Gatsby, you missed the irony there, I think. Sure, WE understood the reference perfectly fine, but how many of the croth-scratching sodomites out there did too? The joy in it for me was that it probably breezed right by half of the viewing audience 
And I agree, HindenBud was excellent, if a little over-used.
Yeah, but if it’s going to be obscure, it should be funny too, no?
I have to admit that I was impressed with Dennis as well. He was not obnoxious, did not try to be bigger than the game or even his co-announcers. He was up-front about being nervous, but I felt it made him seem more “regular guy” and therefore likable. He did have a few funny lines and was overall very entertaining. I did see a few things that need to be worked on, but for his first ever color job I give him an “A”. I, for one, am excited about the new MNF season.
People who like football are going to tune in MNF anyway. ABC knows that the ratings are down because casual fans have no reason to tune in. Now, for thousands of Miller fans around the country, Monday nights just got a lot better. I didn’t see the game, but the clips on ESPN made him sound good…
they were considering LIMBAUGH at one point. anything would be a step up.
Not a DM fan. Not a MNF fan. So IMO, it’s great that he got the job and I sincerely hope he keeps it. I’ll know he won’t be live anywhere else on my tube on Monday nights.
Aw…he’s ok. He’s just a little too urban and santimoniously stereotyping of us dumb Southern hicks. But what do I know? I’m a dumb Southern hick.
…‘Dueling Banjos’ playing in the background…
I KNOW I am! Melissa Stark is an absolute knockout.
As for MNF, it’s not as good as it used to be (IMHO) but it’s still pretty darned good.
I was really conflicted. Hate football (I know, damn near UnAmerican),love Dennis. so, had to watch. When he made a reference to the Rosetta Stone, I had this mental picture of the beer guzzlin’ guy scratching somethin’ saying “Hey, who’s this Rosie’ Stone guy and who did he play for”. but, hey, it’ll get me to watch… 
I agree that the Cantonese line was bad. I groaned, and groaners are not Miller’s style.
Even though this is a strange idea, it’s to get more people watching. I also only watch football if the Steelers or the Packers are on and this will get me watching more often just to see what he says–or to see him go down in flames. Hell, I even watched the Hall of Fame game for Cripes sake. All in all, he’ll probably do a good job.
I don’t normally watch Imus in the morning, but I was flipping around when I saw an oxygen tube in his nose today and was intrigued. That being said, he was sort of defending Miller’s presence by saying that Dennis Miller has as many Super Bowl rings as Dan Fouts, so he’s got at least as much right to be there as Fouts.
I thought Miller did a pretty good job. He sounded a bit scripted at times, and it seemed pretty obvious that someone was feeding him stats. Still for his first “real” game (he’s been practicing non-stop for weeks now), I thought he made some good points and added some levity. (“It’s a game, but it’s a game many of you take seriously. It’s not the Vatican, but then again the Pope never had to go over the middle with Ronnie Lott.”)
Lots of errors last night though – Miller and Fouts each talking about Kevin Faulk and referring to him as Marshall, Dickerson referred to Terrell Owens as Terrell Davis, that kind of stuff. Hey. it’s pre-season for them too.
All in all, I think it was an ok outing for the new crew. Dickerson clearly has a long way to go, and Miller, IMHO, just needs more practice.
Careful there. It’s that kind of thinking that got Boomer Esiason the job two years ago.:eek:
I agree with most of the posts here. I think Dennis did a pretty good job. It was refreshing to hear commentary from a fan’s point of view. He had this whole “I can’t belive they put me in this booth to watch football–is this great or what?” kind of attitude. And anyone who can use the word “genitalia” three plays into an NFL game gets my support.
I thought he did a pretty good job, considering the amount of experience (read: none) he’s had doing this. He’ll get better as the season goes on. And, as many others and myself predicted, it didn’t take to long for him to blurt out a joke that went over everybody’s heads. I’m sure we can expect more of that. Either way, he was some comedic relief to a poor football game.
