National Football League

Warner dances over from ABC for debut as Fox analyst

Published Oct. 9, 2010 11:13 a.m. ET

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Kurt Warner, debuting Sunday as a Fox NFL analyst for the New Orleans Saints- Arizona Cardinals game (4:05 p.m. ET), says his biggest concern is having time to prepare.

No wonder: He's getting ready to rumba!

That's what he'll perform next week -- "it's the dance of love," Warner notes -- as he practices six hours daily to survive on ABC's Dancing With the Stars. Don't assume Warner's 12 seasons as an NFL quarterback, before he retired last season, give him an edge: "Trying to make someone my size fluid is tough."

NFL pressure, he says, didn't prepare him for viewer voting on his hoofing: "In football, you know whether you won or lost. Your performance dictates. This is a lot harder -- so much is out of your hands."

But NFL players can find things out of their hands -- like where they're playing. He says he was surprised the New England Patriots traded Randy Moss to the Minnesota Vikings, especially how quickly it happened. But he wasn't surprised the Philadelphia Eagles had reason to regret trading Donovan McNabb: "Over the years, I couldn't believe the criticism Donovan took and all the trade rumors. You don't replace great players easily. Too often, coaches and GMs think, 'We can find somebody as good as that guy.' ... You can't replace a guy like that. From Day One I thought it was a bad trade for the Eagles."

Spice rack: With earlier start times this year, TBS' opening three MLB playoff games averaged 3% of U.S. households, down 11% from last year. Its New York Yankees-Minnesota Twins game drew 4.3%, tying last year's Twins-Yankees opener as the highest-rated cable TV first-round MLB playoff game. And with the end of the no-hitter by the Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay coming at a good time, 7-8 p.m. ET, viewership jumped 41% in that hour. ... The latest evidence Dancing With the Stars helps careers: Contestant and ex-NBA player Rick Fox joins NBA TV's studio shows, debuting Sunday. ... ESPN's pregame show for its New York Jets-Vikings game Monday night will include unaired footage of Jets coach Rex Ryan shot for HBO's Hard Knocks but left on the cutting-room floor. ... NBC has a new five-year deal to keep the Kentucky Derby and hopes it can retain the Preakness and add ESPN's Belmont Stakes so it has the entire Triple Crown.

-- Michael Hiestand

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