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Their season of swan songs is headed for the biggest of final bows on Sunday night.
But don't expect ABC's crew to spend too much time waxing nostalgic during Super Bowl XL from Detroit's Ford Field -- perhaps the last time the network will get a shot at presenting television's biggest single-day sports event.
ABC is bowing out of the NFL picture next season, turning Monday Night Football over to ESPN. Sunday night games move to NBC, with Fox and CBC retaining the afternoon fare.
"Monday night comes to an end on a Sunday (night) in early February, and it's something that all of us have felt this year," said Al Michaels, ABC's voice of Monday Night Football for the past two decades, during a conference call earlier this week.
DIFFERENT TONE
While the final MNF telecast in December was a veritable trip down memory lane, ABC Super Bowl producer Fred Gaudelli said Sunday's telecast won't carry the same tone.
"We spent the last telecast looking back at the 36 years and saying our goodbyes, and this is the Super Bowl," he said. "It's the biggest event of the year.
"All of the focus and effort should be on that."
While Michaels is staying with MNF -- he'll work the ESPN games with Joe Theismann -- Madden has signed on with NBC as its Sunday night game analyst. Rumours are already swirling that Michaels might bolt ESPN to team up with Madden again on NBC.
Michaels won't address the issue.
"I'm under contract to ESPN for next season," he said. "I can't respond to rumours ... that would become a distraction and it wouldn't be fair to the people on this show."
Madden calls their pairing on MNF "four of the most enjoyable years I've ever spent in football." But it might be over on Sunday night, assuming Michaels stays where he is. If that's the case, the man who made the phrase "do you believe in miracles?" famous might be saying farewell to the Super Bowl as well (NBC, Fox and CBS share Super Bowls in the new contract).
"You never know what it's going to be," said Michaels. "I thought it was going to be my last World Series in 1989. (ABC) lost the contact, got it back and I did it in 1995. Never thought I would be a part of the NBA Finals, and I've done a couple of them right now. Life takes crazy twists and turns. I can't think that far ahead."
THE ROAD TO TURIN: Salt Lake Olympic pairs champions Jamie Sale and David Pelletier are headed back to the Games, but this time as television analysts in Turin. They'll work on Olympic Ice, a daily magazine-style show about figure skating on the USA Network. "We'll be trying to give the people at home an idea of what goes on at the practice rink," Sale told the Sun. "It'll be our TV debut." The first step toward a new career, perhaps? "Who knows, we might really be bad at it," said Sale with a laugh. "We might want to do it again. Or everybody might say 'get them off there.' " ... Rogers digital customers will have free access to all CBC video on demand programming during the Turin Games. Viewers can access each day's complete CBC coverage package on VOD 24 hours after it originally airs.
NFL'S NEW WORLD: Two things you should know about the eight-game Saturday-Thursday package of regular-season games that begins next season on the NFL Network: The games won't be available to NFL Network subscribers in Canada, but TSN is negotiating to add them to its growing NFL portfolio, which now includes Monday Night Football ... Madden on the NFL Network deal: "I just worry about overexposure. I don't want us to become like college basketball or college football, where you have games on every night. That's the direction it's going in, and I really don't know that it's a great direction."
AROUND THE DIAL: Finally, CFL fans are getting the full-meal deal. All 81 league games will be televised in 2006 -- 54 on TSN and 27 on CBC ... Rogers Television will provide full live coverage of all draws from the Kia Cup Ontario men's curling championships, which begin Monday in Guelph. Bryan Cochrane of the Ottawa Curling Club is in the field ... TSN is offering four hours worth of ESPN's NFL Countdown on Super Bowl Sunday starting at 11 a.m., along with the final two editions of ESPN's NFL PrimeTime, tomorrow at 7:30 p.m. and Sunday at 11:30 p.m. ... ABC's Super Bowl preview show runs 2:30-6 p.m.
rob.brodie@ott.sunpub.com