"I've been waitin' all day for Sunday night..."

It’s hard to imagine how one man could so adversely affect two different shows on two different networks, but when James Brown left FOX for CBS, he screwed up both “FOX NFL Sunday” and “The NFL Today.”

I’ve always liked J.B., but now, he’s seriously getting on my nerves. Dan Marino, Shannon Sharpe and Boomer Esiason have become totally useless as the entire first half of the show has been turned over to Brown. And instead of just hosting and framing the experts’ comment, he has to always get in the last word, taking away from their time and making himself come of like a know-it-all. I think that Boomer looks frustrated by the whole thing—and he should be. He’d get more camera time hanging out at an ATM.

Meanwhile, the pre-game show at FOX is in a little bit of chaos, thanks to Brown’s departure. Joe Buck was a great choice for a replacement and I’m a big fan; but taking the show on-the-road every week has caused problems and knocked Terry, Howie and Jimmy off their game a little. They were much more comfortable in the studio the weeks that Joe was off; but Curt Menefee can’t handle the other guys as well as J.B. could. And their incessant need to call him Rerun (from “What’s Happening!”) doesn’t help (no matter how much he looks like him).

So where will you find the best NFL pre-game show? Without a doubt, it’s “Football Night In America” on NBC. NBC has clearly stolen shamelessly from both ESPN and ABC, but they’ve taken the best elements of both and added their own touch.

NBC has wisely chosen to do a recap of the day’s action, rather than an extended preview of the night’s game. For many of us, it’s our first chance to get caught up and “America” captures all of the angles.

But the real secret to why “America” is so good is the chemistry among its quartet of Bob Costas, Cris Collinsworth, Sterling Sharpe and Jerome Bettis. Costas has never been a traditional host and the laidback style allows him to show off his sarcastic wit.

Collinsworth was actually the first hire NBC Sports President Dick Ebersol made after getting the NFL, but the acquisition of John Madden kept Cris out of the booth (They tried him at play-by-play, but he didn’t work out.). And it was obvious in week one that he was little unsure of his role. But now the six-time Emmy winner has found his footing and he and 18-time Emmy winner Costas make a dream hosting duo. Sharpe, on the other hand, insists on yelling at the camera and Bettis is still finding his way, but they’re still a nice compliment to the hosts.

And most importantly, the hosts let them talk.

If I was Boomer Esiason, I’d get my agent on the phone…