Miller was just tight. First game jitters. Give him some time and he should be fine.
Tell me that Dierdork wasn’t annoying. Are you guys the same one’s that say fire the coach after 1 game? Give him a chance to spread his wings this season. If he falls on his face then axe him.
Miller’s performance was very spotty. Had its good moments; had A LOT of bad ones.
But unless you’re a broadcasting god like Al Michaels, most sports announcers are off during their first exhibition game. They need the reps, too.
Miller sounded like somebody who doesn’t know much about sports announcing. To an avid sports fan such as myself, that was kind of jarring. But I can see where that might work to Monday Night Football’s plan to draw less-football-fanatic people into the broadcasts.
I think the far bigger story from Monday was how horrid Eric Dickerson was as a sideline reporter. Did this guy have to do a test tape to get his job, or did he get it just because he’s a hall-of-fame running back? Made me cringe how little he had to offer and how poorly he offered it.
Melissa Stark is going to be great, but I already knew that from her ESPN days. He’s gorgeous, professional and knows her stuff. (And, sadly, just got engaged like two months ago.)
As for Miller, part of his persona is a relaxed aloofness that he decidedly did not have Monday. But who could blame him for being keyed up? There were moments here and there when he seemed to calm down, and the announcing trio were playing off each other pretty well. I think when they get some more games under their belts, that’s what we will be able to expect more.
Dan Fouts was better at color than Boomer Esiason ever was, although I can see already that he’s going to be the one having to fight to get a comment in edgewise; not Miller.
Bottom line: I think ABC will end up getting exactly what they wanted – a Howard Cosell-like, polarizing presence in the MNF announcing booth that some will love, some will despise. And, like when “Seinfeld” was on, we’ll all gather around the water cooler the next day and talk about our favorite lines from the night before – sorta like we’re doing now.
Y’all are pretty much saying what I said to Brian last night. Miller certainly wasn’t perfect, but I wouldn’t expect him to be. He was, however, fun. I enjoyed waiting to hear what sort of funny thing he said next. And it made a mind-numbingly boring game into one I actually watched from start to finish. If Boomer was still in the booth, I would have changed the channel.
My favorite line (I missed the HindenBud–I was on the phone for a good portion of the game) was about the Pats’ center.
“I hope he has a Hall of Fame career, so the New England fans can have an image of a ball going through someone’s legs that doesn’t involve Bill Buckner.”
Count me as one of the casual football fans who will now tune in to see Dennis Miller. He does have a mean anti-Southern bias, but most media in the US does.
from topfive.com
The Top 14 Dennis Miller Monday Night Football Quotes
(Part I)
14. “Of course he needs to renegotiate his salary – the guy buys more snow than Seward did when he bought Alaska from the Russians.”
13. “I haven’t seen anyone rely on the ground game this much since the battle of Verdun.”
12. “The quarterback’s spending so much time behind the center that he may jeopardize his right to lead a Boy Scout troop.”
11. “I’ve seen women pee standing up with better aim.”
10. “Somebody call Janet Reno – I think I just saw Donato dragging Doug Flutie into a locker room closet!”
9. “That field goal attempt was so far to the left it nearly decapitated Lyndon LaRouche.”
8. “I haven’t seen someone so overmatched since Mike Tyson tried to recite the alphabet.”
7. “Hey, Cunningham – Andy Warhol called. You’re at 14:55 and we’re tickin’ big-time here, Chachi.”
6. “He lasted about as long as the dessert tray at Rosie O’Donnell’s house.”
5. “Hey Deion, Bubbelah – maybe you’d better pay a little less attention to those unfairly Draconian salary caps that only allowed you to acquire four of the five remaining 1932 Aston Martins still in road-worthy condition after you’d paid for life’s little necessities like hookers and weed, get your medulla oblongata out of your duodenum for a few milliseconds, and make a tackle or two, okay, Babe?”
