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John
Madden drops FOX for Monday Night Football
NEW YORK (AP)
— John Madden is joining “Monday Night Football.”
The gregarious
announcer agreed to a four-year deal with ABC and will team with
veteran play-by-play man Al Michaels to form a two-man booth. The
move signals the departure of comedian Dennis Miller after two seasons
and declining ratings.
“There
is only one John Madden and he is now part of ABC Sports,”
ABC Sports president Howard Katz said Thursday.
Madden had one
year at $7.5 million remaining on his contract with Fox Sports,
but that network agreed late Wednesday to free him from that deal.
He and ABC then
hammered out a contract worth about $5 million per season, an industry
source told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Madden
could wind up making much more from the marketing opportunities
that will arise thanks to his weekly prime-time appearances on ABC.
He’ll also work for ESPN, which like ABC is owned by The Walt
Disney Co.
Fox offered
Madden a three-year, $15 million extension, another industry source
said, also on condition of anonymity.
“This is
something that came very quickly. I’m numb, but even through
the numbness I realize how lucky I am, going from playing to coaching
to broadcasting,” Madden said Thursday. “Every broadcaster
would love an opportunity to be part of ’Monday Night Football.”’
ABC will air
the 2003 Super Bowl, Madden’s ninth as a broadcaster. His ABC
debut will be at the Hall of Fame preseason game between the Giants
and Texans on Aug. 5.
NBC
cans Wizards game after Jordan knee injury
NEW YORK (AP)
— NBC dropped two Washington Wizards games from its schedule
after Michael Jordan was put on the injured list.
Washington’s
game against visiting Orlando on Sunday and its game against Boston
on March 10 won’t be aired nationally by the network, which
is in the last year of its NBA contract.
Instead, NBC
will show Indiana at Sacramento this Sunday, and Toronto at Orlando
on March 10. Those were the games originally slated to air on NBC
when the season schedule was announced, but the network added Wizards
games when Jordan came out of retirement.
The 39-year-old
Jordan had torn cartilage repaired in his right knee Wednesday,
a procedure that typically requires 2-to-6 weeks of rehabilitation.
“Given
the injury to Jordan, the Sacramento-Indiana and Toronto-Orlando
games are better matchups for us,” NBC Sports vice president
Kevin Sullivan said Thursday.
UT
hires McWhorter as assistant football coach
AUSTIN (AP)
— Mac McWhorter, Georgia Tech’s interim head coach for
one game after George O’Leary resigned, was hired Thursday
as an assistant coach at Texas.
McWhorter will
coach offensive tackles and tight ends for the Longhorns. He replaces
tight ends coach Tim Brewster, who joined the San Diego Chargers
as an assistant coach Monday.
McWhorter has
been a college assistant coach since 1980, when he joined Georgia
Tech. He remained with the Yellow Jackets until 1986, then had stops
at Alabama, West Georgia, Duke, Georgia, Clemson and Memphis before
returning to Georgia Tech in 2000.
He was the offensive
line coach and assistant head coach at Georgia Tech when O’Leary
left.
N.
Carolina quarterback to transfer for personal reasons
CHAPEL HILL,
N.C. (AP) — North Carolina quarterback Darian Durant, who set
single-season freshman passing records for the Tar Heels last season,
said Monday he would transfer for personal reasons.
Durant, who
shared time with senior Ronald Curry as North Carolina went 8-5
with a Peach Bowl victory, will transfer at the end of the spring
semester.
“I pondered
over this for a long time and thought hard over it,” said Durant,
whose stepmother died in November. “I feel like it’s the
best thing for me to do.”
Durant did not
go into details about his decision but did say it was not based
on any problems with the coaching staff.
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