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Football legend John Madden to retire (http://www.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/16/john.madden.retirement/index.html)

Wish I had a chalkboard to scrawl as I mention this. :D

That's a telestrator, Chuck. Get with the 21st century. :)

Could have suggested he could not go on without Brett Farve :D

I'm going to do an evil poll. :p

Not evil at all. Madden was a great coach (I'm a big Raiders fan, so slightly biased), but he really droned on as a broadcaster. Cosell was a much better broadcaster.

The 'evil' part was comparing him with Cozell.

Madden is one of an elite group that won 100 games in 10 years. Along with his knowledge, his enthusiasm was legendary.

I'll admit my bias against Cozell, but the feeling is mutual. ;) For Cowboy's fans, one game Dallas was starting to run away with the game and Cozell started to diss the Cowboys as an overhyped, overrated team...then made his infamous "Robert Newhouse is no Calvin Hill". It would be tense anytime Cozell did a game in Texas since, including a time a Texas Rangers fan managed to blurt nationwide: "Howard Cozell - Texas hates your guts". Bets would be made over who would blast a B&W TV with a shotgun when Cozell's face appeared. :D For years, people would watch Monday Night Football in Dallas with the TV on mute and listen on the radio.

Cozell changed things by injecting commentary, but sometimes he would go too far. Even today, it seems to be taboo to obviously be for/against a team like Cozell would sometimes do. Like what one sportswriter said: you can be a fan of every players and coaches on every team.

Along the lines of historic matchups on Madden Football such as 85 Bears vs 76 Steelers, I have a sportsbooth version for Saturday Night Live: Howard Cozell vs. Rush Limbaugh. :p

Is their special significance associated with spelling it Cozoll instead of Cosell?

I can see how a Cowboy's fan wouldn't like Cosell, but I think most broadcasters show their bias toward one team or another. Most of us don't notice it until it is against our favorite team.

Noticed that Troy Aikman is not exactly easy on Tony Romo, probably so viewers don't accuse him of being a 'homer'.