BenMaller.com, which is a rumors page ran by the weekend late-night radio host for Fox Sports Radio, posted a rumor about Joe Theismann that has left me speechless. He is rumored to be in the running to replace Pat Haden as the color commentator for Notre Dame games on NBC. Haden left to be the athletic director at his alma mater, USC, so a replacement will need to be added by this fall. Can I go an entire season without driving to South Bend and cussing out Theismann? Let’s find out…it could be a long season

I have had a long history of hate when it comes to Joe Theismann. I am too young to remember his playing days, but listening to him as a color commentary analyst during football games have been atrocious. He worked on the broadcast of ESPN’s “Sunday Night Football” from 1988 to 2005 and then one failed year on “Monday Night Football” when ESPN bought the rights. The sheer tone of his voice leads to the hairs standing up on my arms and a rise of my blood pressure by 20%.

I know that I am over-reacting and I am a bit tongue-in-cheek about it, but I just think that he isn’t good at his job. He is too critical of the teams and often tries to overshadow the game by hogging airtime away from the play-by-play commentator. There was a reason why ESPN let him go from MNF, he clashes with nearly ever on-air personality. He doesn’t clash on a personal level, I’ve never heard anything about him not getting along with crew, but his style doesn’t fit with many people. Tom Hammond is the play-by-play commentator for Notre Dame broadcast and he is a true professional. He has covered nearly everything on NBC sports from football to the Olympics. If Theismann is chosen as Haden’s replacement, I’m sure Hammond will do his best to make it work.

I guess I am a little biased when it comes to how critical Theismann is on the teams during the games. He has called many Indianapolis Colts games over the years and all the quarterbacks during that time, Jeff George to Peyton Manning, he has ripped for not being polished. Yes, he ripped Manning for not being polished, even though this was early in his career, it’s ridiculous. Anyone who has watched a game in which he is broadcasting knows how worked up I get, it’s almost comical.

Theismann isn’t the only former Notre Dame album rumored for this position, but is the only one that has national appeal. I hate to say this, but he would probably be the best choice if Notre Dame is looking to increase their ratings.

I hate Joe Theismann.

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