In a press conference today, NBC said that they will be sending Bob Costas to the game site each Sunday, and he will do the pregame show with Cris Collinsworth and Al Michaels. Following the trio discussing the bigger stories of the day, along with Tiki Barber on the sidelines and locker rooms, they will then throw it to Dan Patrick and Keith Olbermann (along with Dungy, Harrison and Peter King). Via NBC PR....

Costas, the most honored studio host of all time with 19 Emmy Awards, will host the show from a set at the "Sunday Night Football" game site. He will be joined by the new SNF broadcast team of Al Michaels, a six-time Emmy Award-winner whom the Associated Press has called "TV's best play-by-play announcer," and Cris Collinsworth, the most honored studio analyst in sports television history, winning the award in nine of the 12 years of its existence and winning two additional Emmys for game analyst. Collinsworth moves from the studio to the broadcast booth alongside Michaels to replace the recently-retired John Madden.

"At our best we aspire to give the viewer the best seat in the house -- not the hype around the event, but the story of the event itself," said Ebersol. "Bob has proven time and again that he is unmatched in his ability to appropriately set the scene and tell the story of an event. Having the two premier broadcasters of their generation in Bob and Al on site and appearing together alongside Cris, the best analyst in the business, adds an immediacy that makes 'Sunday Night Football' an even bigger event."

Costas said: "Hosting from the site of the game, being in the stadium surrounded by the fans and the energy and atmosphere of the event, creates an urgency and a sense of place that can't be duplicated in the studio. And of course, this allows me to keep working with Cris, while at the same time building on the special chemistry I developed with Al Michaels in BASEketball."

I've always been critical of NBC's decisions when it comes to "Football Night in America", but this year they seem to be close to getting it right. In fact, you could argue that they only really need Costas, Collinsworth and Michaels, manning the highlights.

(Also to note: As I mentioned before, Andrea Kremer is no longer on the sidelines)

Major League Baseball has hired a lot of famous people as bloggers in the past (i.e.- Alyssa Milano), but this might actually be one of their better additions. MLB.com is now employing Keith Olbermann as a blogger, and has even come up with an extremely clever name for his writing space. The "Baseball Nerd"....here's a snippet....

Like the relaxed pace and increased interaction of Spring Training wasn't thrill enough. This is the start of my 43rd year as a fan, my 43rd year attending games, and my 43rd year of keeping score. On Saturday in Phoenix, I witnessed, for the first time, a triple play. First and second, Oakland's Bobby Crosby with a solid one-hopper to Ryan Rohlinger of the Giants. Rohlinger unsuccessfully tried to tag elusive Oakland runner Matt Carson, fired to Matt Downs at second for one out, who relayed to Scott McClain at first for another. That's when it became evident Carson had been called out for leaving the baseline. A double play is, of course, scored by writing the position numbers (5-4-3) and circling them. A triple play requires two circles. Making my first "second circle" was the thrill of the spring.

I never knew Spring Training was sooooo beautiful! Good luck, Keith....welcome to the Dark Side!

Introducing the Baseball Nerd (Baseball Nerd)

I thought Alex Flanagan did a fine job as one of the sideline reporters during the Super Bowl, but not everyone agreed. Two of those people were, Pete Dougherty of the Albany Times Union and Ted Cox of the Chicago Daily Herald, and Keith Olbermann has come to Ms. Flanagan's defense. Here is the clip via Fang's Bites....

The quote that the articles highlight was Flangan's use of an F. Scott Fitzgerald quote, and while I rolled my eyes at the time, I didn't think it was nearly as bad as Dougherty or Cox did. Still though, it's funny that Olbermann took the time to call them out on national television.

Oh and Keith, it's the Albany Times Union....not Herald.

