Fang's Bites

Nominees for 6th Annual Fang’s Bites NFL TV Awards

Merry Christmas! Happy to provide you with the nominees for this year’s NFL TV Awards. Last year’s nominees ended up this way.

And later, this was the result for the 2011 season.

Let’s take a look at the nominees in each category.

Best Play-by-Play: Ian Eagle (CBS), Kevin Harlan (CBS), Al Michaels (NBC), Brad Nessler (NFL Network), Mike Tirico (ESPN)

Best Game Analyst: Troy Aikman (Fox), Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Dan Fouts (CBS), Rich Gannon (CBS), Mike Mayock (NFL Network)

Best Sunday NFL Pregame Show: First on the Field (NFL Network), Fox NFL Sunday (Fox), NFL Matchup (ESPN), NFL Today (CBS)

Best Studio Show, Daily or Weekly: Around the League Live (NFL Network), Inside the NFL (Showtime), NFL Live (ESPN), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), NFL Turning Point (NBC Sports Network)

Best Highlights: Football Night in America (NBC), NFL GameDay Final (NFL Network), NFL PrimeTime (ESPN), The OT (Fox)

Best Studio Host: Rich Eisen (NFL Network), Curt Menefee (Fox), Dan Patrick (NBC/NBC Sports Network), Melissa Stark (NFL Network), Andrew Siciliano (DirecTV), Trey Wingo (ESPN)

Best Studio Analyst: Tony Dungy (NBC), Boomer Esiason (CBS), Marshall Faulk (NFL Network), Rodney Harrison (NBC), Kurt Warner (NFL Network), Steve Young (ESPN)

Most Valuable Network: Fox, ESPN, NBC, NFL Network

Best NFL Insider: John Clayton (ESPN), Jay Glazer (Fox), Peter King (NBC),  Jason La Canfora (CBS), Chris Mortensen (ESPN)

Best Sideline Reporter: Alex Flanagan (NFL Network), Jennifer Hale (Fox), Jaime Maggio (Fox), Lisa Salters (ESPN), Michele Tafoya (NBC)

Best Announcing Team: Ian Eagle/Dan Fouts (CBS), Kevin Harlan/Solomon Wilcots (CBS), Al Michaels/Cris Collinsworth (NBC), Brad Nessler/Mike Mayock (NFL Network), Mike Tirico/Jon Gruden (ESPN)

Best Game Production: Monday Night Football (ESPN), NFL on CBS (CBS), NFL on Fox (Fox), Sunday Night Football (NBC), Thursday Night Football (NFL Network)

Best Debut: Carolyn Manno on Football Night in America (NBC), First on the Field (NFL Network), Amber Theoharis on NFL Total Access (NFL Network), Hines Ward on Football Night in America (NBC)

Worst Play-by-Play: Chris Berman (ESPN), Thom Brennaman (Fox), Chris Myers (Fox), Ron Pitts (Fox), Dick Stockton (Fox)

Worst Game Analyst: Dan Dierdorf (CBS), Daryl Johnston (Fox), John Lynch (Fox), Mike Martz (Fox)

Worst Studio Host: Chris Berman (ESPN), Chris Rose (NFL Network)

Worst Studio Analyst: Michael Irvin (NFL Network), Eric Mangini (ESPN)

Breaking Out Some Monday Linkage

The last few days, I’ve been sick which limited the number of posts between Friday and Saturday. I’m still not feeling well, but I’ll be providing linkage and posts as long I’m physically able. To the links.

Sports Illustrated’s Richard Deitsch talks with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark about returning to sports television after leaving in 2008 to become a full-time mom.

Don Banks of SI looks at how NFL teams are adjusting to a full season of Thursday Night Football.

John Ourand & Michael Smith from Sports Business Journal report that ESPN is close to nabbing the college football playoff for many years to come.

John catches up with outgoing Fox Sports Media Group Vice Chairman Ed Goren who helped launch the company in 1994.

Eric Fisher at SBJ notes how MLB Advanced Media kept operating after Hurricane Sandy wiped out power in the company’s headquarters.

Ed Sherman of The Sherman Report looks at an unusual Comcast SportsNet Chicago documentary which went to Cambodia to tell a compelling story.

Kurt Badenhausen from Forbes explains how ESPN is the cash engine that drives Disney.

Joe Levine of SportsGrid tells us that Fox NFL Sunday had some technical issues during one of its halftime updates.

Brian Steinberg at Advertising Age says Century 21 will return to advertising in the Super Bowl in February.

Phil Mushnick of the New York Post doesn’t understand the bubble screen.

Pete Dougherty at the Albany Times Union has NBC Sports Network’s college basketball announcing teams.

Don Laible talks with former WNBC-TV sports anchor Len Berman here and here.

Dave Zoren of the Delaware County Daily Times says Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia and The Comcast Network team up for almost 70 college basketball games this season (scroll down).

Jim Williams of the Washington Examiner talks about waking up with NFL AM.

The Charlotte Observer talks with CBS’ Jim Nantz.

Tom Jones of the Tampa Bay Times looks back at the weekend in sports television.

Matt Murschel of the Orlando Sentinel says a fourth sports radio station launches in the local market today.

Christine Lee of NBC Dallas says ESPN is teaming up with the Irving Chamber of Commerce to attract businesses to the local area.

David Barron from the Houston Chronicle has DirecTV’s CEO complaining about Comcast SportsNet Houston’s subscriber fees.

Mel Bracht at The Oklahoman reviews the TV productions of the Oklahoma and Oklahoma State games from Saturday.

John Vomhof, Jr. of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal says a Fox Sports North reporter is leaving for a similar position at Root Sports Pittsburgh.

Dusty Saunders of the Denver Post feels Dick Vitale is key to any college basketball season.

Patrick Finley of the Arizona Daily Star says the Pac-12 Conference will no longer have exposure issues now that with new TV contracts with ESPN, Fox, CBS and of course, the Pac-12 Network.

Tom Hoffarth of the Los Angeles Daily News has the SoCal sports calendar for this week.

Tom has the five things he learned from watching sports over the weekend.

Barry Petchesky of Deadspin notes that Minnesota Vikings QB Christan Ponder made a tongue-in-cheek comment about his girlfriend, ESPN’s Samantha Steele.

The Classic Sports TV and Media blog has a look at ABC’s Monday Night Football’s halftime highlights as narrated by the late, great Howard Cosell.

And that will do it for now.

Your Week 1 NFL Viewing Guide

I hope to be doing this for you before each week of the NFL regular season and into the postseason. I’ll give you a few facts and pick a couple of games from each network to watch.

So let’s give you some quick viewing facts for the very first week of the 2012 NFL season in The League Where They Play. For Pay.

Which network has the doubleheader? — Fox. San Francisco at Green Bay is the main game at 4:25 p.m. going to 87% of the country.

What’s up with the 4:25 p.m. ET starts? — The NFL heard your complaints about cutting off the overruns from the 1 p.m. ET games for the start of the late games. Now you should be able to see those fantastic finishes without having the rug being pulled from under.

Blackouts? — Oh yes. In Tampa Bay. Oh, Tampa Bay. Pobre Tampa Bay.

CBS just has games at 1 p.m.? — Yes, it’s the usual U.S. Open coverage, but weather has wreaked havoc on the schedule, so instead of the men’s final, CBS will air the women’s final at 4:30 after the NFL.

Who is this Rob Riggle? — He joins Fox NFL Sunday replacing Frank Caliendo on the comic relief picks segment.

Anybody else new on Fox NFL Sunday? — Yes. Erin Andrews. You may have heard of her. She’ll be on the Fox NFL pregame show every week with a feature. This week, she interviews Aaron Rodgers of the Green Bay Packers.

How about The NFL Today on CBS? — Yup. Jason La Canfora, former insider on the NFL Network joins the Tiffany Network replacing the GM segment with Charley Casserly.

What happened to Charley Casserly? — Don’t cry for Charley, he’s on the NFL Network now.

Speaking of NFL Network, anything new with them on Sundays? — Where do we begin? They have a new 7 a.m. ET, yes, that’s 7 a.m. ET, pregame show called “First on the Field” hosted by Melissa Stark. Oh, and Chris Rose will be the host of the Sunday night shows, NFL Game Day Highlights and NFL Game Day Final.

Anyone new on the game broadcasts this year? — Mike Martz joins Fox. He’ll be teamed with Ron Pitts. And Heath Evans will work some games with Sam Rosen. CBS is pretty much status quo.

So is Michael Strahan going to be able to last the season being on Fox NFL Sunday and Live with Kelly and Michael? — Good question. Being bi-coastal with Live in New York and Fox NFL Sunday in LA isn’t going to be easy. Granted, this is not rocket science, but there has to be some wear-and-tear flying to-and-fro each week with no days off in between. We’ll see if Michael has some verbal gaffes late in the season.

So what are your Games of the Week? — In Week 1, just about every game is a Game of the Week, but narrowing it down, first on CBS: Indy at Chicago (Greg Gumbel/Dan Dierdorf) as Andrew Luck makes his NFL regular season debut and yes, Buffalo at New York Jets (Marv Albert/Rich Gannon) just to see when the quarterback controversy starts.

On Fox, I’ll go with Philadelphia at Cleveland (Dick Stockton/John Lynch/Jennifer Hale) of the early games because of my Browns and to see how quick a quagmire the team makes. Also, there’s San Francisco at Green Bay (Joe Buck/Troy Aikman/Pam Oliver) for the late game at 4:25 p.m. as Aaron Rodgers takes on his hometown team.

Anything else I should know? — Let’s see, Fox NFL Sunday has a new set which made its debut under Fox Soccer and Fox College Football. It’ll get its major use on NFL Sundays.

What about NBC? Anything new with the Peacock? — Hines Ward joins NBC and he’ll be at game sites with Bob Costas during Football Night in America and perhaps at halftime. Other than that, FNIA should remain the same. And NBC is not going to tinker with a formula that made Sunday Night Football the top rated primetime series last season, the first for a sports series.

