Issue date: December 31, 2000
Sports
Monday Night
Football's Stark contrast
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Her views
Dennis
Miller: "He's at his best when he says something everyone
understands."
Super
Bowl 2001 champs: Tennessee Titans
Favorite
stars: Titans' Eddie
George, Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning
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DON'T TELL
Melissa Stark football is a man's game. Since signing on this year
as a sideline commentator for ABC's auspicious Monday Night Football,
Stark, 27, has been mistaken for a cheerleader, knocked by rival
sportscasters and even set afire.
She's also proven she can hold her own against veterans Dan Fouts and Al Michaels, as well as resident smart mouth Dennis Miller (who calls her, to her slight annoyance, Missy). And she ignores grumblings from (male) competitors who gripe that the attractive blonde gets too many camera closeups.
In the second week of the season, Stark almost went up in flames when a producer insisted she stand near a fireworks display, in spite of warnings by field officials that it was unsafe. When sparks ignited her sweater, Stark says, laughing, "some people who were standing by patted it down, and I jumped back in position" and did the opening.
Note to Stark's legion of male fans: Two days before she took
the job, she got engaged to Michael Lilley, a bond trader. The job
was a bonus. "On our second date, he thought he should ask me to
dinner. I called him up, and I was like, 'Hey, you want to watch
Monday Night Football and just hang out?' " His response:
"This is so great!"
-- Michele Hatty
Photo Credit: CRAIG SJODIN, abc
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