When Jason Kelce announced his retirement from the NFL in early March, the longtime Eagles center knew he’d have no shortage of opportunities in his post-playing career. And we could be nearing an answer on what his life after football will look like.
According to a report from The Athletic’s Andrew Marchand, ESPN is pursuing Kelce to serve as an analyst for Monday Night Countdown — the Monday Night Football pregame show. Marchand added that ESPN would likely have Kelce replace Robert Griffin III on the pregame show as ESPN execs think Griffin has “leveled off” since being hired by the network as a “rising star” in 2021.
While Belichick is sought after, Kelce’s decision is viewed as the linchpin of the NFL TV free-agent season. CBS has several openings on “The NFL Today” with Nate Burleson, Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason and Phil Simms unsigned for next year. James Brown and JJ Watt are inked for the upcoming season, though Watt may continue as a part-timer.
Kelce, who also co-hosts the wildly popular New Heights podcast with his brother Travis, will likely have his pick of the major networks should he decide to go that route. Marchand wrote that CBS and NBC would be conveniently located for Kelce, but ESPN appears aggressive in its pursuit.
Just about anything can happen when you’re walking down Bourbon Street in New Orleans, and ESPN learned that the hard way Monday night,
The network gave its viewers more than just a scenic shot of the famed NOLA street during a commercial break, as ESPN camera operator caught a woman flashing her right breast toward a balcony above her.
“We regret that this happened and apologize that the video aired in the telecast,” an ESPN spokesman told The Associated Press.
While the network didn’t catch the sight before they aired it to a national television audience, viewers quickly caught it and took to social media to voice their disbelief.
The exposed breast aired for roughly a second and it appeared the woman had been hoping to obtain beads from an onlooker above.
The reactions ranged from uncontrollable laughter to using the moment to take shots at some of the personalities that regularly appear on the network.
ESPN shows a woman flashing her breast on Bourbon Street during the Sugar Bowl broadcast. X/@NickyT27
“ESPN casually broadcasting boobs to start the year,” one user on X wrote, accompanied by a crying laughing emoji.
“Nice job on the commercial break getting the boob flash ESPN…. lol,” another person wrote.
“Aaaaand ESPN just broadcast to millions of people a woman on Bourbon St showing her boobs for beads,” a third person wrote.
“My timeline is talking about seeing boobs on ESPN like putting boobs on television hasn’t been their business model since they first hired Skip Bayless,” a person joked about the now-FS1 host.
It’s unclear if the footage had been live or was taped b-roll footage that had aired during the game or how much scrutiny was given to the footage before it aired.
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Stan Van Gundy is expected to be in as a game analyst on CBS/Turner’s NCAA Tournament coverage and Reggie Miller is out, The Post has learned.
Miller made the decision to give up the tournament, which allows him a little more of a break in his NBA commitments.
Background: Miller had worked with Kevin Harlan and Dan Bonner in years past. Van Gundy is expected to slide in with Harlan and Bonner, but nothing is set in stone.
The tournament is one of the hardest jobs, if not the hardest, for top sportscasters to prepare for because you only find out on Sunday night the eight teams whose games you will call on Thursday or Friday. The announcers have rarely watched many of the lower-profile teams or haven’t seen them at all during the season. You then call six games over two days.
Former Villanova coach Jay Wright will join CBS/Turner’s coverage of the 2023 NCAA men’s basketball tournament.NBAE via Getty Images
New look/old look: The tourney will have a bit of a new look this year after Jay Wright joined CBS/Turner. It is also the last season for Jim Nantz as the voice of the Final Four. Next year, Ian Eagle will take over as the CBS/Turner’s No. 1 NCAA game-caller.
ESPN’s big moves
In naming Burke Magnus as the president of content, ESPN chairman Jimmy Pitaro in some ways is replacing the position that executive vice president Connor Schell relinquished when he left at the end of 2020. However, Magnus’ title is bigger, his power is larger and ESPN’s manifest destiny is greater.
The new Disney setup under Bob Iger has made it so ESPN will report its own breakout financials.
Burke Magnus is taking on a new role as ESPN’s president of content.screenshot via YouTube/New York Post
Pitaro is still the most important executive at ESPN, but the future of the company will largely depend on Magnus and Rosalyn Durant, who becomes ESPN’s executive vice president, programming and acquisitions.
