Episode 100 is here, in the flesh, or in this case, in the computer. This episode is so big, we’ve cut it up into five parts. The DL, in conjunction with washingtonpost.com was given the opportunity to go behind the scenes with Monday Night Football. These interviews took place throughout the day, and into the night.

Today, we present Part 3. Parts 1 and 2, uploaded yesterday are conversations with Tony Kornheiser and Ron Jaworski. Part 4 is a sit-down with Suzy Kolber. Part 5 is actually a two-part interview with Mike Tirico. These interviews will be coming in the next few days, but first...

Part 3 is an interview with MNF producer Jay Rothman. This is the segment for all the media geeks out there. With all the names surrounding Monday Night on ESPN, there is one guy who is in control of everything. And that’s Rothman. It’s a big job, and Rothman has worked his way up in the industry to have earned that right.  The man does have a presence about him. He’s always in control (even mocking my scraggly beard before we started taping... not hard to do) and is responsible for a lot of people, air-time and money for ESPN.

We talk about his resume – I assert that as the producer of huge events like Monday Night Football, his reputation precedes itself – and I ask him, with all the events he’s done, is anything a big deal to him anymore?

We talk about balancing the amount of people he’s in control of each game, and how much of that control is predicated upon being being prepared going in and how much is reacting to the situation.

We also talk about his responsibility as a producer. Is his charge to create the best show possible, or is it to garner the best rating possible? Can those two concepts be mutually exclusive?

Rothman has worked on World Cup soccer matches, so I ask him to compare putting on a game live in studio to the way ESPN covered Euro 2008 and other big soccer matches. How important is it to be at the venue?

We talk more football, and specifically talk about his competition. Does he watch other networks? How much of the business is keeping up with the network Joneses?

A production this huge is a mass undertaking, so I wanted to ask Rothman if he’s ever had an “oh sh!t” moment. He tells a great story about losing power for a Notre Dame football game. Oh Sh!t indeed.

Last, I try to find out what else he’d want to cover. Monday Night Football is at high as it gets at ESPN, so I wonder if he has any other events he hasn’t had a chance to run.

Again, the audio isn’t great on this. It’s actually not great at all (sorry about that...it gets better in Parts 4 and 5). But the content is quite interesting and it’s a great look into a man with a lot at his fingertips.

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