It may be the end of June, but ESPN has announced their broadcast team for the second "Monday Night Football" game of the upcoming NFL regular season. As a public service from SHARK, you've been warned well ahead of time.

While Chris Berman has called plenty of Major League Baseball games, along with occasional hosting duties on the network's "Baseball Tonight" in addition to what will soon be his 28th season as host of "Sunday NFL Countdown", the ESPN original since 1979 will actually call his first regular season NFL game for the "Worldwide Leader in Sports".

While the regular "Monday Night Football" crew of Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden & new sideline reporter Lisa Salters call the Bengals/Ravens' game in Baltimore, Berman & Trent Dilfer will call the second game of the opening weekend doubleheader that night. Chris & Trent have been commissioned by ESPN to call the Chargers/Raiders' game later that night, Monday, September 10th. Berman will host the season premiere of "Countdown" Sunday, September 9th from ESPN's Bristol, CT studios and then make the cross-country flight after the show to Oakland to call the game with the former Ravens' Super Bowl-winning QB turned ESPN analyst.

The team of Berman & Dilfer will also call a tune-up game for ESPN to prepare for their regular season debut in the booth. The guys will call the Cardinals/Titans' preseason game for the network on Thursday, August 23rd in Nashville.

Why do I bring this up, you ask? Since ESPN replaced ABC Sports as the home of "MNF" in 2006, the network has had an annual "MNF" doubleheader to end the first week of NFL regular season games. In '06, the threesome of Brad Nessler, Ron Jaworski & Dick Vermeil called the Chargers/Raiders' game. Then, ESPN Radio's morning guys Mike Greenberg & Mike Golic called the next 3 "MNF" second games from 2007-2009. "Da Coach" himself, Mike Ditka, joined Greenberg & Golic in the booth for Cardinals/49ers in '07, Denver Broncos/Raiders in '08 & Chargers/Raiders in '09. Brad Nessler, now the PBP of NFL Network's "Thursday Night Football", had called the last 2 nightcaps in '10 & '11 with Dilfer on ESPN. Nessler & Dilfer were in Kansas City to call the Chargers/Chiefs' game 2 years ago, as well as last year's finale to Week 1 between the Raiders & Broncos in Denver.

You're aware your subject of this thread tells us all we needed to know? Trying to help prevent your carpal tunnel

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Team Cutler.

What did you want me to call it? It is a first, even for the human "Macy's Thanksgiving Day Float" in Berman.

This is worse than Nickelback playing the Detroit thanksgiving day halftime last year.

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That's my purse! I don't know you!

Nickelback: "This Is How You Remind Me..." Not a chance! Go away!

I've never hated Chris Berman like the rest of the world does. If I'm doing network television for the first time and I have the accompanying jitters about the biggest gig of my life, I'm going to tell you not to walk in front of the fucking teleprompter while I'm reading it, too. So good for him finally getting to do a game.

I was surprised Berman didn't get the pxp job in 2006 when ESPN got Monday Night Football. Inasmuch as the new TV deal that gave them MNF took Primetime away from him, one would've thought he'd get to move up. He has good pipes and he's the kind of larger-than-life personage that would've fit on the program, whereas Mike Tirico just feels like a guy who got the job because it was his turn or something (ironic, considering my argument for Berman basically boils down to it being his turn).

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The yelling and perceived jackass-ness doesn't bug me; it's the inability to spit out a coherent thought that pisses me off... too old, too Chet-Coppock-y

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team Mully & Hanley
team Meatpants

bothers me more that trent dilfer gets to do this too.

I thouht this was the designated green
brrg and golic games for the first couple games of the year. Dare I hope they fell out of favo

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You cannot make me care about the WNBA.

Here's what we've all been waiting for, as schticky blowhard Chris Berman is again taken to task by schticky blowhard Drew Magary.

http://deadspin.com/5921709/heres-why-c ... a-reminder



Now I hope he does well just to spite Magary and his staler-than-stale "grah grah fuckin' fuckin' braaaaaap" act.

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Berman's act is old and stale. He was terrible on the US Open. I hope he doesnt try to make the game a 3 hour fastest three minutes in television (which is also old and stale). Too much schtick that isnt funny hearing it over and over for 30 years.

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That's because NFL Live is basically SportsCenter on steroids, so all the FUM-BUUUHHLLL and RAIIIIIIDEHZ and goofy nicknames--while tiresome--at least fit the general aesthetic. Ditto the Home Run Derby, which is pure spectacle. I have no idea what he'll be like as a pxp guy, but I anticipate it'll be pretty horrific.

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The Bulls haven't done anything wrong, and they're not going to do anything wrong.

It was the "Mike & Mike" special for three straight years as I typed at the beginning of this post.