Gruden making his mark in the broadcast booth

Two of my favorite football analysts of all time are John Madden and Matt Millen.

Madden was a hit the minute he left coaching and went to TV work. He has that folksy, blue-collar charm that people loved. He could explain the game in simple terms. He spoke about X's and O's in a way you could understand.

Matt Millen? Oh yeah, before Millen oversaw some terrible drafts as president of the Detroit Lions and eventually was fired, he was a radio analyst on Monday Night Football, and he was a good one. He was a mini-Madden and was very likeable. His knowledge of the game came through loud and clear on every broadcast.

The newest broadcasting phenom is Jon Gruden, the former coach of the Oakland Raiders and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Gruden was the darling of the "Black Hole" in Oakland. The Raiders made a big mistake letting him get away.

Gruden is now with ESPN/ABC on its footbal telecasts. He has close ties with players and coaches, and that will be a big plus. Just as when he coached, Gruden brings a lot of energy and knowledge to his new job. He's animated when he talks and fans eat that up. My only fear is that he still has coaching in his blood and will return to the sidelines.

If he does go, I hope that's four or five years away. He's a breath of fresh air to be sure.

•••

Well as many of you have seen or heard by now, the Washington Nationals got their man when they signed Stephen Strasburg for more than $15 million, beating the Monday midnight deadline by just a couple of minutes.

I have mixed emotions about it. The first is that he hasn't done anything, thus doesn't deserve the money at the present time. Secondly, I'm disappointed that the Nationals let Scott Boras drive the signing bonus as high as he did.

The thing I'm happy about is that the Nationals were badly in need of something positive and this is it.

Strasburg may be good, and he may become the face of the franchise, but he's only going go pitch every fifth or sixth day, so his value isn't going to be that high. Unless the Nationals surround him with some offense and get more pitchers like him, he'll just be another guy that wins 13 or 14 a year. That's worth $15 million? Not.

•••

There's been a lot of talk in he Bay Area about Raiders coach Tom Cable allegedly decking defensive assistant Randy Hanson. What's up with that? Isn't it supposed to be the players fighting each other during training camp.

The NFL is supposedly investigating it. I'm not sure that's the right thing to do. I think that's something that should be kept in-house. Let owner Al Davis decide what he wants to do. I say fine Cable and move on.

Besides, if Cable gets off to a 1-4 or 1-5 start, he's not going to last out the season. I used to be a devout Raiders fan, but when the team got rid of Gruden I lost interest. Everybody that the Raiders have turned to after Gruden has been a huge disappointment.

•••

I was a bit disappointed to see Philadelphia sign Michael Vick. I'm all for people getting second chances, but I think this was too soon. I wanted to see how Vick handled himself as a free man without football in his life. That would have shown his true mettle. I would have liked to see him have to sit out this year and then be reinstated.

And, while we're on the subject of players in trouble, let's talk about Donte Stallworth, who killed a pedestrian while driving drunk in Florida. It was a tragedy to be sure, and Stallworth is certainly rich enough to call a cab and get a ride home. He's been suspended indefinitely by the NFL after serving less than a month in jail.

Honestly, what's the difference between Vick and Stallworth? Vick knowingly killed animals without remorse. Vick knew what he was doing was wrong. Stallworth was just plain stupid. People drive under the influence all the time and get away with it most of the time.

• Darrell Moody can be reached at 881-1281 or dmoody@nevadaappeal.com