Letters to the Editor
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Kornheiser on MNF
I was turned on to Kornheiser's columns in the Style section of the Washington Post while an undergrad a few years ago. I moved to DC and--because I liked his columns--started listening to his radio show. It is a brilliant show, so funny and genuinely intelligent (perfect for liberals into pop culture). "TK" and his booth-mates have been doing it for decades. The radio show has actually undergone a transformation in the last couple of years: after yet another fight with ESPN (Tony's old boss for some time), he declined to renew his contract and left radio. Fortunately, TK took only a 6-month hiatus, and the show has resumed (one hour shorter) at its old time-slot, still on local 980AM. The show is webcast as well. The current incarnation is even better than the old, and only one or two personalities got lost in the change.
Long story short, if Kornheiser fails, it will likely be because ESPN meddled with content or otherwise stilted TK's attitude. I'm so excited about this.
Cory
Washington, DC
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Nice to see...
A big game decided on the floor and without any over-reaching ref-ing or coaching at Chapel Hill. I agree with King that my Dukies are turnover prone, and not a defensively dominant team in the mold of the Battier or Billy King-led teams of the past, and they are undermanned inside. Sheldon Williams has been less than advertised this year and has played himself down about 10 slots in the NBA draft. McRoberts had his best game last night. But they get it done.
All that said, the fact is there are no dominant teams this year, there are two great individual players, Redick and Morrison. Taking nothing away from Morrison, who I have admittedly seen play only 2-3x, and who is certainly a better passer than JJ, but I have to wonder if Morrison could put up his numbers in the ACC.
ESPN's 'Rivalry Week' includes some real stretches - Wake Forest v BC??? Unless you go at it from an ecclesiastical angle...um, not really. IU v Wisconsin? fighting over who is more red and white?
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Tirico, Sunday nights
Like King, I've never seen what Tirico brings to the table, no matter what the sport. He just doesn;t seem to hav ethat much personality. You would think in such a competitive profession that an ABC would not just hand over the mantle of lead sports commentator to a guy without much charisma.
As far as Sunday nights, wouldn't it be great if they brought Fouts over to work with Michaels? He is great on college with Keith Jackson, but Keith will likely be retiring soon. And I also thought he was great on MNF when he was there, but he got dragged down by the whole Dennis Miller deal.
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SNF & MNF
I am happy to see Madden and Michaels stick together. They don't try to act hip, as Michaels did so painfully when Dennis Miller was there, and Madden has toned down the schtick in recent years. And he provides good explanations that enlighten the viewer.
As for the ESPN team, words cannot express how happy I am to see the end of the Paul Maguire threesome. They were so insufferable that I frequently hit the mute button just to be spared their ceaseless, too-loud yammering. Just see the Sunday Night Football Drinking Game (http://paulkatcher.com/archives/000565.shtml) for everything that was wrong with those guys.
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TK on MNF
there's a very real danger he'll go over like a lead Dennis Miller
That would surprise me. Prior to MNF, Miller spent a career basically doing weekly scripted comedy, followed by interviews on his show(s). Kornheiser does nearly 3 hours on-air daily (2 on his radio show, half hour on PTI, and an afternoon segment). He's great at filling time, and will probably be comfortable enough with a live format to not feel awkward and rehearsed, or like he is trying too hard (as Miller often seemed to me).
I do wonder whether he'll be able to take a comfortable back seat to either the game or his cohosts. Maybe it's just a different way of saying the same thing you were getting at, but I can see him being stifled by having to deal with the game broadcast. But dull seems doubtful.
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Tirico, Kornheiser
I have to agree on the disappointment about Tirico getting the top job. He doesn't do it for me. I've never really enjoyed his calls in the college games I've heard him do, but I guess I have no choice but to give him a chance on the NFL. Maybe with the other 2, he'll be a little more loose. Kornheiser is a great choice. Can't wait to hear him and Joe T. go at it.
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I'm confused
Did you say "Looking forward to" and "Joe Theismann" in the same sentence? I guess I always figured someone out there must like him but I didn't think I'd ever encounter anyone.
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What about Mike?
Why doesn't ESPN just keep Mike Patrick in the booth? He always sounded strong and into the game he was calling.
By the way, why do these sportswriters who are so good in print so thoroughly obnoxious while they're on ESPN (Albom's the exception)?
Read Kornheiser and you want to buy him a beer.
Listen to him for three minutes, and you want to pour it over his head.
A minute-ten with Lupica.
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Advertising on Venezuelan Uniforms
Hey, it could be worse!
As much as I enjoy the quality of play in England's Premiership Football (read: Soccer) League, being an American, and also only a recent "fan," I cannot, for the life of me, tell what uniform is for what team.
GREAT BIG CORPORATE LOGO, little tiny club logo. Oh, and the colors change weekly it seems, sometimes. But fortunately, I watch for the football/soccer. A MLS (Mishandled League Soccer?) team would likely get pretty severely mauled by even those teams facing relegation "at the bottom of the table"...although you probably wouldn't be able to tell which team it was.
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Two Stooges and a Jock
Mike Tirico was that preppy bespectacled nerd in high school who somehow...SOMEHOW...meshed in with the jock crew. Maybe that's why so many people dislike him but can't pinpoint the reasons.
Joe Theisman is one of the worst announcers out there. I'm a Washington Redskins fan and I watched the end of his career live on TV (and followed that rumored affair with Cathy Lee Crosby) but damn it, I can't take him seriously as an announcer. He gets the calls wrong on the field and he jumps to conclusions too quickly. During the Redskins Buccaneers wild card game, Theisman literally flipped when a ref threw a flag on safety Sean Taylor. Theisman quickly jumped, as I and every Redskins fan did, at what appeared to be a non-penalty, but Theisman went on a tirade on how it was the worst call that he had ever seen. Any sensible viewer would wait to see what the call was for. Theisman observed the game the way a Muslim fundamentalist observed Danish cartoons.
But hooray for Tony Kornheiser! If only Michael Wilbon was on his side! I'm a huge fan of PTI. PTI and Outside The Lines are the only smart shows on ESPN. There are a lot of PTI imitators on TV but none can replicated the chemistry between Tony and Mike. It will be interesting to see how Tony mixes his insight with Theisman and Tirico. My only worry is that MNF might burn Tony out. He appears very tired on television as of late and never seems to travel. In fact, he boasts how early he hits the hay at night. Hopefully PTI and the Post won't suffer because of a measly monday night football game.