Actors such as Russell Crowe, won't be in the 'Monday Night Football' booth this season. Instead, you'll get much more Ron Jaworski. Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images

1. Ron Jaworski, ESPN, Monday Night Football analyst: One was panned (Christian Slater), one was banned (Jimmy Kimmel) and most were bland (James Denton, Jeff Gordon, Matthew McConaughey and Sylvester Stallone). The distraction otherwise known as celebrities sitting in the Monday Night Football booth has thankfully ended.

The replacement? More Jaworski. "A lot of the feedback we got from fans was, 'Let's make Jaws the new Madden'" said MNF senior coordinating producer Jay Rothman. "That's what we are going to do. We're going to make him the new Madden."

We're not sure what the old and current Madden thinks of the comparison, but this column has long advocated more Jaworski on any broadcast. (In the future ESPN executives can save the money for multi-city focus groups and simply click onto SI.com for advice.) Give the network credit -- even if it took a couple of years -- for retooling the MNF product to focus more on the field and less on tricked-out features that draw the ire of critics and annoy the tar out of fans.

"I have always been the in-depth X's and O's guy," said Jaworski. "There will be more focus on that." Bravo.

2. Roger Ebert, sports media critic: Offering perhaps the strongest takedown of former colleague Jay Mariotti (more on this later), the Sun-Times film critic delivered this colorful thumbs-down at the end of an open letter to the sports writer: "On your way out, don't let the door bang you on the ass."

3. Bob Costas, NBC Sports: One of the great things about covering the Olympics in a faraway land is you get to immerse yourself in the national network of that country for three weeks. I'll say this about CCTV, the Beijing-based China Central Television: It knows how to cover badminton and table tennis. (Alas, CCTV is not so good at covering dissent and protests.)

Most of my NBC viewing of the Olympics came after the Games ended, so rather than offer yet another critique of the coverage, I'll focus strictly on Costas. Over the last couple of years I've seen plenty of sports blogs crack on the broadcaster for being too smug, too old or too self-centered. Here is what I say: Imagine the Olympics in the hands of another host. Below is an exchange between Costas and President Bush during the first week of the Games.

Costas: If these Olympics are as successful as they are shaping up to be, most people believe this only further legitimizes the ruling party in the minds of most Chinese citizens. And even absent true liberty as we understand it, the lives of hundreds of millions of Chinese people are much better than they once were. Therefore, what's the party's incentive to reform?

Bush: Well, first of all, if you are a religious person, you understand that once religion takes hold in a society, it can't be stopped. And secondly, I think the Olympics are gonna serve as a chance for people to come and see China the way it is and let the Chinese see the world and interface and have, you know, the opportunity to converse with people from around the world. This is very positive development in my view for peace. You know, who knows how China's going to progress. They have been through some very difficult political times, the Cultural Revolution for one, where the leadership actually created violent anarchy as the society turned on itself. All I can tell you is it's important for the United States to be active in this part of the world, with all countries, and to stay engaged with China.

During the same interview, Costas queried Bush on human rights, the conflict between Georgia and Russia, and China's shameful (my word) revoking of Joey Cheek's visa. Ask yourself this: What kind of interview would this have been if, say, Chris Berman had conducted it? Steering American viewers through the funhouse that is the Olympic Games is the toughest gig in sports broadcasting, a m�lange of playing historian, traffic cop, geopolitical expert and journalist. You'll miss Costas when he's gone. I, for one, appreciate that he attempts to elevate sports broadcasting to a higher plane.

4. Al Bernstein, boxing impresario: It takes chutzpah, or serious command of your subject, to have a channel named after you. Luckily, Bernstein has both. The longtime boxing commentator -- one of the good guys in the business -- recently launched a boxing Web site, Al Bernstein Boxing Channel, that will include pre- and postfight coverage, interviews, analysis, highlights and streaming video. Bernstein said the channel will cover all of the major fights and will have a presence at smaller ones as well.

"The Internet is exactly where boxing fans come to get their news about boxing," says Bernstein. "There are boxing fans out there and they are not being served. They don't get the TV type of coverage that they want. Our channel will be easy to navigate and watch."

