Short takes: Obama plays game of P-O-T-U-S againt CBS’ Kellogg, Smith
— CBS college basketball analyst Clark Kellogg and “EARLY SHOW co-anchor Harry Smith took on President Barack Obama in a game of P-O-T-U-S on the basketball court at the White House and Kellogg also interviewed Obama as part of CBS’ Final Four coverage, which begins at 3 p.m. Saturday. Find out who wins the game during halftime of the Butler-Michigan State game.
— Play-by-play announcer Dave O’Brien will be calling his first Women’s Final Four Sunday for ESPN with analyst Doris Burke, who has done five Final Fours. Shelley Smith and Rebecca Lobo will serve as reporters. Baylor alumnus Trey Wingo, Kara Lawson and Carolyn Peck will be on set at the Alamodome for ESPN’s studio coverage. All three games at the Final Four will be presented in high definition, and live on ESPN3.com.
— ESPN360.com, ESPN’s 24/7 broadband sports network, will officially become ESPN3.com on Sunday. Visitors to the network will notice an enhanced viewing experience with improved video quality via Adobe’s Flash Player 10. Visitors will also be able to interact with live event programming on the network through a variety of new features and functionality.
— ESPN’s “Outside the Lines,” 8 a.m. Sunday, looks at Tiger Woods’ sex therapy and whether it has affected his golf game. Bob Rotella, sports psychologist, says, “The question everyone wants to ask is, ‘Will Tiger be able to play great with this off-the-course mess going on in his life?’ Well, my guess is yes, he will be able to if he wants to. But the only question you could ask is, ‘Is Tiger ready to really get himself back in contention? Is that his sole purpose in playing the Masters?’”
— Two Dallas Cowboys preseason games will be nationally televised. The Cowboys will face Cincinnati in the Pro Football Hall of Fame Game at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 on NBC and play at Houston at 7 p.m. Aug. 28 on CBS.
— ABC launches a new “ESPN Sports Saturday” block at 3 p.m. Saturday with “Guru of Go,” an ESPN Films “30 for 30” documentary about the Loyola Marymount men’s basketball team and the death of its star player Hank Gathers. At 4 p.m., ESPN’s Michele Beadle and Marcellus Wiley will co-host “Winners Bracket,” a new one-hour highlight-driven show.
Robert De Niro to play Vince Lombardi in movie
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro is a surprise choice to play former legendary coach Vince Lombardi in “Lombardi,” a theatrical motion picture being developed by ESPN Films, Andell Entertainment and the NFL.
“There are few actors who could accurately portray the fire, passion and grit of Lombardi and we’re thrilled to have Robert De Niro on our team,” said Charles Coplin, the NFL’s vice president of programming. “With the addition of De Niro, Eric and Tribeca Productions, we have a deep bench to produce a film worthy of the legendary coach and American icon.”
Academy Award-winning screenwriter Eric Roth (Forrest Gump, The Good Shepherd) also will be part of the project, which will chronicle Lombardi during the years he transformed the Green Bay Packers from the worst team in the National Football League into five-time NFL champions.
ESPN/Andell have Lombardi’s life story rights through his estate and Vincent Lombardi Jr. as well as the rights to the renowned sports book “Instant Replay,” written by former Packer star Jerry Kramer and Dick Schaap.
Current plans call for the film’s release on the weekend between the AFC and NFC Conference Championships and the Super Bowl in 2012.
NFL Network slips with on-air profanity
Broncos coach Josh McDaniels
An occasional F-bomb or curse word will air on live sports events. That’s the nature of the beast. But for the NFL Network to air an on F-bomb on tape, shows somebody in the production truck is asleep on the job.
The NFL Network aired an F-bomb by Denver Broncos coach Josh McDaniels as he chastised his players on the sideline of their Thanksgiving night game against the New York Giants.
Coming out of a commercial break following a series of false starts near the goal line that resulted in Denver settling for a field goal, the NFL Network showed a clip of McDaniels, who yelled at his players: “All we’re trying to do is win a (expletive) game!
Fortunately, play-by-play announcer Bob Papa immediately apologized to viewers.