And Monday? What about Monday Night Football? — Can’t forget about Monday. There’s a  Week 1 AFC doubleheader with Cincinnati at Baltimore and San Diego at Oakland. MNF will have a two man booth with Mike Tirico and Jon Gruden. Ron Jaworski goes to the studio. Lisa Salters roams the sidelines. And yes, there’s Chris Berman calling his first-ever regular season game in Oakland. How many times will he say, “Da Ray-duhs”? We may have to do a drinking game.  Twitter may explode with Berman calling the game, but overall, the ratings will still be good for the double dip. And Suzy Kolber will host Monday Night Countdown in place of Berman.

That is your Viewing Guide for NFL Week 1.

NFL Network’s New Fall Programming

With the NFL now in full swing, well, as close to full swing as we can get, NFL Network will go into football mode big time. You know about its full NFL GameDay shows with Morning, GameCenter, Scoreboard, Highlights and Final. It adds “First on the Field” at 7 a.m. to be hosted by Melissa Stark.

In addition, you have mainstays like The Coaches Show this year with Brian Billick and Dennis Green, NFL Replay, Sound FX and A Football Life.

NFL Network also has 13 Thursday Night Football games that will last from Weeks 2-11 and 13-15.

In this press release, NFL Network announces talent additions like former New York Giants offensive lineman Shaun O’Hara and former Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Dononvan McNabb. Also former Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals coach Dennis Green is an addition.

Replacing NFL Network original Kara Henderson on NFL Total Access as co-anchor with Scott Hanson on Fridays and Saturdays is former MASN anchor and reporter Amber Theoharis.

Take a look at what NFL Network has in store for you this season.

NFL NETWORK GETS ‘BACK TO FOOTBALL’ WITH EXTENSIVE 2012 FALL PROGRAMMING LINEUP

From the Field to the Studio – LaDainian Tomlinson, Donovan McNabb, Shaun O’Hara & Darren Sharper Join as Analysts
Expanded 13-Game ‘Thursday Night Football’ Schedule – Starts September 13 at 8:00 PM ET
Sunday is ‘GameDay’ Beginning LIVE at 7:00 AM ET with the new ‘First on the Field’
‘NFL Fantasy Live’ Airs Monday-Friday at 2:00 PM ET
‘NFL Total Access,’ ‘NFL AM,’ ‘Around the League Live,’ ‘The Coaches Show,’ ‘NFL Replay,’ ‘Sound FX’ & Emmy Award-Nominated ‘A Football Life’ Round Out Fall Programming

The 2012 NFL preseason is officially in the books and it’s time to kick off the regular season. With comprehensive news shows such as NFL Total Access, NFL AM and Around the League Live, extensive “GameDay” coverage starting at 7:00 AM ET every Sunday, and the expanded 13-game Thursday Night Football schedule, NFL Network remains the ultimate destination for football fans across the country.

This season, NFL Network bolsters its on-air talent roster with the additions of four former NFL players who enjoyed established and prestigious careers: 2006 NFL MVP and five-time Pro Bowl running back LaDainian Tomlinson; six-time Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb; three-time Pro Bowl center and Super Bowl champion with the New York Giants Shaun O’Hara; and 14-year veteran and Super Bowl champion safety with the New Orleans Saints Darren Sharper.

After a storied 11-year NFL career with the San Diego Chargers and New York Jets, Tomlinson joins NFL Network, appearing every Sunday during the NFL season at 7:00 AM ET on the new pregame show First on the Field. Tomlinson, who ranks second all-time in rushing touchdowns and fifth all-time in rushing yards, joins co-hosts Melissa Stark and five-time Pro Bowl wide receiver Sterling Sharpe, and analyst Michael Lombardi from NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, NJ, to provide the first analysis of the day’s games.

McNabb, fresh off the field after a 13-year NFL career, joins NFL Network as an analyst on Playbook, which airs Friday at 8:00 PM ET (NFC edition) and 9:00 PM ET (AFC edition). The former signal-caller for the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and Minnesota Vikings joins analysts Sharpe and Brian Baldinger on the ultimate X’s-and-O’s show, which utilizes the game film used by coaches and players to break down each week’s matchups.

Former Super Bowl-winners O’Hara and Sharper, with a combined 25 years of NFL experience, will provide insight Monday-Saturday on NFL Total Access at 7:00 PM ET. O’Hara and Sharper join fellow Super Bowl champions Willie McGinest and Heath Evans, and hosts Andrew Siciliano, Lindsay Rhodes, Scott Hanson and Amber Theoharis to make the NFL’s show of record the go-to destination for fans to get unmatched analysis and opinion about the National Football League.

NFL Network’s Thursday Night Football kicks off its expanded 13-game primetime schedule Week 2 on September 13 at 8:00 PM ET with the Green Bay Packers hosting the Chicago Bears in a matchup of the NFL’s most-played rivalry. Emmy-nominated analyst Mike Mayock and play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler return for their second season in the Thursday Night Football broadcast booth, while Alex Flanagan returns for her third season as sideline reporter. Coverage for all 13 games begins at 6:00 PM ET with the Thursday Night Kickoff pregame show live from the stadium. The Halftime Show and the Postgame Show provide additional analysis live from inside the stadium each week on Thursday Night Football.

Sunday is GameDay, and NFL Network has it covered from every angle. Following NFL Network’s new First on the Field show, NFL GameDay Morning continues to set the table for the day’s action four hours prior to kickoff at 9:00 AM ET. Host Rich Eisen and analysts Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin get you ready for kickoff with expert commentary, the latest news reports and insight on each matchup.

NFL GameDay Scoreboard with Paul Burmeister, Darren Sharper and Tom Waddle airs at 4:00 PM ET, followed by NFL GameDay Highlights at 7:30 PM ET with host Chris Rose, Deion Sanders and Mariucci. At 11:30 PM ET, Rose and analysts Faulk, Sanders and Irvin recap all of the day’s action on NFL GameDay Final with game highlights, player and coach press conferences, post-game interviews and analysis of every game.

Wake up every weekday morning with everything NFL during the four-hour morning show, NFL AM. Hosts Brian Webber and Nicole Zaloumis, and analysts Eric Davis, Mark Kriegel and Steve Wyche jump start the football conversation for the day beginning at 6:00 AM ET Monday-Friday with interviews featuring players and coaches, live reports from team facilities and debates about all of the stories making news across the league. NFL AM re-airs at 7:00 AM PT.

NFL Network is your home for all of Monday’s news and press conferences with a three-hour edition of Around the League Live on Mondays at 3:00 PM ET, hosted by Paul Burmeister. Fran Charles hosts a two-hour edition of Around the League Live Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday beginning at 5:00 PM ET, and Thursday at 4:00 PM ET. Featuring insight from NFL Network’s team of analysts, interviews with players and coaches via exclusive Team Cams, press conferences and news reports, Around the League Live gives fans inside access to all 32 teams.

Gain the upper hand in your fantasy football league each week with NFL Fantasy Live Monday-Friday at 2:00 PM ET. Former NFL defensive end Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and veteran sports broadcaster Jaime Maggio join analysts Michael Fabiano, Elliot Harrison, Adam Rank, Dave Dameshek, Jason Smith and Matt “Money” Smith to provide the analysis and advice you need to dominate your league. NFL Fantasy Live also airs every Sunday during the season at 11:30 AM ET on NFL.com and the NFL RedZone channel. NFL Fantasy Live airs on NFL.com Monday-Friday at 1:00 PM ET.

The Emmy Award-nominated series A Football Life produced by NFL Films returns with an expanded 13-episode season, airing Wednesday at 8:00 PM ET throughout the NFL season. Premiering September 12 with The Faces of Tim Tebow, the documentary series examines the people and subjects that have had a profound and lasting impact on the sport of professional football.

Additional programs returning this season include The Coaches Show featuring Brian Billick and Dennis Green on Mondays at 6:30 PM ET, NFL Replay on Tuesdays at 8:00 PM ET and Wednesdays at 9:00 PM ET, and Sound FX on Wednesdays at 10:30 PM ET.

Below is a complete listing of NFL Network’s 2012 Fall Programming lineup, complete with air times, talent and show descriptions.

NFL Network’s 2012 Fall Programming Lineup

First on the Field
When: Sunday, 7:00 AM ET
Talent: LaDainian Tomlinson, Melissa Stark, Sterling Sharpe, Michael Lombardi
What: Every Sunday during the NFL season, NFL Network is there when you wake up with First on the Field. Former NFL MVP and five-time Pro Bowl running back LaDainian Tomlinson joins Melissa Stark, Sterling Sharpe and Michael Lombardi on the two-hour show that will become the first live pregame show to originate from NFL Films in Mt. Laurel, NJ. Featuring live reports from game sites and previews of the week’s games, First on the Field establishes the storylines that will be covered and expanded upon on NFL GameDay Morning.

NFL GameDay Morning
When: Sunday, 9:00 AM ET
Talent: Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Warren Sapp, Michael Irvin
Game Reporters: Albert Breer, Stacey Dales, Jeff Darlington, Kimberly Jones, Ian Rapoport, Aditi Kinkhabwala, Michelle Beisner, Steve Cyphers
What: The most comprehensive pregame show on television, NFL GameDay Morning takes viewers right up to kickoff. Host Rich Eisen and analysts Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin discuss the upcoming games four hours prior to kickoff, while NFL Network reporters stationed around the league provide up-to-the-minute reports and interviews from the game sites. Fans can interact with the show and send in their questions on Twitter (@NFLN_GameDay).

NFL GameDay Scoreboard
When: Sunday, 4:00 PM ET
Talent: Paul Burmeister, Tom Waddle, Darren Sharper
What: NFL GameDay Scoreboard takes viewers around the league for post-game press conferences and game highlights, in addition to up-to-the-minute scores, statistics, and news during the late afternoon matchups.

