... but with a 'Boom!'

We're happy and sad that John Madden is walking away from the mike. We're happy that he's not sticking around to wander into Pat Summerall territory -- the once-a-year return by Madden's former partner for Cotton Bowl play-by-play duty always makes us wonder if somebody should grab power of attorney and make it stop. But we're also sad, because even if some of his stuff has grown a little stale over time, he's still more listenable than most of the guys doing the same job. His fire has certainly dimmed from the early days, though, when you got an idea of how this guy might have been able to control a crew as unruly as the old Raiders.

Is there another announcer who could carry a video game title the way he does? Our only other candidate would be putting Vitale's name on a college basketball title, but we're guessing that Vitale probably generates more negative reaction than Madden ever did.