“We want to apologize for that audio as we went to the last break that got out over the air. We do send our sincerest apologizes for the Josh McDaniels audio that got out there,” Papa told viewers.
Eric Weinberger, executive producer of the NFL Network, apologized to viewers and to McDaniels for the “terrible mistake.”
He said no one in the production trucks heard the profanity.
“No one heard it as it was said. It would never have been aired,” Weinberger said. “It was at the end of a clip, so we missed it.
“We’re not in this business to do that,” Weinberger said. “We’re in this business to show sports and to show the most emotion that we can show. And the guy is an incredibly emotional, passionate guy.”
Gruden’s new multiyear deal good news for MNF viewers
Jon Gruden
Jon Gruden’s new multiyear deal with ESPN is good for “Monday Night Football” viewers. Gruden has been a great addition to the broadcasts, giving a boost to even bad games, such as Baltimore’s 16-0 victory over Cleveland on Monday night.
He’s been insightful and clever. He’s not afraid to give his opinion, such as sticking up for Patriots coach Bill Belichick and his decision to go for it on fourth and 2 from his own 28.
However, I’m still skeptical if a good coaching job comes around, Gruden won’t hesitate to wave goodbye to the Worldwide Leader of Sports to return to the coaching sidelines. Coaching is in his blood.
ESPN spokesman Bill Hoffheimer said the network is planning on Gruden sticking around for several more years.
“Jon is committed to MNF for multiple years and his decision to sign this extension is a clear indication of his commitment to ESPN,” Hoffheimer told the Sporting News. “He will not be seeking any coaching positions for the foreseeable future. We expect to have him here at ESPN for a long time.”
According to the ESPN release, Gruden also will work on ESPN Radio’s 2010 Rose Bowl and Bowl Championship Series title game broadcasts, where he will team with Mike Tirico.
Versus gives Chad Ochocinco a weekly platform for his zaniness
Chad Ochocinco
If Cincinnati Bengals receiver Chad Ochocinco doesn’t get enough publicity for his outrageous stunts, such as attempting to bribe an official with a $1 bill, the Versus cable network has given him another platform for his zaniness. This week, Ochocinco debuted a segment “Child, Please!” on “Sports Soup,” 9 p.m. Tuesdays.
In his first segment, he sounded off on Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh, the bribe in this past Sunday’s game, and much more:
On Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh: Experts had us as underdogs this Sunday, I mean come on, son. Get out of here with that. Troy, Ike Taylor, Ryan Clark, Deshea Townsend, William Gay. You guys … child please, that’s all I can say. Literally no disrespect but you guys don’t stand a chance. I’m riding high on confidence right now.
The bribe in the Nov. 8 game against the Baltimore Ravens: Me being me — a fun guy who likes to have fun — I asked the guy next to me if he had a dollar. He obliged. I took the dollar and I wasn’t going to actually ask the ref, you know, let me get the call. Just having fun. It’s me and again, the NFL sees things like this and fines me and enjoys it and embraces me because I’m around for the next 10 years.
Ex-Southwestern player Rex Ryan profiled on ESPN magazine E:60
Rex Ryan
New York Jets coach Rex Ryan, who was born in Ardmore and played defensive end at Southwestern Oklahoma State University in Weatherford, will be featured on the next edition of the ESPN newsmagazine “E:60” at 6 p.m. Tuesday.
Here is ESPN’s synopsis of the story:
Rex Ryan, son of legendary NFL coach Buddy Ryan, has hit the ground running in his first head coaching job. Both on the field and off… Off the field, his brazen personality and forthright way of speaking have come across as a breath of fresh air to some (the media, many fans) and contentious to others (the Patriots & Dolphins organizations and fan bases). He stated that he’s “not here to kiss Bill Belichick’s (Patriots head coach) rings” and engaged in a war of words with Dolphins linebacker Channing Crowder.
On the field, Ryan’s team has been emboldened by his tactics and approach, winning the first three games of the season.
And while Ryan is recognized as a creative and skilled coach, he had to fight a little harder to get there…as he suffers from dyslexia…a learning disorder characterized by difficulties with spelling and reading. Rachel Nichols reports.
