Caught the last 10 minutes of Mike & Mike this morning, and heard just enough to want to do a jig. Well, okay, two of the decisions have me dancing, and the others, if nothing else, didn’t make me want to throw a brick at my TV. With ESPN taking over Monday Night Football, the booth and sidelines have been stacked with Bristol’s finest.
First, the booth:
Play by play: Mike Tirico. I would have been happier with Mike Patrick – no one sells a game better than Patrick does – but Tirico is no slouch, either. More importantly, football nation breathes a collective sigh of relief that they didn’t go with founding father Chris Berman.
Commentary: Joe Theissman. If there’s a weakness here, it’s Joe. He doesn’t bother me as much as he bothers friends of mine, but he does have a tendency to state the obvious. But he’s also brutally honest about coaching decisions, officiating, and every other aspect of the game that offends his senses, and I like that in a color guy.
Now for the masterstroke:
Commentary: Tony Kornheiser. Hell, yes. As an avid “PTI” fan, this just makes me giddy. I think of this move akin to the hiring of Dennis Miller, only this time Dennis has an actual knowledge of football. Kornheiser is whip smart and easily the funniest guy on ESPN’s payroll. Brilliant move, though how are they going to get him to leave Washington DC?
Sidelines: Suzy Kolber and Michelle Tafoya. Can’t say I’m terribly enamored of Tafoya for whatever reason, but I loves my Suzy.
The poll that ESPN posted with the story showed that 53.1% of the readers actually do not like the new crew. Let’s hear it, sports fans. What do and don’t you like about the new crew?
