Monday Nights Will Never Be The Same

Monday Night Football on ABC is coming to a close after all these years. And with dud game after dud game. Will it really matter that MNF is on ESPN next year? Not really. Anybody without cable and ESPN, might as well not even have a TV. So what happens to all the announcers? Here’s the deal…

(AP) Mike Patrick has been the play-by-play voice of ESPN's Sunday night football telecasts since their inception in 1987, and Paul Maguire has been providing analysis on them since the following season.

Bob Costas will host that program and Cris Collinsworth will be an analyst.

REACT: Wait a minute. Suzy Kolber AND Michelle Tafoya? Isn’t that a bit of overkill? I smell catfight. Can you imagine what Howard Cosell would say about it?

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E-Mailer Brandt Boyle writes….

As a frustrated Ravens fan (even after last nights game “Big Win”), ready to turn the page on the Billick era and find a new coach, I’ve taken to making fun of “Billick-speak” as my buddies and I call it. You know, how when he talks you get to the end of his sentence and you’re not really sure what he just said. But he says it with such authority and puts you in your place as his listener that you just have to take it as the Gospel according to Billick.

“I know its late, but I guess maybe its not as interesting for you to come to these after we win, you're all used to nay saying and conjecturing, and who knows, maybe the idea of coming to listen about how a group of young men came together as a team, and overcame the negative attitudes that can start to pervade a season, maybe that’s not as exciting as continuing to spread the gospel of how we've underachieved this year.

Or maybe some writers are too busy rewriting the stories they had written before the game even started, assuming our guys were going to lay down tonight, but we've got too much pride as a group, as an organization, to let that happen.

Any of you guys have anything good to say or write about Kyle Boller now? I certainly hope so.

OK, I'll open it up to questions...”

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JUST WHEN YOU THOUGHT PETER KING COULD NOT GET ANY MORE HYPOCRITICAL, OR CLUELESS…..

Steve,
you are gonna flip your lid when you read this from Peter King's column today on SI.com. Its a shame he is keeping Art Monk out of the Hall of Fame.

Emailer:
"What are your thoughts on the NFL's most underrated player, Rod Smith? The undrafted, consummate pro and self-made star, quiet, workaholic. Is he a darkhorse candidate for the Hall of Fame?''

Kings's Response:
Great question. In my opinion he is and he's someone I'll think long and hard about. He's productive, clutch, a great blocker ... sort of an Art Monk with significantly more explosiveness and big-play ability. The other night against Buffalo, he looked like the best player on the field, didn't he?

AND THEN THIS GEM…..

Czabe,
This one left me shaking my head "John Spencer, one of the great actors of The West Wing, died of a heart attack Friday. Is there any doubt he could have been a real chief of staff?"

Does he expect an answer? Saying that John Spencer could be a real chief of staff because he plays one on TV is akin to saying Peter King can truly be an NFL expert because he plays one on TV. For his sake, I hope he isn't serious.

Later Czabe, and Merry Christmas,
Jason Spraitz

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Okay, so ONCE and for all, here is what you need to know about the utter FARCE that Michael Irvin is seen as a near “shoe-in” for the Hall of Fame, while Art Monk barely gets a mention.

I also threw in the mix, one Gary Clark, who has certainly FAVORABLE measureables when stacked against the Pleamaker. Now I think Clark is just on the OUTSIDE looking in at the HOF, so don’t misunderstand me.

Looking at these numbers, realizing that Monk had to “share production” with much better #2’s than Irvin ever did, exposes King for what he is: completely unqualified to vote on the Hall.

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ANONYMOUS EMAILER…

Czabe,
Thought you might find this interesting. Apparently there is a new bowling alley in DC that opened a couple of weeks ago. Its the only bowling alley in DC

Check out the dress code….

REACT: Now, clearly, somebody is going to get a burr up their ass and call this racist. But truth is, young punks of all colors wear this stuff, so I think the bowling alley just wants to avoid the kind of crowd that might get out of control on a weekend night.

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DALLAS (AP) — Mavericks guard Darrell Armstrong was so happy his beloved Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys that he grabbed a microphone before Sunday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves and hollered, "How 'bout those Redskins!"
It's going to cost him $1,000.

Dallas coach Avery Johnson announced the fine during his postgame news conference and team owner Mark Cuban later verified it was legit, much to the chagrin of a disbelieving Armstrong. The money will all go to charity, with Johnson saying the Cowboys would decide the recipient.

The Redskins wrapped up a 35-7 victory over the Cowboys shortly before the Mavericks left the locker room to play the Timberwolves.
As part of the pregame ceremonies, guard Devin Harris wished the crowd a happy holiday. Then Armstrong, who wasn't scheduled to speak, asked for the microphone. He added his holiday wishes, then made his fine-inducing proclamation, a twist on a famous line by former Cowboys coach Jimmy Johnson.

A mixture of laughter and boos followed, even from German import Dirk Nowitzki. Cuban laughed, too, and joked with Armstrong about it when he returned to the bench.”

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