Good morning, all and happy Tuesday!
Fasten your seatbelts. We could be in for a bumpy ride in the remaining six weeks and five days of the MLB regular season. In particular, the AL East is the most fascinating of the divisions. I break it all down in the commentary.
NFL broadcast changes looming?
CBS broadcast analyst Tony Romo is in trouble. Like him or hate him as the number one analyst on the network’s number one NFL broadcast crew with play-by-player Jim Nance, his recent DUI arrest in Milwaukee has set the wheels of change in motion.
Romo was once the darling of the CBS suits. No more. The ex-Cowboys quarterback’s arrest, combined with his huge contract, has given CBS the perfect pathway to bid him adieu. In network TV, it does not matter if you are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. And if a network feels it has been saddled with a huge contract and can extract itself from such a deal, it will. That is why CBS’s silence on the matter, other than Romo will be suspended with pay until further notice, speaks volumes.
And do not think CBS is not exploring all avenues to escape the deal. And do not think Fox Sports isn’t paying attention. You see, Fox has an analyst on its number two broadcast crew, Greg Olsen, who used to be their number one analyst. Some say he is the best in the business at what he does, but that did not stop Fox Sports from replacing him with Tom Brady. Boom! Just like that Olsen was bumped to the number two crew. But here’s the deal. According to Chad Finn, sports media critic of the Boston Globe, Olsen has a clause in his contract that allows him to leave for another network if he lands the number one job. So if CBS sacks Romo and replaces him with Olsen, there is nothing Fox can do about it, unless they pull an end around and put Olsen in a three man booth with Brady and his partner Kevin Burkhardt.
So keep an eye on the network machinations over the next few weeks. It could be more interesting than one of those NFL exhibition games we will be fed over the next few weeks.
Audience hungry for NFL
Well the numbers are in for the NBC telecast of the NFL Hall of Fame game last Thursday, and as predicted, they were big. Nearly seven million were tuned to the telecast between the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals. That’s the highest number for a Fame game since 2021. America loves football.
Rapping with Earl
Manager Earl Weaver told this to NY Daily News writer Dick Young in 1974. And that was before ballplayers were making millions:
That is going to do it for today’s newsletter. I have a full slate of Hartford Yard Goats games coming up these next two weeks so I may not be as consistent with the newsletter. I will try my best. Thank you for your understanding and for being a subscriber.
DAN