NFL GameDay Highlights
When: Sunday, 7:30 PM ET
Talent: Chris Rose, Steve Mariucci, Deion Sanders
What: Analysts Steve Mariucci and Deion Sanders join host Chris Rose to recap all of the day’s action on NFL GameDay Highlights, with game highlights, post-game press conferences and commentary. 

NFL GameDay Final
When: Sunday, 11:30 PM ET
Talent: Chris Rose, Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin
What: Join host Chris Rose and analysts Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin to get the final word on Sunday’s games. With postgame press conferences, game highlights, player/coach interviews, expert analysis, a preview of Monday’s game and more, NFL GameDay Final provides everything viewers need to know about the week in the NFL.

NFL AM
When: Monday – Friday, 6:00 – 10:00 AM ET (Re-airs 10:00 AM – 2:00 PM ET)
Hosts: Brian Webber, Nicole Zaloumis
Analysts: Eric Davis, Mark Kriegel, Steve Wyche
What: Fans can now start their day with the NFL like never before with NFL AM, a four-hour weekday morning show on NFL Network. Hosts Brian Webber and Nicole Zaloumis are joined by analysts Eric Davis, Mark Kriegel and Steve Wyche to set the NFL news and discussion for the day. Featuring live reports from NFL Network reporters stationed throughout the league, interviews with players and coaches as they begin their workday, and discussion and debate on a number of NFL-related topics emphasizing the talent’s personalities, NFL AM is the perfect complement to every NFL fan’s breakfast and morning coffee.

Around the League Live
When: Monday, 3:00 – 6:00 PM ET; Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday, 5:00 – 7:00 PM ET; Thursday, 4:00 – 6:00 PM ET
Hosts: Paul Burmeister (Monday); Fran Charles (Tuesday – Friday)
Analysts: Heath Evans and Darren Sharper (Monday – Wednesday); Willie McGinest and Shaun O’Hara (Thursday & Friday); Michael Lombardi, Charley Casserly, Jamie Dukes, Brian Baldinger, Solomon Wilcots, Tom Waddle, Dennis Green (various)
What: Around the League Live gives fans inside access to their favorite teams with interviews with players and coaches, press conferences, live reports from team facilities, analysis of the previous week’s games and previews of the upcoming matchups.

NFL Total Access
When: Monday & Saturday, 7:00 – 8:30 PM ET; Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday, 7:00 – 8:00 PM ET; Thursday, 12 Midnight – 1:00 AM ET
Hosts: Andrew Siciliano and Lindsay Rhodes (Monday – Wednesday); Chris Rose (Thursday); Scott Hanson and Amber Theoharis (Friday – Saturday)
Analysts: Willie McGinest, Heath Evans, Shaun O’Hara, Darren Sharper
Reporters: Albert Breer, Aditi Kinkhabwala, Ian Rapoport, Jeff Darlington, Kim Jones, Stacey Dales, Michelle Beisner
What: The NFL’s show of record is the go-to destination for the most comprehensive Championship-analysis of the National Football League. Super Bowl champions Willie McGinest, Heath Evans, Shaun O’Hara and Darren Sharper provide authoritative and respected analysis gained from years of NFL playing experience at a Super Bowl level. Each show will include contributions from a number of NFL Network’s stable of analysts and reporters stationed at team facilities across the league. Additionally, NFL Total Access features interviews with a number of players and coaches each week as they prepare for their upcoming game. Hosted by Andrew Siciliano and Lindsay Rhodes Monday through Wednesday, Chris Rose on Thursday, and Scott Hanson and Amber Theoharis Friday and Saturday, NFL Total Access offers unprecedented football news and information.

The Coaches Show
When: Monday, 6:30 PM ET
Talent: Brian Billick and Dennis Green
What: With more than 30 years of combined NFL coaching experience, Brian Billick and Dennis Green provide the view of the game from the perspective of the sideline. The former Minnesota Vikings coaching pair are reunited to offer opinions on various coaching decisions made during the week’s games, put themselves into real-life situations, answer quick-fire questions and respond to fan comments via Twitter and Facebook in this 30-minute show.

NFL Fantasy Live
When: Monday – Friday, 2:00 – 3:00 PM ET; Sunday, 11:30 AM – 12:58 PM ET (on NFL RedZone)
Talent: Michael Fabiano, Elliot Harrison, Adam Rank, Dave Dameshek, Jason Smith, Matt “Money” Smith, Akbar Gbaja-Biamila, Jamie Maggio
What: Each week, NFL Fantasy Live airs Monday – Friday at 2:00 PM ET on NFL Network, providing fantasy football fans with all of the information and analysis they need to dominate their leagues. Former NFL defensive end Akbar Gbaja-Biamila and veteran sports broadcaster Jaime Maggio join NFL Fantasy Live’s talent roster of Michael Fabiano, Elliot Harrison, Adam Rank, Dave Dameshek, Jason Smith and Matt “Money” Smith. Additionally, NFL Fantasy Live airs on Sundays of the regular season on the NFL RedZone channel at 11:30 AM ET to provide last-minute fantasy advice and the latest injury reports. NFL Fantasy Live is the ultimate home for all of the latest fantasy news, rankings and advice.

NFL Replay
When: Tuesday, 8:00 PM ET & 9:30 PM ET; Wednesday, 9:00 PM ET
What: Re-live three games with NFL Films enhancements from the previous week on Tuesday and Wednesday nights throughout the NFL season. On Tuesday at 8:00 PM ET and 9:30 PM ET, and Wednesday at 9:00 PM ET, catch a 90-minute replay of one of the best games from the past weekend, complete with postgame interviews and exclusive on-field sights and sounds.

Sound FX
When: Wednesday, 10:30 PM ET
What: Every Wednesday at 10:30 PM ET, Sound FX provides viewers inside access into the previous week’s games with a compilation of the best on-field sights and sounds captured by NFL Films.

A Football Life
When: Wednesday, 8:00 PM ET
What: The Emmy-nominated series produced by NFL Films, A Football Life, returns for a second year with an expanded 13-episode season. Premiering on September 12 with a profile on the immensely popular backup quarterback for the New York Jets Tim Tebow, A Football Life airs every Wednesday night at 8:00 PM ET throughout the NFL season, examining the people and subjects that have had a profound and lasting impact on the sport of professional football. Subjects profiled this season also include Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis; Super Bowl-winning head coaches Tom Coughlin and Jimmy Johnson; the late Tennessee Titans quarterback Steve McNair; former owner of the San Francisco 49ers Eddie DeBartolo, Jr.; and the 40th anniversary of “The Immaculate Reception.”

Thursday Night Kickoff
When: Thursday, 6:00 PM ET
Talent: Rich Eisen, Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, Michael Irvin, Stacey Dales
What: Two hours prior to every Thursday Night Football game on NFL Network, host Rich Eisen and analysts Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders and Michael Irvin are live from the stadium on Thursday Night Kickoff. The two-hour pregame show covers all of the storylines surrounding each matchup, plus the latest news and information from around the league. NFL Network reporter Stacey Dales provides the latest up-to-the-minute reports from the locker room. The Halftime Show and the Postgame Show provide additional analysis live from inside the stadium each week on Thursday Night Football.

Thursday Night Football
When: Thursday, 8:00 PM ET (Weeks 2 – 15)
Talent: Brad Nessler (play-by-play); Mike Mayock (analyst); Alex Flanagan (sidelines)
What: NFL Network’s expanded 13-game Thursday Night Football schedule kicks off September 13 at 8:00 PM ET when the Green Bay Packers host the Chicago Bears in the NFL’s most-played rivalry. Emmy-nominated game analyst Mike Mayock is joined in the broadcast booth by play-by-play announcer Brad Nessler, while Alex Flanagan provides reports from the sidelines.

Playbook
When: Friday, 8:00 PM ET (NFC), 9:00 PM ET (AFC)
Talent: Donovan McNabb, Brian Baldinger, Sterling Sharpe
What: See the game the way the pros do each week on Playbook, the ultimate X’s and O’s football show on television. Former Pro Bowl quarterback Donovan McNabb joins Brian Baldinger and Sterling Sharpe each week on Friday night to breakdown each week’s games and detail how each team will have success in the upcoming week with exclusive access to game film used by players and coaches. Fans can interact with the show through Twitter (@NFLN_Playbook) or email (playbook@nfl.com).

NFL Network Weekly Programming Schedule (all shows in HD; all times ET)

Sunday
7:00 AM – First on the Field
9:00 AM – NFL GameDay Morning
1:00 PM – NFL GameDay GameCenter
4:00 PM – NFL GameDay Scoreboard
7:30 PM – NFL GameDay Highlights
11:30 PM – NFL GameDay Final

Monday
6:00 AM – NFL AM – LIVE
10:00 AM – NFL AM – Re-Air
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
3:00 PM – Around the League Live
6:00 PM – Up to the Minute
6:30 PM – The Coaches Show
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:30 PM – The Coaches Show – Re-Air
9:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10
10:00 PM – The Coaches Show – Re-Air
10:30 PM – NFL’s Top 10
11:30 PM – NFL Total Access: MNF Presser
12 MIDNIGHT – NFL Total Access: MNF Review 

Tuesday
6:00 AM – NFL AM – LIVE
10:00 AM – NFL AM – Re-Air
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
3:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10
4:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10
5:00 PM – Around the League Live
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:00 PM – NFL Replay – Game #1 – PREMIERE
9:30 PM – NFL Replay – Game #2 – PREMIERE

Wednesday
6:00 AM – NFL AM – LIVE
10:00 AM – NFL AM – Re-Air
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
3:00 PM – NFL Replay – Game #1
4:30 PM – Sound FX: Best Of – PREMIERE
5:00 PM – Around the League Live
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:00 PM – A Football Life – PREMIERE
9:00 PM – NFL Replay – Game #3 – PREMIERE
10:30 PM – Sound FX – PREMIERE

Thursday
6:00 AM – NFL AM – LIVE
10:00 AM – NFL AM – Re-Air
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
3:00 PM – A Football Life (Episode from Previous Night)
4:00 PM – Around the League Live
6:00 PM – Thursday Night Kickoff
8:00 PM – Thursday Night Football
11:30 PM – Postgame Show
12 MIDNIGHT – NFL Total Access

Friday
6:00 AM – NFL AM – LIVE
10:00 AM – NFL AM – Re-Air
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
3:00 PM – Sound FX: Best Of
3:30 PM – Sound FX: Best Of
4:00 PM – Sound FX
4:30 PM – NFL Films Presents – PREMIERE
5:00 PM – Around the League Live
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:00 PM – Playbook – NFC
9:00 PM – Playbook – AFC
10:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10 – PREMIERE

Saturday
5:00 PM – Playbook – NFC
6:00 PM – Playbook – AFC
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:30 PM – Sound FX
9:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10
10:00 PM – A Football Life

That’s all. Pretty extensive lineup.