Keith Olbermann Nominates Sports Media Columnists As Worst Persons in The World (Fang's Bites)
Flanagan gets a flag for sideline report (Albany Times Union)
Super Bowl XLIII: the highs, the lows and the in-between (Chicago Daily Herald)

Fang's Bites pointed out an interesting exchange between Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick about 20 minutes ago, and I thought I'd share the video. Patrick was trying to make a political parallel for Olbermann to jump on, but the MSNBCer didn't bite. Patrick then decided to break out the big guns....Bill O'Reilly....

Now that's funny. You could see Olbermann start to get pissed off, but then immediately relax. I'm pretty sure no one else could get away with that.

Best Week Ever, and Sports Rubbish, both took note during a special promo for NBC's 3-D offerings surrounding the Super Bowl this year, and an interesting sound came out following the talk aof a show called "Monsters vs. Aliens". Around the :30 mark of this clip, take a listen in the background as someone on the set let's out what sounds like fake orgasm noise....

I was actually listening to that part while in another room, and just thought the noise was a random glitch, but that was definitely an intentional "groan" from someone on the panel. It sounds like Dan Patrick to me, but I could be wrong. What do you all think?

Video: Did Someone Have An Orgasm On NBC's Football Night In America? (Sports Rubbish)

NBC is going "green" yet again this year and shows like "Lipstick Jungle", "Kath & Kim", "My Own Worst Enemy", "Knight Rider" and "Law & Order" will all feature "green" plot lines during the week of November 16th. The whole event kicks off with the Sunday Night Football broadcast and I wanted to share some of what NBC plans for the pregame and halftime shows, as well as the game itself (DAL-WAS). Via NBC PR....

Green week officially launches on NBC's "Football Night in America during the Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins game. Commentators, including Bob Costas, Chris Collinsworth, Dan Patrick, Jerome Bettis, and Tiki Barber, will discuss how they each personally green their own routines.

On November 22, NBC will air a carbon neutral Notre Dame and Syracuse game, but the competition won't just be on the field. For the entire month of November, both campuses will participate in the NBC Universal Green Your Routine challenge, hosted on Carbonrally.com. Students, alumni, faculty, and fans will have the opportunity to take eco-challenges and help reduce carbon emissions and save energy. NBC Universal will donate $10,000 to the winning school, which will be designated to their campus sustainability efforts.

In addition, NBC Sports will host an online video contest, in which students from Notre Dame and Syracuse will produce short commercials promoting sustainable practices. The best submissions will be displayed on the NBC Sports website, www.NBCSports.com.

I poked fun at NBC last year when they went "green" because all they essential did was turn off the lights but leave the graphics and screens running.I'm not an expert on energy, but I think about five HD screens and random scrolling signs might actually use MORE electricity than studio lights.....but I could be wrong. While it might just be a publicity stunt, it ultimately doesn't hurt anything, and it's pretty fun to watch Keith Olbermann try to do highlights in the dark.

So Did You Turn Off Any Lights Last Night When Bob Costas Told You To? (Awful Announcing)

A very odd moment from Football Night in America took place on Sunday night, that until now I wasn't going to highlight. Keith Olbermann used an, "I can see Russia from here," joke during the Trent Edwards hit and apparently some people took notice. I didn't think it was a big deal at the time, but now NBC is denying that it was political charged at all. Via Watchdog....

Here is what NBC's studio wiseguy said, jokingly putting words in the mouth of the Bills' Trent Edwards, who had been knocked woozy: "He was OK otherwise, but he said, 'I can see Russia from here."'

Some supporters of Gov. Sarah Palin took it as a barb aimed at the Republican VP candidate, knowing how Olbermann feels about her from his role as an MSNBC political commentator. (Disclosure: I might have made a joke or two at the governor's expense on my blog.)

Said an NBC spokesman: "He was making a pop culture reference, not any kind of political statement."

Well that's nice and all, but I'll let you all be the judge....



Seems pretty obvious to me. Again, the joke isn't that big of a deal, but I think we've learned that Politics and Sports just don't mix at this point. Spare us next time, Keith.

