Kimmel getting bounced faster than you can say Rush Limbaugh? No surprise there. Theismann happened to be the latest ex-MNF gaffe and they get mighty vexed when this year's goof makes fun of last year's goof.  It wasn't always this bad, the real story it wasn't always that good to begin with. Football used to be the focus now it's the thing that determines the commercial breaks. Here now, the unabridged history of Monday Night Football...as stolen from all over the World Wide Gore...

1970: Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
Also called the Big Bang, the NFL was ready for prime time...Emmy Moment #1; a martini-fueled Cosell blows chunks on Don Meredith's cowboy boots...

1971-'73: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
The best there ever was. Gifford had the sense to stay out of Cosell and Meredith's way as Dandy Don Aw shucked the Mouth to death...

1974: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Alex Karras, Fred Williamson
Worst career move for Williamson provided you disregard his 2 episode arc on CHiPs entitled "Roller Disco" (parts one & two). Williamson was so bad he's the 1st MNF announcer shot out of the saddle before the season ends.

1975-'76: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Alex Karras
Karras was too big for MNF with projects like "Jack the Ribber and Me" and the ABC After School Special "Mighty Moose and the Quarterback Kid" there was no keeping him in the booth.

1977-'78: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
Please God bring them back...

1979-'82: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fran Tarkenton
Fran wasn't the man.

1983: Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, O.J. Simpson
Cosell calls Redskin wideout a "little monkey" falls on his sword after the season ends.

1984: Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, O.J. Simpson
Giff, Dandy and pray for rain.

1985: Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson, Joe Namath
Arguably the worst pre-1998 MNF booth. The place where football announcing went to die in 1985. Thanks to intensive alcohol therapy Namath has forgotten this year. Emmy Moment #27 Theismann's leg snaps after brutal L.T. tackle, game resumes but MNF decides showing the replay repeatedly for three hours is better than broadcasting some stupid old Giants-Redskins game.

1986: Al Michaels, Frank Gifford
The MNF mold we call Al Michaels 1st appears, Lysol and Bleach have no effect. Actually not as bad as the 1983-85 super slo-mo train wreck.

1987-'93: Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
Duck Dandorf sets new low as color announcer even now, "I think people tune in to watch a football game because they want to watch a football game." Thanks Duck...

1994-'97: Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann
Gifford gets videotaped cheating on his nauseating wife Kathy Lee and slinks off into the sunset. The last gasp of sanity expires. From here on out, MNF tries everything except human sacrifice to shamelessly improve ratings.

1998: Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser
Emmy Moment #117 Dierdorf asks Michaels, prior to an interview with Doug Flutie, "Are you gonna tell 'em how you're sick of all this B.C. stuff?" Michaels (thinking his microphone was off) replied, "No shit."

1999: Al Michaels, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser
Boom-boom and Michaels clash like puny titans. Boomer loses, buh-bye.

2000-'01: Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller, Eric Dickerson, Melissa Stark
Considered the "black hole" of MNF, a bad so dense even light and gravity bend into oblivion. Highlight of the season? The creaking of the rope Dennis Miller hung himself with after he made a 15th century Huguenot reference, the silence broken only by the chirping of crickets.

Enjoy more steaming Miller MNF nuggets;

"I haven't seen anyone rely on the ground game this much since the battle of Verdun."

"When the hell is Warren Moon going to retire? I mean, this guy is older than the cuneiform in Nebuchadnezzar's tomb."

"Warner had more hands in his face than an OB-GYN delivering Vishnu's triplets!"

"That receiver was as wide open as Annabel Chong."

"Their offense is shakier than Katherine Hepburn after an all-night espresso bender at Starbucks."


2002: Al Michaels, John Madden, Melissa Stark
Why John? Why? Melissa, Lisa, and Michelle, let's ask Comic Book Guy... "Worst sideline reporters-ever."

2003: Al Michaels, John Madden, Lisa Guerrero

2004: Al Michaels, John Madden, Michelle Tafoya

2005: Al Michaels, John Madden, Michelle Tafoya, Sam Ryan
Madden moves to NBC's Sunday Night Game, Michaels is traded to NBC for an old cartoon surprisingly NBC got the worst of the deal.

2006: Tirico, Theismann and Kornheiser
Take pencil from box, push into electric pencil sharpener, remove, blow excess shavings from point, jam repeatedly into both eardrums, repeat as needed.

Bonus special guest bores:
September 11, 2006 Brad Nessler, Ron Jaworski, Bonnie Bernstein and Dick Vermeil.

2007: Tirico, Jaworski and Kornheiser
Yak, Chuckle, Guffaw, Blather. Hey, look its a football game.

Bonus special guest bores:
September 10, 2007, Mike Greenberg, Mike Golic, Bonnie Bernstein and Mike Ditka.