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Thursday, April 25
The Indiana Daily Student

'Monday Night Football'

8 p.m. Monday, ABC

It almost seems as if the game is a secondary concern on Monday Night Football this season.\nDwindling ratings prompted producer Don Ohlmeyer to overhaul "ABC Monday Night Football's" announcing crew. There hasn't been a significant change in ratings after eight weeks, but the show does have a different feel to it.\nComedian Dennis Miller and former San Diego Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts replaced Boomer Esiason as Al Michaels' partners in the booth. Hall-of-Fame running back Eric Dickerson and 26-year-old Melissa Stark were also added to the production as sideline reporters.\nFouts is a solid commentator. He does a good job of relating to players and Fouts presents the X's and O's of football in a way that's understandable to the average viewer. If Dennis Miller could be Dennis Miller, cracking the jokes and uttering the phrases he's allowed to on HBO, then viewers might take notice. Despite his football knowledge, which is actually quite extensive, Miller isn't a football authority. \nMichaels -- one of the top play-by-play guys in the business -- and Fouts would make a solid duo. But in the world of prime-time television, ratings rule, and not even "Monday Nigh Football" can escape this reality. So, "Monday Night Football" now has a three-headed monster in the booth, and the ones who are suffering the most are football fans.

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