John Madden to miss first game after 476 in a row
 

Favre aint got nothin' on Madden.


NBC: Madden will miss 'SNF' game

John Madden will miss Week 7 after working 476 in a row.

Madden travels by bus because of fear of flying and will skip cross-country trip Cris Collinsworth will replace Madden in booth at Tampa Bay


NEW YORK (AP) -- John Madden will miss calling an NFL game this weekend after working 476 in a row.

The 72-year-old Sunday Night Football analyst, who travels by bus because of a fear of flying, will take a break to spend time with his family instead of making three straight cross country trips, NBC said Monday.

Madden went from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Diego last week; he would have had to return to Florida for this Sunday's game at Tampa Bay. There's no Sunday Night Football game the following weekend, so Madden would have then headed home to the Bay Area.

NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol first approached Madden in the spring with the suggestion of skipping the trip.

Cris Collinsworth, normally a part of NBC's studio show, will fill in for Madden.

Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/200....ap/index.html

In other news, Madden to get fatter.

what a wussy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great victory day for football.

It's really difficult to sit on a bus....or hey man take a plane and be a man.

His bus probably has multiple tvs, bathroom, beds, couches, buffett etc...hehe

Suprised by the fear of flying

Be a man? :rolleyes:

A guy I work with has the same fear of flying. A week before he has to fly, he starts getting worked up about it, gets a wild eyed postal worker look about him and has to drink himself into a coma before he gets on a plane. It's the only time the guy ever drinks.

Should be the best NBC Broadcast in years.

They should use Pat Summerall!

good for him. the man pretty much dedicated his life to football. i think he deserves ONE day off.

Anyone else find Collinsworth's fake smile and exaggerated enthusiasm to be a bit much?

I never have warmed up to Collingsworth either. The guy always comes across as a complete tool.

SLACKER!!!

collinsoworth should be replaced by the guy that sounds like he is whispering all the time on arrested development