The NFL returned to CBS Saturday night, with the
American Bowl from Vancouver featuring the 49ers-Seahawks.
The game drew a 5.7/11 overnight rating. CBS's Greg Gumbel,
during the opening: "Greetings from Vancouver. All of us
here at CBS are pleased to welcome the National Football
League back to CBS Sports" (THE DAILY).
WELCOME BACK: CBS Sports President Sean McManus, on the
net's NFL return: "It was a combination of exhilaration,
nervousness, trepidation, but the overriding feeling was
exhilaration, that it was finally here" (USA TODAY, 8/17).
REVIEWS: USA TODAY's Rudy Martzke writes that CBS
"provided solid coverage," giving the net's "first effort" a
"B" (USA TODAY, 8/17). In Pittsburgh, Chuck Finder writes
that Greg Gumbel and Phil Simms "could well become pro
football's best tandem." Finder also writes that CBS's
score box in the upper-left corner "may be the best
anywhere" (POST-GAZETTE, 8/17). But in Toronto, Rob Longley
writes that the broadcasters "showed a little of the rust
that goes with a five-year absence from the NFL," as Gumbel
"was slow on play-by-play, often messing up downs and
players," while Simms talked "too fast and too much." He
adds that the score box should "lose the CBS eye, which
already appears" on the right side (TORONTO SUN, 8/17).