Did Keith tweak Palin? (Newsday)

(Thanks to MVL for the clip)

I'm still trying to figure out what NBC is trying to do with their Football coverage on Sunday nights but in the meantime, MSNBC decided to give us a glimpse at what the new "Big Show" would look like come September....

I know NBC is banking on this combo, but I'm still wary about the decision. Don't get me wrong, I loved "The Big Show" but for some reason I just don't think it will have the same impact with about ten other people trying to fight for airtime. Again, folks.....less is always, and I mean ALWAYS more (see: MNF's Halftime Show).

(MNF review to follow)

It's not often that you see mainstream media members completely trash a production by other people in the business, so this article by Jason Whitlock was a welcome change. In fact he takes each individual to task on why they don't work in the format and praises the only person who deserves it, Cris Collinsworth....

NBC executives must have missed the memo: The Big Show era is dead. ESPN killed it. Every Tom, Dick and Stu Scott wannabe beat the other side of the pillow, cold and Pooh season and en fuego to death.

It ain't coming back.

What's worse is that Football Night was already hamstrung by an overcrowded set featuring talking heads with limited insight about, connection to and passion for the NFL....

....Nope, Football Night has just one star — Cris Collinsworth. He loves the game. He immerses himself in the game. He's willing to be outspoken about the game. He's just not on camera enough because the show has to make room for all the guys moonlighting as football experts. Collinsworth has no one to talk to on his level. I'd bet he's the only person on the show who actually watches game film.

Dan Patrick, a brilliant broadcaster, won't help. He's a clever radio host, but he's not a football guy. Patrick will be one more person on the show who has little real interest in the game.

I'm sure all these guys are football fans. Hell, they probably operate great fantasy teams. But they'll all contribute to one big, sloppy mess on Sunday nights. In terms of relevance and chemistry, the NBC show will lose more ground to Terry, Howie, Jimmy and Curt Menefee.

The whole piece is spot on and rather entertaining (the Mariotti dig in the beginning is hilrious) and worth a read. In the end, it's not the trashing part that I care about, it's the honesty. Having this many people on a telecast is distracting and completely over-doing it. It would have made sense to bring on Dan Patrick if they were getting rid of a few people, but adding him to the calvecade of random individuals is just going to make things worse.

NBC's cast of thousands is a bad act (FOX Sports)

Wow. How about this little bit of breaking news for a Monday afternoon? NBC is going to bring on Dan Patrick to work with Olbermann during his highlight section during halftimes of the network's Sunday night games....

Dan Patrick, who left ESPN last year to create his own syndicated radio program and write a column for Sports Illustrated, will join NBC Sports where he will be reunited with Keith Olbermann to call the N.F.L. highlights on “Football Night in America.” NBC is scheduled to make the announcement at 2 p.m. Eastern.

NBC is looking to recreate the chemistry and quirky humor that Patrick and Olbermann demonstrated when they were co-anchors on ESPN’s “SportsCenter,” which they dubbed “The Big Show.” Olbermann joined “Football Night” last year, but is best known now as the host of MSNBC’s nightly “Countdown” program.

I love the two together as much as the next person but it just makes zero sense to hire more people for that studio show. This hire makes seven employees that currently work on the show and that's just way too many cooks in the kitchen. I wish nothing but fun times for the two, but I don't know how they're going to get to say what they want with Costas, Collinsworth, Bettis, Barber and Peter King vying for airtime as well. It'll be interesting.

Patrick and Olbermann Reunite on NBC (NY Times)

I always dread posting about Keith Olbermann because of the Politics debate that ensues, but hopefully we can all just laugh at him for this one. You'd think that someone who was once an ESPN Sports Center anchor and a current Sports analyst on NBC (even though it's Football) might know where a Basketball playerlike Chauncey Billups plays, but alas he does not.

Chauncey is introducing Barack Obama during a rally in Detroit for Gore's endorsement of the Senator last night and Keith doesn't seem to know which team the Point Guard plays for. He tries to go to the well (his notes) to find Billups' squad, but that doesn't exactly work for him....

