ESPN’s Chris Berman, well known for his clever and very entertaining narrative voice overs of sports highlight replays, will be interviewing the presidential candidates in a special Monday Night Football halftime interview.

The forethought of ESPN, this special TV segment was coordinated with the National Football League. The game, scheduled between the Washington Redskins and Pittsburgh Steelers, will be broadcast from D.C..  The game kicks off at 8:30 pm EST, on the eve of the presidential election.

John McCain and Barack Obama will each do one-on-one segments, via satellite, earlier in the day on Monday with Chris Berman.

This will be a unique, and final opportunity for both candidates to appeal to Americans on prime-time television.  Monday Night Football has averaged over twelve million viewers this season.

According to ESPN executive vice president, Norby Williamson, “We worked with our partners at the NFL to schedule a Monday Night Football game in Washington on this special night, and this presents a unique opportunity for John McCain and Barack Obama to reflect upon the last few months and address a large primetime audience on the final day of the campaigns”.

ESPN reported that the Washington Redskins are a barometer for presidential elections.  According to Steve Hirdt of the Elias Sports Bureau, who coined the term “Redskins Rule” in 2000, the following bromide has held true for the past 17 presidential elections: If the Redskins win their last home game prior to Election Day, the party that won the popular vote in the previous election wins the White House; if the Redskins lose, the party that lost the popular vote in the previous election wins.
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In this Monday’s case, a Steelers win would forecast an Obama victory; a Redskins win would indicate a McCain win.

“Monday Night Football” is the most-watched series in cable television history. Now in its third season on ESPN, MNF has registered nine of the top 10 all-time biggest household audiences in cable history, led by this year’s Eagles-Cowboys telecast on Sept. 15, which attracted cable’s largest audience ever — 13.0 million homes and 18.6 million viewers.

Obama previously appeared on “Monday Night Football” on Dec. 11, 2006, when he opened the broadcast of a game involving his hometown Chicago Bears by parodying his own upcoming official announcement of his intention to run for the presidency.

It will be interesting to see if the “Redskins Rule” will be followed.  I expect the game will be the highest rated Monday Night Football game in the last decade. And as Chris Berman would say “He Could Go All The Way ….”

TEAMS
Dallas Cowboys (5-3) at New York Giants (6-1)

GAME INFO
November 2, 2008
Time: 4:15
TV: Fox
Surface: Field Turf – Giants Stadium
Weather: More sun than clouds. Cool. 55° F. 6mph wind

SPREAD
N.T Giants (-9)  Under/Over 41 Points

TEAM STANDINGS
The Dallas Cowboys are in jeopardy of falling out of the NFC East playoff race with half the season to go. They trail the New York Giants (6-1) and Washington Redskins (6-2). The Philadelphia Eagles are right behind them at 4-3.

The New York Giants, on the other hand, have reeled off two consecutive wins and are in first place in the NFC East.

MOMENTUM
The Dallas Cowboys started the season strong, winning their first 3 games. Since then, they are 2-3. The Cowboys are 2-2 on the road and 3-3 against NFC teams. They beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Home last week by a score of 13-9. The Cowboys are averaging a little over 25 points a game while giving up, on average, 24 points a game.

The New York Giants are 4-0 at home and 4-0 against NFC teams. They have won 2 straight going into Sunday’s game.  They have won two in a row, are 4-0 at home, and 1-2 on the road.  They are averaging 27 points a game while giving up only 16.  In the fourth quarter of last Sunday’s game they held the Pittsburgh Steelers to -18 yards total offense – just an outstanding feat, considering the Steelers offense is led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.

KEY INJURIES
Cowboys: OG Kyle Kosier (foot sprain), RB Felix Jones (hamstring), CB Terence Newman (sports hernia) and QB Tony Romo (broken right pinkie) are out; TE Jason Witten (broken rib) said he wants to find a way to play if possible. Giants: OLB Gerris Wilkinson (knee) is out.

KEYS TO THE GAME
According to NFl.com, QB Brad Johnson will start, but if he struggles early the Cowboys won’t hesitate to turn to Brooks Bollinger, who took practice snaps with the first team this week. The 40-year-old Johnson lacks arm strength and mobility, making it difficult for him to get out of the way of the Giants’ ferocious pass rush or hurt New York vertically. Either quarterback will need a massive game from RB Marion Barber to alleviate the pressure. … If CB Anthony Henry isn’t ready to play, the Cowboys will start a pair of rookies in Mike Jenkins and Orlando Scandrick. Even when healthy, Dallas would have a difficult time matching up with all of the Giants’ options downfield, so the Cowboys desperately need an effective pass rush. Giants QB Eli Manning is still prone to critical errors when forced to unload the ball before he wants to.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 92nd regular-season meeting between the two. The Cowboys lead the series 54-35-2. The Cowboys won the two regular-season games last year, but the Giants beat the Cowboys in the playoffs en route to winning the Super Bowl title. A Cowboys win would be their fourth straight regular-season win against the Giants.

PICK PREDICTION

Giants 27-13
Take the Giants even though they are giving nine points to the ‘Boys.

• The Giants defense is just too good
• Brad Johnson lack of mobility
• Giants are playing at home
• The weather will not hamper Eli Manning

There are some great games in Week 9 of the NFL Regular Season Nov 2, 2008

The undefeated Tennessee host the Green Bay Packers in a 1:00 start.

In the battle of New York, the other New York, the Jets go upstate to visit the Buffalo Bills at Ralph Wilson Stadium

Then @ 4:15 the Cowboys visit the Giants in the Swamps of Jersey @ the Meadowlands
Giants lose and they are in serious trouble.  The NFC East is dominated by the Giants and the Redskins. Cowboys are fighting for their playoff lives.

In the Sunday night game @ 8:05 pm EST, scheduled for The New England Patriots are in Indianapolis Colts @ Lucas Oil Stadium.  Colts lose and they can kiss their playoff hopes good bye

And the Monday Night Game features the Pittsburgh Steelers @ Washington Redskins – the last game before a new President is elected.  But the Redskins ain’t no lame duck!  That;s an 8:30 start

WEEK 10 – Thursday Night Game
Denver Broncos @ Cleveland Browns
Cleveland Browns Stadium – Cleveland, OH
8:15 PM