'Monday Night Football' Ends 36-Year Run
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 12:15 AM EST The Associated Press By CONNOR ENNIS EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Al Michaels turned to Frank Gifford, patted his former broadcast partner on shoulder and said simply: "I can't thank you enough." Football fans feel the same way about "Monday Night Football." After 36 years on ABC, the television phenomenon concluded its network run with a game between the New England Patriots and the New York Jets. The best highlights, however, were provided not by players in helmets and pads — but characters in yellow blazers and outdated hairdos, talking into ancient microphones and chomping cigars. The 555th broadcast opened with — who else? — the most recognizable voice in "Monday Night Football" history: Howard Cosell. Thus began a night that was less a football game than an excuse to queue up the highlight reel. ABC sprinkled in bits of footage that defined the show through the years, from Cosell's outrageous pontificating to Don Meredith's drawling serenades. Meredith even saved one last rendition for this show: "Turn out the lights, the party's over ... " came the familiar strains as the fourth quarter began. Standing before a black backdrop, Meredith pumped a fist and shook his head as he finished the verse. "Monday Night Foobtall," he said softly, smiling with a twinkle in his eye. Famous faces such as John Lennon, Bill Clinton, George Bush and Richard Simmons appeared during a halftime montage that illustrated how the program was as much entertainment as sport. The segment even featured a few seconds from last season's controversial pregame skit featuring Eagles receiver Terrell Owens and a towel-clad Nicollette Sheridan from "Desperate Housewives." The series switches networks next season, when ESPN begins an eight-year deal in which it will pay $1.1 billion per year for Monday night rights. "The game will continue," Michaels said. "But the ABC era of 'Monday Night Football' comes to an end tonight." And it concluded with yet another stinker of a game, a problem that came to plague "MNF" year after year. But that's how it goes when the schedule is set months in advance, and ABC used halftime and other breaks to showcase the show's legacy rather than talk about the meaningless game between the playoff-bound Patriots and dismal Jets. New England won 31-21 — the same score the Jets lost by in the first "Monday Night Football" against the Cleveland Browns in 1970. "Obviously we're celebrating a 36-year legacy on ABC and the end of an era but we're also celebrating the start of a new era with this great property on ESPN," George Bodenheimer, the president of ESPN and ABC Sports, said before the game. "It's a bit of mixed emotions." Michaels called the program "the perfect marriage of sports and prime time." In the booth, partner John Madden reminisced how, even as coach of the Oakland Raiders, he sensed there was "something special about this." How right he was. The show came a long way from its beginnings as a risky experiment that defied the American football tradition of high school on Friday, college on Saturday and the NFL on Sunday. On Sept. 21, 1970, "MNF" kicked off what would be the longest prime-time sports series in television history with the New York Jets at Cleveland. Keith Jackson, Meredith and Cosell were in the booth and, it soon became evident, America was watching. It became appointment television, with the interplay between the Cosell and Meredith providing almost as much entertainment as the play on the field. A clip shown during the game had Cosell describing Meredith as "uniquely qualified" to talk about a moribund team because he had once quarterbacked a team to an 0-11-1 record. "I could have done better than 0-11-1," Meredith growled back after correcting that he hadn't been the quarterback of that team. "That was one of the craziest dynamics — in fact, the craziest in broadcasting," Michaels said after the clip. "I can't think of anything like it." When Gifford replaced Jackson in the booth for the show's second season, the ratings only went up. "It seemed to work," Gifford said. "People seemed to like it." Those announcers have long been gone — though Gifford was at Giants Stadium for the finale Monday night and joined Michaels in the booth at halftime — but the program has retained a distinct position in the landscape of American culture. "'Monday Night Football' and the bubble-gum card — that was kind of important being in the league if you could do that," Jets coach Herman Edwards said. It's provided many memorable moments, from Tony Dorsett's record-setting 99-yard touchdown run in 1983 to Brett Favre's emotional 399-yard, four-touchdown performance the night after his father's death. On Dec. 8, 1980, it was Cosell who announced that Lennon had been shot and killed. Even the show's misses were interesting: When ratings began to dip, comedian Dennis Miller was hired to be part of the announcing team. He lasted two seasons, though a clip showed Monday night proved he did predict Arnold Schwarzenegger would one day be the governor of California. "You look at the body of work that has been completed here over 36 years: the great games, the stars, the story lines, the part of Americana that 'Monday Night Football' is, it's really a magnificent piece of work," Bodenheimer said. With the fracturing of television and the viewing options that have developed in the era of cable, "Monday Night Football" no longer holds the same position it once did. But it is still a top ratings performer week in and week out and its intro — capped by Hank Williams Jr.'s rhetoric "Are you ready for some football?" — are instantly recognizable. And players still realize its significance. After all, Monday night is still a prime-time showcase, a place to show the country what a team, or a player, is made of. "It's good to know we're going to be the last one," linebacker Jonathan Vilma said. "That makes it that much more special for us. We're going to be in the history books as the last Monday night game on ABC." |
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 4:29 AM EST
The Associated Press
By ANDREA ADELSON
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — When Mike Vrabel trotted onto the field for the second time with the Patriots offense, everyone knew what to expect. Another touchdown.
