Could you please explain to me why you enjoy Kornheiser on MNF? The only way that would be possible would be if you also liked making the obvious joke and constantly espoused meaningless drivel … Oh, wait a second. Now I get it. Guess you also enjoy reading Peter Schmuck. (See, now this is humor!) But seriously, how could anyone enjoy Kornheiser on MNF?

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Ray replies: Guess I'm just contrary. I liked Dennis Miller, too.

I think Korny is great on PTI. Show is awesome. Wish I had ESPN at my job so i dont have to DVR.

But he sucks on MNF ... terrible. They need to put Tom Jackson in the booth, give a defensive perspective to Jaws' offensive mind.

I haven't seen murkier bloodlines than this since the house of Plantagenet!!

Ray,
I like him on PTI, and Mr. Tony's radio show was even better.

But I find him to be horrid on MNF.

My problem with him on these telecasts, and MNF in general, is that it's entirely too tightly scripted. The suits created a formula for the "Kornheiser Role." These execs seem to think they are casting actors to play three different characters. The Broadcaster (Tirico), The Expert (Jaws) and The Clown (Kornheiser). The Clown role is the most ill-conceived to begin with, going back to Meredith, who originated the role -- pure typecasting. Alex Karras, Joe Namath, and Dennis Miller also failed in the role.

Viewers are irritated not by Kornheiser the man, I believe, but the character he's forced to play. Rather than reacting to the flow of the game, Tony awkwardly inserts his scripted comments, jokes, and "views." It's garbage.

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Ray replies: Extremely well-stated and well-reasoned point of view.

Your answer to GeorgeD makes it crystal clear. You simply have no taste.

Tony is OK on PTI but not on MNF. He's not good at all. They should stick to just football people. That's why it worked so well with Madden and Summerall. Lately, I find that the announcers just start talking about stupid stuff that no one cares about for a half hour, like how are your kids and where you went to school. I'm not tuning in to hear them talk. I wish they would stick to the game.

Dennis Miller was good. Kornheiser is a joke.

Well, what can you say about Kornheiser ... he DOESN'T know a lot about football, although he can be funny and quite OK with Wilbon next to him. It's the classic Jewish humor sidekick gig here that gets it to work. Old as rye. Look at Andy Polin of WTEM having done that thing for years and years ... and I've dug it for stretches.
But part of Jewish humor also is a certain condescending tone and attitude towards the Goys, and of course someone like motormouth is gonna slip.
This utterance of his IS a typical if whitewashed, classic cultural racist remark because although it stops short calling someone a racist name it eases upon us the culture of the stereotypes. That is the guise. Most people don't get the psychology behind this enabling culture, but you know what you are...
Tony, you are in the glass house so squarely. Tact has never been your strong suit, but sheesh, you're losing it, pal. That's an Imus line. Presidents dont know the cost of a carton of milk, and prime time "entertainers" (I am moderately entertained by Kornheiser at this age) make fools of themselves at the expense of others. Sports culture, it is.
Tony, you do have a big nose for someone who doesn't want to be called a clown.

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Ray replies: Glad we're not dealing in any cultural stereotypes. And, by the way, the plural of goy is goyim.

Kornheiser doesn't know football period, and he is annoying. But I don't think his comments were that bad to get him kicked out of MNF.

The first thing he needs to do is get over the fact that he's bald. Heck even his comb-over is bald. What gives with that? Why doesn't someone tell him how ridiculous he looks? Even Donald Trump's hair looks better then his.

If you liked Dennis Miller, then you're not contrary, you're one of a kind.

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Ray replies: Thanks for the compliment. I think.

Kornheiser is nauseating on Monday Night Football, That being said, it is getting riduculous with all of this politically correct crap when there was no intent to insult anyone or any group of people, Kornheiser should be bumped for making viewers nauseous, not for what he said Monday night.

Kornheiser is great on MNF, and he works very well with Jaworski. I think it's important that there is a voice of the fan in the booth, as color commentators, even good ones like Jaws, can get lost in jargon without realizing that maybe a lot of people watching at home don't really know what they are talking about.

As soon as I saw your picture, I knew that you liked Tony Kornheiser.
'Nuff said about that.

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Ray replies: 'Nuff said? Maybe I'm dense -- as well as not particularly good-looking -- but I'm missing the correlation.

