NEW YORK - John Madden will miss calling an NFL game this weekend after working 476 in a row.
The 72-year-old Sunday Night Football analyst, who travels by bus because of a fear of flying, will take a break to spend time with his family instead of making three straight cross country trips, NBC said Monday.
Madden went from Jacksonville, Fla., to San Diego last week; he would have had to return to Florida for this Sunday’s game at Tampa Bay. There’s no Sunday Night Football game the following weekend, so Madden would have then headed home to the Bay Area.
NBC Sports chairman Dick Ebersol first approached Madden in the spring with the suggestion of skipping the trip.
Cris Collinsworth, normally a part of NBC’s studio show, will fill in for Madden.
Silva: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for NFC teams.
Wesseling: Each NFL team enters the offseason with a series of pressing needs. Sometimes a team can address them all, sometimes they ignore them all. But if a team's smart, they'll listen to us. These are the most crucial aspects for AFC teams.
Slideshow |
Super Bowl XLVI shots See the best moments before, during and after the Giants' win over the Patriots more photos |
Latest from ProFootballTalk |
Video: Football from NBC Sports |
Slideshow |
NBCSports.com |