Frank Gifford "criticized ABC for its handling of his
move" from the "Monday Night Football" booth to the "Monday
Night Blast" pregame show and halftime report, according to
Eric Mink of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. Gifford, on a conference
call promoting the pregame show: "Frankly, it wasn't handled
well by ABC." He added that there was "miscommunication"
and "admitted that he shared some of the blame for that."
Gifford said that the "problem" was that word of Boomer
Esiason taking Gifford's spot in the booth "leaked out
before [ABC] had a chance to talk to me." An ABC
spokesperson who participated in the conference call "was
surprised to hear Gifford had been miffed." The
spokesperson: "Frank had been requesting a change because of
all the travel." The "glitch aside," Gifford said his
transition has been "an easy one" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 8/27).
BLAST OFF: In Baltimore, Milton Kent reports on ABC's
"Monday Night Blast," which will originate from that city's
ESPN Zone. Chris Berman will host from the screening room
area, using a 16-foot-by-9-foot screen as a "'window' on the
game." The halftime show will have Berman showing the top
10 highlights of the previous week, "drawn from a mix of
football and other sports, as well as containing a pop-
culture element." "Blast" Producer Bill Bonnell: "We
couldn't duplicate a more sports-friendly environment than
the ESPN Zone. We feel as though the ESPN Zone was built
for the Monday night pre-game and halftime shows." Also in
the pregame, Gifford will introduce a weekly "mini-movie,"
which will look inside the lives of players. The feature
will be produced each week by NFL Films, and shot on 35-
millimeter film rather than videotape (Baltimore SUN, 8/27).
