Kornheisers On A Plane

One of the most common questions we received yesterday, in the wake of the release of the 2006 NFL schedule, was: How's new MNF broadcaster Tony Kornheiser going to get out to Washington for the two games in Seattle? The notoriously airplane-phobic (and Cruiser-less) "PTI" host seemed to be in a situation where he would be forced to fly. Curious, we fired an email to "PTI" headquarters, on a whim, to see if anyone had a comment from the actually less-bald-than-the-other-host one. To our surprise, we received a response from Tony himself.

The first trip to Seattle I didn't want to have to fly to, but there's no studio en route from Minneapolis from which to do PTI. I wanted to see the Dakotas and Montana and Idaho, and places I've never been. But apparently I have to "man up" and board a plane, which my producer will board with me. The second trip to Seattle is a no-hoper. I have to fly. And then I have to fly back here. Please pray for me. I should quit right now. And after you see me on my first telecast, you'll wish I had.

A producer boarding the plane with Kornheiser is one solution. We prefer this one: Kornheiser forced to sit in between Michelle Tafoya and Suzy Kobler for the duration of the cross-country flight, taking questions like, "How are you feeling about the first half of this flight tonight?" and "What's going wrong out there today?" By the end of the flight, Kornheiser will be in full Joe Namath delirious mode, finally preparing him for what life in a booth with Joe Theismann will really be like.

ESPN Goes With Three-Man MNF Team [ESPN] Look, It's A Big Sheet Of NFL Lists! [Deadspin]