ESPN excited about airing Packers-Vikings game Monday night as Brett Favre faces his old team
Vikings quarterback Brett Favre
In a conference call this week, ESPN producer Jay Rothman and commentators Mike Tirico, Ron Jaworksi and Jon Gruden discussed the Green Bay Packers at Minnesota Vikings telecast at 7:30 p.m. Monday on ESPN. Here a few excerpts:
Rothman on this matchup: “This one fell into our lap when No. 4 decided to come back. It’s a no-brainer what the meaning of the game is to him, to the Vikings, to the Packers. It’s one of the best divisions in football, certainly in terms of a ratings perspective, the NFC North … it always delivers.”
Tirico on the hype surrounding this game: “Talking to Favre a couple different times since he left Green Bay and being around the Packers a little bit, this is the game Brett Favre’s wanted to play. When the Packers essentially said, ‘We don’t want you to be our quarterback anymore,’ Brett Favre had an unbelievable clock ticking inside him to want to play the Green Bay Packers.”
Jaworski on how personal a game this is for Favre: “When you get an opportunity to go up against a team that basically got rid of you — you’re not good enough — you want to show what you can do … Brett Favre is going to approach this game and he’s going to be angry, he’s going to be vindictive and he will come out smoking.”
Jaworski on his pick as the NFC North’s top quarterback: “Right now I’d have to go with Aaron Rodgers. Last year he showed me an awful lot. He was able to handle all of the off-field distractions that took place when Brett Favre left and he had a terrific season. He will certainly have to play better this year. … He’s younger, which is certainly the positive. He has an outstanding repertoire of personnel to choose from in the running game and passing game.”
Gruden on his choice for the NFC North’s top quarterback: “Brett Favre has won and won and won. He is an ultimate winner and I like guys that win games. I liken the quarterback to a starting pitcher in baseball. He can manipulate a defense, he can rally his football team and he can excite a crowd. … I’d want Brett Favre with a very good football team at crunch time to win me a division title and help me advance in the playoffs — because I know what I’m getting, I know how he’s going to respond in crunch time situations. And if we don’t get it done, I’ll get on the plane and will have enjoyed the ride that’s for sure.”
DirecTV in search of displaced NFL fans
For the second year in a row, DirectTV is giving diehard NFL displaced fans around the country the chance to earn the distinction as America’s Ultimate Displaced Fan. One winner will win a Super Bowl experience, including a trip to Miami, Fla., and tickets to the game. The winner also will rub elbows with NFL stars and celebrities when they get to participate in the DirecTV Beach Bowl celebrity flag football game and do their own media tour at the Super Bowl media center.
Last year DirecTV had some amazing entrants, including a man from Alaska who was such a diehard Carolina Panthers fan he created an online petition to get the Panthers’ logo on the two 25 yard lines at Bank of America Stadium. Another women in New Orleans paddled her way through Hurricane Katrina on a canoe and hooked up her satellite to a receiver to watch her beloved Washington Redskins play.
There also was a couple who were actually married in Raiders’ silver and gold. In the end, Ron Lawrence, of Chesapeake, Va., was named No. 1 displaced fan. Lawrence, a diehard Dallas Cowboys’ fan, created the ultimate “Man Cave” by building an exact-scaled replica of the old Texas Stadium in his two-car garage.
For information on how to enter, visit www.ultimatedisplacedfan.com.
NBC excited to cover Dallas Cowboys’ home opener in new stadium
NBC play-by-play announcer Al Michaels
NBC is hyping up its New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys telecast at 7 p.m. Sunday as the Cowboys play their first regular season game in their new $1.2 billion stadium. The “Today” show even broadcast from the stadium Friday morning. Al Michaels (play-by-play), Cris Collinsworth (analyst) and Andrea Kremer (sideline reporter) will call the game.
