I said this last year, and I'll say it again. The Monday Night Football broadcast last season wasn't all that bad. Sure it had its moments, and Tony Kornheiser still didn't belong in the booth, but it wasn't the worst combination of announcers in the NFL. With that said, Tony Kornheiser is continuing his quest to make you think that he did belong today, and now he's using comparisons to other NFL analysts to prove his point. Via TSB....

"And this was great to hear, because I think most of the criticism is from people who don’t play themselves but who insist that football be mystified. Everything else has to be demystified in life, except football. These dopes want it mystified, and they want nothing but third-level and fourth-level Xs and OS. Which, if anybody has ever been around a football game--you don’t have to have played it--you know right away that it’s impossible to know. Because there are 22 moving parts. Nobody knows exactly what’s going on until they indeed look at the film. So to find out that people liked my work was very, very good for me."

"Last year, that was a really good football broadcast," he said. "It was really good. Jaworski and I have obvious rapport, that’s just obvious to anybody who paid attention to the show. And I really REALLY liked the show last year, and thought it was as good as ANY football game being broadcast, and believe me, I watched them all. I had to suffer through Brian Baldinger just like everybody else did."

While I'd like to disagree with him, he's actually close to being right this time. I wouldn't call it a "really good football broadcast", but it certainly wasn't the worst. The trio improved immensely from year two to three, and while I still think Tony wasn't the man for the job, he did the best with his abilities. And yes, I think we can all agree Brian Balldinger is god awful.

Kornheiser Feels the Love After Leaving MNF (The Sporting Blog)

There was a rumored fight for John Lynch between the NFL Network and ESPN, but in the end it was the network that originally courted the former NFLer, that ended up with him. John Lynch will be going to FOX this Fall, while longtime analyst Brian Baldinger is being shown the door.

While the hire for FOX is definitely a high-profile get, you all know that I'm always wary about networks throwing former players into the booth right away. As far as Baldinger goes, he was always hit or miss. He'd either say something that was completely on point, or spend five minutes making zero sense. He was however, a staple on the network, and it will be interesting to see how the pairing are affected by his departure.

Update: I forgot to add that Newsday's Neil Best predicted this about three weeks ago. Bravo sir!

Game: The Cotton Bowl
Teams: Ole Miss Rebels (8-4) vs. Texas Tech Red Raiders (11-1)
Location: Dallas, Texas, Cotton Bowl
Start Time: 2PM EST (FOX)
Network and Announcers: Pat Summerall, Brian Baldinger, Jeanne Zelasko, Krista Voda
Favorite: Texas Tech (-5.5)
AA's Pick: Texas Tech 31 - Ole Miss 13

So Carolina pulled off one of the first great upsets of the NFL Season yesterday at the buzzer with a heck of a pass from Delhomme to TE Dante Rosario. FOX decided to go to the game with about a minute left and Dick Stockton and Brian Baldinger absolutely murdered the call of final few moments of the game.

Well, that's besides the point because the FOX production truck did something so hilarious following the game that I couldn't stop laughing. First here's the call of the final play (I have no idea what Baldinger is laughing at) but make sure you stick around for the UPS Players of the Game at the end of the vid....

Yes, you're seeing and hearing that right. The third player down is actress Rosario Dawson of "Clerks 2", "He Got Game" and "Sin City" fame! That's right, the tight end for your Carolina Panthers was actually an actress in the movie version of "Rent"!!! It's bad enough that Dick Stockton can't get things right on his own, now the FOX graphics department is throwing him curveballs like this? Too funny.

(Many thanks to reader Sean for the tip.)

You may remember a little item a few weeks back about an announcing Boot Camp for NFL Players.....well it took place this past weekend, and the results are better than anything I could have imagined.

Twenty players were chosen out of thirty based on essays and video submissions (seriously, I need those videotapes). The chosen twenty players started out doing a voice over on a Peyton Manning highlight, moved on to a class about preparation (more on this in a second), and finished up in-studio with James Brown.

Sounds like a blast actually. What can I do to get in on this? My favorite part of the whole story has to be this little nugget though....

The group was ushered to a class about show preparation, where the NFL Network executive producer Eric Weinberger and the Fox analyst Brian Baldinger stressed the advantage that players had over anyone else hoping to become an on-air talent covering football: they play the game, and they can provide in-depth analysis that others cannot.

Hahahahahahaha. Whooooo. Need....to....breath.....hahahahahaha. Alright, whew. I'm better. Thanks so much for that New York Times. I owe you for that one.

Do you know how much money I would pay to have Baldy say that to my face? That's the funniest damn thing I've read in quite some time. But wait....it gets better....

One by one, they entered the studio and sat behind the desk alongside the CBS studio host James Brown. With the cameras on and producers spinning it all into a glossy television segment from a nearby control room, Brown led each player into a discussion of Dolphins linebacker Joey Porter, who was involved in a fight in Las Vegas this off-season and swept into the N.F.L. commissioner’s new personal-conduct counseling program.

It made for fascinating backstage theater, since Porter was standing in the control room. No one blasted Porter, but it struck a common theme of the sessions — how to criticize a player, especially a former teammate or current friend.

How hilarious would it be if you were telling Joey Porter to get his life in order, and he just rolled up on you on the set.

BEAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH! God I could read this over and over all day long.

N.F.L. Program Gives New Meaning to a Set Formation (NY Times)

P.S.- How is this NOT a reality show??? Come on NFL!!!