While Pitaro and Magnus will be involved, Durant will be the one figuring out what makes the most sense with the NBA and future rights deals.
ESPN has been the Yankees of sports media. In this setup, Pitaro is Hal Steinbrenner, Magnus is a Randy Levine/Brian Cashman hybrid and Durant is Aaron Boone.
Quick Clicks
Stephen A. Smith (left) and Molly Qerim (center) made news with their anti-hockey takes on ESPN’s “First Take.”ESPN
It’s amazing the social media relevance “First Take” has achieved. Throwaway lines from Stephen A. Smith and Molly Qerim about the NHL were treated as ESPN treason. With Michael Kay on the show as a guest debater, Qerim asked which New York team would be the next to win a championship. Kay said the Rangers. Qerim replied, “They don’t count.” No disrespect to the Rangers, she added. Smith chimed in that he doesn’t know anything about hockey except the puck is black and he apparently is buddies with Gary Bettman. If I’m ESPN, Smith and Qerim, I’d be pretty happy that any little thing you say becomes a big deal. Yes, it was a little insulting to hockey fans, but Smith is the center of the show and they were looking for the answer to be one of the NBA, MLB or NFL teams.
…WFAN’s Nets broadcast with Chris Carrino and Tim Capstraw is art. Carrino is so precise on all the calls, and Capstraw fills in all the analysis. But what makes it stand out even more is during the flow of the game, they find a way to somehow mention baseball’s new pitch clock and old Buck Williams stories. If young broadcasters want to hear how a game should be called, they should tune in.
SNY is on-site with Eduardo Escobar and the Mets, enhancing its spring training broadcasts.AP
…SNY’s spring training games sound way better than those on YES Network because SNY has its announcers on-site. YES is saving a few shekels, but there is a feeling missing when you are not live. By not being on-site, it also hurts you during the regular season because there is a flow to covering the game.
MSG pay-per-view
A few years ago, a very top TV executive said to me about cord-cutting and streaming: “We are just going to make less.” That’s the reality of the situation.
This brings me to MSG Networks’ forthcoming MSG+, which will cost $30 per month and then will offer the capability to purchase individual games for $10. It feels priced not to succeed or, at least, designed to keep people paying for cable.
Right now, cable subscribers pay 12 months a year for MSGN, but why would anyone who chose the streaming package do that? From the end of the NBA and NHL regular season in mid-April until the next season starts in October, there is nothing to pay for. That’s nearly six months. MSG+ is offering a yearly rate of $310. Why wouldn’t people just turn it on and off for $180? Or will people just turn back to cable?
MSG+ will offer cord-cutters the chance to stream the Knicks, for $30 per month or $10 for an individual game.AP
One point that is lost in this conversation: Who is not getting these games who wants them? There are definitely some folks. But at $30 per month?
(MSG does have a dispute with Comcast, so a Comcast user could be one potential subscriber. Beyond that, the market is pretty full.)
The move to offer streaming needs to be done, but in an effort to try to make as much money as cable networks once did, some of these plans feel as if they may not make much, if any, money. At least in the near term.
It is complicated because of relationships with cable subscribers, but if the pricing doesn’t feel fair — and $30 per month seems too steep — then I’m not sure where the audience will come from.
Kay was posed the question as to which New York professional sports team would be the next one to win a championship, and he answered the Rangers, who are 35-17-9 this season and just acquired Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks.
“Oh Lord,” sighed Smith.
Host Molly Qerim informed Kay that “They don’t count!”
Smith said, as he has before, that “the only thing I know about hockey is that the puck is black and I love [NHL commissioner] Gary Bettman — that’s my buddy, who I always go to the hockey games with.”
ESPN is one of the NHL’s television partners along with TNT.
Qerim said that it was no disrespect to the Rangers or Kane but politely asked Kay to pick another team.
Kay responded by splitting the baby: “Yankees or the Mets — one of those two.”
Patrick Kane speaking to reporters Thursday for the first time since the Rangers traded for him.Mollie Walker The Rangers acquired Patrick Kane from the Blackhawks this week.Getty Images
Smith acted as though it was blasphemous for Kay, who has called Yankees games on TV or radio for over 30 years, to suggest that the Mets might hoist the World Series trophy before the Bombers.
