John Madden hangs it up: Vote on his replacement

April 16, 8:07 AMSports ExaminerPaula Duffy

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I now believe that Brett Favre will not be donning an NFL uniform again. John Madden, legendary broadcaster,  Super Bowl winning coach, member of the NFL Hall of Fame and video game icon has decided that he wants to celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary at home this autumn.

Dick Ebersol, head honcho of NBC Sports, announced Madden's departure at a media conference call this morning. According to Ebersol he tried to keep Madden in the fold on a part-time basis. Cris Collinsworth, already a member of the network's in-studio broadcast team, will replace or try to replace the huge hole in the play-by-play team. Vote below on who your choice would have been.

Madden reportedly declined the offer to broadcast Sunday night games during September and November leaving him open to stay home and off his famous bus for October and December.

That would have seemed odd to me, but then again it purportedly shows that the network wasn't pushing Madden out the door. Frankly when he took a short break last season it sent up a smoke signal that his retirement might be in the offing.

But here's the thing. Leaving aside how you feel about Madden's actual leave taking, are you happy or not with the Collinsworth hiring? I am not a big fan of his although I find him witty and willing to take a stand that doesn't endear him to the players.

Perhaps in the booth, without having to actually look at him all the time while he speaks, I might be able to get used to it. I realize that it is his facial expressions that annoy me.  Although he might be speaking from the heart I find myself thinking that he is being ironic. Leave the Letterman and Colbert stuff at home, will you please Cris?

One more thing: Who will break the news to Frank Caliendo?

Al Michaels' first words on Madden's departure can be seen here

Check out: Madden takes a night off  and Madden silent about retired players' complaints

Andy Kossak, Pro Football Examiner and Jeff Bergren, NFL Examiner cover the Madden story here and here. Jim Williams covers sports media topics and has quotes from football and media notables, here