Levy, Riddick, Griese MNF's new team in booth - 3 minutes read


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Veteran ESPN anchor Steve Levy and analysts Louis Riddick and Brian Griese will take over the booth for Monday Night Football this season, the network announced Monday.

The new crew will debut Sept. 14 with the Tennessee Titans at the Denver Broncos, the second game of ESPN's doubleheader that night.

Levy has worked for ESPN since 1993 and is one of the most recognizable anchors on SportsCenter. He has hosted the post-Super Bowl edition of SportsCenter for more than a decade and traveled to MNF games to anchor postgame coverage for three seasons.

Levy has been doing play-by-play on college football for more than a decade, and he has also called NHL games, including the Stanley Cup playoffs, across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2. Levy was also the lead voice for XFL games on ABC earlier this year.

Riddick, a former defensive back and front-office executive, joined ESPN in 2013 and quickly became one of the network's most compelling voices. He has been a key part of coverage of the NFL draft and the combine and was part of the team on Monday Night Countdown.

Griese, a former Pro Bowl quarterback with the Broncos, joined ESPN in 2009 and has been calling high-profile college football games and contributing as an analyst since then. He has been paired with Levy in the booth for premier college football games since 2016.

Emmy-winning reporter Lisa Salters will continue to work the sideline for Monday Night Football. Salters has been part of the MNF crew for eight seasons. Officiating analyst John Parry also returns to the team.

"Steve, Brian and Louis are trusted voices of the NFL whose knowledge and love of football connects with fans," said Connor Schell, ESPN executive vice president of content. "We are thrilled that they will join Lisa Salters to make up our new Monday Night Football team and share their passion and insight with football fans in what promises to be a great broadcast each week."

Levy, Griese and Riddick worked the booth last season for the Raiders-Broncos matchup in Week 1 of Monday Night Football.

In Week 1 this year, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit, the network's lead college football broadcasting team, will make their NFL debut, calling the Pittsburgh Steelers-New York Giants game in the first part of ESPN's MNF doubleheader. Fowler and Herbstreit have worked together doing college football since 1996, beginning on College GameDay, and as a broadcasting duo since 2015.

"Chris and Kirk are commentators at the top of their game and have thrilled college football fans for many years," Schell said. "We are looking to add new opportunities to their expansive portfolios and are confident that NFL fans will be just as excited to hear one of the most prolific broadcasting duos on Monday Night Football."

Week 2 will take Levy, Riddick and Griese to the Las Vegas Raiders' first home game at Allegiant Stadium, where they will host the New Orleans Saints. Week 3 is a matchup of MVP quarterbacks, as Patrick Mahomes and the Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs travel to Baltimore for a showdown against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens.



Source: www.espn.com - NFL