I'll trade you an Al Michaels for a....

I have to say I'm pretty happy with the Monday Night Football crew that ESPN put together. I think that Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser will be a great fit, and I'm glad that ESPN is sticking with the three-man booth setup for calling the games on Monday nights next season. They're joined by Suzy Kolber and Michelle Tafoya who will be sideline reporters. Kolber and Tafoya both reported from the sidelines for ABC during Super Bowl XL.

 

I had a post on here a few weeks back about how I would miss Sunday Night Football so much, and I still will, but this eases the pain a bit. I love Mike Patrick and Paul Maguire, and would have loved for them to slide from SNF to MNF, but I can see why ESPN wanted to reward guys like Tirico (who calls a great game, as displayed in the Orange Bowl this year) and Kornheiser (who put in for the 3rd man back when Dennis Miller applied for MNF).

 

I loved Miller, and ABC did what they could to embrace him, but the audience wasn't having it. Kornheiser is way more seasoned than Miller, especially when it has to do with being in front of a camera and doing color and reporting all in one. His experience on PTI shows those two qualities and how well he does it. I don't even need to say anything about Theismann because I love him. I think he's perfect for the job, he offers a unique old school/new age perspective on the game, and as a former quarterback, gives the audience a great insight into what the viewer might be looking for in a color guy.

 

As time passes on this story, you'd think there wouldn't be anything new to add to the mix, but there is: in an interesting move, NBC pulled off a trade of sorts for Al Michaels.

 

NBC returned Oswald the Rabbit to The Walt Disney Company (which owns ESPN) almost 80 years after the character played a role in the development of Disney's signature icon. Walt Disney produced 26 Oswald cartoons in 1927, but Universal distributed the series and owned the rights to the character, prompting Disney to develop Mickey Mouse.

Specifically, ESPN gets:

• Rights to broadcast live Friday coverage of the Ryder Cup golf championship between the United States and Europe in 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014, as well as the right to re-air NBC coverage and extended highlights.

• Expanded Olympics highlights from this year through 2012.

• Monday Night Football promotions during the NBC Sunday night through 2011.

• Expanded highlights from Notre Dame football, the Kentucky Derby and the Preakness through 2011.

 

( Source <http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2324417> )

 

Wow. That's pretty funky. In this day and age, sometimes dollars aren't what these big-time corporations are after, it's solidifying their identity and holding onto the past in a historical way. I think it's kinda neat actually, trading away something you don't need or want (Michaels) for some things that have bonafide meaning as well as monetary value. It's like school yard deals gone awry. When I think about it it's actually refreshing.

Comments

[Steve]

So does this mean ESPN can still do their Prime Time show on Sunday at 7:30???? I HOPE SO!!!