THE WRITING ON (AND OFF) THE WALL SUMMERALL A CLASS ACT.A Super Bowl call for the ages, another example in the beauty of brevity: ``Adam Vinatieri Adam Matthew Vinatieri (born December 28, 1972 in Yankton, South Dakota) is an American football placekicker currently playing for the Indianapolis Colts. He is best known for his tenure with the New England Patriots from 1996 to 2005, during which he played in four Super Bowls, ... No time on the clock and the Patriots have won Super Bowl 36 ... Unbelievable.'' Pat Summerall George Allen "Pat" Summerall (born May 10, 1930 in Lake City, Florida) is a former American football player and well-known television sportscaster, having worked at CBS, FOX, and, briefly, ESPN. didn't need to say anything else. As the confetti shower rained from the Superdone rafters, it wasn't just the end of Sunday's incredible New England New England, name applied to the region comprising six states of the NE United States—Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. The region is thought to have been so named by Capt. victory over the heavily favored Rams but also the finish of a 21-year partnership he had with John Madden. A game with so many emotional moments and a tremendous climax might have drawn more ego from lesser-experienced microphone-holders. Summerall, in his 28th Super Bowl broadcast, stayed in character. Quality over quantity. And for that, we thank you. Fox also thanked him, airing a four-minute tribute video toward the end of the postgame show that many who tuned out shortly after the game ended probably missed. An upbeat Madden, managing to avoid a teary moment, introduced the piece by calling Summerall ``a treasure ... the spirit of the National Football League ... and what a man is all about.'' Included were comments by commissioner Paul Taliabue (``he was one of the heroes of my youth''), former partner Tom Brookshier Thomas Jefferson Brookshier (born December 16, 1931) is a professional American football player, coach and sportscaster. Brookshier played high-school football in Roswell, New Mexico. , Frank Gifford Francis Newton Gifford (born August 16 1930 in Santa Monica, California) is a former American football player and one of the better-known American sports commentators in the latter part of the 20th century who made the transition from an athlete to broadcasting. , Bill Parcells Duane Charles "Bill" Parcells (born August 22, 1941 in Englewood, New Jersey), nicknamed "The Big Tuna", is a retired American football head coach, last coaching the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League. and Troy Aikman Troy Kenneth Aikman (born November 21, 1966 in West Covina, California) is a former American football quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League, and currently a television sportscaster for the Fox network. . ``America has been comfortable with Pat Summerall since the day he went on the air. They still are,'' said Gifford, a strong hint that the 71-year- old Summerall really wasn't retiring but just leaving his perch with Madden. ``They can take me from here - which is gonna happen - but they can't take my feeling for you, my friendship,'' Summerall said after Madden gave him a plaque from Fox. ``We've been a winning team.'' --Future shock: Madden could be in for a rough transition without Summerall to accommodate, articulate and translate for him. Take, for example, the first quarter Sunday, on the Rams' first possession. Kurt Warner throws deep to Tory Holt short of the end zone, but it's incomplete. Said Madden: ``That's a thing Tory Holt runs so well. They call that a 'High 7.' In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently , it's a corner pattern you don't take it to the corner, you take it flat. You start here. Then you get it deeper and deeper, then you fade up the field. So part is a corner route then when you get to the corner, instead of staying on that angle, you angle up the field.'' Added Summerall: ``And it usually leads to seven (points).'' Joe Buck, start practicing. --Smokes and chokes material: A Patriots victory tied together a red, white and blue theme that came just short of dressing Terry Bradshaw up as Ben Franklin and re-enacting the Constitutional Convention during the pregame show. ``Heroes, Hope and Homeland'' was full of good things but also tasteful and meaningful. ... NBC NBC in full National Broadcasting Co. Major U.S. commercial broadcasting company. It was formed in 1926 by RCA Corp., General Electric Co. (GE), and Westinghouse and was the first U.S. company to operate a broadcast network. will be relying on our patriotic duty to watch all 17 days of the Winter Olympics starting Friday, yet that didn't stop it from resorting to boob-tube warfare - namely, recruiting Playboy playmates to interrupt Fox's halftime entertainment that included a stirring appearance by U2. Maybe while the Salt Lake opening ceremonies are taking place, Fox can find something to air like ``When Bunnies Attack.'' ... Without an indoor barometric report to decipher, Jillian Barberie's pregame barfly bar·fly n. pl. bar·flies Slang One who frequents drinking establishments. segment was fabulously shallow and uninformative un·in·for·ma·tive adj. Providing little or no information; not informative. un  in·for . In carrying out the show's theme, we didn't realize it was just her way of paying tribute to the navel academy. ... Jimmy Kimmel, who predicted a Patriots victory, had the best two-minute moment, running a meter that counted off the millions of dollars Fox could have had in sold commercial time while his segment was running. ... Commercial appeal: 1) Brittney Spears as the Pepsi generation gal, 2) Pat O'Brien wrestling with a Danny DeVito puppet for Lipton (``Is that all you got, puppet boy?''), 3) Hank Aaron trying to get Barry Bonds to think retirement for Schwabs. |
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