Currently, was, recently, is...ummm yeah. Come on Keith. I know you still watch Sports and the guy has been with the Pistons for the last six years. The last time he played for the Nuggets was in 2000. Hell he played more games for Minnesota than he did for Denver!

I bet whoever typed up his notes doesn't know how to read an NBA stat sheet. Too funny.

(Thanks to the incomparable Shoals for the tip)

This was the video that I mentioned at the start of last night's NBC telecast and I really need your help to figure out what the hell is going on. Keith Olbermann goes into an old clip of Cris Collinsworth trying to impress a model with his losing Super Bowl ring, which is hilarious. But what is all of this Tab nonsense at the end? Via the AA Weekend in Review over at The Sporting Blog....

Actually here's a better question.....They still make Tab??? That stuff was worse than Sam's Choice Cola. Also did Cris have his pinkie finger out when drinking a soda? No wonder she left the Country.

Weekend Tube Review: Final Primetime Games Set (The Sporting News)

I can't really find fault in the whole NBC "Going Green" thing (because it's obviously a good thing), but was there possibly a way they could have been less annoying with the process? I for one immediately think of doing the opposite when Bob Costas tell me what to do, but that's just me. Glow sticks, 20 minutes of no lights, and Matt Lauer at the North Pole....makes me want to change the world!

I think the best line I've read about last night came from the Realests....

"We're thinking of having Cris Collinsworth wear a miner's helmet with a light," says show producer Michael Weisman, seemingly serious. "And have candles. Or maybe Glow Sticks." Weisman added that "We're opening ourselves up for ridicule and sarcasm."

You mean by turning your halftime show into a rave? Really, you think? We have a better idea to go green: Turn off Football Night in America. Man, we're geniuses.

I agree. The whole time I was just begging them to turn the power to their mics off as well. You know what else would help the earth. If you nixed half of your "Studio Team" and donated their salaries to "Save the Rain Forests" or whichever charity was "in" at the time.

"Sunday Night Is Football Night In America" is the worst studio show in Sports, and that's saying a lot when Emmitt Smith is your competition.

Crap Night In America Just Got Worse (The Realests)
NBC studio show holds creepy vigil for crappy season (The Sports Hernia)

Via The Big Lead comes this video that has Olbermann taking a pretty big swipe at Stephen A. Smith about 1:30 in....

"By the way when you're down to Stephen A. Smith...you're finished"

Ouch that burns. It's pretty funny I guess I pretty much hate all three of them, so they can beat each other up for all I care.

Also, of note.....Stephen A. Smith has just hired high-powered Florida trial lawyer Willie E. Gary to take his former paper (Philadelphia Inquirer) to court. Good Times....Good Times.

Did Keith Olbermann Take a Swipe at Stephen A. Smith? (The Big Lead)

So the first game of the NFL Season is under our collective belt, and just like I do with the Monday Nighter each week I'm going to give a little review and grading. If you disagree or have something to add feel free to do so in the comments.

Olbermann aside (I'll get a final word in on that shortly) I thought it was a great broadcast. I could have done without Rich Eisen to start the show, but as a whole NBC showed why the have the best game coverage in the business.

Sure Madden gets a little crazy when it goes past his bedtime, but that's always enjoyable. I thought Michaels did an excellent job of calling a game that turned into a blowout quickly in the 2nd half. I also didn't notice any of the new fancy technology, which is probably a good thing.

Game Coverage and Announcers: B-

Announcing Quotes of the Night:

"If you start the contact in an legal position and end up in an illegal position....it's legal."- John Madden
"I'll buy that."- Al Michaels

"Well that's the Chicken Fry"- John Madden
"It's Something Fried"- Al Michaels
"Chicken Fried isn't chicken....they just beat the meat and throw it in a fryer."- John Madden
"It's a lot of fat grams whatever it is."- Al Michaels

"Basically every week you're going to do a commentary every week, and then back track the next week."- Chris Collinsworth

Commenter Quotes of the Night:

"Does Al still think he's fooling us into thinking he's the same height as Madden? It's been 5 years Al. We know you're standing on something."- Student of the Game

"Jeff Saturday looks like Ron Jeremy with a Helmet on."- OilCanBoyd

Pregame Show Grade: B, I missed Kelly Clarkson, but Faith Hill wasn't bad and the fact that JCM didn't play Ouuuur Country is grounds enough for a high grade.

