[NFL] MNF Crew on ESPN Set

[Xeonic]

Monday Night Football will have a new broadcast team when it debuts on ESPN in 2006.

Mike Tirico, Joe Theismann and Tony Kornheiser will be part of a three-man booth calling the games on Monday nights next season and Suzy Kolber and Michelle Tafoya will be sideline reporters. Kolber and Tafoya both reported from the sidelines for ABC during Super Bowl XL.

"I'm just thrilled to be the next person to take the greatest franchise in television sports history forward," Tirico said on ESPN Radio Wednesday morning.

Also, ESPN announced that Mike Breen will be its new lead NBA play-by-play announcer, teaming with analyst Hubie Brown for ABC telecasts beginning Feb. 12 and including the NBA Finals.

"This Monday Night Football team enthusiastically embraces our vision for sports television's signature series. We will propel MNF into a 21st century, all-day, exclusive, multi-media event that will engage fans in entirely new ways. This team will develop great chemistry," ESPN Executive Vice President John Skipper said.

"Mike Breen is widely respected for his depth of NBA knowledge and his consummate play-by-play skill. We are very excited to provide such a spectacular forum as the NBA Finals to showcase his talents."

In addition, Kornheiser and Michael Wilbon will take Pardon The Interruption on the road on Mondays during the football season. The shows will air from the site of ESPN's Monday Night Football games.

"We look to the future with great enthusiasm and a strong commitment to enhance the presentation of the NFL and the NBA, two of our most important sports properties," ESPN and ABC Sports President George Bodenheimer said.

Al Michaels, the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football on ABC from 1986 through Sunday's Super Bowl in Detroit, will not return to either broadcast.

Source: ESPN.com

Supposedly now Al Michaels will jump ship with Madden to NBC for the Sunday night games.

I dont know how this new crew is going to work together. Theisman is an idiot plain and simple, I hate him on the SNF games on ESPN with Maguire and Patrick. Kornheiser is a great writer, and awesome on PTI, but has yet to do any broadcasting stuff. Out of the bunch, Turico is the only one I really like for the job.

[quick]

The deal is they are doing the "GOOD" game on Sunday nights now, and the Monday night football game will be just a regular game.

I forget where i read this but there is more to it, but i forget...

[....]

Theisman is a moron, but I like the potential of Kornheiser. Turico is average at best.

I am thrilled that Paul Maguire is nowhere near any football programming I will be watching. That guy is worthless.

[Xeonic]

The deal is they are doing the "GOOD" game on Sunday nights now, and the Monday night football game will be just a regular game.

I forget where i read this but there is more to it, but i forget...

Yeah, they are going to start doing that after week 7 or so. Its an experimental thing...but I doubt that anyone will be complaning though.

[Veedems Veteran]

"This Monday Night Football team enthusiastically embraces our vision for sports television's signature series. We will propel MNF into a 21st century, all-day, exclusive, multi-media event that will engage fans in entirely new ways. This team will develop great chemistry," ESPN Executive Vice President John Skipper said.

So I'm guessing Sportscenter, that morning, will be nothing but football like it was last week. This should be annoyingly great to watch.

[....]

So I'm guessing Sportscenter, that morning, will be nothing but football like it was last week. This should be annoyingly great to watch.

I know! Isn't that fantastic? ;)

[Veedems Veteran]

I know! Isn't that fantastic? ;)

Considering I don't really care for football.....I don't think so lol.

[....]

hehe..i know. i'm just playin with you.

[bigbluepride35]

Ya know I love Kornheiser and think Theisman is an idiot but I think ESPN is trying to reinvent the glory days of MNF but it won't work. The two of them will end up talking over each other all game. And poor Tirico is going to be stuck in the middle of that lol. Should be a fun catastrophe to watch but the games better be good because I don't think they'll get people to tune in for the booth work lol.

O and funny thing Kornheiser doesn't fly so THAT should make West Coast games a blast. The guy's going to be dead after cross-country trips lol.

[stncttr908 Veteran]

I generally don't think that three man teams work well, but I like all three guys. I would have rather seen ESPN bring Mike Patrick over from the Sunday Night Lineup, but Mike Turico is just fine by me.

[Gfunk4life]

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ap-n...ov=ap&type=lgns

al michaels traded to NBC for 50 year old rabbit lol