Some Straight Talk From Dierdorf for Monday Night Fans

What you look for in a football commentator is knowledge, proper preparation, an ability to see what is happening all over the field, a sense of humor and quick wit, honest and strong opinions, and a little humility.

And that’s what you get in Dan Dierdorf.

And if you spend some time with Dierdorf, you get the same person off the air as when you watch him on ABC’s “Monday Night Football.”

Dierdorf is a wisecracking, fun guy. And a lot more.

Conrad Dobler, who used to play in the same offensive line as Dierdorf for the then-St. Louis Cardinals, once said: “When they dig up Dan 200 years from now, they’re going to wonder what he was.”

Now, Dierdorf can fire back, and in front of a national television audience. During a recent telecast, after a player took a shot to the head and was examined on the sidelines, Dierdorf said: “After Conrad Dobler had taken a hard hit, the St. Louis Cardinals’ trainer was asked to hold up two fingers to see if he was OK, but he refused for fear Conrad would bite them off.”

Ask Dierdorf how he likes a 3-announcer format, and he tells another Dobler story.

“When Dobler was playing for Chuck Knox in Buffalo, Knox benched him during a game and said, ‘If I hear of any complaints out of you, I’ll cut you.’

“After the game, the other players asked Dobler about the benching and got ready for the fireworks. But all he said was, ‘Pride doesn’t taste too good, but if you have to swallow it, it will go down.’ ”

Dierdorf, in his second season at ABC, says he has swallowed his pride and accepted the 3-announcer format.

“The problem is you just don’t get enough opportunities to say what you want to say,” he said, then chuckling, added: “And of course anything I have to say is the most important thing in the world.”

Now just because Dierdorf would prefer working in a 2-announcer team doesn’t mean he doesn’t like partner Frank Gifford.

“Frank is the most decent human being you’d ever want to meet,” Dierdorf said. “What you see is what you get, someone who is well liked by anyone who knows him.

“It just kills me to see the abuse he takes from the press.”

The latest example came from TV-radio columnist Steve Fryer of the Orange County Register, who in a column reviewing “Monday Night Mayhem,” a book about ABC’s 19-year-old pro football show, led with this: “When will Frank Gifford make his first mistake during tonight’s Bears-Rams ‘Monday Night Football’ telecast? The second quarter? The first? How about during the pregame segment?”

Said Dierdorf: “What a terrible thing to do. If someone wrote that about me, I’d be crushed. But Frank just keeps on going. He’s amazing.”

Kenny Wolfe, the producer of “Monday Night Football,” said: “I’m sure the way Frank looks at it is, in the whole scope of things, what someone writes in a newspaper just isn’t that important.”

Although criticism seems to bounce off Gifford, Al Michaels, who generally gets rave reviews for his work, has a reputation of being too concerned about what is written about him.

“When I retire, I’m going to open up a newsstand near Al’s house and become a rich man,” Dierdorf said. “Al buys about 77 newspapers a day. Nothing escapes him.”

But isn’t Michaels getting better about that?

“Naw, Al will never change,” Dierdorf said with a laugh.

With Dierdorf, you might wonder if some of his lines are preconceived.

“I might think of a funny line on Thursday, but by Monday I’ve forgotten it,” he said.

“I do a lot of preparation, but the only thing I bring to the game with me is a chart with players’ names and numbers. I used to put a lot of stuff on my chart, but it just got in the way.

“I don’t have to worry about a lot of facts and figures, anyway. That’s Al’s job. That’s why they pay him a minimum wage. I just say whatever pops into my head.”

Sometimes, that’s some pretty harsh criticism.

“When I played, I played all out,” he said. “When I see a player giving less, it bothers me and I say so.”

Wolfe, who is in his third year as the Monday night producer, calls this season the best. “We’ve all adjusted to one another, we all get along. We have a lot of fun.”

But not everything is great. Ratings are down. Last Monday’s telecast drew an 18.5 rating, but the season average is only 16.7. Last season, which included 3 strike games, averaged 17.8.

ABC spokesman Bob Wheeler pointed out: “Ratings for most network shows are down. We’re still winning Monday nights, and we’re ranked 15th among prime-time shows. That’s still doing pretty well.”

“Monday Night Football” remains a mainstay at ABC, but the network that used to bill itself as “the Network of the Olympics” wasn’t even in the hunt in last week’s bidding for the 1992 Barcelona Games. And it didn’t bid on the 1992 Winter Games at Albertville, France, which CBS will televise.

ABC may next drop major league baseball, which has been a money loser for the network. There is still a year left in the current 6-year contract, but there is speculation that ABC, even though it has the World Series in 1989, may sell off the final year of its contract, much the way NBC sold off the last 2 years of its Rose Bowl contract.

ABC finagled to take the Rose Bowl away from NBC, but now NBC’s Fiesta Bowl, which will begin at 1:30 p.m. and run opposite the 2 p.m. Rose Bowl, is the better attraction.

ABC now may lose as much as $7- or $8-million on the Rose Bowl. According to Sports inc., a weekly sports-business magazine, ABC originally was asking $275,000 for 30-second commercials during the Rose Bowl, and NBC was asking $100,000 for Fiesta Bowl spots. Now, sources says, it’s close to being reversed.

ABC’s other major bowl is the Sugar, with Auburn and Florida State. That goes up against Miami-Nebraska in the Orange Bowl. ABC’s Monday night crew will work the Sugar, with Keith Jackson and Bob Griese handling the Rose Bowl.

Said Dierdorf: “Since Frank (Gifford) went to USC and I went to Michigan, I think we should work the Rose Bowl. Hey, how about this? Write a column with this headline: ‘ABC Considering Switching Bowl Announcing Teams.’ That would sure get Keith’s attention.”

TV-Radio Notes

Prime Ticket has announced a merger with Home Sports Entertainment, a Houston-based regional sports network. As a result of the merger, Prime Ticket will serve 6.5 million subscribers in 17 states. . . . The word is that radio station KABC may soon cut back “Sportstalk” to an hour, 6 p.m. to 7, and use only one host, Fred Wallin. Stu Nahan’s role on the morning “Ken And Bob Co.” show would be expanded, and he would also file reports for the trimmed-down “Sportstalk” show.

There will be pro football on Saturday this weekend, with NBC televising the Indianapolis Colts-New York Jets game at 10 a.m., PST, and CBS showing the Philadelphia Eagles-Phoenix Cardinals contest at 1 p.m. . . . The Raiders’ game at Buffalo Sunday will be on NBC at 10 a.m., PST, with Tom Hammond and Joe Namath reporting. The CBS game at 1 p.m. is a big one, New Orleans at San Francisco, with Pat Summerall and John Madden. . . . Joe Garagiola, who recently parted company with NBC, will appear on the network next Wednesday night on “Later With Bob Costas” at 1:30 a.m. . . . NBC will use Dick Enberg and Merlin Olsen on the Fiesta Bowl, and Don Criqui and Bob Trumpy on the Orange Bowl.

Russ Bolinger, former Ram and Detroit Lions offensive lineman who used to do a sports show for an Orange County radio station, has written a play, “Game Face,” which opens Jan. 20 at the Flight Theater in Los Angeles. Bolinger and his play are featured on this week’s “Inside the NFL” show on HBO. . . . CBS sportscaster Pat O’Brien has been hired as a special correspondent for “Entertainment Tonight.” He will continue working for CBS as well.