On the eve of the Presidential election, ESPN will present interviews with Democratic candidate Barack Obama and Republican candidate John McCain at halftime of tomorrow’s Monday Night Football game between the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers. Chris Berman will be conducting the interviews during the day tomorrow and ESPN will air them during halftime. I’m actually interested to hear what Boom’s questions are.

Source: ESPN.com

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Obama, McCain to Appear on MNF

It’s preseason with a tinge of the playoffs. That will be one of the highlights of a 13-game national television preseason schedule that was announced today by the NFL, along with the complete list of 2008 preseason matchups. All 12 of the 2007 NFL playoff teams will be featured in the national TV games.

It all starts in Canton, OH — site of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. On Sunday night, August 3 on NBC (8:00 PM ET), the Indianapolis Colts will take on the Washington Redskins in the annual Pro Football Hall of Fame Game. It will be an eventful weekend for the Redskins as two of the greatest players in their history — cornerback Darrell Green and wide receiver Art Monk — will join the class of 2008 at the Hall of Fame induction ceremonies on Saturday. The game also will mark the NFL head-coaching debut of Washington’s Jim Zorn. That game is just the start of the preseason national TV excitement:

WEEK 1: Two of the top-10 receivers of last season in both catches and yards square off as New Orleans (Marques Colston) visits Arizona (Larry Fitzgerald) on Thursday, August 7, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET ….. NFL fans will see the debut as a starter of Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, who this year takes over for the retired Brett Favre, when Cincinnati travels to Green Bay (Monday, August 11, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET).

WEEK 2: Panthers QB Jake Delhomme will continue his comeback from elbow surgery as he is tested by new Eagles (and former Patriots) CB Asante Samuel when Philadelphia hosts Carolina (Thursday, August 14, FOX, 8:00 PM ET) ….. Two recent first-round quarterbacks meet for the first time as Oakland (JaMarcus Russell) visits Tennessee (Vince Young) on Saturday, August 16, FOX, 8:00 PM ET ….. Two division winners go at it as New England (preparing to duplicate its undefeated ’07 season) travels to Tampa Bay (Sunday, August 17, NFL Network, 8:00 PM ET) ….. And the Super Bowl XLII champion New York Giants debut at home against Cleveland (Monday, August 18, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET).

WEEK 3: Two quarterbacks seeking to re-establish themselves as starters go at it as San Francisco (Alex Smith) travels to Chicago (Rex Grossman) on Thursday, August 21, FOX, 8:00 PM ET ….. The Battle for Texas takes place when Houston visits Dallas (the preseason series is tied 2-2) on Friday, August 22, CBS, 8:00 PM ET ….. Pittsburgh’s No. 3 NFL rush defense of ’07 can judge where it stands for ’08 when it faces Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson, the NFL ’07 Offensive Rookie of the Year and Pro Bowl MVP (Saturday, August 23, CBS, 8:00 PM ET) ….. Buffalo helps Indianapolis open its new 63,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium (Sunday, August 24, NFL Network, 8:00 PM ET) ….. And two more division winners meet when Seattle travels to San Diego. The Seahawks will be priming new RB Julius Jones (Monday, August 25, ESPN, 8:00 PM ET).

WEEK 4: The national TV schedule concludes with another matchup of playoff teams as Washington prepares to kick off the season and new Jacksonville WR Jerry Porter gets his final tune-up (Thursday, August 28, NBC, 7:00 PM ET).

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

NFL’s Preseason National Television Schedule Features Every ‘07 Playoff Team

Podcasting the National Football League, Podcasting the NFL

Marcellus Wiley has seen it all. Having grown up surrounded by poverty and crime in volatile Compton, CA, the thought of Ivy League schooling and life in the National Football League were distant dreams. But they became his reality as Marcellus beat the odds and proved that with hard work, determination and faith, anyone can achieve their goals. Marcellus became a three-time All-Pro in 10 seasons with the Bills, Chargers, Cowboys and Jags. Now you can catch him talking football on ESPN’s NFL Live. And that’s just where it begins. I talked with “Dat Dude” about the Super Bowl-bound Patriots and Giants and his busy life after football.

Shownotes: David Kindervater (host), Marcellus Wiley (guest)

• 0:32 – New England Patriots continue on their perfect path, now 18-0
• 1:56 – Most teams don’t think of being perfect, just playing their best ball
• 2:54 – N.Y. Giants got hot at just the right time, like the ‘05 champion Steelers
• 4:09 – Amani Toomer, Giants don’t want to overanalyze their recent success
• 5:02 – The Patriots are 12-point favorites, but SBXLII should be close
• 6:27 – Marcellus left it all on the field, doesn’t miss playing football at all
• 8:07 – First look at Dat Dude’s Diary, Marcellus’ tentatively titled upcoming book
• 9:30 – Speaking up for getting facts straight in the media, Sean Taylor’s death
• 11:05 – Marcellus hopes to be an example and a perspective of experience
• 12:49 – Randy Moss’ alleged assault and battery, not even a criminal case
• 14:24 – Athlete’s choice in extortion cases a no-win situation

Sponsor: ColdGear ArmourFleece Big Logo Hood
Links: Prolebrity.com, ESPN.com, NFL.com

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Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

BPR88 Marcellus Wiley

After several weeks of speculation as to whom he would play for this upcoming season, Keyshawn Johnson decided to retire and join the football broadcast team at ESPN. His most recent work for ESPN at the NFL Draft was impressive enough to land the full-time job offer. Keyshawn turned down several offers to keep playing, including one from the Tennessee Titans. Oakland and New England were among six teams who were also interested. He decided to hold a news conference at Southern Cal, his alma mater, and said:

“I’ve done everything I wanted to do in my career. I tried to find as much as I could to push me back and play football for one or two more years. I wavered time and time again. I’ve lived my dream. Now, I’m going to live another dream. I think today is not as emotional as the last two weeks, thinking about it. There were times there were sleepless nights, wondering if this was the right thing to do.”

Keyshawn Johnson will always be one of the toughest receivers I have ever seen play the game. At 6′4″ and 210 pounds he ought to be able to take some hits. But, I’ve seen him receive some abuse I didn’t think he’d recover from. And he would always get back up. He was just a fearless player who never shied away from roaming the middle of the field. Whether you liked the guy or not (he was typically outspoken and sometimes rubbed people the wrong way), he always worked hard and played the game with heart.

Post from: Every Morning Quarterback

Keyshawn Johnson Retires, Joins ESPN