5. WEEI Radio: The feisty Boston sports-talk station has hired a number of writers -- among them, former Boston Globe football writer Ron Borges, former Boston Herald staffers Robert Bradford and Mike Felger, FoxSports.com basketball writer Jeff Goodman and former Deadspin editor Will Leitch -- to write for its Web site. It's an interesting play. Sports news consumers, especially younger ones, are not wedded to newspaper Web sites to get their local sports news online. If WEEI.com swipes some market share from the likes of Boston.com, it'll be interesting to see if other sports-talk stations in major markets start bulking up on writers. One thing for sure: Any job creation for sports journalists in this market is a welcome addition.

6. Liz Robbins, New York Times: A talented journalist and jack-of-all-trades sportswriter for the Times (Full disclosure: The author and I are professional friends), Robbins has written a terrific book, A Race Like No Other: 26.2 Miles Through the Streets of New York, examining the pursuit of running the New York City marathon. It's worth your time, and easier to finish than the race itself.

7. The staff of FireJayMariotti: It was a stunning end to a long newspaper tenure: Upon returning from Beijing, Mariotti resigned from the Sun-Times with a two-word e-mail: "I quit." The news was met with joy from the twentysomething college friends who started the above site in May 2007.

The current cast of writers includes two grad students, an actuary, an aerospace engineer, one high school teacher, one college undergrad, and a self-described mobile marketer. Geographically, they reside in the Bay Area, Chicago, St. Louis, Baton Rouge, Green Bay, and Philadelphia.

They have never interacted with Mariotti. "We've got to keep the name until he retires and is no longer writing for any outlet, and I doubt that will be the case for quite a while," said cofounder Larry B., who is studying law in Chicago. (He requested partial anonymity.) "That's not to say there aren't plenty of other writers who deserve to be fired. But we are sticking with Jay as the site's flagship punching bag until he completely disappears. None of our other frequent targets deserve that title more than he does."

8. and 9. Mike Francesa and Chris Russo, former sports-talk radio partners: I'll be brief since Newsday's Neil Besthas chronicled the breakup with the same care with which Thoreau chronicled Walden. As someone who listened for all 19 years of their partnership, I'll miss them. Individually, they could be maddening, especially Russo, who too often straddled the line between provocateur and nonsensical screamer. He now moves on to Sirius to form a new sports-talk channel.

Full marks to Sirius for being bold -- the network's non-Scott Ferrall programming is best in class -- but the question is whether Russo has enough national cachet to gain an audience and fuel subscriber growth. Call me skeptical, though it will be fascinating to watch him play programmer in addition to talk-show host. (Sirius channel 123 and XM channel 144 will relaunch as Mad Dog Radio, and Russo will anchor the signature show weekdays from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. ET; it debuts on Sept. 15.)

Russo has said he will not work with a partner -- a mistake in my opinion. I think most WFAN diehards would agree that he and Francesa were better as an act than as soloists. Francesa will continue at WFAN from 1 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., and there has been plenty of discussion that he'll add a partner. If that partner is Ian Eagle, it's a show that immediately becomes one of the best in the country.

10. Tennis on television: Occasionally you write something knowing it will have zero impact on the marketplace. This is one of them. While I am a fervent supporter of tennis on television and love the sport immensely, many of its broadcasters face serious conflicts of interest.

Some examples: ESPN and CBS tennis reporter Mary Joe Fernandez is married to Tony Godsick, the IMG agent for Roger Federer and Lindsay Davenport, yet both networks continue to assign her to interview players before and after matches. Then there is ESPN and CBS analyst Patrick McEnroe, who serves as the U.S. Davis Cup team captain while commenting on the matches of his charges.

Last week Justin Gimelstob, an analyst for the Tennis Channel who seems serious about a long career in the broadcasting business, sat in Davenport's box during her third-round loss to Marion Bartoli. (He served as a hitting partner for Davenport at the Open; the two have long been friends.) Gimelstob, a former SI.com tennis columnist, is also part of the six-member board of directors for the ATP. Can one remain objective in the face of financial and other relationships? Perhaps. But during the fortnight in Flushing, there's only one analyst I take at face value: Mary Carillo.