List of Monday Night Football Commentators

This was compiled by the fine people at ESPN. Here’s the list of Monday Night Football announcing teams dating back to when the series began on ABC in 1970. Since ESPN took over production in 1998, there has been a lot of upheaval in the announcing teams and you’ll notice this especially since the series moved to ESPN in 2006.

Monday Night Football Commentators All-Time (1970-present)

Year	Commentators
1970	Keith Jackson, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
1971	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
1972	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
1973	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
1974	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fred Williamson
1975	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Alex Karras
1976	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Alex Karras
1977	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
1978	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith
1979	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fran Tarkenton
1980	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fran Tarkenton
1981	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fran Tarkenton
1982	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, Fran Tarkenton
1983	Frank Gifford, Howard Cosell, Don Meredith, O.J. Simpson
1984	Frank Gifford, Don Meredith, O.J. Simpson
1985	Frank Gifford, O.J. Simpson, Joe Namath
1986	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford
1987	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1988	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1989	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1990	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1991	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1992	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1993	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf
1994	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann
1995	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann
1996	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lynn Swann
1997	Al Michaels, Frank Gifford, Dan Dierdorf, Lesley Visser
1998	Al Michaels, Dan Dierdorf, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser
1999	Al Michaels, Boomer Esiason, Lesley Visser
2000	Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller, Melissa Stark, Eric Dickerson
2001	Al Michaels, Dan Fouts, Dennis Miller, Melissa Stark, Eric Dickerson
2002	Al Michaels, John Madden, Melissa Stark
2003	Al Michaels, John Madden, Lisa Guerrero
2004	Al Michaels, John Madden, Michele Tafoya
2005	Al Michaels, John Madden, Michele Tafoya, Sam Ryan *
2006	Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, Joe Theismann, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya
2007	Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya
2008	Mike Tirico, Tony Kornheiser, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya
2009	Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya
2010	Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski, Suzy Kolber, Michele Tafoya
2011	Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Ron Jaworski **
2012	Mike Tirico, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters

* Ryan filled in duringTafoya’s pregnancy/maternity leave
** Rotation of reporters (Kolber, Nichols, Nix, Paolantonio, Werder)

ABC – 1970-2005; ESPN – 2006-present

That’s it.

NFL GameDay Morning Previews Week 9

Let’s now spend some time on the NFL previews for this week. We start with NFL Network’s NFL GameDay Morning. Last week, GameDay Morning brought back Andrea Kremer to the Sunday NFL pregame wars. Now, NFL Network brings back Melissa Stark who has an interview New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress.

Had the sports blogosphere been up and running during Melissa Stark’s time on Monday Night Football, she would have been as popular as Erin Andrews in the late 1990′s to early 2000′s, I can assure you of that. She was quite popular among fans when she took over on the sidelines for Lesley Visser in 1998.

We have the NFL Network preview for this Sunday.

JETS WR PLAXICO BURRESS SITS DOWN WITH MELISSA STARK ON NFL GAMEDAY MORNING SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 6 AT 9:00 AM ET

THIS WEEK ON NFL GAMEDAY MORNING: ‘Sunday Sitdown’ – Jets WR Plaxico Burress 1-on-1 with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark

Sunday is GameDay, beginning with NFL GameDay Morning at 9:00 AM ET. Join host Rich Eisen and analysts Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin on the first and most comprehensive pregame show on television, taking viewers straight up to kickoff with the latest news, injury reports, pregame analysis, exclusive interviews and game previews.

This week on NFL GameDay Morning’s ‘Sunday Sitdown,’ New York Jets wide receiver Plaxico Burress sits down for a one-on-one conversation with NFL Network’s Melissa Stark. Burress discusses the transition back to football, what his three-touchdown performance against San Diego meant to him, his relationship with head coach Rex Ryan, quarterback Mark Sanchez and more.

Additionally, The Season: A Biography examines the rivalry between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens to preview the two teams’ second matchup of the season on Sunday night.

Also featured on NFL GameDay Morning:

• How long can the Denver Broncos stick with quarterback Tim Tebow?
• At 3-4, is it time to panic in Dallas?
• Why are the 5-3 New Orleans Saints so inconsistent?
• With the New York Giants traveling to face the New England Patriots, NFL GameDay Morning looks back at the Giants’ victory over the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII
• At the midway point in the season, NFL GameDay Morning provides revised Super Bowl predictions

NFL Network reporters will provide pre-game news and interviews from the following games:

• Steve Wyche reports from New Orleans for Buccaneers-Saints
• Albert Breer reports from Buffalo for Jets-Bills
• Michelle Beisner reports from Dallas for Seahawks-Cowboys
• Steve Cyphers reports from FedEx Field for 49ers-Redskins
• Alex Flanagan reports from San Diego for Packers-Chargers

We’ll do ESPN’s NFL preview next.

NFL Network’s Schedule Over the Next 7 Days

Let’s do the NFL Network schedule before I forget. And I notice a blast from the past, former ESPN and ABC Monday Night Football sideline reporter Melissa Stark will be reporting for NFL Network. She was Erin Andrews in the 1990′s before Erin Andrews came along. Seriously. I have missed Melissa on TV.

NFL NETWORK & NFL.COM PROGRAMMING NOTES (10/5 – 10/10)

“It’s pretty amazing and humbling to think that I’m a part of a series such as this with individuals that really change the complexion of the NFL.” – Kurt Warner
KURT WARNER: A FOOTBALL LIFE DOCUMENTARY DEBUTS ON NFL NETWORK THURSDAY, OCTOBER 6 AT 10:00 PM ET

‘Sunday Sitdown’ – Michael Irvin Interviews Packers QB Aaron Rodgers on NFL GameDay Morning October 9 at 9:00 AM ET
Packers WR Greg Jennings Interviewed on NFL Total Access TONIGHT at 7:00 PM ET
Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, Warren Sapp & Jamie Dukes on No Huddle TONIGHT at 10:00 PM ET
Wes Welker, Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Lombardi & More on ‘The Rich Eisen Podcast’ Thursday, October 6 at 4:30 PM ET

From Cedar Rapids to Des Moines to Amsterdam to Super Bowl MVP – Kurt Warner: A Football Life Debuts on Thursday, October 6 at 10:00 PM ET
NFL Network’s new documentary series, A Football Life, continues with a profile of the storybook career of Kurt Warner on Thursday, October 6 at 10:00 PM ET.

Kurt Warner: A Football Life chronicles Warner’s roller coaster football journey. The one-hour NFL Films-produced documentary features Warner’s road to the NFL, two Super Bowl appearances with the Rams, going to the New York Giants and then moving on to the Arizona Cardinals, where he led the franchise to its first-ever Super Bowl appearance.

Kurt Warner on A Football Life:

“It’s pretty amazing and humbling to think that I’m a part of a series such as this with individuals that really change the complexion of the NFL.”

“I’ve always said that football was a part of my life, but at the end of the day I wanted my legacy to be bigger than the game of football. I wanted it to be more based on character than it was on play. And I think that’s really the essence of this story.”

To view the trailer for Kurt Warner: A Football Life, please click on the following link:
http://www.nfl.com/videos/a-football-life/09000d5d822ae8be/A-Football-Life-Kurt-Warner-sneak-peek

To read a blog post from NFL Films producer, James Weiner, explaining his interest in making the documentary on Warner for NFL Network, please click on the following link:
http://nflfilms.nfl.com/2011/10/04/kurt-warner-producers-notes/?module=HP11_content_stream

Following are notable quotes from Kurt Warner: A Football Life:
“Definitely one of the most compelling stories in NFL history and he is one of the greatest people you’ll ever meet.” – Tiki Barber

“The one thing I know about Kurt is he will always surprise you.” – Mike Martz

“We thought we were signing a fourth quarterback that could compete for the third quarterback job.” – Dick Vermeil

“To sit here and say that we could take a young man from Iowa [and] 18 months later he’s at the pinnacle, that’s kind of unbelievable.” – Al Luginbill 

THIS WEEK ON NFL GAMEDAY MORNING: ‘Sunday Sitdown’ – Michael Irvin Interview with Packers QB Aaron Rodgers
Sunday is GameDay, beginning four hours prior to kickoff on NFL GameDay Morning at 9:00 AM ET. Join host Rich Eisen and analysts Steve Mariucci, Marshall Faulk, Kurt Warner, Warren Sapp and Michael Irvin on the first and most comprehensive pregame show on television, taking viewers straight up to kickoff with the latest news, injury reports, pregame analysis and game previews.

This week, NFL Network analyst Michael Irvin sits down the quarterback of the Green Bay Packers Aaron Rodgers for a one-on-one interview to discuss the team’s 4-0 start and the challenge of repeating as Super Bowl champions.

