and college basketball From 2002 to 2004, Nessler was a broadcaster for the NBA, including calling the 2003 NBA Finals. During this particular period, Nessler was accused (particularly by Richard Sandomir of The New York Times) of not knowing game strategy well, lacking rhythm and enthusiasm in his game call, not bringing out the best in his partners (i.e. Bill Walton and Tom Tolbert), too often ignoring the score, and tending to stammer. Starting in 2006, Nessler had provided play-by-play for SEC games on Super Tuesday and Thursday Night Showcase, alongside Sean Farnham or Dick Vitale (and formerly Jimmy Dykes) and sideline reporter Heather Cox. He also covered Saturday afternoon games for ESPN during the regular college basketball season, and previously appeared on ABC. Monday Night Football On September 11, 2006, ESPN began its coverage of Monday Night Football with a Week 1 doubleheader. Nessler teamed with Ron Jaworski, Dick Vermeil, and Bonnie Bernstein to call the second game, featuring the San Diego Chargers and Oakland Raiders. On September 13, 2010, Nessler again worked a Monday Night Football game, teaming with Trent Dilfer and Suzy Kolber to call the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs in the second game of that night's Week 1 doubleheader. On September 12, 2011, Nessler and Dilfer called the Oakland Raiders and Denver Broncos in the second game of the Week 1 doubleheader; the game included a 63-yard field goal kicked by Oakland's Sebastian Janikowski, which tied the NFL record at the time. NFL Network In May 2011, Nessler was hired by NFL Network to call its Thursday Night Football telecasts, on which he was teamed with analyst Mike Mayock for an eight-game package. He continued to call the game package in 2012 and 2013, expanded to thirteen games, before CBS Sports took over responsibility for the package in the 2014 NFL season. Return to CBS CBS Sports announced on May 31, 2016 that Nessler would return to the network to serve as lead play-by-play announcer for SEC college football games beginning in the 2017 season, replacing the outgoing Verne Lundquist. He was then reunited with Danielson, who he worked with at ESPN and ABC from 1992–1999. The duo are joined weekly by Jamie Erdahl, and former NFL referee Gene Steratore. He also provides play-by-play for college basketball for the network, usually teaming with analyst Bill Raftery. Nessler's first SEC game for CBS was