Compared with his NFL contemporaries, Troy Aikman is man of few words — in or out of the broadcasting booth.
His sparse, almost quiet analysis, particularly about quarterback play, is outstanding.
That figures.
He’s more than a bit familiar with that position because he led the Dallas Cowboys to three Super Bowl titles before retiring 10 years ago.
During Sunday’s NFC championship game, he ably dissected the play of Aaron Rodgers, Jay Cutler, Todd Collins and Caleb Hanie — the last not exactly a household name outside of Fort Collins.
Aikman’s analysis was superior to that of CBS’ Phil Simms in the AFC title game. Simms, who also has an extensive quarterback background from his playing days with the New York Giants, is knowledgeable but tends to talk too much.
Aikman, unlike many of his mouthy contemporaries, rarely offers commentary or hindsight after leaving the Sunday booth.
But that changes Tuesday night during “HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel,” premiering at 8 p.m.
Aikman, who displays an “aw shucks” personality in the booth, smiles and tells Gumbel he has more depth than a lot of people think he has.
And Aikman doesn’t hesitate to voice opinions.
He ponders the NFL’s future, pointing to the uncertainly that lurks between the players’ union and NFL owners on contract issues.
Aikman is firmly against an 18 game schedule, calling it a ploy by league owners to get more revenue.
“The bodies of players can’t withstand any more pounding during a season,” Aikman says.
Although Aikman suffered eight concussions during his NFL days, he’s healthy and has no negative symptoms as a result of several hard hits — some of which are shown on tape.
“I’m not a poster boy for head injuries,” he says.
Still, he’s concerned about the violence and injuries.
And how’s this for a retro perspective? Aikman wouldn’t be unhappy if the league went back to the old leather helmets.
He points out that while modern uniform equipment supposedly protects players, it actually make athletes more vulnerable to injuries.
“The modern-day helmets have become a weapon,” he says.
Aikman is still involved in sports, although not in a way you’d think a Hall of Fame quarterback would be.
He’s an assistant coach of a third- grade girls basketball team that features his daughter.
“If I had a 10-year-old boy, I doubt if I’d encourage him to play football,” he said.
Obviously there’s a pragmatic reason for Aikman’s sudden, high-profile appearance.
He’ll be in the Fox booth analyzing Super Bowl XLV on Feb. 6.
Your opinions?
A couple of weeks ago, I listed two ongoing bromides used by NFL and college football broadcasters:
“Back to you guys . . .”
“He does a nice job . . .”
Longtime KOA Radio broadcaster Larry Zimmer adds two more:
“They’ll move the chains.”
However, there is only one chain to be moved.
“Upon further review . . .”
There is only a single review after a team’s protest of an official’s call.
If you have any Bad Broadcasting Bromides, e-mail them to me.
Snow viewing.
Dress warmly, couch potatoes, so you can be in the mood to watch ESPN’s coverage of the 15th annual Winter X Games from Aspen and Snowmass.
The network will present 24 hours of live HD coverage Thursday through Sunday on three platforms — ESPN, ESPN2 and ESPN3. ESPN2 presents the first competition at noon Thursday.
Longtime Denver journalist Dusty Saunders writes about sports media each Monday in The Denver Post. Reach him at tvtime@comcast.net.
$200 can buy you a Super experience
Would you pay $200 to watch the Super Bowl on huge TV sets outside the stadium?
That will happen in Dallas as the NFL has started selling several thousand tickets to eager fans that may not want to pay the pricy amount to get into the huge Cowboy Stadium.
Cowboys season-ticket holders have first crack at buying tickets to see the Packers take on the Steelers on huge sets to be installed in a special area.
And in a move to produce a you-are- there atmosphere, these fans will receive Super Bowl programs and commemorative scarves.
Food and beverages also will be sold.
