Inside the NFL

I've known for quite a while how good Inside the NFL is, but until I re-subscribed to HBO a few months ago, I didn't really know how good Inside the NFL is.

I've been trying to get back into the NFL for a few years now. Back in the days before jobs, wives and other complications, I was your typical kid who knows everything that's going on in the NFL (and MLB, NBA, Big-10...). Over the years I've scaled back on everything except baseball, the Lord's game. But I have missed that kinship with the NFL. I tried Fantasy Football. I tried watching Fox NFL Sunday every week. Nothing really forged that connection - until I started watching Inside the NFL.

The main thing is the highlights. Inside the NFL puts together each highlight package with the cinematic gusto of NFL films. The segments are expertly edited, favoring cameras on the field and sidelines to the bland, "best plays via Tivo" approach of other networks. It gives the games an epic feel.

But as stirring as the visuals on Inside the NFL are, where the show really separates itself is on the audio side. Unlike every other NFL program on television, HBO's analyst desk isn't populated by ridiculous former players and their legion of drooling wannabes. Whether it's Chris Berman's banal pop culture references, Terry Bradshaw's "aw shucks" redundancies, or Michael Irvin's painful "I know what it's like to be a player" schtick, there's a lot being said but not much worth saying. Most of the commentators on the other networks are guys I wouldn't listen to at the bar, much less on my television.

If there were a network that presented every sporting event with commentary from Bob Costas, I would watch it. The man is intelligent, articulate and not afraid that being so will lose him any street cred. Cris Collinsworth is a formidible intellect himself, and it's great to see him liberated from the Bradshaw/Howie Long circus on Fox. As for Dan Marino and Chris Carter ... well ... let's just say they don't take anything away from Costas and Collinsworth.

There's a lot of good programming on HBO. But as great as Curb Your Enthusiasm, Extras, Real Sports and the rest are, Inside the NFL is worth the price of admission.