The highlights this time accompany what's known as "The Greatest Game Ever Played" — the 1958 NFL championship between the Colts and the Giants.

The narration for the ESPN special on the 50th anniversary is typical Chris Berman, enthusiastic but not reverential, full of the shtick that has made him famous, complete with "rumbles, stumbles, bumbles and in this case, fumbles!"

He's made his career this way — being respectful of the sports he covers but having fun with them, too.

Hired by ESPN nearly 30 years ago from his job anchoring weekend sports on local television, Berman has helped change how sports fans get their news and how sportscasters approach their work.

"He created an overall perspective that many others covering sports at that time did not, of keeping it light," said Malcolm Moran, director of the Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State. "It's not war, it's a game. He maintains a tricky balance of keeping his shows informative, without taking himself too seriously, and that can't be easy to do."

Berman was hired in 1979, just weeks after ESPN went on the air, to anchor the 2 a.m. "SportsCenter" program. But he made his mark handling the NFL, where he's covered the draft since 1981 and started hosting "NFL Gameday," ESPN's pregame show, in 1985. At 23 consecutive years, Berman is television's most tenured pregame football show host.

Berman got his biggest break in 1987, when ESPN won rights to broadcast a Sunday night football game and exclusive extended highlights of the afternoon contests. Berman and former Denver Broncos linebacker Tom Jackson were named to host the 60-minute "NFL Primetime," which quickly became the crown jewel of ESPN's football coverage.

Berman calls players by wacky nicknames (Curtis "My Favorite" Martin), wears a genie headdress to predict games as "the Swami" and famously imitates Howard Cosell's exaggerated touchdown call ("He could .. go ... all ... the ... waaaaay!"). He readily acknowledges that he's part sportscaster, part entertainer.

"Just don't call me a personality," he said. "What is that? That's a morning disc jockey. I entertain, but I take what I do, the journalism part, seriously. Sportscaster, that's fine. That encompasses all of that."

SOCCER

SUBOTIC PICKS SERBIA

Defender Neven Subotic has chosen to play soccer for Serbia instead of the United States.

Subotic, who was born in Bosnia and holds an American passport, has played for the U.S. under-17 and under-20s teams. He now plays for Borussia Dortmund in the German league.

Subotic wrote to U.S. soccer officials, informing them of his decision to play for Serbia.

TENNIS

PIERCE WANTS TO PLAY

Two-time Grand Slam champion Mary Pierce isn't ready to hang up her racket just yet.

Despite being sidelined by a knee injury since 2006, the Frenchwoman told sports daily L'Equipe that she'd like to play again at the French Open.

"I care about Roland Garros. If I could stand in center court for one match, that would already be a big victory," she said.