In a move hauntingly similar to the XFL’s decision to allow Jim Ross, Jerry Lawler and Jonathan Coachman to call games, ESPN has unveiled the radio duo of Mike Greenberg and Mike Golic as their no. 1 broadcast team for the 2007 Arena Football League campaign. From Sports Media Watch :
No offense to Greenberg and Golic, but it seems to be a sign of disrespect to the Arena Football League to let two talk radio personalities be the broadcast team for most games. Especially considering the whole rationale behind the move will more than likely involve moving some of the banter from Mike and Mike in the Morning to the broadcast booth. Apparently, ESPN isn’t going for a true game telecast, one where the down and distance is what’s important, instead opting for the entertainment approach — the one that brought such unanimous, unyielding praise of the Monday Night Football booth. And while the three to four hundred viewers of ESPN’s AFL telecasts may not mind idle conversation about whether a potato is a fruit or a vegetable, this still seems like a signal that ESPN isn’t taking its AFL broadcasts very seriously.