In a conference call this week, host Bob Costas, Michaels, Collinsworth and producer Fred Gaudelli discusses the game. Here a few highlights:
Michaels on doing the first game at the new stadium: “When the schedule came out I was very excited to not only know that we were going to do the first regular season game there, but it would be the New York Giants. I was hoping it would be the Giants or the Redskins or a team that is one of the noted rivals of the Cowboys so this is perfect. I spoke to Jerry Jones about this as long ago as five or six years. His dream was that if he was ever able to get something like this built in the Metroplex it was going to be the best of the best and he’s been able to affect that even through obviously very rough economic times. He hasn’t cut any corners from what I can gather and it’s a spectacular venue.”
Gaudelli on covering punts, which in the preseason occasionally struck the huge videoboard: “We will cover our punts differently in this game than we do in a normal game. In a regular game, we’re not tracking the ball on a punt, we’re actually just moving down the field to show the coverage go after the returner, but we’re going to start initially tracking the ball live because obviously people are going to be wondering about that right away.”
Michaels on the matchup: “It doesn’t matter when you have the Giants and the Cowboys or where you have the Giants and the Cowboys it’s going to be a treat. You’ve got two major stories here one being the opening of the stadium and the other being the Giants and the Cowboys and what still figures to be the NFL’s toughest division. I’m looking forward to what should be a pretty perfect night and what should be a hell of a game.”
Collinsworth on Tony Romo: “He’s in a tough spot. There have been so many great quarterbacks with the Dallas Cowboys over the years; legendary figures there with Troy (Aikman) and (Roger) Staubach. Tony Romo really impressed me (in last week’s game) with his ability to move in the pocket. His reads were dead on, he threw the ball great, and his pump fake in the flat that ended up with the big play down the field to Crayton for the touchdown was sort of Roethlisberger-like when we saw him on Thursday night. It’s a tough standard in Dallas because of those guys that came before him, but honest to goodness I think this guy is, if he’s not top 5, he’s certainly top 7 or so and getting better, so I’m a big Romo guy.”
Aikman: Favre will be a boost for Vikings
Troy Aikman
Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman expects Brett Favre will be a big upgrade for the Minnesota Vikings at quarterback, saying the Vikings wouldn’t be a Super Bowl contender without him.
Aikman will open the season Sept. 13, broadcasting the Washington-N.Y Giants game at 3:15 p.m. KOKH-25 will carry the Dallas-Tampa Bay game in the opener of the doubleheader at noon.
Here are a few of Aikman’s comments during a Fox conference call this week:
On whether Favre solved Minnesota’s QB problems: “Brett makes that position better. I don’t think that anybody can deny that. He’s a better quarterback than Tavaris Jackson or what they’ve had there the last couple of seasons. They’ve got everything that you could want in the other positions and what’s clearly held them back has been the inconsistency at quarterback. It’s not as if it’s a guarantee that Brett is going to step in and provide consistency. We all know that Brett has been somewhat of an inconsistent player himself here as of late. The fact that it took him this long in order to reach a decision is concerning. Whether that was just to avoid going to training camp or not, I believe that there is something to be said for going through an off-season with your teammates. But bottom line: Is Brett Favre an upgrade at that position and does he help them? Absolutely and I don’t think you can talk Super Bowl without talking about the Minnesota Vikings with him at quarterback.”
On the best quarterback in the NFC North: “I’d give Aaron Rodgers a little bit of a nod over Jay Cutler right now but there’s no doubt that Cutler is a heck of a talent and he’s not too far behind.”
On the pressure Cowboys offensive coordinator Jason Garrett is under this season: “I think there are a lot of people who would look at the Cowboys offensively last season and say it was a disappointing year. I don’t know if that is necessarily the case considering the fact that they lost Tony Romo for a few games. Jason understands offensive football and knows how to attack defenses. They get Felix Jones back this year and Tashard Choice, who emerged at the end of last season, will be impactful again. The weapons are there, the quarterback is there, this should be a heck of an offensive football team.”
On what the loss of Plaxico Burress means to Eli Manning and the Giants: “There’s no doubt that when you lose a go-to, No. 1 receiver, it’s going to be impactful in a negative way on a football team. I know the Giants like some of the young players and they’re expecting to have good years from them but so far in preseason that hasn’t quite happened. I’m sure it is a concern. If someone in that position doesn’t emerge, they’re going to have problems throwing the football. Ultimately it will hold the Giants back.”
