ON THE AIR
Maguire: Eagles or Redskins will win NFC East
Going into last night's Eagles-Chiefs game, ESPN football analyst Paul Maguire said the Eagles will have to win the NFC East to do well in the playoffs.
Going into last night's Eagles-Chiefs
game, ESPN football analyst Paul Maguire said the Eagles will have to win the
NFC East to do well in the playoffs.
As for the other NFC teams, "I like the Redskins. The Giants have had
it," said Maguire, in his fourth year as part of the Sunday Night Football
team on ESPN with Mike Patrick and Joe Theismann.
Maguire, a former offensive lineman with Buffalo and San Diego, is in his
42nd year as an NFL announcer. However, he never has coached. "My wife and
I raised three children," he said. "I wasn't about to raise 53
more."
Maguire enjoys the exposure of the Sunday night game, one of the highest
rated shows on cable.
"We get 100 percent of the audience, compared to when I was doing Sunday
afternoon games on NBC, getting only regional viewers," he said.
Special Army-Navy game
CBS is enlisting some of its top guns for tomorrow's Army-Navy game at
Veterans Stadium.
Its No. 1 NFL announcing team of Dick Enberg and Dan Dierdorf will call the
action, and Walter Cronkite has been drafted to narrate the opening. There will
be a special half-hour pregame show starting at 11 a.m.
Due to the current world events, the importance of Army-Navy will take on a
new meaning, says Terry Ewert, executive producer of CBS Sports. The pomp and
circumstance of the game will make it one of the more emotional events of the
year.
Please, no Carrot Top
Forget about the Improv. The hottest place for comedians to go is the
broadcast booth. Some of the comedians/announcers include Jimmy Kimmel of Fox,
Jay Mohr and Tom Arnold of Fox Sports Net, and Dennis Miller of ABC. Speaking of
Miller, ESPN's Web site, espn.go.com, offers "The Annotated Dennis
Miller" every Tuesday to help viewers learn what he was talking about on
Monday Night Football.
No Mohr Dickerson
Fox Sports Net's Jay Mohr, best known for his role as agent Bob Sugar in the
movie "Jerry Maguire," doesn't sugarcoat his assessment of the worst
broadcast team on the air today - the entire Monday Night Football broadcast
team. "It's absolutely made that show unwatchable," he said.
"Somebody check Eric Dickerson for a pulse. They suck."
Marv and Mr. Jones or the Dow Jones Report
Before the Eagles-Redskins game Sunday, Deacon Jones of Fox Sports Net's
"NFL This Morning" pregame show said: "The Eagles will choke this
week just like they always do. The Redskins will pull this game out because they
need it worst [sic] than the Eagles."
On the other hand, fellow analyst Marv Levy said: " I guarantee that the
high-soaring Eagles will end the Redskins' win streak at four and Duce Staley
will rack up his third consecutive 100-yard-plus rushing game."
Dr. Jack is back
Former Sixers and St. Joe's basketball coach Jack Ramsay can be heard on ESPN
radio (1680-AM in Trenton) as the color commentator for NBA games. The NBA on
ESPN season tips off tomorrow at 6:07 p.m. with the Washington-Orlando game.
Sayers gets his say
Former Chicago Bear star Gale Sayers is the guest on "Unscripted with
Chris Connelly" on ESPN today at 5 p.m. The remake of "Brian's
Song," the story of Sayers' friendship with the late Brian Piccolo, airs at
7 p.m. Sunday on ABC.
Saturday Knight Live
Bob Knight makes his first full national television appearance as coach of
Texas Tech as his team battles TCU on ESPN at 5 p.m. tomorrow.
Ram tough
This week's Monday Night Football game between the St. Louis Rams and the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers was the highest-rated MNF game of the season since the
season opener between the Denver Broncos and the New York Giants. The Tampa Bay
upset scored a 13.9 rating and a 22 share. Each national rating point equals
about 1 million homes.
Laura Nachman writes about television and radio sports for the Courier
Times. Write her in care of the Courier Times, 8400 Route 13, Levittown, PA
19057, fax 215-949-4177 or e-mail [email protected]
Friday, November 30, 2001