might wanna make that title a little less confusing.

the Sunday night game will be on NBC, and MNF will move to ESPN

If it was actually football anymore I'd be inclined to watch, but anymore it's just a game for the referees.

I miss my beloved Steelers, but I can't bear to see the games taking longer and longer and polluted by poorer and poorer standards of refereeing.

I think a few weeks back the Monday Night game was Lions vs. Jets or something like that. It was like watching flies fuck.

football? bah! don't talk to me about football.

The refs are still bearable, the bigger issue is how horrible the broadcasts themselves have become. Every game is now a 'story' not a game. Announcers are now 'characters'. When the networks consider it more interesting to show the infobabe blabbing about Tom Brady in fourth grade then the actual PLAY, we have a problem.

The problems with the ref are actually from the competition committee in my opinion. In their zeal to make all teams competitive they add new rules yearly to slow down the high powered teams.

I am also glad that the Monday game is getting phased out. It sucks when your favorite team has the monday game (as mine does this week). Sunday feels weird, monday at work is distracted and tuesday is sleepy from staying up late and being excited/happy/depressed.

John Madden is the worst football "personality" ever. Back in the day he was different and interesting, but now he is a parody of himself.

I disagree. My team is as consistent now as it was when I was growing up. Granted, at this point my 9ers would be 11-2 not 2-11, but that's just a detail.

Frickin' Cowboys.

Stupid Billy Cundiff.

Am I reading this correctly? Dallas has been manhandled like Jake and Heath by division opponents two weeks running and the kicker's taking the heat?

Y'all got more problems than that kicker, sucking hard being tops among them. See ya next year.

/mean-spirited NY'er

Well, they're all morons, but the kicker is an easy target.

After all, he is the smallest guy on the team.

Oh come on. I know EVERYONE is just going to be spending their day anxiously awaiting tonight's Ravens/Packers matchup!

How 'bout that kerfluffle between Donovan McNabb and the anal aperature from the NAACP? Now that was an interesting story for a blogger. Not as interesting as a gay Santas in a riot, but interesting, still.

I just want to know who wrote the rule that all color people must be ex-football players (or coaches although at this point I think Madden is the only one).

I challenge anyone to name an ex jock color guy who isn't annoying as hell.

Rioting Santas = comedy gold.

What did McNabb do?

Mark,

I am spending my day anxiously awaiting tonight's Ravens/Packers matchup. I have my Gato Jersey on and everything!

I challenge anyone to name an ex jock color guy who isn't annoying as hell.

Simms is pretty good. After that, they're pretty much all crap.

Slu, in short, McNabb was criticized by an NAACP leader for "selling out" his race by being a pocket passer. He added a few other things, too.

Link

That is the craziest criticism I've seen from those guys, and that's really saying something.

Paul

Simms are you kidding me? He may not be the worst but he is still pretty annoying and what about the retarded all iron awards?

I just want to know who wrote the rule that all color people must be ex-football players (or coaches although at this point I think Madden is the only one).

See that's what I want to know. I could be a geat colorman (and I'm a woman). I don't know a lot about actual plays, but I'm a lot more amusing then those idiots who simply state the obvious.

True, there's no forgiveness for the All-Iron Awards. But he's generally not annoying, or as annoying, as the rest.

Damned by feint praise, eh?

I love watching football.

Of course, I know nothing about the game, I just watch to see all the hunky guys with big muscles in tight uniforms.

As a 385lbs. drag queen and a bottom, I need a big man to tame my mess and satisfy my boy pussy, if you know what I mean.

I think my favorite is Kurt Warner -- so handsome and so big, but not sloppy big, just muscular big and groomed. I wish he'd dump that bitch he's married to and consider a walk on the wild side.

God bless America and Good bless George W. Bush!

I just want to know who wrote the rule that all color people must be ex-football players (or coaches although at this point I think Madden is the only one)

Was Dennis Miller considered a color man during his stint on NMF, or was he just there for the comic relief?

Was Dennis Miller considered a color man during his stint on NMF, or was he just there for the comic relief?

He was considered a really bad mistake and justification for all the ex-player/morons that fill the slot now.

Ya know, the thing that coaches like to look for are points on the board. You wanna make your coach happy? Put points on the board.

When the networks consider it more interesting to show the infobabe blabbing about Tom Brady in fourth grade then the actual PLAY, we have a problem.

You know why they do this, don't you? I hate to be a sexist pig (no I don't, really), but I'll point out the one demographic that this sort of thing appeals to.

Women.

That's right. In an effort to increase vewership, the networks are tarting up some of the 'relational' aspects of the game in the hopes of attracting women viewers. It's the same in the Olympics, where you have to suffer through 45 minutes of 'up close and personal' views of some Euro-cyclist's battle with killer hemorrhoids before you can watch the actual competition.

