(I was the first to publish this news, about 12 hours before ESPN formally made the announcement).
By Mike Frandsen
Monday Night Football color commentator Tony Kornheiser was fired yesterday and will be replaced by former Tampa Bay Buccaneers coach John Gruden for the upcoming 2009 season, an unnamed source told http://www.coachmike.net shortly after midnight this morning. Gruden joins Mike Tirico and Ron Jaworski on ESPN’s team.
Kornheiser will reportedly receive a severance package of one million dollars. Kornheiser, a former sportswriter for the Washington Post, co-hosts “Pardon the Interruption,” a popular nightly sports show on ESPN with Michael Wilbon.
John A. Walsh, Senior VP and Executive Editor of ESPN, reportedly agonized over letting his good friend go.
In my opinion, it’s a good move. While Kornheiser used humor and targeted the casual fan, the switch to Gruden should please most football fans because of his candor and knowledge of the game. Kornheiser too often stated the obvious, and talked to listeners as if they were in kindergarten.
After the 2006 season, color commentator Joe Theismann was replaced in the Monday Night booth by Ron Jaworski. Rumors circulated that Kornheiser preferred Jaworski. While Jaworski does an excellent job, Theismann was even better, and here’s hoping that ESPN considers bringing Theismann back to the booth.
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Tags: ESPN, Joe Theismann, John Gruden, John Walsh, Michael Wilbon, Mike Frandsen, Mike Tirico, Monday Night Football, Pardon the Interruption, Ron Jaworski, Tony Kornheiser, www.coachmike.net, www.mikeneedsakidney.com
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