Disagree? Seems possible but almost certainly a case of America=world, like the World Series, as I'm sure Ebersol has little knowledge of those working elsewhere and especially in other languages. I hate hype like this.
posted by billsaysthis at 03:19 PM on June 15, 2005
Keeping it real though Im having withdrawals from waiting on football season!! The CFL is about to start their regular season. From what I've heard (and watched a bit), it's an exciting brand of football.
posted by grum@work at 03:20 PM on June 15, 2005
Now it's just a question of whether or not Al Michaels will be joining him. I'm betting the answer is "yes".
posted by Motown Mike at 03:40 PM on June 15, 2005
I doubt it: like Greta Garbo, Michaels wants to be alone. ABC will never let him do that, but they will let him work things like the NBA Finals. Plus, even with a little NFL, NBC still seems like a second-tier sports network (not in the same league with ABC/ ESPN, CBS, Fox).
posted by yerfatma at 04:12 PM on June 15, 2005
billsaysthis: if it makes you feel any better, I think most Americans would assume he's not even the best broadcaster on his bus, much less in whatever state he is in at the time, much less the US or the world.
posted by tieguy at 05:03 PM on June 15, 2005
Madden's not bad, though you can hear in his voice and his reliance on repetition and cliche that he's definitely getting older. (And I too am waiting for the NFL, but till then I've got my Argos and my Seattle Storm to keep me warm.)
posted by chicobangs at 05:25 PM on June 15, 2005
hey i would love to have the nfl on thursday r saturday night wat ya think i dont care much about madden
posted by defrag3x at 06:11 PM on June 15, 2005
John Madden is not quite there yet, but he's certainly getting to be the Jim McKay of USfootball.
posted by lil_brown_bat at 08:56 PM on June 15, 2005
i think that he shouldve stayed on MNF becuz more people watch that witch equals more $
posted by what just happened? at 09:13 PM on June 15, 2005
when it comes to sports like football, baseball and basketball, the USA is the world's best. No one can touch the athletes here. They come here for the money. Why would the best athletes play in NFL Europe or the CFL???? Why would the best baseball players play in Japan?? The money is here, so the best play here. As far as soccer goes, that is a third world sport at best. All you need is a ball. The USA is the mecca for professional sports.
posted by bluekarma at 11:49 PM on June 15, 2005
and John Madden is football. He has the credibilty having been a coach and Super Bowl winning coach at that! Tell me you would rather have geeks(like Costas and Michaels) who never played or coached the game at a professional level doing all the announcing and commentating?? Get real couch potatos!
posted by bluekarma at 11:51 PM on June 15, 2005
He is moving to NBC because MNF is moving to ESPN, which is a cable network. On air broadcasts have larger viewer bases, and can thus compensate him more to his liking.
posted by Scottymac at 05:07 AM on June 16, 2005
yerfatma: (L)ike Greta Garbo, Michaels wants to be alone. ABC will never let him do that, but they will let him work things like the NBA Finals. Plus, even with a little NFL, NBC still seems like a second-tier sports network (not in the same league with ABC/ ESPN, CBS, Fox). Well, I've also gotten the impression that Michaels considers cable to be beneath him (note that he's never done baseball or hockey--sports at which he excels as an announcer--on ESPN), which means these might be the options he's weighing: - ABC: NBA playoffs (plus a handful of regular-season games), maybe some regular-season college football and basketball. - NBC: Sunday night NFL, couple of Super Bowls, Olympic Games, Triple Crown horse racing (a sport Michaels happens to love). I think that Peacock is going to look very attractive to him, and I also think that Dick Ebersol is looking to make as many splashy, headline-grabbing talent acquisitions for his new package as he can. Maybe I'm wrong, but my hunch is that Michaels and Madden will be boothmates again come 2006.
posted by Motown Mike at 10:09 AM on June 16, 2005
correct me if I am wrong but i thought MNF was moving to ESPN does taht mean more Chris Berman and who cares about Madden anyway is era is over new era please
posted by navy9112000 at 10:12 AM on June 16, 2005
bluekarma: Tell me you would rather have geeks(like Costas and Michaels) who never played or coached the game at a professional level doing all the announcing and commentating?? Actually, I would rather have professional broadcasters who know how to speak cogently and articulately on the air than idiotic, self-aggrandizing ex-jocks. Guys like Fox's Brian Baldinger are the absolute worst, but Madden demonstrates some of those qualities from time to time as well.
posted by Motown Mike at 10:14 AM on June 16, 2005
I tend to agree with Motown Mike here. "Self-aggrandizing ex-jocks" pretty much sums up most of the crappy announcers out there (Collingsworth, Deion, Michael Irvin in football, Kruk, McCarver, Reynolds in baseball to name a few). The professional broadcasters actually speak coherently during the game.
posted by brewdudepa at 11:40 AM on June 16, 2005
Not all ex-jocks are bad. Troy Aikman's better than most of the non-jocks, and he doesn't pull any punches.
posted by rcade at 01:13 PM on June 16, 2005
Agreed: there are plenty of very good ex-jocks, which is why the format of commentator and ex-player is so common. Unfortunately, ex-players are now often chosen on the basis of colorfulness and they know it, so they play it up. Maybe it's all Craig James' fault. Here in the Boston area we are blessed with amazing ex-players: Tommy Heinson, Bob Cousy (mostly retired), Jerry Remy, Derek Sanderson (retired), John Pierson (dead), Andy Brickley, Gino Capiletti, etc.
