MONDAYS WITH KEY? COULD BE.

Byline: TOM HOFFARTH

MEDIA

Tirico, Kornheiser, Jaws ... and Keyshawn?

A few minutes after Keyshawn Johnson announced his retirement from the NFL and segued into a new deal with ESPN and ABC on Wednesday during a news conference at USC, agent Jerome Stanley replied to a question about Johnson's desire to do live game analysis: "'Monday Night Football' has always been one of Keyshawn's dreams. They have a great team in place now, but ..."

When the Carolina Panthers released the three-time Pro Bowl receiver three weeks ago and he began considering several offers to return for a 12th NFL season, Disney's synergetic networks had already dangled such things as sitting in on "NFL Sunday Countdown" and "Monday Night Countdown," a weekly national radio show (with his old coach, Bill Parcells), an online column, a "Dancing With The Stars" tryout and subbing for Regis Philbin on his morning yackfest as some incentive.

A fast track to "Monday Night Football" has also been mentioned by several sources.

ESPN's post-NFL career discussions with Johnson actually go back more than a year ago, after he left Dallas and before he signed with Carolina. Adding him as a still-active player to its NFLdraft coverage last month was part of the unspoken audition, but it became even better when Johnson became part of a storyline when the Panthers drafted USC receiver Dwayne Jarrett. ESPN put Johnson and Jarrett on a split screen, and Johnson excitedly vowed to become Jarrett's personal tutor.

That all ended days later when Carolina unexpectedly released Johnson.

"ESPN didn't try to lure me; they left me alone," Johnson insists about his time the last couple of weeks when he was deciding his next step. "They dealt all with my agent. But eventually, the opportunity to transition from active player to broadcaster at the level of ESPN and ABC was too great to pass up."

Stanley said ESPN already had a one-year deal where, if Johnson stayed with Carolina, he could still do "Monday Night Countdown" during the 2007 season, mostly because the Panthers weren't scheduled for any "MNF" games on ESPN.

Although ESPN recently replaced Joe Theismann with Ron Jaworski on its "MNF" booth, another opening down the road isn't out of the question since Tony Kornheiser, the Washington Post columnist and ESPN "Pardon The Interruption" co-host, continues to hedge on whether he's up to doing the late nights and traveling year after year.

"Keyshawn is such a dynamic person and such a natural," said ESPN executive vice president Norby Williamson, not directly addressing any chances of Johnson joining "MNF" but critiquing his NFL draft appearance. "His preparation was unbelievable. He has great insights and off-the-cuff observations, he's very candid, and his performance validated our initial thought that, if we could expand the role and if he decided to retire, he could make a big difference for us on our NFL programming.

"By his work on the draft and his work in different mediums before, he is very far along ... I am thrilled and optimistic that he will step right in and really make a tangible difference right from the beginning."

Females get on track and in the pits

For more on the ongoing story involving three women making the starting grid for the first time in Indianapolis 500 history, we go down to the pits to one of the two women who'll be part of another TV milestone on ABC's coverage of this event Sunday.

"This was something bound to happen, and proof that motor sports will see more and more women given the opportunity to succeed, and women do pay attention to it," said Jamie Little, working her fourth Indy 500 race as well as reporting on ESPN's NASCAR coverage this season.

Little was speaking of the fact that Danica Patrick, Sarah Fisher and Milka Duno together broke a barrier by making the 33-car field. But it's Little and Brienne Pedigo, joining Jack Arute and Vince Welch, who'll mark the first time two female pit reporters have been included in an Indy 500 telecast.

"I think I've worked hard to get here, for sure, and I'll always have a passion for racing," said Little, a Las Vegas native who also rides motorcycles and calls herself a "junkie for adrenalin."

"A lot of fans enjoy a women broadcaster, some don't care for us at all, and some don't care just as long as the information is accurate. It's just awesome to see the playing field level out. We're all hard-working professionals and have earned the right to be here."

Jed Drake, ESPN's senior vice president and executive producer, calls Little "a terrific enterprising person, and if you see her work, you'll know what I mean. She's all over the place."

Little was the first to interview Marco Andretti after the rookie was nosed out at the finish line in last year's race, and stayed with the Andretti family in the pits to capture their emotion as the events played out, which included Marco's father, Michael, finishing third.

When Little moved over to ESPN's NASCAR coverage this season, Drake was in search of a potential replacement. On the recommendation of producer Jill Fredrickson, he brought in Pedigo, an Indianapolis native with a family history in motorsports, based on her resume tape. As it turned out, Drake was able to bring Little back for the Indy 500 coverage, and include Pedigo into the mix as well.

CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 2 boxes

Photo:

(1) Keyshawn Johnson shined at ESPN's NFL draft show last month.

ESPN

(2) LITTLE

(3) PEDIGO

Box:

(1) WHAT SMOKES

(2) WHAT CHOKES