Dropping the ball

I was bemused by an ESPN commercial last night that promoted pregame festivities for tonight's Monday Night Football game "with special performances by the Goo Goo Dolls, U2 and Green Day."

That's like promoting a Saturday Night Live episode "with special performances by Melanie Hutsell, Bill Murray and Eddie Murphy."

If the artists were listed alphabetically, I would not have taken umbrage. But U2 arguably is the most popular band on the planet with nearly three decades of seminal material and a Nobel Prize nominee fronting the band. And as punk-pop trendsetters, Green Day is one of the most successful and influential bands of the last decade with the jaw-dropping, Grammy-winning "American Idiot" serving as their crowning achievement.

And then you have the guy who sang the saptacular theme song from that Nic Cage-Meg Ryan chick flick headlining the pregame.

Don't get me wrong. Despite one of the worst band names in history, Johnny Rzezez-aeiou-sometimes-y-nik and company are reasonably talented and can lay claim to at least three bona fide hits. But they're hardly top billing at their own shows these days.