Additionally, NFL Network reporter Steve Cyphers reports on the surprising seasons thus far for the 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles and the 3-1 Buffalo Bills heading into their Week 5 matchup in Buffalo.

Also featured on NFL GameDay Morning:

• Steve Cyphers reports from Buffalo for Eagles-Bills
• Stacey Dales reports from Pittsburgh for Titans-Steelers
• Steve Wyche reports from Houston for Raiders-Texans
• Michelle Beisner reports from Charlotte for Saints-Panthers
• Albert Breer reports from New England for Jets-Patriots
• How to fix the 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles
• Is the game against the New England Patriots make-or-break for the New York Jets?
• What would you say to Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo if you were his teammate?
• Can anyone slow down the 4-0 Green Bay Packers?
• What is the reason behind the high number of comebacks thus far?
• Quarterly grades are handed out

Patriots WR Wes Welker, Sugar Ray Leonard, Michael Lombardi & More on ‘The Rich Eisen Podcast’ Thursday, October 6 at 4:30 PM ET
The latest edition of ‘The Rich Eisen Podcast’ airs on NFL Network Thursday, October 6 at 4:30 PM ET.

The NFL’s league-leading wide receiver in receiving yards, Wes Welker of the New England Patriots, joins the podcast to discuss the team’s 3-1 start to the season and facing the division-rival New York Jets for the first time since a loss in the Divisional Round of the playoffs last year.

One of the all-time best boxers, Sugar Ray Leonard, speaks with Eisen about the upcoming boxing-themed movie Real Steel. Leonard was an advisor for the movie.

NFL Network analyst Michael Lombardi gives his thoughts on all that is happening throughout the NFL heading into Week 5. The creator of The League, Jeff Schaffer, previews what’s to come in the third season of the television show on FX. An executive producer of Curb Your Enthusiasm, Schaffer also discusses the popular HBO series and provides some inside information regarding the future of the show.

Actor Hank Azaria reprises the role of a character he created, baseball announcer Jim Brockmire, for an entertaining conversation.

Part 1 of the podcast featuring interviews with Welker and Schaffer is now available for download on NFL.com and iTunes:
http://richeisen.nfl.com/2011/10/05/rich-eisen-podcast-wes-welker-and-jeff-schaffer/

Part 2 of the podcast is available for download on Thursday, October 6. 

THIS WEEK ON AROUND THE LEAGUE LIVE and NFL TOTAL ACCESS: Packers WR Greg Jennings on NFL Total Access TONIGHT at 7:00 PM ET
Wednesday, October 5
Around the League Live:

• Melissa Stark reports from New York with the Jets
• Steve Cyphers reports from Philadelphia
• Albert Breer reports from Pittsburgh

NFL Total Access:

• Packers WR Greg Jennings interview

Thursday, October 6
Around the League Live:

• Saints TE Jimmy Graham interview
• Melissa Stark reports from New York with the Jets
• Steve Cyphers reports from Philadelphia
• Stacey Dales reports from Nashville

Friday, October 7
Around the League Live:

• Albert Breer reports from New England
• Stacey Dales reports from Pittsburgh

Saturday, October 8
NFL Total Access:

• Albert Breer reports from New England
• Steve Wyche reports from Houston
• Stacey Dales reports from Pittsburgh
• Steve Cyphers reports from Buffalo

Green Bay Packers & New Orleans Saints Remain Atop NFL.com’s Power Poll in Week 5
The Green Bay Packers and New Orleans Saints retained their spots atop NFL.com’s Power Poll in Week 5 for the second consecutive week, with the Packers again receiving all nine first place votes.

The Baltimore Ravens and Detroit Lions flip-flopped at No. 3 and No. 4 this week, while the Buffalo Bills dropped five spots to No. 10 following their loss to the Cincinnati Bengals.

This week, the New York Giants (Number eight) and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 9) made their debut in the top 10.

Below are the top 10 teams in the NFL.com Power Poll, with their previous week’s ranking listed in parentheses:
1. Green Bay Packers (1)
2. New Orleans Saints (2)
3. Baltimore Ravens (4)
4. Detroit Lions (3)
5. New England Patriots (T-5)
6. Houston Texans (9)
7. San Diego Chargers (8)
8. New York Giants (14)
9. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (11)
10. Buffalo Bills (T-5)

To view the entire poll, visit:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/09000d5d822d24e0/article/week-5-packers-saints-lead-the-way-bills-first-loss-costly?module=HP11_headline_stack

Marshall Faulk, Deion Sanders, Warren Sapp & Jamie Dukes on No Huddle TONIGHT at 10:00 PM ET
New Hall of Famers Marshall Faulk and Deion Sanders are joined by Warren Sapp and Jamie Dukes in a roundtable discussion on No Huddle tonight at 10:00 PM ET. The four will discuss the following topics:

• Was it a great comeback by the Lions, or did the Cowboys give the game away?
• What is wrong with the 1-3 Philadelphia Eagles?
• Which 2-2 team that made the playoffs last season is in the most trouble?
• The Year of the Comeback: why can’t defenses hold fourth-quarter leads?
• Kurt Warner’s football life: is this football’s best rags to riches story?
• Through the first quarter of the season, who is: MVP? Rookie of the Year? Coach of the Year? Best team?

THIS WEEK ON PLAYBOOK
Thursday 8:00 PM ET – AFC Playbook with Sterling Sharpe, Brian Baldinger, Joe Theismann and Matt Millen:

• Sterling Sharpe on why Philip Rivers can light up the Broncos defense
• Joe Theismann on what’s wrong with the Steelers offense
• Brian Billick film study on why Wes Welker can have his way with the Jets secondary
• How the Texans can hold off the Raiders
• 2:00 Warning – A look at the fantasy impact running backs in the AFC West

Friday 8:00 PM ET – NFC Playbook with Sterling Sharpe, Brian Baldinger, Joe Theismann and Matt Millen:

• Sterling Sharpe on how the Buccaneers offense can lead them to a 4th consecutive win
• Joe Theismann on why Eli Manning could be unstoppable against the Seahawks
• Brian Billick film study on how Darren Sproles can set the tone for the Saints offense
• How the Packers and Lions can improve to 5-0
• 2:00 Warning – A look at the fantasy impact running backs in the NFC North

Episode #5 of The Season: A Biography Profiles Packers TE Jermichael Finley
The fifth episode of The Season: A Biography is now available on NFL.com. This week profiles the tight end for the Green Bay Packers, Jermichael Finley, who suffered a season-ending injury in Week 5 of the 2010 season and was forced to watch his teammates win the Super Bowl from the sidelines.

In 2010, Finley entered his third season as one of the emerging tight ends in the league. Yet a torn meniscus in Week 5 forced Finley to the sideline, becoming one of 15 Packers players to be placed on Injured Reserve. Narrated by actor Wendell Pierce, The NFL Season: A Biography details Finley’s bittersweet thoughts throughout his team’s run to capture the Lombardi Trophy, and how he’s determined to bounce back stronger than ever this season.

To view this episode of The Season: A Biography, please visit:
http://www.nfl.com/features/the-season-2011/episode-5?module=HP11_cp

Live CFL Coverage Continues with Calgary Stampeders at B.C. Lions Saturday, October 8 at 10:00 PM ET
NFL Network’s live coverage of the Canadian Football League continues this week on Saturday, October 8 at 10:00 PM ET when the first-place Calgary Stampeders (8-5) travel to face the second-place B.C. Lions (7-6) in a crucial West Division matchup.

On Friday, October 7 at 3:00 AM ET, the game between the Winnipeg Blue Bombers (8-5) and the Hamilton Tiger-Cats (7-6) will be shown on tape delay.

DAY-BY-DAY PROGRAMMING SCHEDULE (all times listed are ET) 

Wednesday, October 5
5:00 PM – Around the League Live
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:00 PM – NFL Replay: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys – Week 4, 2011
9:30 PM – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
10:00 PM – No Huddle
11:00 PM – NFL Total Access
12 MIDNIGHT – NFL Fantasy Live
12:30 AM – NFL Replay: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys – Week 4, 2011
2:00 AM – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
2:30 AM – No Huddle

 

Thursday, October 6
12 NOON – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
12:30 PM – NFL Replay: Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys – Week 4, 2011
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
2:30 PM – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
3:00 PM – No Huddle
4:00 PM – NFL Films Presents: A Way with Words
4:30 PM – The Rich Eisen Podcast
5:00 PM – Around the League Live
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:00 PM – Playbook: AFC
9:00 PM – Reggie White & Jerome Brown: A Football Life
10:00 PM – Kurt Warner: A Football Life – DEBUT
11:00 PM – NFL Total Access
12 MIDNIGHT – NFL Fantasy Live
12:30 AM – Playbook: AFC
1:30 AM – Reggie White & Jerome Brown: A Football Life
2:30 AM – Kurt Warner: A Football Life

Friday, October 7
12 NOON – NFL’s Top 10: Weather Games
1:00 PM – Playbook: AFC
2:00 PM – NFL Fantasy Live
2:30 PM – The Rich Eisen Podcast
3:00 PM – Reggie White & Jerome Brown: A Football Life
4:00 PM – Kurt Warner: A Football Life
5:00 PM – Around the League Live
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:00 PM – Playbook: NFC
9:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: QB Controversies
10:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Team Nicknames
11:00 PM – NFL Total Access
12 MIDNIGHT – NFL Fantasy Live
12:30 AM – Playbook: NFC
1:30 AM – NFL’s Top 10: Team Nicknames
2:30 AM – The Rich Eisen Podcast
3:00 AM – Canadian Football League: Winnipeg Blue Bombers at Hamilton Tiger-Cats [Tape Delay]

Saturday, October 8
9:00 AM – NFL Films Presents: A Way with Words
9:30 AM – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
10:00 AM – No Huddle
11:00 AM – Playbook: AFC
12:00 NOON – Playbook: NFC
1:00 PM – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
1:30 PM – The Rich Eisen Podcast
2:00 PM – No Huddle
3:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: QB Controversies
4:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Team Nicknames
5:00 PM – Playbook: AFC
6:00 PM – Playbook: NFC
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:30 PM – Sound FX: Week 4, 2011
9:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Quarterbacks of the 90s
10:00 PM – Canadian Football League: Calgary Stampeders at B.C. Lions – LIVE
1:00 AM – NFL Total Access

 

Sunday, October 9
9:00 AM – NFL GameDay Morning
1:00 PM – NFL GameDay Statzone
4:00 PM – NFL GameDay Scoreboard
7:30 PM – NFL GameDay Highlights
11:30 PM – NFL GameDay Final

Monday, October 10
1:00 PM – Around the League Live
6:00 PM – Up to the Minute
6:30 PM – The Coaches Show
7:00 PM – NFL Total Access
8:30 PM – The Coaches Show
9:00 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Coaches Who Belonged in College
10:00 PM – The Coaches Show
10:30 PM – NFL’s Top 10: Coaches Who Never Won a Championship
11:30 PM – NFL Total Access Monday Night Football Presser
12 MIDNIGHT – NFL Total Access Monday Night Football Review

That’s it.

