Kornheiser Opens Eyes, Including His Own

I like him. Now get rid of Joe T. and bring in Mike Wilbon and the ratings would skyrocket.

posted by Bishop at 02:49 AM - reply - flag:

I was waiting for his talking head cut out spiel. He was better than I thought he'd be. I keep having flashbacks of Dennis Miller. What a disaster.

posted by wingnut4life at 04:53 AM - reply - flag:

I like him. Now get rid of Joe T. and bring in Mike Wilbon and the ratings would skyrocket. Oh man, that would make MNF even more watchable...why not just make it Kornheiser, Wilbon and 'Stat Boy' instead (although Mike Tirico has been one of the better play by play guys over the past couple of years...so he could be "stat boy" in that case).

posted by chemwizBsquared at 05:42 AM - reply - flag:

I was too distracted by where ESPN placed the score/down/time information to listen. What was up with that!?!?! Seriously though, Tony did okay for preseason, but I'm with others who find Joe T as too annoying. I would watch Sunday night football with the sound off just to avoid hearing his inane observations, and now I guess I'll do the same with MNF. At least I think I can find a radio feed without Joe T for MNF.

posted by terrapin at 09:46 AM - reply - flag:

Kornheiser endeared himself to English teachers and fans of proper usage by pleading for good grammar while reflecting on the wrongness of He Hate Me, the XFL nickname of Oakland's Rod Smart. Even today, the only thing anyone remembers about the XFL was "He Hate Me." He smart.

posted by rcade at 10:20 AM - reply - flag:

Actually, terrapin, I liked the clean lines of the ESPN clock, since when do we need to long bar across the top with all of the extra space? The only thing that I would think about changing, is alternating the side that the score is on, i.e. when Minn is going from left to right on your radio then the Minn score in on the right, but then, that may get confusing also since it would not be the same throughout the game.

posted by elovrich at 10:21 AM - reply - flag:

I didn't know He Hate Me is with Oakland now. He was somewhat of a fan favorite when he was with the Panthers just because of his XFL nickname. Plus, he was a rather decent special teams guy. Oh, and his ginormous hair.

posted by NoMich at 10:54 AM - reply - flag:

Tony Kornheiser was his absolute brilliant self. Bishop has a point though, Michael Wilbon should be sitting right next to Mike Tirico instead of Joe Theismann. Don't get me wrong, Joey T. was a great quarterback in his time, but we're talking about the same guy who thinks Einstein's first name is Norman. His opinions are, to say the least, unamusing. MNF needs a guy like Wilbon that can give his opinion and not look like a fool. Bring the PTI guys together for MNF and then there will be something to watch.

posted by BornIcon at 11:22 AM - reply - flag:

Outstanding all around. I think Kornheiser had the perfect blend of witty banter and silence. I was worried about him over-running the program but he proved to everyone that he can fill in the role of entertainer quite nicely. I can't wait until around week 8 or 9 when he causes Theisman to blow a fuse with some of his questions though.

posted by timdawg at 11:24 AM - reply - flag:

Even today, the only thing anyone remembers about the XFL was "He Hate Me." He smart. Not true. I remember the opening "dive for the ball" to determine possession, and one of the players dislocating his shoulder and ending his season, before the season even officially started! They not so smart.

posted by grum@work at 11:50 AM - reply - flag:

Yes, but Rod Smart did not come up with the "dive for the ball" stunt. He just made money off his name. He, indeed, smart.

posted by BlueCarp at 12:00 PM - reply - flag:

I remember Tommy Maddux resurrected his career from the XFL. The cameras over the field on wires are an XFL innovation yes? Oh, and Einstein's first name was Norman. There was a Norman Einstein in Joes' class in grade school, at least, according to Joe there was. Apparently he was the brightest kid in class.

posted by tommytrump at 12:39 PM - reply - flag:

get rid of joe t. & bring in mike wilbon, then i will watch mnf .

posted by oldmule at 12:46 PM - reply - flag:

I believe Wilbon has said he wouldn't have wanted the MNF job under any circumstances, and he has openly wondered on PTI about how long Tony will last before he comes to his senses and comes back to the Washington studios for good. What about Ron Jaworski instead of the Theezman? Jaws is already on the ESPN payroll, and honestly, I could listen to him break down formations all day long. The problem with finding a good MNF analyst is the same as looking for a good President of the United States: anyone smart enough to do it is also smart enough to not do it.

