Post by TheShadow on Aug 4, 2006 7:13:17 GMT -5
www.centredaily.com
By Marc Narducci
Inquirer Staff Writer
John Madden is being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame tomorrow for his coaching success, but he could have easily gone in for his contributions to broadcasting.
Madden has worked for CBS, FOX, ABC and is now completing the network cycle when he begins as the analyst for NBC's Sunday Night Football.
His first assignment is Sunday's 8 p.m. Hall of Fame game between the Eagles and Oakland Raiders in Canton, Ohio.
Tomorrow, he will be inducted into the Hall of Fame for his 10-year coaching career with the Oakland Raiders. Madden's regular-season record of 103-32-7 has earned him the highest winning percentage (.759) in NFL history. It also includes a victory in Super Bowl XI.
Yet he has gained even more distinction as a broadcaster and pitchman. Madden, who has won 15 Emmy Awards for Outstanding Analyst/Personality, brought life and entertainment into the booth, along with the ability to dissect a game and explain it to the common man.
"He is as important a figure as anyone in the recent history of the NFL," Al Michaels, Madden's former ABC and current NBC announcing partner, said earlier this week in a conference call. "Combined with what he has done for the last 25 years as a broadcaster, I think he has made the game more interesting to millions more than anyone in the NFL."
Madden already has visited the Raiders in training camp and planned to talk to members of the Eagles before Sunday's game. As well-prepared as any analyst, Madden conceded he might be a little distracted.
"I will get ready for the game as much as I can, as much as I can for what I'm going through before the game," Madden said. "That's why I have a great partner in Al Michaels. He has always been a cleanup guy, and Sunday night I might need a cleanup guy more than ever."
Madden was a Hall of Fame finalist 27 years ago, and he said the voters thought he would be returning to coaching.
Yet Madden never returned to the sidelines. Instead, he became arguably the most successful analyst in the history of the NFL.
Still, he is a coach at heart and to have his coaching career recognized as worthy of the Hall of Fame has left the normally loquacious Madden almost speechless.
"It means everything to me and obviously it is the ultimate," Madden said. "It lasts forever and is something that humbles you and at the same time excites you more than you have ever been excited."