The Fang’s Bites Awards for Olympics Coverage

Now that the Olympics in Communist China are over, it’s time for me to hand out my Gold, Silver and Bronze medals to the NBC Hosts and Announcers. In addition, those not deserving of medals will receive an infamous carton of Chinese cigarettes. Here we go. I’ll start with hosts and then move down to announcers and analysts.

HOSTS

Gold Medal

Bob Costas, NBC – No doubt. He took the standard set by Jim McKay of ABC Sports and has moved it up even higher. He was solid during the 16 days of action. His interview of President Bush and IOC President Jacques Rogge were among his highlights.

Melissa Stark, MSNBC – It was nice to have Melissa doing sports once again. Very solid.

Alex Flanagan, CNBC and USA – Alex was in New York and sometimes had to fill time when rain delayed events. She did quite well.

Lindsay Czarniak, Oxygen – Hosted the Olympics on Oxygen show. I can see why people in DC like her so much. Deserving of a network shot down the line.

Silver Medal

Jim Lampley, NBC – Host of daytime coverage, Jim is a great nuts and bolts host. However, he had to be up during the overnight hours in Beijing. During the second weekend of action, he began to show some wear and tear.

Bill Patrick, MSNBC – Also host of Versus’ NHL coverage, Bill is not bad. He was also on hand for soccer and baseball coverage. He was ok.

Mary Carillo, NBC- Late night host, I liked Mary’s irreverent style. I could have done without her perky features.

Bronze Medal

Matt Vasgergian, USA – He’s a better baseball announcer than a studio host.

Fred Roggin, CNBC Boxing – I don’t know if it was his location or if he has a lazy eye, but Fred never seemed to look straight at the camera from his position at the Beijing Workers’ Gymnasium. Very distracting.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Tiki Barber and Jenna Wolfe, MSNBC – Co-hosts of the Olympic Update abortion on MSNBC, they were awful. They talked over each other. Tiki made no sense at times. Jenna has been knocked for her behavior on the Weekend Today show and she can knocked for her demeanor on Olympic Update. The show was horrible. Tiki and Jenna were horrible. The show should have been scrapped after two days, but it kept on for ten. We viewers who watched this show cannot get those 20 hours back from our lives.

ANNOUNCERS

Gold Medal

Tom Hammond, track & field – When he was assigned track & field in 1992 over Charlie Jones, I was not happy, but I was quick to see that Tom was solid at what he does. He can call football and basketball well. He has great knowledge of horse racing. His calls of track & field are among the best. He was on top of Usain Bolt’s world records, and he kept the right tone when Lolo Jones lost her bid for the women’s 100 meter hurdle race and when the 4 x 100 relay teams had their disastrous runs.

Dan Hicks, swimming – Did Dan yell too much? Yes he did, but when you have the assignment to call Michael Phelps’ run at history, you have license to do so. Dan was able to use the computerized lanes to help call who was 1st and 2nd. I’ll give him the gold for his work at the Water Cube.

Mike Breen, basketball – Mike has had a good year, calling the Celtics’ championship for ESPN/ABC, then returning to his old home of NBC to call the gold medals in both women’s and men’s basketball. Solid announcer. Has come a long way from being Bill in White Plains on the Imus show.

Bob Papa, boxing – Brutally honest in what was a disastrous venue. He gave great explanations of the questionable scoring system and then was right on top of punches that weren’t scored or decisions that were just plain baffling. Bob is one of the up and coming announcers on network TV.

Ted Robinson, diving – Another good nuts and bolts announcer. Gives you the facts and is usually on target.

JP Dellacamera, soccer – JP was in New York having to call most of the soccer action. He did the best he could off the monitors at 30 Rock and still made it sound as if he was in Beijing or Shanghai. Best at his sport.

Tim Ryan, rowing and canoeing – Tim is another excellent nuts and bolts announcer. He’s called just about every sport and has done them well. He’s a pro’s pro.

Silver Medal

Craig Hummer, cycling, open water swimming, triathlon and canoeing – Too many sports to call. It showed.

Kenny Rice, equestrian – Called the event from New York. Knows horses, but sometimes a bit too verbose.

Bob Fitzgerald, water polo – Solid throughout.

Paul Sunderland, indoor volleyball – Sometimes not emotional enough during matches, he picked it up duing the medal round.

Andrew Catalon, handball – Called the games off a monitor, but I liked what he did. Handball is not very well known in the US and by the end, he was sounding like an expert.

Bronze Medal

Barry McKay, tennis – Called the matches from New York, he’s not bad, but because he wasn’t in Beijing, he missed several points.

Eric Collins, baseball – Picked up from ESPN, he again had to call the games off a monitor in New York and it wasn’t easy. I’m not high on Eric to begin with, but he did as well as he could.

Bill Clement, table tennis – Did pretty decently, especially in the gold medal singles matches.

Mike Corey, field hockey – From what I could see from DVRing various programs, he did fine.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Al Trautwig – Not quite at the level of John Tesh’s overgushing in 1996, Al made every routine, every score and every moment seem life or death. Usually, Al is very solid, but these were not his best Games.

Chris Marlowe, beach volleyball – I enjoyed watching beach volleyball, but my enjoyment was tempered by Chris’ love of his own voice. Too melodramatic for my tastes.

ANALYSTS

Gold Medal

Ato Boldon, track & field – Honest, forthcoming and gave his opinions especially when Usain Bolt showboated in the last 15 meters of the 100 meter dash. Ato did his homework and was right on top of things. Has grown into a very good analyst.

Rowdy Gaines, swimming – I had been down on Rowdy for yelling too much in past Olympics, but during his eight days of analysis in Communist China, he was very good. There were times when Rowdy’s voice went up a few octaves, but for the most part, he was on top of the action. Very good on replays especially when Michael Phelps outtouched Milorad Cavic in the 100 meter butterfly.

Wolf Wigo, water polo – He made the sport understandable without talking down to the audience. I liked him.

Cynthia Potter, diving – She seemed to know every trend, every way the judges would score dives and used NBC’s Stromotion to perfection when explaining why dives were good or bad. Very good at her sport.

Karch Kiraly, beach volleyball – As bad as Chris Marlowe was in calling the sport, Karch was excellent in not going over the top in rooting for Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. Karch is an innovator in the sport and did not come off as arrogant. Very good in explaining replays.

Doug Collins, basketball – The best NBA analyst did not show any signs of jet lag in Beijing. He was on top of the sport throughout the Olympics. Great moment when the US team came to his broadcast position to shake his hand at the end of the gold medal game against Spain. Wonderful moment. And Doug was very good throughout the Games.

Paul Sherwin, cycling – I wish he had been teamed with his regular partner, Phil Liggett, but 7 Network in Australia gobbled him up for its coverage. Paul is a great analyst and also can call play-by-play when necessary.

Teddy Atlas, boxing – Again, one of the best analysts in his sport. He had to deal with the worst judges of all time. Teddy’s Corner was one of the better features of the Olympics as he and Bob Papa went into the ring to explain what would happen in bouts and they would become true. Teddy should be used on HBO, but unfortunately, he’s not.

Bela Karolyi, gymnastics – Sure he was a walking, talking conflict of interest, commenting on action coached by his wife, but he was honest. Many times, he was difficult to understand, but Bela was not afraid to give his opinion and seeing him in the studio rooting for Nastia Liukin during the all-around competition was priceless. I hope NBC uses Bela more often. He’s great.

Silver Medal

Melanie Smith-Taylor, equestrian – Was hampered by being in New York. She preferred being on-site in Hong Kong for the competition and said so. But she knows her sport extremely well.

Elfi Schlegel, gymnastics – I would give her the gold had Tim Daggett and Al Trautwig not talked so much. She could barely get “good routine” or “Nice vault” in before being stepped upon.

Lewis Johnson, track & field – Overshadowed by Ato Boldon, there were times I thought his analysis was Ato’s.

Kevin Barnett, indoor volleyball – Like Paul Sunderland, was unemotional at times, making the matches seem dull. But he was good on the replays. Didn’t talk over Paul and played the analyst role well.

Yaz Farooq, rowing – Her voice was soothing. Sometimes so soothing, I fell asleep, but that could have been the sport itself.

Ann Meyers, basketball – Sometimes she was a bit too forceful. Knows her sport, but I prefer Doris Burke.

Joe Magrane, baseball – Maybe it’s because he calls Tampa Bay Rays games and I’m a Red Sox fan that I dislike Joe’s analysis, but I thought he was honest during Olympic baseball. Another analyst hampered by having to call the games off a monitor.

