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TV had its share of crazy fumbles

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Times Staff Writer

Are you ready for some low-definition TV! Before the Super Bowl brings this season to an end, let’s play back some of the boo-boos, strange calls and bizarre remarks made on football broadcasts.

Do not adjust your TV; you heard correctly: Just before the winning play in Georgia’s 26-23 overtime win over Alabama, ESPN’s Mike Patrick said to partner Todd Blackledge: “I’ve got an important question: What’s Britney Spears doing with her life?”

Maybe he was thinking about Britney Spears too: On a field-goal attempt during a Chicago-Washington game, NFL Network’s Bryant Gumbel said: “This one’s good. No, it’s not. My bad.” Luckily for Gumbel, hardly anyone could receive the NFL Network.

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Cloudy binoculars: As Stanford scored on a dramatic pass to catch USC at 23-23, Versus announcer Ron Thulin exclaimed, “Touchdown USC!”

Cloudy thinking: As Stanford lined up for what would be the winning PAT in that game, reported the Seattle Times’ Dwight Perry, Thulin’s partner Kelly Stouffer declared: “[Stanford Coach] Jim Harbaugh, if you’re asking, is going to go for the tie, right here.”

Dissing MNF: Comic Jimmy Kimmel, a guest in the “Monday Night Football” booth, cracked several jokes about fired MNF broadcaster Joe Theismann, including, “What happened to Joe?” “I thought Tony [Kornheiser] had him fired” and “[Joe is] watching from his living room with steam coming out of his ears.” Theismann later said he was watching “CSI” at the time.

Dissing MNF (cont.): Another MNF visitor, Drew Carey, quipped to Kornheiser that replacing Bob Barker on TV’s “The Price is Right,” was incredibly difficult, “just like when you came after [MNF flop] Dennis Miller.”

Why broadcasters get the big bucks: CBS’ Shannon Sharpe picked St. Louis (which finished 3-13) to make it to the Super Bowl.

Ignored in the presidential debates: CBS’ Charley Casserly said that kickoffs were longer than average this year because of global warming.

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Why broadcasters get the big bucks (II): After Notre Dame announced it would don special uniforms against the Trojans, ESPN’s Lee Corso said, “USC has to be careful; Notre Dame’s wearing green.” The Cardinal and Gold won, 38-0.

At least she didn’t say anything about their uniforms: ESPN’s Dana Jacobson was suspended for a week after making obscene jokes about Notre Dame during a roast of radio hosts Mike Golic and Mike Greenberg. The Press of Atlantic City said Jacobson “made an absolute fool of herself, swilling vodka from a Belvedere bottle, mumbling along and cursing like a sailor as Mike & Mike rested their heads in their hands in embarrassment.”

Keep Bill Clinton out of this! When Fox’s Troy Aikman and Daryl Johnston, both ex-Cowboys, criticized Dallas for signing once-jailed Tank Johnson, CBS’ Sharpe said they were being hypocritical. Sharpe pointed out that the pair had not condemned “questionable behavior . . . at the White House” during the 1990s.

Upon further review: Actually, Sharpe was referring to a house in Dallas where the Cowboys allegedly held sex and drug parties.

Fashion police alert: CBS analyst Gary Danielson reported during the LSU-South Carolina game that “someone in a yellow and purple shirt” had just stolen his CBS blazer. It was later returned, leading USA Today’s Michael Hiestand to observe: “The media can be helpful in disseminating information that can lead to solved crimes.”

Call it a rookie mistake: Before the season began, NBC’s new analyst Tiki Barber, the former Giants running back, said one of the problems with the team was Eli Manning’s lack of “leadership skills.”

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steve.harvey@latimes.com

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