ON THE AIR
New MNF team should score some points with viewers
Fox's loss is ABC's huge gain (literally and figuratively) as America's most popular football analyst, John Madden, will be joining "Monday Night Football" for the 2002 NFL season.

By LAURA NACHMAN
Courier Times
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Fox's loss is ABC's huge gain (literally and figuratively) as America's most popular football analyst, John Madden, will be joining "Monday Night Football" for the 2002 NFL season. Here's where the story gets better. The addition of Madden means Dennis Miller finally gets the heave-ho after two critically maligned seasons, and Dan "Dan-O" Fouts (as Miller annoyingly called him) will be reassigned within ABC Sports. Al Michaels will return to do play-by-play for his 17th season.  In even more good news, of the terrible twosome sideline team of Melissa Stark and Eric Dickerson, only Stark will return (one out of two isn't bad). While ABC has improved its NFL team considerably, Fox is left with two vacancies for its No. 1 announcing team. The consensus is that Fox pregame host Cris Collinsworth will become the No. 1 football analyst, and baseball announcer Joe Buck will take over for Pat Summerall, who was told by Fox to retire from the lead announcing booth this year.

Another new look

"The NFL Today" will have a new look next year. Boomer Esiason and Dan Marino will join the CBS pregame show, and Deion Sanders (yuck) gets promoted to the main set to join host Jim Nantz. Randy Cross moves back to the broadcasting booth, and Marino will continue with "Inside the NFL" on HBO, along with Jerry Glanville, whom CBS dropped. As for Sanders, watch tonight to see who is more vain - the host or the contestants - as he co-hosts the "Miss USA Pageant."

Mixed feelings

Good news and bad news for NBC: The good news is that the Olympics earned an 18.9 rating/30 share of the audience. Each national rating point equals around one-million households. Because the Olympics took place over 17 of the 28 days of February, that was the main reason that NBC had almost double the amount of total viewers for sweeps - 24.8 million to runner-up Fox, which had 12.9 million viewers (despite airing things such as "The Glutton Bowl").  The bad news is just as former tabloid darling Marv Albert made his comeback complete by returning to NBC this season, now the network has another NBA broadcaster in more serious trouble. Jayson Williams was charged with manslaughter in the death of his limousine driver on Feb. 14. After two weeks of delaying comment on the situation, NBC finally announced that Williams will be off telecasts for the remainder of the season. However, NBC did not say whether the remaining members of the "NBA on NBC" team, including Pat Croce, will address the issue on the air Sunday and if someone will replace Williams.

Bad move

Just days after NBC announced it was adding two Washington Wizards games to the schedule, including bumping a Sixers game, Michael Jordan got hurt. Now instead of the Sixers vs. Knicks, viewers will have to watch the Jordan-less Wizards play Toronto on March 24.

May Madness

ESPN's investigative series "Outside the Lines" will examine the exceptionally low graduation rates among black male college basketball players in "Zero Percent: College Basketball's Graduation Crisis" at 8 tonight. The special will focus on issues related to the fact graduation for black male players at 36 NCAA Division I schools hit zero percent.

Beyond the Glory

Evander Holyfield is the first subject for the second season debut of "Beyond the Glory" on Fox Sports Net at 8 p.m. March 10. Some of the other athletes who will be profiled include Kobe Bryant (beyond the booing?), Reggie White, Sammy Sosa, and Lawrence Taylor, who does an admirable job in the great movie "Any Given Sunday."

Opening act

Those Fightin' Phils will get national exposure right off the bat. No, not on "Jerry Springer," but on ESPN, opening day vs. Atlanta at 1 p.m. on April 1. Jon Miller and Joe Morgan begin their 13th season as ESPN's lead baseball announcing team.

Final thought

With Norman "Boomer " Esiason and Chris "Boomer" Berman, it is time to put a moratorium on that nickname.

Laura Nachman covers television and radio sports for the Courier Times. Write to her in care of the Courier Times, 8400 Route 13, Levittown, PA 19057, fax 215-949-4177 or email [email protected].

Friday, March 1, 2002