Brandi Chastain, soccer – I thought she did quite well analyzing the women’s matches and giving foresight on her experiences being on the women’s team. However, she could not see trends as she was in New York and the action was in Beijing or Shanghai.

Sean O’Neill, table tennis – Was pretty good.

Bronze Medal

Tim Daggett, gymnastics – Overgushed, overdramatic, didn’t take moments to let the action breathe. And he didn’t allow Elfi Schlegel to talk.

Jimmy Arias, tennis – Hampered by being in New York. Not the best tennis analyst. Were Patrick McEnroe, John McEnroe or Darren Cahill not available?

Dawn Lewis, handball – Sounded confused at times.

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Marcelo Balboa, soccer – He made statements that made you scratch your head. I saw why ESPN dropped him from its soccer coverage.

Carol Lewis, track & field – Yelled too much.

REPORTERS

Gold Medal

Bob Neuemeier, diving and track & field
Jim Gray, boxing
Andrea Kremer, swimming
Lindsay Soto, tennis, volleyball

Silver Medal

Heather Cox, beach volleyball
Andrea Joyce, gymnastics
Craig Sager, basketball

Bronze Medal

Marty Snider, cycling, triathlon, baseball

Carton of Chinese Cigarettes

Cris Collinsworth – What exactly was he doing in Beijing?

And there you have it. Some announcers and analysts are missing. That’s due to the fact I was not able to watch their respective sports.

I give a gold medal to NBCOlympics.com and the Microsoft Silverlight technology used to stream action. When it worked using the correct bandwidth, the picture was clear, crisp and close to HD quality. When the bandwidth was low, the picture would freeze causing the player to buffer. Best seen at an extremely high speed.

I also give a gold medal to CBC’s coverage of the Opening Ceremonies. I got to watch the Opening Ceremonies at work through a site on Justin TV. Ron McLean and Peter Mansbridge of CBC News set the right tone during the ceremonies. Unfortunately, the International Olympic Committee went through any site showing Olympic action and forced many channels to shut down. I understand copyright and rights fees, but it would have been nice to watch CBC’s coverage to compare it to NBC every once in a while.

That is all.

NBC Sports’ Entire Olympics Roster

This is the press release from NBC Sports which outlines every single announcer working the Summer Olympics in Communist China starting on August 8. There are over 100 announcers working for NBC.

Some familiar names include veteran announcer Tim Ryan, reporter Jim Gray for boxing, TNT’s Craig Sager doing sideline work for basketball and nice to see ex-Lakers announcer Paul Sunderlund getting some work for indoor volleyball. Melissa Stark returns to sports television as the host of MSNBC’s coverage.

While all of the major sports will be called by announcers on-site, much of the online coverage will be called by announcers off a monitor at the NBC studios in New York.

Costas Returns for 8th Olympics, 7th as Primetime Host

NBC Talent Roster Has Won 42 Olympic Medals Including 25 Gold Medals

Collinsworth, Carillo, Roberts Olympic Correspondents

NEW YORK – July 16, 2008 – A record 106 NBC Olympic commentators will broadcast an unprecedented 3,600 hours of Beijing Olympic Games coverage, the most ambitious single media project in history. NBCU’s Olympics coverage features the most live coverage in the United States (nearly 2,900 live hours in total), across the most platforms, of any Summer Olympics in history when the Games of the XXIX Olympiad commence on Aug. 8. The lineup, led by the 19-time Emmy Award-winner, Bob Costas, returning for his seventh Olympics as primetime host, was announced today by Dick Ebersol, Chairman, NBC Universal Sports & Olympics and Executive Producer of NBCU’s Olympic coverage and returns virtually every one of the network’s signature Olympic hosts, play-by-play announcers and analysts.

“My first Olympics in Mexico City in 1968 were the first Olympics live in primetime and we had maybe two dozen commentators,” said Ebersol. “To have a roster of 106 commentators broadcasting 3,600 total hours is simply astounding. It’s a tribute to David Neal and Molly Solomon that we’re able to put together such a talented and versatile roster, with a great mix of Olympic veterans and newcomers, particularly considering many of these sports are rarely televised.”

NBC Universal’s roster of Olympic commentators:

· Roster includes 28 Olympians who won a combined total of 42 Olympic medals (25 Gold, 5 Silver and 12 Bronze). “Team NBC” would have finished sixth at the Athens Olympics with 42 total medals behind Australia and Germany with 49 and ahead of Japan who amassed 37.

· Ranges from Jim Lampley – who is working his record 14th Olympics – to Olympic gold medal wrestling legend Rulon Gardner making his Olympic announcing debut.

· Cris Collinsworth, who will serve as an Olympic correspondent, makes his second Olympic appearance for NBC and his first since 1996.

· Mary Carillo pulls double duty as NBC’s late night host and Olympic correspondent, her ninth Olympic Games and sixth with NBC.

· Bela Karolyi, arguably the most successful coach in the history of his sport, one of its most recognized personalities and who has coached and trained world-renowned gymnasts for the past eight Olympics, makes his broadcast debut.

Here is a rundown of NBC’s Olympic talent:

HOSTS:

· The 2008 Beijing Olympics will be Bob Costas’ eighth for NBC Sports and his seventh as primetime host. After serving as late night host in 1988 from Seoul, Costas has won acclaim and Emmy Awards each year for his work as primetime host from Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney, Salt Lake City and Athens. Costas, who has the longest tenure of the network’s sports announcers, joined NBC in 1980. He has handled a wide array of assignments, including play by-play, studio hosting and reporting.

· Jim Lampley, America’s most experienced Olympic broadcaster, will work his record 14th Olympics in Beijing. Lampley possesses the record for the most-ever Olympic broadcast assignments for any television commentator. He will anchor NBC’s afternoon Olympic telecasts in his seventh Olympics with NBC.

· Mary Carillo will host NBC’s late night coverage. Carillo will also serve as an Olympic correspondent in her ninth Olympic games and sixth for NBC.

· Alex Flanagan makes her Olympic debut as host of CNBC and USA Network’s coverage.

· Matt Vasgersian, who made his Olympic debut as the play-by-play announcer for both softball and baseball during NBC’s broadcast of the 2004 Athens Games, will serve as host of USA Network’s coverage. In 2006 in Torino, he served as the ski jumping play-by-play commentator.

· Melissa Stark will work her third Olympic Games for NBC serving as an anchor for MSNBC’s coverage. Previously, Stark served as the speed skating reporter during NBC’s coverage of the 2006 Torino Games and the swimming and diving reporter at the 2004 Athens Games.

· Bill Patrick will serve as the host of MSNBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, making his debut as a full-time Olympic host.

· Fred Roggin, the sports director at KNBC-TV, NBC’s owned-and-operated station in Los Angeles, will work his fifth Olympics for NBC as host of CNBC’s Boxing in Beijing. Roggin’s previous Olympic assignments have included hosting CNBC and MSNBC’s curling coverage from the 2006 Torino Games, CNBC’s coverage from the Athens Games, serving on the “Special Features Unit” at the Salt Lake Games in 2002 and working as the boxing reporter at the 2000 Sydney Games.

· Lindsay Czarniak will make her second Olympic appearance and her first as host of Oxygen’s coverage and as a Sports Desk reporter for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing. She made her Olympic debut as a Sports Desk reporter during NBC’s coverage of the 2006 Torino Games.

OLYMPIC CORRESPONDENTS:

· Cris Collinsworth: The most honored studio analyst in sports television, Collinsworth, who is a co-host with Costas on NBC’s “Football Night in America” will serve as an Olympic correspondent, providing on the scene reports throughout Beijing. This will be his second Olympic assignment having reported from the track & field venue in Atlanta in 1996.

· Mary Carillo: In addition to her role as host of NBC’s late night coverage, Carillo will serve as an Olympic correspondent and provide a look into life in China through a collection of features done in her own inimitable style.

· Jimmy Roberts, a 13-time Emmy Award winner, will contribute feature stories and essays and serve as an Olympic correspondent during NBC’s coverage of the 2008 Beijing Games.

SPORT BY SPORT:

NBC’s signature announce teams return in gymnastics, swimming and track and field. Following is a partial rundown, sport-by-sport. A complete roster is attached.

· GYMNASTICS: Play-by-play commentator Al Trautwig is once again joined by Olympic gold medalist Tim Daggett and Elfi Schlegel, who have provided analysis on NBC’s Olympic gymnastics coverage since the 1992 Barcelona Games and veteran Olympic reporter Andrea Joyce. This Olympics will also mark the broadcast debut of Bela Karolyi, arguably the most successful coach in the history of his sport and one of its most recognized personalities who has coached and trained world-renowned gymnasts for the past eight Olympics. He will serve as a gymnastics studio analyst.

· SWIMMING: Dan Hicks has the call alongside analyst Rowdy Gaines – working their fourth Olympics together – with Andrea Kremer reporting in her Olympic debut. Gaines, who won three gold medals at the 1984 Los Angeles Games, is working his fifth Olympics for NBC.

· TRACK & FIELD: Tom Hammond, who has won acclaim for his memorable calls at the last four Summer Olympics, will once again call track & field. Dwight Stones, Carol Lewis and Lewis Johnson return as analysts. New analysts include Ato Boldon and Ed Eyestone. Bob Neumeier returns for his second Olympics as a reporter and Craig Masback, who worked as a track & field commentator for NBC in Barcelona in 1992 and Atlanta in 1996, returns to provide analysis on the men’s marathon.

· DIVING: Ted Robinson, working his fifth Olympics, debuted as the diving play-by-play commentator for the 2004 Athens Games. Cynthia Potter, who made three Olympic teams and won bronze in 1976, returns as analyst, a role she’s handled for NBC since the 1992 Games. Reporters for the diving venue are Neumeier and Kremer.