posted by chicobangs at 01:28 PM - reply - flag:

bring in Wilbon and then I'll give two squats. Joe T sucks arse.

posted by Big Dookie at 01:42 PM - reply - flag:

I agree with chico. Jaws would be great. I would be learning something new every game.

posted by bperk at 02:45 PM - reply - flag:

Jaws would be fantastic. I think he probably doesn't want to do it.

posted by yerfatma at 03:15 PM - reply - flag:

i think tony k. should get a period of adjustment to work out the jitters if he even has them .

posted by oldmule at 05:19 PM - reply - flag:

What about Ron Jaworski instead of the Theezman? Jaws is already on the ESPN payroll, and honestly, I could listen to him break down formations all day long. Jaws would be fantastic. I think he probably doesn't want to do it I'm a jaws fan. However, you may want to check the Eagles mssg boards on their website. Jaws first go round on the "eagles television network" (local ABC broadcast of a preseason game) was in fact terrible. And a lot of people noticed. He was dissed on more than one thread. Even Merril Reese(calls the eagles games on 94.1 wysp) chimed in on a thread and said it could have been a lot better (paraphrase).

posted by Bishop at 07:53 PM - reply - flag:

True, and when he started on ESPN, he was still wooden. But over the years, he's learned to loosen up and let his geek flag fly over this stuff. Now, when he goes to the film on NFL Countdown or NFL Live or NFL Fastbreak or NFL Up Your Nose or Inside the NFL's Underpants or whichever show they need him on (it seems like there's nine different shows covering much the same ground), you can see the glee in his eyes. The further he gets away from being Ron Jaworski, Super Bowl QB, the closer he gets to becoming Jaws, NFL Formations & Behind-the-Scenes Nerd. And that's a guy I find I really, really like.

posted by chicobangs at 07:59 PM - reply - flag:

Good point Chico, in fairness, let me also add that the entire broadcast crew for that game was not good at all. Several times they went to a commercial while Jaws was in the middle of a sentence. They also were guilty of not knowing who was on the field. At one point the play by play guy stated Mike Bartrum ( the Eagles long snapper) was guilty of a wild snap. Actually Mike B. was out that game with a viral infection. So there were low marks for the entire crew, not just Jaws.

posted by Bishop at 01:46 AM - reply - flag:

The telestrator was made for a guy like Jaws, not some babbling fool like Madden who uses it to diagram the asinine "horse trailer," his Maddencruiser, the fifteen-legged turkey, the pleats in Al Michaels' slacks, and whatever the hell else he fixates on during the game.

posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:22 AM - reply - flag:

I dunno, chico, it has occured to me before that one of the reasons Jaws is so enjoyable is because he has time before his pieces to break down the film and look for detail. I wonder if anyone could do even 50% of a Jaws piece as a live commentator.

posted by yerfatma at 06:25 AM - reply - flag:

T.K. is better then any version of good old Denny Miller(I still get cold chills when I remember his MNF days) It wasn't great, but it is preseason for brocasters, too. I'll reserve judgement until Oct. or Nov. Speaking of jugements: Joe Buck is joining the Fox pregame??? First I had to mute the WS, now pre-game and half time on sundays? >click< , swiching channel to cbs

posted by Hornsfan817 at 11:22 AM - reply - flag:

If ESPN wants Monday Night to be sucessful this time around, The need to one basic thing: More Tony-Less Joe T.

posted by daddisamm at 08:57 AM - reply - flag:

What happened to James Brown on the FOX Pre-game show? He was the voice of reason behind that whole show. Anyone..anyone?

posted by BornIcon at 11:40 AM - reply - flag:

James Brown went to CBS.

posted by bperk at 11:49 AM - reply - flag:

The broadcast sucked, ratings will fall.I'll turn my t.v down and listen to it on the radio.

posted by kckurtbusch at 12:39 PM - reply - flag:

Awesome! Thanks!

posted by yerfatma at 03:18 PM - reply - flag:

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

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