Al Michaels

Alan Richard Michaels (born November 12, 1944 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American television sportscaster. Since 1977, he has been employed by ABC Sports and has been one of the most prominent and respected members of his profession.

Monday Night Football

His longest-running assignment was that of the lead play-by-play announcer on ABC's Monday Night Football telecasts, which he began in 1986. Before that, Michaels most notable NFL assignment for ABC was hosting the pre-game coverage of Super Bowl XIX. In 1988, Michaels called his first Super Bowl. Three years later, Michaels was on hand to call the thrilling Super Bowl between the New York Giants and Buffalo Bills. When Bills kicker Scott Norwood, missed a potentially game winning field goal (and thus, ensuring the Giants victory), Michaels simply described the play by calmly proclaiming "No good! Wide-right!"

Related Topics:
Monday Night Football - 1986 - NFL - Super Bowl XIX - 1988 - Super Bowl - Super Bowl - New York Giants - Buffalo Bills - Scott Norwood

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The trio of Michaels, Dan Dierdorf (who joined Monday Night Football the year after Michaels' first), and Frank Gifford lasted until the 1997 season, when Gifford was replaced following disclosure of an extra-marital affair. Michaels briefly became the center of controversy due to a verbal slip on the final Monday night game of the 1998 season (between the Jacksonville Jaguars and Pittsburgh Steelers on December 28). Michaels said, "No shit" in response to a question posed by Dan Dierdorf about Buffalo Bills quarterback Doug Flutie. Dierdorf said to Michaels about the halftime interview with Doug Flutie, "Are you gonna tell 'em how you're sick of all this B.C. stuff?" It turned out that Michaels thought that a commercial break was going on and that his microphone was turned off. Incidentally, Michaels reportedly opposes the FCC's attempts to tighten censorship rules, saying that there are much more important things to worry about than trying to protect people from every little thing.

Related Topics:
Dan Dierdorf - Frank Gifford - 1997 - 1998 - Jacksonville Jaguars - Pittsburgh Steelers - December 28 - Shit - Buffalo Bills - Doug Flutie - B.C. - FCC - Censorship

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Former Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Boomer Esiason replaced Gifford in 1998, and Dierdorf was dropped in 1999. Esiason and Michaels reportedly never got along, and it led to ABC firing Esiason shortly after the conclusion of the 2000 season. Esiason complained to the New York Times that Michaels "could have been better for me, and I tried with him, but it never clicked with me because he never wanted it to click.? To that, Michaels gave a terse response to Esiason's claims in a released statement:"I will not join in this juvenile vitriol." Unexpectedly, comedian Dennis Miller joined the cast in 2000 along with Dan Fouts. The move was a bust, and in 2002, John Madden joined him in a well-received pairing.

Related Topics:
Cincinnati Bengals - Boomer Esiason - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - Dennis Miller - Dan Fouts - 2002 - John Madden

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In 2005, it was announced that Monday Night Football would be moving from ABC to ESPN beginning with the 2006 season. Despite speculation that Michaels might be joining NBC Sports to broadcast that network's forthcoming Sunday night NFL package, he opted for a contract with ESPN to continue as the MNF play-by-play announcer through 2013. Plans were for Michaels to be teamed with Joe Theismann on the Monday night telecasts.

Related Topics:
2005 - ESPN - 2006 - NBC Sports - 2013 - Joe Theismann

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