· BASKETBALL: Mike Breen, working his fifth Olympics, will handle the play-by-play of both the men’s and women’s competitions, alongside two respected analysts: Doug Collins (men’s) and Ann Meyers (women’s). Collins, a member of the 1972 U.S. Olympic basketball team, takes on his third Olympic broadcasting assignment. Meyers, who won silver as a member of the U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1976, is working her fourth Olympics as a broadcaster. Craig Sager returns as reporter for both men’s and women’s hoops. Other basketball commentators include Chris Carrino (play-by-play), Mike Crispino (play-by-play) and analysts Steve “Snapper” Jones, Bob Salmi and Teresa Edwards.

· BOXING: Bob Papa and analyst Teddy Atlas will call boxing. Athens is Papa’s seventh Olympics, as he previously called the boxing play-by-play in Barcelona in 1992 and Athens in 2004. Atlas analyzed the boxing competition from Sydney in 2000 and Athens in 2004. Jim Gray, reporter, returns for his first Olympics for NBC since 2000 where he served as a reporter for swimming and track & field for the Sydney Games. In 1996 he received critical acclaim for his reporting from the scene of the Olympic Park bombing at the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta.

· SOCCER: Veteran soccer play-by-play commentator JP Dellacamera calls his second Olympics, working alongside analysts Marcelo Balboa, who made his debut as a soccer analyst at the 2004 Athens Games and first time Olympic analyst Brandi Chastain. Balboa, a longtime star in Major League Soccer, was the first American to play in three World Cups. With the Women’s National Team, Chastain has played in three Olympics (Athens, Sydney and Atlanta) and three Women’s World Cups (1991, 1999 and 2003).

· BEACH VOLLEYBALL: NBC’s beach volleyball coverage will once again include analyst Karch Kiraly, the most accomplished player in the history of the sport and the only man to win Olympic volleyball gold both indoors and on the beach. Kiraly made his Olympic broadcasting debut in Athens in 2004. Entertaining play-by-play announcer Chris Marlowe, who won a gold medal as captain of the 1984 U.S. Olympic volleyball team, returns for his fifth Olympics as an NBC commentator. Heather Cox returns for her second Olympics as a reporter.

· VOLLEYBALL: Paul Sunderland, a member of the gold medal-winning U.S. volleyball team at the 1984 Olympics, returns to call indoor volleyball, an assignment he had for NBC in Barcelona, Atlanta and Sydney. He is joined by two-time Olympian Kevin Barnett, who is making his debut as an Olympic analyst.

· WATER POLO: Bob Fitzgerald makes his Olympic debut for NBC as the Water Polo play-by-play announcer. His previous Olympics broadcast assignments included commentating for basketball at the 2004 Athens Olympics and swimming at the Atlanta Games in 1996. He is joined by Wolf Wigo, a three-time Olympian and former captain of the USA Water Polo Men’s National Team.

· WRESTLING: Veteran commentator Matt Devlin returns for his second Olympic assignment and first calling wrestling. He is joined by Olympic gold medalist and American wrestling legend Rulon Gardner, who is making his Olympic broadcasting debut. In 2000 at the Sydney Olympics, Gardner won the gold after defeating Aleksander Karelin. Karelin had been undefeated for 13 years and had not given up a point in six years prior to his loss in the gold-medal match to Gardner. At the end of the 2000 Olympics, Gardner was selected to serve as the U.S. flag bearer at the Closing Ceremony. He then followed with a bronze in 2004 at the Olympic Games in Athens, where he left his shoes on the mat, the sport’s traditional symbol of retirement. Gardner is also renowned for surviving several near-death experiences.

The 3,600 total hours of coverage on seven NBC Universal networks: NBC, USA, MSNBC, CNBC, Oxygen, Telemundo and Universal HD, as well as NBCOlympics.com, is 1,000 hours more than the combined coverage for every televised Summer Olympics in U.S. history (Rome 1960 – Athens 2004, 2,562 hours). NBCOlympics.com will feature approximately 2,200 total hours of live streaming Olympic broadband video coverage, the first live online Olympic coverage in the United States.

SPORT-BY-SPORT RUNDOWN:

GYMNASTICS:
Al Trautwig, Play-by-play
Elfi Schlegel, Analyst
Tim Daggett, Analyst
Andrea Joyce, Reporter

TRAMPOLINE GYMNASTICS:
Al Trautwig, Play-by-play
Elfi Schlegel, Analyst
Tim Daggett, Analyst

RHYTHMIC GYMNASTICS:
Andrea Joyce, Play-by-play
Elfi Schlegel, Analyst

TRACK & FIELD:
Tom Hammond, Play-by-play
Lewis Johnson , Analyst
Carol Lewis, Analyst
Dwight Stones, Analyst
Ato Boldin, Analyst
Craig Masback, Analyst
Ed Eyestone, Analyst
Bob Neumeier, Reporter

RACE WALKING:
Ron Vaccaro, Play-by-play
Ed Eyestone, Analyst
Carol Lewis, Analyst

SWIMMING:
Dan Hicks, Play-by-play
Rowdy Gaines, Analyst
Andera Kremer, Reporter

OPEN WATER SWIMMING:
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Rowdy Gaines, Analyst

DIVING:
Ted Robinson, Play-by-play
Cynthia Potter, Analyst
Bob Neumeier, Reporter
Andrea Kremer, Reporter

BEACH VOLLEYBALL:
Chris Marlowe, Play-by-play
Karch Kiraly, Analyst
Heather Cox, Reporter

INDOOR VOLLEYBALL:
Paul Sunderland, Play-by-play
Kevin Barnett, Analyst

CYCLING (Road/BMX/Mountain Bike):
Pat Parnell, Play-by-play
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Kenan Harkin, Analyst
Paul Sherwin, Analyst
Marty Snider, Reporter

TRIATHLON:
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Siri Lindley, Analyst
Marty Snider, Reporter

BASKETBALL:
Mike Breen, Play-by-play
Chris Carrino, Play-by-play
Mike Crispino, Play-by-play
Pete Pranica, Play-by-play
Eric Collins, Play-by-play
Teresa Edwards, Analyst
Doug Collins, Analyst
Ann Meyers, Analyst
Bob Salmi, Analyst
Craig Sager, Reporter

ROWING:
Tim Ryan, Play-by-play
Yaz Farooq, Analyst

CANOEING (Flat Water):
Tim Ryan, Play-by-play
Joe Jacobi, Analyst

CANOEING (White Water):
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Pat Parnell, Play-by-play
Joe Jacobi, Analyst

SYNCHRONIZED SWIMMING:
Craig Hummer, Play-by-play
Heather Olson, Analyst

WRESTLING:
Matt Devlin, Play-by-play
Rulon Gardner, Analyst

WATER POLO:
Bob Fitzgerald, Play-by-play
Wolf Wigo, Analyst

BOXING:
Bob Papa, Play-by-play
Teddy Atlas, Analyst
Jim Gray, Reporter

MODERN PENTATHLON:
Ron Vaccaro, Play-by-play
Rob Stull, Analyst

WEIGHTLIFTING:
Pete Pranica, Play-by-play
Shane Hamman, Analyst

EQUESTRIAN:
Kenny Rice, Play-by-play
Melanie Smith-Taylor, Analyst

SOFTBALL:
Joe Castellano, Play-by-play
Michele Smith, Analyst

SOCCER:
JP Dellacamera, Play-by-play
Glenn Davis, Play-by-play
Adrian Healey, Play-by-play
Steve Cangialosi, Play-by-play
Marcelo Balboa, Analyst
Brandi Chastain, Analyst
Shep Messing, Analyst
Lori Walker, Analyst

TENNIS:
Barry MacKay, Play-by-play
Jimmy Arias, Analyst

BASEBALL:
Eric Collins, Play-by-play
Joe Magrane, Analyst

HANDBALL:
Andrew Catalon, Play-by-play
Dawn Lewis, Analyst

TABLE TENNIS:
Bill Clement, Play-by-play
Sean O’Neill, Analyst

BADMINTON:
Jim Kozimor, Play-by-play
Steve Kearney, Analyst
Bill Clement, Analyst

FENCING:
Joe Castellano, Play-by-play
Pete Pranica, Play-by-play
Andrew Catalon, Play-by-play
Mika’il Sankofa, Analyst

ARCHERY:
Joe Castellano, Play-by-play
Denise Parker, Analyst

SHOOTING:
Bill Clement, Play-by-play
Shari LeGate, Analyst

FIELD HOCKEY:
Mike Corey, Play-by-play
Nick Conway, Analyst

SPORTSDESK REPORTERS:
Lester Holt
Peter Alexander
Eyee Hsu
Julie Foudy
Lindsay Czarniak
Alan Abrahamson
Lindsay Soto
Nancy Snyderman

NBCSPORTS.COM:
Julia Mancuso

TELEMUNDO:
Andres Cantor, Host
Jessi Losada, Host
Monica Noguera, Host

Hot Chicks formerly in Sports Broadcasting, who should be back in Sports Broadcasting

I have too much free time today. Here’s a post for you, some hot chicks who have been on either on the sidelines or involved in sports TV. They aren’t now, but they should be.

Jilllian Barberie-Reynolds (she’s also pregnant-Grrrr!), Fox NFL Sunday Weather woman, she was only on for three weeks last season when the pre-game show went back to LA for just a brief period. With the show heading back to the studio this coming season, let’s hope Jillian will be back.

 

Next, Carolyn Hughes, formerly of Fox Sports Net West. She was a host for several studio shows on the RSN, but her affair with LA Dodger Derek Lowe while he was married to Trinka Lowe made the gossip pages and the sports blogosphere. I think she’s paid her penance. Let’s bring her back. 

She may have done a horrible job on Monday Night Football, but Lisa Guerrero is definitely a hottie. She’s currently on Inside Edition, but should be back on the sidelines somewhere.

 

 

Melissa Stark used to work on Monday Night Football, but I believe she’s working part-time for the Today Show now. 

 

If you have any additions for this list, let me know.