Has ESPN been playing one too many games without a helmet?
That's the only reasonable explanation that I can come up with for the Walt Disney Co. (NYSE:DIS) network's decision to dump Joe Theismann from its "Monday Night Football" broadcast. The New York Times says he will be offered another job at the network, but I wouldn't blame him if he walked.
Theismann's "problem" is that he doesn't have "chemistry" with co-host Tony Kornheiser, according to media reports. Replacement Ron Jaworkski, a former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback, is going to have the same problem because Kornheiser usually has nothing of interest to say. During broadcasts Thiesmann often had to correct Kornheiser for saying stuff that wrong or just plain weird.
There's more at stake than just sports here.
ESPN is a cash cow for Disney and the company is counting on "Monday Night Football" to help bolster its bottom line. Ratings for the broadcast, which plunged when it was on ABC, did well last year on ESPN, according to the Times. That makes the move to replace Theismann baffling.
Why fix something that wasn't broken?
If ESPN wanted to reshuffle the MNF team, it should have gotten rid of Kornhesier, who is beater suited for shouting on "Pardon the Interruption." Theismann is a thoughtful analyst who deserved better treatment. I'm sure that other networks would be happy to have him.











Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-27-2007 @ 10:56AM
Sparky said...
Tony is annoying and has really nothing to do in the booth but to add bad air. How many times during the ESPN MNF broadcast did I cringe when he opened his mouth. He is not the brightest hash mark in the booth, not self aware (a manager at Dunder-Mifflin) and removing Joe, a fixture in ESPN Football broadcasts as a kin to Al Michaels is appalling. Disney pulled a "Goofy" on this one.
3-27-2007 @ 11:36AM
chk2595 said...
Monday Night Football is a talk show with the game as a sidelight. Kornheiser does not belong in the booth. He and Michaels should go to the outhouse and impress each other with their knowledge of stuff that has nothing to do with the game. I prefer to turn the sound off and watch the game.
Theisman added a little knowledge of the game as it is played. However, I did not root for him at Notre Dame, in Canada, or On the Potomac as a player. He was good playing on the wrong team. He is too good n the booth for their yakety yak blah blah.
3-27-2007 @ 12:14PM
Kyle said...
Kornheiser is good for the show, Theisman has his head stuck up his butt and thinks that he is a god. Good for getting rid of him and get rid of whoever wrote that article. They can't spell or think for themselves.
3-27-2007 @ 12:53PM
jonathan berr said...
I plead guilty to bad spelling. I am a swell guy otherwise.
3-28-2007 @ 3:43PM
Steve J said...
I'm no fan of Kornheiser, but I almost wanted to dance a jig when I heard EPSN had dumped Theismann. He's quite simply the worst top-level announcer in the game. He'll never, ever criticize a QB, no matter how atrociously they're playing, he often misses obvious things throughout a game, and he's entirely too in love with his own
voice. He\'s an awful announcer, and while Jaworski is annoying in his own right - usually by turning the dial to 11 - I couldn't be more thrilled with the prospect of not having to listen to Theismann on EPSN games.