The Halftime Show:

I'll keep this quick since everything that needed to be said was done so in the comments of the video post, buuuuut I wanted to get a few things straight.

I like Bob Costas, I actually can stand Jerome Bettis, I think no other writer has as much access as Peter King, and I think Chris Collinsworth needs to still be in a booth somewhere. I also generally like Keith Olbermann, but this segment of his is just an abomination. I'm sorry but it has to be said.

I went back and watched the video and they had two points about the first half. Tiki mentioned Saints Corner Jason David for about 20 seconds, and Chris Collinsworth had a minute to talk before they went to Olbermann's piece. They didn't even have their whole team in the studio. Here's a question.....

What the hell are the going to do when they have Peter King and Jerome Bettis filling out the room? There's going to be games where one or more people aren't even going to get to talk! I'm sorry, but like I said before....if you don't see this as a blatant ad for Olbermann's show than I don't know what to tell you.

Halftime Grade: D, Would have been an F if it wasn't for Collinsworth trashing Olbermann.

Overall: C+, I'm trying not to let 5 minutes ruin an entire broadcast

God. I don't even know where to start. We had about a minute and a half of highlights of the actual game followed by Keith Olbermann ragging on himself and introducing some random bat phone. Can we say failure now, or should I give it a couple of weeks???

The ONLY redeeming quality about this whole thing is Chris Collinsworth just absolutely clowning everyone on the set each week. Someone needs to get him his own show. Perhaps a political commentary show? I know someone who needs to be put out to pasture.

Update: Just to clarify....I'm not looking for a day's worth of highlights like some of you have hinted at. I'm looking for a breakdown of the first half....that's it. If Keith is going to do this promo for his show every week, then there's no room for any analysis regarding the game at hand.

Someone in the comments mentioned that "haven't most football fans seen all of the day's highlights by the time halftime on Sunday night comes around". Great point.....hasn't everyone in the g'damn world seen the back story on anyone he could bring up as the "worst person in the world"!?!

It's all old news, and it's pointless. You can see why Chris Collinsworth is already annoyed with the whole thing. Why? Because he knows something about Football AND the game that was taking place on the station we were all watching.

More on this tomorrow....

It's a valid question isn't it? Why in the world would ESPN add Shrutebag to a three-man team to make it an unheard of four-man broadcast? It's such a dumb move that it's beyond my comprehension. Here are a few reasons that I could come up with. Help me in figuring this out by adding one in the comments....

1. Colin's radio show is getting terrible ratings. They put him on one of the first College games of the year to hype his show. This seems the most plausible, especially since the press release read like this, "ESPN Radio’s Colin Cowherd of The Herd with Colin Cowherd will provide commentary from the booth of ESPN’s Washington at Syracuse telecast Friday, Aug. 31 at 8 p.m." (FYI- I know nothing about his ratings, so that may or may not be the case)

2. DNS Server attacks cost money in lawyer fees. He has to make a few extra bucks.

3. ESPN couldn't think up a worse punishment for Sean McDonough, Rob Stone, and Chris Spielman.

4. He was jealous that Bill Simmons got to call a game.

5. He has some free time on his hands.

6. He needs some more information for that game show thingy he was doing. Oh wait....that was canceled. Nevermind.

7. He's jealous of Olbermann's new role on NBC.

8. He needs a new forum to show off his magic skills.

9. They put him in Syracuse to get him as far away from Cincinnati as they can.

10. He needs to pass the time until the next Radio ESPY Awards Ceremony.

Sorry I might have taken them all....if you have one to add feel free to add it in the comments. And Shrutey......I'll (We'll) be watching. Don't F up.

