 | Before presenting the Super Bowl trophy to Colts owner Jim Irsay, Jim Nantz earned high marks for his work in the broadcast booth. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images |
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While it takes a village to cover Super Bowl XLI -- the game was aired in 232 countries and 33 languages -- it takes only a keyboard and an ergonomic office chair to grade the broadcast. Below, in order of appearance, we offer SI.com's grades for CBS Sports' coverage of Super Bowl XLI:
Cuba Gooding Jr.
What a great get for CBS to kickoff its pregame show. Oh, wait, it's not 1996.
Grade: C
James Brown
In a nod to SAT prep courses everywhere, the Harvard grad dropped the word "assiduous" into the pregame telecast while describing Peyton Manning's study habits. (Irony alert: The commercial that followed starred Jessica Simpson). As usual, Brown moved things along smoothly, handling with grace the many shots at his waistline. ("He likes the caterer," said Shannon Sharpe, after Brown briefly hemmed on picking the winner).
Grade: A-
Norbit
The first of many annoying product placements that docked behind the pregame crew. In the same spirit, this grade is sponsored by Chico's Bail Bonds.
Grade: D
Dan Marino
When Hall of Fame quarterbacks interview soon-to-be Hall of Fame quarterbacks, viewers generally get the kind of camaraderie found in a Man Law commercial. Marino's sitdown with Manning offered enough good moments (it helps that Manning is one of the best interviews in the league) between the mutual love, particularly the footage of young Peyton being interviewed in the Saints' locker room.
Grade: B
Shannon Sharpe
He gets killed by SI.com readers but I've always found him more amusing than annoying. Sharpe's interview with a host of Colts defensive players was interesting outside of a ridiculous opening statement: Said Sharpe: "A lot of people say the Indianapolis Colts have a Super Bowl offense but that the defense is not good enough to play major college football." A lot of people, eh? I know I've never heard or read that. A nice job by Brown calling out Sharpe for not taking ownership of those quotes.
Grade: B-
Boomer Esiason
Forget The NFL Network. Maybe Time Warner should air The Esiason Channel. Along with his CBS pregame duties, he called the game on Westwood One's radio broadcast. He also handed out pizza to the Dolphin Stadium crowd, which we might one day see on MSG's The Boomer Esiason show. Esiason was the only CBS staffer who questioned whether Bears defensive tackle Tank Johnson should be in Miami. "They should have deactivated him for the rest of the season," he said. It's worth noting: He nearly called the game on the nose, predicting a 31-17 Colts win.
Grade: B
Sam Ryan
In a lovely bit of reporting, Ryan noted Dolphin Stadium could withstand eight to 10 inches of rain an hour, or the equivalent of 102,000 gallons. Her feature on Marvin Harrison was solid, though one wishes she offered the source on where she read something, as opposed to asking Harrison, "You were quoted as saying if you made the Hall of Fame, you get to Canton, you don't want to give a speech. Is that true?" I'll answer that for Marvin, Yeah, Sam, it's true because I basically said as such to a Sports Illustrated writer a couple of weeks ago. ("When people talk about the Hall of Fame, the first thing I say is, 'Do I have to give a speech?' Harrison told SI's Nunyo Demasio. "If [I'm not inducted], that will be fine with me because that means I'm not going to give a speech.") Still, her good vibe with Harrison produced some interesting moments.
Grade: B
Steve Tasker
Tasker reported the Colts would eat a "light meal" at halftime because of the lengthy halftime ceremonies. They should market whatever was in that meal.
Grade: B+