Somehow, Jets cornerback David Barrett missed the memo. The standout linebacker scored two touchdowns on Barrett, taking the spotlight in the "Monday Night Football" finale on ABC as the Patriots beat the uninspired Jets 31-21.
Vrabel is known for his touchdown prowess on offense. He had already scored on a 1-yard catch in the first quarter. His 2-yard grab in the second quarter came on the same exact play. Barrett said he goofed both times.
"One touchdown's awesome, but two," Vrabel said.
Exactly why Barrett was so frustrated.
"It's not like me to make stupid mistakes like that, but if you weren't human you wouldn't make mistakes," Barrett said. "I was frustrated about it. You don't want the same thing to happen two times in a row."
The game marked the end ABC's 35-year "Monday Night Football" run. It began with a 31-21 Jets loss to Cleveland on Sept. 21, 1970. Next year, the Monday games move to ESPN and NBC takes over the showcase telecast on Sunday nights.
There was plenty of nostalgia to go around. The Jets' Vinny Testaverde became the first quarterback to throw a touchdown pass in 19 straight seasons with 2:10 remaining, when Laveranues Coles made a leaping 27-yard catch and bounced into the corner of the end zone.
The 42-year-old Testaverde came into the game late in the fourth quarter. He was not the oldest player on the field. Doug Flutie, 43, took over for Tom Brady when the game was out of hand. Afterward, Testaverde went over to Flutie and spoke to him, "just two old guys reminiscing."
It was that way all day, with announcers John Madden and Al Michaels reflecting on the impact "Monday Night Football" made on the country, to its place in history.
"They can take football away from ABC on Monday night," Madden said after the game, "but they can't take away the memories."
Vrabel certainly made many of those. He has three touchdown catches this season, tied for second on the AFC East champion Patriots (10-5). He now has eight career catches, all for touchdowns, including two in Super Bowls.
"A lot of it is just good play calling at the right time," Vrabel said.
Vrabel also had a sack, making him the first player with two TDs and a sack in a game, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
"We're happy for him," fellow linebacker Willie McGinest said. "We want for him to make those plays and come to the sideline with a smile."
The Patriots had plenty of smiles to go around. Brady continued his amazing season, going 18-of-29 for 185 yards with two touchdown passes and an interception that former teammate Ty Law returned 74 yards for a touchdown. He went over 4,000 yards passing for the first time in his six-year career.
Corey Dillon had two 1-yard runs and finished with 77 yards on 26 carries.
New England is hitting its stride at the perfect time. They have won four straight, and 18 of their last 19 games after Dec. 1.
"I knew we could play better than we did early in the season," Patriots coach Bill Belichick said. "It's a credit to the players that they've turned things around."
About the only thing that went wrong for the Patriots was a left leg injury to linebacker Tedy Bruschi late in the first quarter, but he walked out of the locker room on his own after the game.
The Jets (3-12), meanwhile, looked completely outmatched and overwhelmed. They had 171 yards of total offense and held the ball for a paltry 16:39. They got their initial first down on a Patriots penalty at the 5:17 mark of the third quarter. Derrick Blaylock got the initial first down on an actual Jets play, a 6-yard run later in the drive.
In all, the Jets ran 40 plays to 83 for the Patriots. The Jets defense gave up three drives that lasted over 7 minutes.
"That's kind of ridiculous," Jets defensive end John Abraham said. "I'm not blaming anybody but ourselves on that."
http://www.adelphia.net/sports/read.php?id=12451264&ps=973%2C974&cat=&cps=0&lang=en
Testaverde First in TD Passes
Tuesday, December 27, 2005 1:32 AM EST The Associated Press EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) — Vinny Testaverde became the first player in NFL history to throw at least one touchdown pass in 19 straight seasons, connecting on a 27-yard score to Laveranues Coles in the fourth quarter of the New York Jets' 31-21 loss to New England on Monday night. "Just to get in and play, for me you couldn't have scripted a better ending," Testaverde said. Testaverde, 42, signed with the Jets off his couch earlier this year after season-ending injuries to Chad Pennington and Jay Fiedler. He started four games before being replaced by Brooks Bollinger in Week 9. Bollinger started against the Patriots, but Testaverde came in with 3:20 remaining. Coach Herm Edwards promised last week he would get the veteran quarterback into a game for the final time. Testaverde was 3-for-7 for 63 yards on the scoring drive. Coles made an outstanding leaping catch over Eugene Wilson in the corner of the end zone with 2:10 left. After the touchdown, Testaverde thanked Coles for making the great crab. Testaverde also received congratulatory handshakes from coaches and teammates on the sideline, and received a hand from the sparse crowd remaining at Giants Stadium. Though Edwards maintained he wanted Testaverde to go out in front of his adoring fans, the decision to put him in with so little time left and so few fans in the game was questioned. Testaverde said he would have wanted to go in earlier, but Edwards said the timing was "right" to put Testaverde in at the end. Nonetheless, Testaverde was happy to be back on the field. "They can't take this away. Even though the season hasn't gone the way the team would want it to go, it's been more than I can ask for," Testaverde said. "The way the fans reacted to me going on the field this year, it's something I'll always remember." http://www.adelphia.net/sports/read.php?id=12451108&ps=973%2C974&cat=&cps=0&lang=en |