8 p.m.- ESPN /ESPN Mobile TV- Washington at Syracuse
Sean McDonough, Chris Spielman, Colin Cowherd and Rob Stone

What it is...I have no idea. Maybe it's just me, but I'd like my Football with a little less anger. It is just a "game" after all. I don't care if we are talking about Mike Vick....no one ever needs to be THIS serious....

I'm so confused. So I'm supposed to hope that Vick comes back soon why? Because jail sucks? Isn't that the whole point? Someone help me out here.

Also, Jerome Bettis' orchestrated explanation of how he wasn't calling Coach Cowherd out was the biggest hunk of garbage ever. I can't believe I'm saying this, but....

Can I have Peter King back?

Sunday Night Is Football Night! Sunday Night is Football Night!

It's like a cancer.....you will hear that slogan until you want to rip your ears off. To tell you the truth ....I don't even mind it. I don't mind it because NBC could have Jerome Bettis and Peter King strip at halftime and I'd still watch.

Here's all you really need to know.....

1. NBC has the best schedule of teams all year long.
2. Even though Madden and Michaels are old as hell, they get a free pass (to some degree) unless Michaels is complaining about Indoor fireworks.
3. As random as the Studio Show is....it's still the best in the business. It's the only one that actually talks about Football (Frank Caliendo dressing up and making jokes about Bradshaw does not count).
4. The Flex Scheduling

Sure they have about 10,000 people for the Studio Show, John Madden isn't always sure what city he's in, Al Michaels seems bored with life, and Andrea Kramer is way too giddy for my tastes.....But they're still better than any other collection a Network could put together. Who cares if it's a little over the top.
____________________________


Overall Network Pre-Season Grade: B/B+

Pre-Season Announcing Team Grade: B- (It will most certainly drop when Al Michaels flips out on the production crew. It almost happened last night when they lost all 12 monitors.....let that happen Week 6.)

9 Folks For One Game
King Takes Dumps On Madden's Bus
Tiki Hazed by Smell
________________________

CBS' preview will be coming at a later date. I only got to watch about 5 minutes of Friday's game. Gus Johnson did seem a little too excited for a Pre-Season game. He's much better in Basketball if you ask me.

In the past week I've given you a handful of examples that illustrated how far SportsCenter has Fallen. Hey, I don't want it to be that way, but these are the facts.

Well folks, are you ready to be even more depressed? Do you remember when SportsCenter first spoke to you??? Do you remember a little duo simply know as Patrick-Olbermann???

Are you ready for it....I don't think you are.....sit down please.....

It was 10 years ago today that Dan and Keith did their last show together as SportsCenter anchors.

How sad is that? Seriously....whatever happened to straight-forward Sports reporting with humor when warranted (and funny on top of that)??? We now have to deal with The Sklar Brothers, Sean Salisbury, Who's Now?, The Coors/Bud Light Six Pack, Stuart Scott, Die Hard, etc, etc, etc.....

It's to the point where I rarely even watch the show now. To be honest the only time I ever catch it is on Sunday's during Football season. Maybe they need all the gimmicks.....maybe they don't. But I miss the first "never miss show" I ever watched.

I leave you with this lyric from one of the best bands during the time of Dan and Keith's last show......

"It's Sooooo Harrrrrd tooooo say gooooodbyyyyyye toooo yesterdaaaaaay eeeeeeeeee."

Thanks to Bruce for the comment below....I forgot to add that K and D are on Late Night tomorrow night.....

"Ya know, I haven't watched the Sunday night SC since KO left. In fact, I hardly watch it, period. They're scheduled to be on Letterman on Wednesday night, btw. I say "scheduled", because the last two times Patrick was booked were the Farrah meltdown, and Seinfeld's post-Michael Richards appearance, so it's a good bet something will happen."

A Vince McMahon Death stunt perhaps? Too Soon???