In a wide-ranging interview with Gary Miller on ESPN's "Up Close," ABC's Al Michaels said analyst Dennis Miller "has done a terrific job" on "MNF." Michaels said he likes the "look of the show" and "it's been a very re-energizing year for me." Michaels, on "MNF": "I'm very happy with how it's evolved, where it's gone and I just hope it continues." Michaels, on Miller's humor: "He is so funny that if I laugh too much, it becomes disconcerting to the audience. So, I almost have to edit my laughter." Michaels, on Miller: "Through the weeks ... he has maybe cut back a little bit on looking for the home-run line with great frequency and offering more perspective and more analysis." Michaels, on Lesley Visser being fired and replaced with Melissa Stark: "It had, according to [Exec Producer] Don [Ohlmeyer], zero to do with Lesley's ability ... and I was not happy that Lesley didn't come back. I was the first guy to go in there and say, 'I think that Lesley Visser has to be retained, there's no question in my mind.'" Michaels, on former "MNF" analyst Boomer Esiason: "I thought for two years that we had a pretty good show. ... He has his ideas of what took place [and] I have my ideas of what took place" (ESPN, 12/14). MUSHNICK CALLS MILLER A "SELLOUT": In N.Y., Phil Mushnick writes, "In [Dennis Miller's] eagerness to demonstrate just how hot-damn cool he is, he has shown himself to be, in an absurd fashion, a rather standardized TV sellout." More Mushnick: "Most remarkable is how Miller made such a quick transformation from hip NFL outsider to back-slapping insider" (N.Y. POST, 12/15). LOSING THE CHICAGO MARKET? In Chicago, Ed Sherman reports that through 14 games, the Bears are averaging an 18.9/39 local Nielsen rating, down 16% from last year's 22.8/46. One local ratings point is equal to 32,448 HHs. Sherman writes that there "is a ripple effect" to the Bears' 4-10 record. Sherman: "Local fans aren't just tuning out the Bears, they are tuning out the NFL. In Chicago, ratings for 'Monday Night Football' are off 17 percent, and 11 percent for the AFC lineup on CBS. The figures are off 26 percent for all games on Fox, which includes a dip of 20 percent" for the ten Bears games on the network. Fox Sports President Ed Goren: "We're down 2 percent (overall) for the year. If the Bears continue where they left off last year, our rating would be flat or up. That's how important the Chicago market is" (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 12/15). See (#11). JACKIE O! In Long Beach, Bob Keisser calls FSN's Jackie Slater "the best part" of "NFL This Morning," adding that "no one knew he could be as engaging as he is." Keisser: "He's blunt in his opinions, but backs them up with information and his perspective" (PRESS TELEGRAM, 12/15).