I don't see the problem. The Spanish speaker is asking someone else to pick up his dry cleaning. The person he's asking could be a white guy for all we know. It might be loosely taken as racist if he were implying the Spanish speaker was the one picking up the dry cleaning, but he was the one doing the asking, not being asked. People are so scared of being politically incorrect they don't even stop and listen to what was actually said. The fact that he even apologized is more punishment than fits the crime.

Frankly, they should have stayed with Mike Patrick, Joe Theismann and Paul Maguire. They were the best for 19 years. Mike is the best play-by-play man in the business. Joe is Joe. Love him or hate him. Paul was funny. The three guys in there now offer nothing. Tirico is OK but nothing special. Jaws is OK as long as he sticks to analyzing the game. Tony K. is useless. The worst thing ESPN could have done. He's OK on PTI but a real pain on MNF. But at least ESPN has deep sixed those two nothing-to-offer sideline divas!!!

Kornheiser is the guy that gets his pants pulled down around his knees at a party, the guy that gets tied up and hung from a tree while everyone squirts ketchup and mustard on him. He's one of those guys. I would love to party with him. When he starts dribbling on MNF I almost have to change the channel. He is nauseating and knows nothing about football. How did he get on MNF he should be sitting next to Oprah or on The View with the other girls.

The proper parallel to Tony Kornheiser is Howard Cosell -- a non-athlete color commentator. Indeed when Tony doesn't know something and knows he doesn't know that something, he asks "Jaws." His approach in this is really quite unique. He asks because he genuinely admires Jaworski's breadth of knowledge; yet, he turns it into an inquisition by challenging every aspect of the answer given.

ESPN is paying the big bucks because they want to appeal to a larger audience much the way ABC did with MNF in the mid-1970s. It's all about demographics.

I, too, like the Patrick / Theismann / Maguire formula but let's face it, they are only going to attract football junkies.

Dennis Miller was meant to bring the Cosell factor back into MNF's rating bonanza (that failed), but Miller's downfall was after his opening routine (which was pure Miller), he sounded too much like any other Joe in the booth. He actually knew quite a lot compared to most fans and was armed with statistics.

Kornheiser gets under my skin, too, but knowing that is what he is supposed to do makes it OK by me.

The weak link in the current line-up is Mike Tirico. His play-by-play is quite ordinary and his interaction with mike-mates is clumsy. He would be better served if he just stepped back when the other two wanted air time.

Ray, you need to know that Tony Kornheiser is simply terrible on MNF and most people try very hard to tune his lame and useless "commentary" or whatever it is supposed to be, out.

Tell me please, what does he add to MNF? After all, we are watching with out very own eyes?

it is clear to me that the only reason Kornheiser has this job is he possesses compromising pix of somebody in the ESPN hierarchy. He should not be allowed within 10 miles of ANY venue in which a football game is being played

I really liked Kornheiser when he was in the booth with Theismann. I couldn't stand Joe and his inane comments and his wonderful grasp of the obvious. I heard Tony rip Joe a couple times during the telecasts, and thought, I am so happy someone is calling BS on that guy. Now that Joe Theismann is gone, Tony doesn't have his nemesis to push around anymore. He just comes off as a pompous know-it-all with terrible jokes. Love him on PTI, though.

Tony K.: Great on radio, gets old in a hurry on PTI, totally lost on MNF -- but, that said, Jaworski loves to hear his own expertise, and should give Kornheiser a little more air time. I get sick of Jaworski's commentary because it's almost Madden-esque with his emphatic statements of the obvious. Folks, it's football, not the Manhattan Project. Kornheiser can go, and Tirico can, too. Jaworski can stay with a word or time limit. Paul Maguire can remain in Buffalo forever. Theismann can remain away. Is Don Meredith still alive? How about a Howard Cosell impersonator? If so, hire 'em.

Kornheiser is equally as bad on MNF as he is on PTI. The reason? He's too figgin' LOUD! Does he have to scream all the time?

The sportswriters (Kornheiser, that Cabbage Patch doll Wilbon and others) are starting to act much like major league umpires did -- thinking they're as big as the game itself. Doubt me? Then let's debate it on PTI ... or Around The Horn ... or The Sports Reporters...