4. “When the hell is Warren Moon going to retire? I mean, this guy is older than the cuneiform in Nebuchadnezzar’s tomb.”
3. “That punt was higher than Marion Berry on a fact-finding tour of Cartagena.”
2. “Nervous? He’s tighter than Pat Buchanan’s sphincter muscle at a 4th of July soiree on Fire Island.”
and the Number 1 Dennis Miller Monday Night Football Quote…
The Top 14 Dennis Miller Monday Night Football Quotes
(Part II)
14. “Big deal, so he scored. The last time I saw someone dance like that I had to pay her $20 and have my pants dry cleaned the next day.”
13. “That receiver was as wide open as Annabel Chong.”
12. "With Browns’ ticket prices what they are, you just know that all those dads who brought the entire family to sit in the ‘dog pound’ are secretly calculating how much blood they are going to have to sell next week to put
11. “Ray Lewis knifed through those offensive linemen like a sucker-punch switchblade slicing between the ribs of some inebriated trash-talking punk outside a sports bar.”
10. “I’ve seen better coverage at an Alan Keyes press conference.”
9. “The Cowboy’s defense has more holes in it than Ronny Milsapp and Jose Feliciano after a game of lawn darts.”
8. “The punt returner got smacked like Nancy Kerrigan’s knee on souvenir pipe night.”
7. “That secondary provides worse coverage than a Guatemalan HMO.”
6. “Concussion? How the hell can they tell? They’re football players, for chrissakes!”
5. “Is it just me, or are the 49ers doing an awful lot of ass-patting today?”
4. “Their offense is shakier than Katherine Hepburn after an all-night espresso bender at Starbucks.”
3. “Check out the helmet hair on Randy Moss, babe! He looks like some freakish anti-Mr. T after a long evening sleeping through ‘Aida.’”
2. “That kid’s got an arm like Uncle Fester at an exhibition of Pre-Colombian… um, Christ, I lost it. I was going for something thick. So what’s with the beard, Grizzly Fouts?”
and the Number 1 Dennis Miller Monday Night Football Quote…
Hey, I’m a beer guzzlin’ scratchin’ guy, and I knew exactly where he was coming from there! Rip on football fans all you want, but don’t you dare make fun of beer drinking!
Since its become the “thing” to do, I’ll say that the Rosetta Stone line had me laughing out loud, while my parents stared blankly at the wall. Definately my favorite line, with the exception of when I heard the minor groin surgery joke on highlights (missed the first half because of the early start time, fucking Republicans). The main difference was the groin one was scripted, and the Rosetta Stone was impromptu. Points for both IMHO.
I loved it. God knows I wouldn’t have sat through a full preseason 49ers-Patsies game without him. I’m happy he used phrases like “apres-game” and “mensch” and “visceral” and “a propos”. I’m happy he referred to Canton as the “Tigris and Euphrates” of football.
I think Dennis figured, fuck it: If ABC wanted midwestern hokey mainstream humor, they would signed on Drew Carey or Tim Allen or even Jeff Foxworthy (fathom that, if you dare). They’d have Gallagher smashing pigskins at halftime. For better or for worse, ABC hired Dennis Miller because he’s Dennis Miller. Way I figure it, if he doesn’t win over drooling Landry-era Cowboy fans with sentences involving Yiddish words and archaeological terminology then fuck 'em. If he gets kicked off MNF, the he gets kicked off doing it His Way (minus a few “cocksuckers”). So he doesn’t appeal to everybody. No great comedian does.
Now that would have been a mistake. If MNF wanted a popular but worhip-him-or-despise-him kind of guy, they’d be better off with Howard Stern. That boggles the mind.
…but I saw him last Monday. I thought he was funny when I heard him, but I’ll be damned if I can recall what he said the next day, except for some Star Trek reference he made about special ear-plugs the NFL was testing.
Has he gotten better? Worse? Stayed the same?
People keep referrring to Melissa Stark. The very best female football reporter was Jayne Kennedy. No one else has even come close.