And don't get me started on the commercials.

I was watching a monday night game a couple of weeks ago, and I swear to God, Madden went on for ten minutes about the color a splotch of mustard made on his red tie, followed up by a 5 minute story about driving his bus around in the parking lot.

Its still not as bad as the commentary in most of the Madden video games.

Even better news is Madden will be doing this Sunday night game. Heh

Yeah, the "total entertainment" package approach of football is really diluting the product. Heck, you only get 2-3 games on Sundays anyway. And just wait until the day that NFL network really picks up, and they start putting the games on cable only. It could happen.

And remeber when games were 3 hours televised? Now it's 3.5, and probably soon will be 4. If you're actually at a game the TV timeouts are riduclous. Oh well, they have to make thier billions somehow.

Now, didja see the way OregonMuse hit the hole on that last play? He was patient, waited for the hole to open up, then BOOM! He hits the hole. I’ve always said that OregonMuse was a great “Hole Running Back”. He’s definitely one of the best in the league today. Some backs are great at bouncing to the outside when the hole doesn’t appear, but Muse always finds a hole and he always keeps running, his feet are always moving – that’s the key, always keep your feet moving, because once your feet stop moving you stop running. OregonMuse – he’s always running, that makes him one of the great running backs in the game today.

Does that mean that simply the most annoying (but containing the largest combined ego outside of the Michael Moore/Jimmy Carter box at the DNC)color team in all of sports announcing - Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire - is no more?

Oh frabjous day!!

Re football color guys....
I share the view that most are worthless, but I may make an exception for Daryl "Moose" Johnson, the former Cowboy, who IMHO doesn't just state the obvious, and usually knows when to shut up.
Baldinger on Fox is the worst.

That was a nice forward pass by Den, Pat. He was patient in the pocket, found his receiver and BOOM! Ya know, completing forward passes increases your chances of being able to move the ball down the field. That's one thing that coaches look for - the ball moving down the field.

I'm looking forward to tonight's game. My beloved Pack is gonna make it two-in-a-row, baby! Woot!

Den

Sorry but no exception for Moose. He is the absolute worst at the famed color guy sin of making one statement after a play then completely contradicting himself two or three plays later. This, by the way, is one of the main reasons all the color guys suck so bad. They feel they have to draw a conclusion or say something profound after every play. What they should do is just give a more detailed description of the play or focus on a certain aspect of the play and how and why it worked but instead they draw sweeping conclusions that can easily be contradicted later in the game (sometimes within one or two plays at which time they make another conclusion that is totally at odds with one they made only minutes before).

Not John: “Didja see that Big E had something to say to Den after that last play?

Pat: “Yes, he had some extensive commentary.”

Not John: “Big E doesn’t like to see passes completed because that moves the ball down the field in the wrong direction, so he’s gonna try and break those up if he can. Big E’s one of the best pass rushers in the league today so he’s gonna be in Den’s face for much of the game, and he’s always got something to say. Say, do you know why they call him ‘Big E’?”

Pat: “No, why?”

Not John: “Because he’s bigger than ‘Little E’.”

Pat: “I see.”

Thou. Shalt. Not. Have. Dead. Air.

This is the number #1 rule in American radio and TV broadcasting. Silence is absolutely inexusable. That's why MNF and other shows are filled with inane babblers. One of the skills they look for from on-air talent is the ability to talk extemporaneously about anything at any time, even if it is about the mustard stain on your tie, even if you don't know anything about what you're talking about, even if you have nothing to say. Don't let any of these stop you from flapping your gums on cue.

The commies have it worse, though. Reportedly, Fidel Castro can make an extemporaneous 5 hour speech. And he used to be a baseball phenom. so imagine him paired off with Curt Gowdy or Joe Garagiola.

I don't care how bad the MNF game would look on paper I would watch if they brought back Melissa Stark. I might even take Madden off mute. Of course they would have to have more Melissa.

Also, I was wondering if anyone else had the idea while watching the Bucs-Pats game Saturday that it might be kinda cool to have Tony Siragusa's head mounted on a wall in a "Roadhouse" type trophy room? Just an idea.

I bought my MNF tix to see Brett Favre back when the season had hope and promise. As well as Ahman Green.

Oh well, I am sure those tix still have the same monetary value. Mustn't visit ebay to see how little they are now worth.

Go Pack!

Goodness, this is a tough crowd.
Although I am certainly sympathetic to general antagonism toward ex-jocks blabbing on in the booth, let me try and suggest another reason the AOSHQ crowd, i.e., a bunch of horny bastards, might see fit to cut Moose Johnson some slack in this regard. He has a really hot blond wife who was featured in SI a couple of times in the '90s.
Does that change any of the opinions of you meatballs, or do you now hate him even more.
Full disclosure--never met the man, just a tv football viewer.