Collinsworth is called a capable successor to Madden in the booth

John Madden’s style, his “guy on a barstool” storytelling, his Thanksgiving turducken -- it’s all irreplaceable, and the best advice Pat Summerall can give Cris Collinsworth, the new member of NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” broadcast team, is to be himself.

“Someone once tried to tell my replacement to be like Pat,” Summerall said Thursday. “That’s the worst advice you can give a guy. Cris can’t be John. No one can. Cris has to be Cris.”

Thursday’s announcement of Madden’s retirement was a shocker, given that he has brought sense and substance to NFL broadcasts for 30 years and, in the process, became the most-imitated sportscaster voice ever (with apologies to Howard Cosell).

Al Michaels, who has been Madden’s partner on “Sunday Night Football,” said there were no secret underlying reasons, no sudden need to elevate Collinsworth, no undisclosed health problems for the 73-year-old Madden.

“John could have stayed there as long as he wanted to,” Michaels said. But with the decision made, he added, it would be a mistake to underestimate the effect Collinsworth will have on the broadcast.

“John is fabulous, one of a kind, but most people who have heard Cris give him credit already as being the best of his generation in this genre,” Michaels said.

Bob Costas, who worked with Collinsworth at HBO, said the former NFL receiver will not be merely an adequate replacement but a good one.

“There is not one reason to believe he won’t be tremendous,” Costas said. “Look, replacing Madden, no matter who it is, they’re replacing one of the most significant broadcasters in history. It’s not easy. But Cris has the knowledge of the football issues, of the league, of the players . . . he’s the perfect combination of passion and professionalism.”

It will now be up to Collinsworth to come up with Madden-like lines -- “He makes that block right there, BOOM,” Madden would say when a hole opened.

Dick Enberg, who also calls NFL games, called Madden “revolutionary.”

“He changed how we watch a telecast by his talent,” Enberg said. “Cris is the hot property right now; he’s young, bright, candid, he’s got all the qualities. He’s the ‘today’ announcer. Whether he’ll be more appealing to a broad audience that you get on Sunday night, that’s to be seen. He will be tested.

“It saddens me to see John leave. It’s another wave rolling through and on we go to the next, but I guess time takes us all. John had become an institution, and I’m going to miss hearing that big voice on the big stage.”

Collinsworth, through an NBC spokesman, said he preferred to not give interviews Thursday and leave the day to Madden.

Joe Buck, who shared a booth with Troy Aikman and Collinsworth at Fox, said that of all the announcers around, Collinsworth may be the most versatile.

“John brought the coach’s perspective,” Buck said. “He brought his own language and enthusiasm. Cris is very analytical, at times skeptical, but with a sense of humor. They will have different styles . . . but I think Al and Cris are going to make a great team.”

Oh, yeah, NBA playoffs

Now that it’s NBA playoff time, TNT is going to unveil a series of ads that will include the Lakers’ Kobe Bryant and other potential playoff stars such as LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Paul Pierce.

Craig Barry, creative director of the campaign, said the key was getting Bryant. The idea? Chess.

As the playoffs progress, the players will be playing chess and coordinating producer Drew Watkins said don’t think these guys didn’t understand the game.

“All the guys, the first thing they told me was whether or not they could play, and only [Utah’s] Deron Williams told me he didn’t. Ray Allen took a really long time to shoot because he was out there trying to think of what the next moves might be. We were telling him, ‘Ray, it doesn’t have to be a real move.’ But the guys were really into it.”

A set was created that was simple to fold up and transport because each player was filmed in different locations. Bryant’s part, for example, was done at a hotel in Charlotte, N.C., when the Lakers played the Bobcats.

Good to watch today

Come on, people. It’s not that hard to find Versus, hockey fans. The NHL playoffs have started, and many of the games are on Versus, such as these: Philadelphia at Pittsburgh is at 4 p.m., and St. Louis is at Vancouver at 7 p.m. For those Cubs fans, and for those who aren’t brainwashed into believing the only baseball rivalry that counts is Yankees-Red Sox, the Cubs and Cardinals are playing on WGN at 11 a.m.

Good to watch Saturday

At 5 p.m. on ESPN2, there’s the Jordan Brand Classic, an all-star game from Madison Square Garden that includes USC recruit Renardo Sidney, no UCLA incoming freshmen, but, oddly, Michael Jordan’s son Marcus. Go figure. And there’s more NBA playoffs: Chicago at Boston, ESPN, 9:30 a.m.; Detroit at Cleveland, Channel 7, noon; Dallas at San Antonio, 5 p.m., ESPN; Houston at Portland, 7:30 p.m., ESPN.

Good to watch Sunday

You’ve got to find Versus again to see the IRL Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach at 12:30 p.m. The NHL is on Channel 4 with Pittsburgh at Philadelphia at noon and Prime Ticket has the Ducks at San Jose at 7 p.m. Some of you will probably choose to see the Lakers host Utah at noon on Channel 7. The rest of the NBA Sunday games are on TNT: Philadelphia at Orlando; Miami at Atlanta; New Orleans at Denver.

Good to watch Monday

The Boston Marathon is live at 6:30 a.m. on Universal; then the NBA, Chicago at Boston at 4 on TNT and Dallas at San Antonio at 6:30 p.m. on TNT. Versus has the NHL games, Washington at the New York Rangers at 4 p.m. and Chicago at Calgary at 6:30 p.m. You can find it, really.

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diane.pucin@latimes.com