I could not have been less happy to wake up Monday morning and see the New York Times report that Joe Theisman is out of the Monday Night Football booth. It's not that Theisman is that good, but it's more so the fact that ESPN is replacing him with Ron Jaworski. Jaworski is my least favorite personality at ESPN. Yes, the same network that actually pays Stephen A. Smith, Digger Phelps and Doug Gotlieb to voice their biased analysis. Still, ""Jaws"" is the worst. For some reason I caught the opening game of the Arena Football League season a few weeks back, and Jaworski and Merrill Hoge (who needs to learn to pronounce his name right) were in the booth. Jaws was doing play-by-play and this is how he started the game off.
""Here's the kickoff and back to receive is... (insert four second pause here as Jaws searches frantically for the guy's name) ... No. 7.""
No. 7? Oh, duh, number seven. I remind you that this isn't the XFL, where that actually might be the guy's name.
Who should be in the MNF booth? Of course, Gus Johnson.
Speaking of Gus Johnson, I was really hoping CBS would continue to disrespect the guy so much that I could at least hear him do the Division II championship game Saturday. How sweet was that ending? How much sweeter would it have been if Johnson was doing the game? That was a huge missed opportunity for a classic Gus Johnson freak-out.
I have mixed feelings on the news that Tubby Smith is jumping to Minnesota. Basically, I think it is great for the Big Ten because he is a big name. My worry, however, is that he is going to steal Wisconsin's recruits. If you aren't up to speed on the Badger-Gopher rivalry, you have missed the fact that Wisconsin basically owns the state of Minnesota when it comes to football and basketball recruiting. Bo Ryan grabbed Jon Leuer for next season (his letter of intent is signed, sealed and delivered so he can't bail now), but the team also has verbal commitments from two 2008 recruits. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Friday that center Jared Berggren and guard Jordan Taylor have both reaffirmed their verbal commitments to Wisconsin since Smith took the Gopher job, but they don't have to sign the dotted line until November. I'm biased, but Ryan's resume (three Division III national championships, 525 wins, a .769 career winning percentage) is better than Smith's (one Division I national championship, 387 wins, a .727 career winning percentage).
Finally, the weather here in Madison is gorgeous and it looks like it is going to stay pretty nice until Friday, when I am going to Florida anyway.
I love summer and hate winter, but I also love how some people overreact when it is in the 70s in March. I just saw a girl walking to class in a bathing suit. I'm not kidding, she was wearing a bikini top and one of those longer skirts you wear to the beach. I appreciate the idea ladies, but come on, Lake Mendota is still frozen.