posted by yerfatma at 01:43 PM on June 16, 2005
Hey, Pat Summerall's an ex-jock, and he made out okay. And lord help me, but Bill Walton is growing on me. But I'm not really an Aikman fan, nor Marino, or anyone brewdudepa mentioned (except maybe Collinsworth. He's a little wanna-buy-a-used-car-ish, but he's knowledgable and has a good sense of pace at least). It shows how hard it is to call or analyze a game at broadcast quality. Sports reporting, especially live sports reporting, is a calling all of its own that takes a lifteime to learn, and really shouldn't be the province of people who need something to keep themselves occupied after they retire. They're called jobs, people. Ex-jocks used to get them all the time.
posted by chicobangs at 01:45 PM on June 16, 2005
bluekarma: Tell me you would rather have geeks(like Costas and Michaels) who never played or coached the game at a professional level doing all the announcing and commentating?? Damn straight I would.
posted by chicobangs at 01:46 PM on June 16, 2005
I find that certain positions in specific sports seem to produce the best commentators/colour-men. My favourite colour-men in sports are a baseball catcher (Buck Martinez, and even a brief stint by Darrin Fletcher for a few Blue Jay games wasn't bad at all) and hockey goalie (John Davidson, while Greg Millen is pretty good if he's teamed up with someone knowledgable). What is the football equivalent? As well, I think that some people make good all-around commentators, but some others are better in a specific sport. CBC's Brian Williams is an excellent commentator for the Olympics, but was absolutely BRUTAL when they broadcasted Blue Jay games.
posted by grum@work at 02:38 PM on June 16, 2005
when it comes to sports like football, baseball and basketball, the USA is the world's best. No one can touch the athletes here. They come here for the money. Why would the best athletes play in NFL Europe or the CFL???? Why would the best baseball players play in Japan?? The money is here, so the best play here. As far as soccer goes, that is a third world sport at best. All you need is a ball. The USA is the mecca for professional sports. Could this have anything LESS to do with John Madden?? That's the problem when you get past 20 or so posts on a certain topic. People tend to get confused and forget the original topic. Oh, and by the way, John Madden's act is tired and lame, and if he didn't have a highly-profitable video game with his name on it, he'd be dumped.
posted by dyams at 10:15 AM on June 17, 2005
grum: kickers (Summerall, Maguire, I'm sure there's more)?
posted by chicobangs at 10:25 AM on June 17, 2005
FYI...dyams My comment about american sports traces back to the 5th post when someone mentioned that americans think that a professional championship here means "World" as if they think they are the best in the world and I merely mentioned that in more cases than not, we are. Except soccer and that isn't much of a sport anyways in terms of success in this country. Maybe YOU ought to read ALL of the post before making a smug remark like that...lamo!
posted by bluekarma at 12:28 PM on June 18, 2005
make that the 10th post.."america=world"
posted by bluekarma at 12:29 PM on June 18, 2005
Bluekarma, I was the maker of that comment. And I still stand by it--this thread is about Madden as the greatest TV commentator ever and so it doesn't matter about which country has the best athletes. There could be some guy covering--just to stretch this to the limits--curling in Iceland who is just amazing with analysis and recall of past performances. But Dick Ebersol would never have heard of the guy nor would just about anyone in America. And that's my core point. Ebersol probably can make a judgment like this one for American TV personalities but to say he's the best ever in any sport is absurd and, yes, typical American arrogance. And rather than dismiss soccer, I'd hold it up as a sport that's had so many commentators in so many countries that its much more likely to have produced the "best ever." (In case you're too lazy or caught up in your own arrogance to check, I live in the US, have my whole life and was born in downtown Newark, NJ.) So, to return to your assertion that except for soccer we're the best at pretty much all sports. On the contrary, I'd suggest that other than helmet football, which is played almost nowhere else except Canada and here seriously, America is no longer king of the playing fields. Basketball? Possibly but we haven't won too many golds lately, though I'll grant you that our teams have suffered through unavailability of some top players and poor teambuilding from the coaches and management. Baseball is another example of American dominance on the wane. Summer Olympics sports like swimming and track and field we do okay but, relative to population, not great and same for Winter sports. So tell me, am I wrong in this analysis or are you just blinded by, to put it kindly, patriotism?
posted by billsaysthis at 01:46 PM on June 18, 2005
Madden's schtick got old some years ago, and the fawning Pat Summerall certainly didn't help. I don't think Al Michaels was comfortable with Madden in the MNF booth, simply because Michaels doesn't believe he should be the sycophant, but the icon. He's been around for a ton of high profile sporting events (Miracle on Ice, anyone?) and rightly deserves an iconic position in broadcasting. Madden is like the guy who tells a couple of decent jokes on a long flight...he's okay for the first few minutes, but once you've been airborne for an hour and he takes his shoes off and starts passing gas, you really wish you were in first class. Same with listening to him do football games. There are enough ex-jocks without brain damage and enough decent broadcasters that we should be able to have a coherent, entertaining team calling each and every NFL game. Unfortunately, that won't happen, but it's a dream of mine nonetheless. We now go to Tony Siragusa, molesting a kielbasa vendor around section 203...
posted by The_Black_Hand at 04:43 PM on June 20, 2005
They probably could have gotten Frank Caliendo to impersonate him for less money.