John Madden Retires

Hall of Famer John Madden retired from sports broadcasting today. His down to earth style made him one of the most loved broadcasters in sports.

Madden spent 3 season on NBC's Sunday Night Football and he last broad casted during the Super Bowl.

"You know at some point you have to do this -- I got to that point," Madden said on his Bay Area radio show Thursday. "The thing that made it hard is not because I'm second guessing, `is it the right decision?' But I enjoyed it so damn much. I enjoyed the game and the players and the coaches and the film and the travel and everything."

Chris Collinsworth will move from NBC's studio show to take Madden's place. NBC Sports chief Dick Ebersol said Madden was "absolutely the best sports broadcaster who ever lived."

Madden is 73 years old but said his health is fine. His 50th wedding anniversary is this fall and wants to spend more time with his family.

Madden's football video game is the top selling game of all time. After retiring from coaching in 1979 in which he led the raiders to a Super Bowl win he became a broadcaster for CBS. he worked here until 1994. He joined Fox and stayed there until 2002 when he joined ABC's Monday Night Football. In 2006 he joined NBC to broadcast Sunday Night Football.

Ebersol flew to California and spent 11 hours with Madden trying to talk him out of retirement. He knew from the sound in John's voice he had made up his mind to retire.

"There is one thing football fans have agreed on for decades: they all love John Madden," NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said in a statement.

"John was a Hall of Fame coach before becoming one of the most-celebrated personalities in sports. He had an incredible talent for explaining the game in an unpretentious way that made it more understandable and fun.

"John's respect and passion for the game always stood out. He was the ultimate football fan who also happened to be an extraordinarily talented coach and broadcaster."

Very few times in a lifetime will you experience a truly amazing announcer. There are plenty of good one's. The greats are far and few in between. John Madden was one of those greats. There's a handful of announcers who during my lifetime I have truly enjoyed listening to. John Madden, the late Harry Kalas, and Charles Barkley are on that list. Sunday Night Football wont be the same without Madden.