Kevin Harlan and Boomer Esiason will return as the lead announcers for Monday Night Football and Super Bowl XLVI radio broadcasts. In addition, Hall of Fame quarterback Dan Fouts has been tapped to provide play-by-play and analysis for select Monday Night games and the Playoffs. Dave Sims and James Lofton return as the Sunday Night broadcast team. Ian Eagle and Trent Green will again pair up for Westwood One’s Thursday Night action.
The lineup:
Monday Night Football
Play-by-Play: Kevin Harlan
Color Analyst: Boomer Esiason (or Dan Fouts)
Thursday Night Football
Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle
Color Analyst: Trent Green
Sunday Night Football
Play-by-Play: Dave Sims
Color Analyst: James Lofton
Sunday Afternoon Doubleheaders
Play-by-Play: Howard David
Color Analyst: Tony Boselli
Play-by-Play: Kevin Kugler
Color Analyst: Mark Malone
* Harlan was the play-by-play voice of Monday Night Football games throughout the 2009 and 2010 NFL seasons as well as for the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four on Westwood One from 2003-2007. Harlan also currently calls play-by-play for CBS Sports’ coverage of the NFL and the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament, as well as NBA Basketball on TNT.
* Esiason provides color commentary for Westwood One’s critically acclaimed Monday Night Football broadcast team and this marks his twelfth year broadcasting for the network. Esiason co-host’s The NFL Today for CBS Sports and also served as the Monday Night Football analyst for ABC Sports for two seasons before joining Westwood One. Boomer also spends mornings co-hosting a daily radio show on WFAN New York, and co-hosts NFL Preview each week on Westwood One. Prior to embarking on a broadcasting career, Esiason was one of the most prolific quarterbacks in NFL history.
* Fouts will serve as analyst for select Monday Night games this season in addition to his duties as an analyst for THE NFL ON CBS. He has been an analyst for THE NFL ON CBS for the past 3 seasons, as well as from 1988-93. Fouts worked for ABC Sports from 1997-2008, most notably alongside Al Michaels and Dennis Miller for two seasons as an analyst on “Monday Night Football”. He earned NFL and AFC Player of the Year honors in 1982, and was named AFC Most Valuable Player in 1979 and league co-MVP in 1982.
* Sims returns for his sixth season as Westwood One’s play-by-play announcer for Sunday Night Football. Before switching to primetime, Sims called Westwood One Sunday afternoon games as well as the NFL Playoffs for nearly a decade.
* Lofton returns for his third season as an analyst for Sunday Night Football on Westwood One. He served as analyst and sideline reporter for the NFL on Westwood One from 1999 – 2001 and rejoined the Network after a seven-year coaching stint with the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. He was the No. 1 draft pick of the Green Bay Packers in 1978, beginning a long career as an NFL wide receiver.
* Eagle enters his fourth year as play-by-play announcer for Westwood One’s NFL Thursday night coverage. For the past four years, Eagle also called the action for Westwood One’s coverage of the SEC Basketball Championship and the Regional Semi-Finals and Finals of the NCAA Tournament.
* Green returns to Westwood One for his second season as the Thursday Night game analyst after serving in a similar capacity for one year on Sunday’s with FOX Television. In addition, Green also serves as a studio analyst for the NFL Network and as an analyst for preseason games on television for the Kansas City Chiefs. Green spent 15 seasons in the NFL, playing quarterback for five different franchises.
* David will once again serve as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Afternoon games. David returned to the network in 2009 after an eight-year hiatus. He previously spent 23 years with CBS Radio/Westwood One broadcasting College Football, College Basketball, Masters Golf, US Open Tennis, the Olympics and NFL Football including six seasons as the voice of Monday Night Football and the Super Bowl.
* Boselli returns for his second season as full-time color analyst for Westwood One’s broadcasts of Sunday Afternoon NFL games. Boselli began his national broadcasting career in 2007, working as a game analyst for the NFL on FOX. In 2009, he joined Westwood One where he worked as a part-time analyst for both NFL and College Football. In addition, Boselli has also co-hosted a local daily morning radio show in Jacksonville. The first player ever drafted by the Jacksonville Jaguars, Boselli was chosen #2 overall in the 1995 NFL Draft. After six seasons with the Jaguars, which included five Pro Bowls, three All-Pro teams and two trips to AFC Championship Game, injuries forced him to retire in 2006.
* Kugler returns for his third season as play-by-play announcer for Sunday Afternoon NFL games. He also serves as the lead announcer for Westwood One’s coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and Final Four. Kugler has served the voice of the College World Series for the past seven years, and has done play-by-play for Westwood One’s coverage of the Masters, College Football, and the 2008 and 2010 Olympic Games.
* Malone returns for his fourth season as both a booth analyst and sideline reporter for the NFL on Westwood One, and his third season as the host of NFL Insider. He was also Sports Director for WBBM-TV in Chicago, where he garnered four Emmys for his work. Malone also spent a decade with ESPN. Malone, an All-American quarterback at Arizona State and first-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, played for 10 years in the NFL, quarterbacking the Steelers to the 1984 AFC Championship Game.
* Gray joined on in 2001 as host of the network’s Monday Night Football pre-game and halftime shows and this marks his eleventh season fulfilling the same role for the network. He also serves as courtside reporter for Westwood One’s coverage of the NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four and as on-course reporter for the Masters.
* Graham returns for his third season as pregame, halftime and postgame host for the network’s Sunday NFL coverage. He spent over 20 years as a radio and television sportscaster including play-by-play for both the NFL and NFL Europe on FOX. On the radio side, Graham served as the play-by-play voice of the Philadelphia Phillies for eight seasons from 1999-2006.
Westwood’s 2011-2012 NFL broadcast schedule features 57 national games, including:
Opening Kickoff game, 17 Monday Night games, including one doubleheader, 17 Sunday Night games (including Christmas Night), 7 Thursday Night games (including Thanksgiving Night), one Saturday Night game, a Thanksgiving Day doubleheader, 12 Postseason games, including the NFL Playoffs, the AFC and NFC Championship Games, the AFC-NFC Pro Bowl and Super Bowl XLVI in Indianapolis. Westwood One also delivers specialty programs including: The NFL Today, NFL Preview, NFL Insider, NFL Sunday, and NFL Fantasy Football Forecast.
In addition to the 57 game primetime package, Westwood One will also present a weekly doubleheader starting on Sunday, 9/11 and continuing each Sunday through 1/1/12. These games will be chosen as the season progresses to ensure the best possible matchups.