They also acquired pitcher Jose Quintana, reliever David Robertson and outfielder Tommy Pham.
The Mets furthermore retained outfielder Brandon Nimmo on an eight-year, $162 million deal plus closer Edwin Diaz for five years and a total of $102 million.
Mets owner Steve Cohen has opened up his wallet for a massive spending spree this offseason.Newsday via Getty Images
This season, the Mets and Yankees are both listed at +750 to win the World Series on BetMGM.
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Fox Sports and ESPN have decided to have second-rate operations for some major sports, which reflects poorly on the networks and the events they are covering.
Let’s start with Fox Sports, which embarrassingly failed to have its announcers at each of its college football games in the fall, reportedly did not initially plan to send many of its broadcast teams to the World Cup (eventually it did, thanks in part to a sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways), didn’t have announcers at MLB games that aired on FS1 and now, in the latest absence, failed to have announcers courtside for a big Pac-12 men’s basketball battle between No. 5 UCLA and Arizona State this week.
As for ESPN, it is treating the Australian Open as if it is not a grand slam. Chris Fowler, John McEnroe and the rest of its top announcers are in Bristol — not in Melbourne.
What is ESPN saying to its tennis audience? What is it saying to its partners? It is saying it is not very important to have the best coverage.
ESPN’s top announcers are not on-site at the Australian Open, where Sebastian Korda has surged into the quarterfinals.Getty Images
Backlash: Substack’s John Canzano spoke to Arizona State senior associate athletic director Doug Tammaro.
“When I saw they weren’t coming on an email, I was bummed,” Tammaro said. “You’re just bummed out.”
Declined comment: Fox Sports and ESPN both declined comment when asked how much money they are saving. With the pandemic health protocols no longer a legit excuse, this is just a money decision. It’s a way to cut corners.
Be careful: If you tell viewers that what they are watching is not important, they will eventually believe you. If you tell your broadcast rights partners they are not that important to you, they will go elsewhere at some point. You also are putting your announcers in a bad position.
The networks are deciding a lower-quality broadcast is worth it to them to save money. Maybe, but it is hard for me to see how any TV decision-makers who care about production value and being the best could support not putting their people in the optimal position to succeed, especially on top college basketball and tennis events.
Quick Clicks
Bill Walton has the perfect personality for an alternative NBA broadcast with Jason Benetti (right).AP
MLB Network will have the Hall of Fame announcement at 6 p.m. on Tuesday. They have ancillary programs before and after the reveal of who (if anyone) will get into Cooperstown. … NBC Sports said it had 808,000 viewers for the Jan. 15 stream of Tottenham-Arsenal on Peacock. The numbers were courtesy Adobe Analytics, via NBC. That seems like a significant figure. These soccer numbers might show that a dedicated audience will migrate to streaming for highly desirable programming. … Bill Walton’s alternative cast on NBA League Pass app is a good idea because Walton has the type of personality that can work on these broadcasts. On a regular call, Walton can get a bit in the way if you are really into the actual game you are watching. But when you are opting in to view Walton, Jason Benetti and friends, it makes sense because you are choosing to go in the way-out machine. Alternatives such as this and the Manningcast are not the future of broadcasting. These alternative broadcasts will be a part of some presentations, but it is going to be a long time, maybe never, before the traditional two-person or three-person crews that call games are replaced. … Dreaded Oops: Fox Sports’ Rob Gronkowski, on the big desk Saturday, was so close, yet so far, to saying Eagles’ offensive coordinator Shane Steichen’s name correctly. Gronkowski said, “Eagles offensive coordinator Shane Spikeman.” Here’s the clip. Meanwhile, after the Chiefs win, NBC’s Maria Taylor either had a little slip of the tongue or really doesn’t like Kansas City. Here’s the clip.
LIV and let live
In golf parlance, LIV Golf’s TV deal with The CW starts in the bunker, but has a good lie that with a proper wedge could land on the green.
The first thing for LIV that makes it not great: It’s not Fox Sports. With NBC, CBS and ESPN/ABC thought not to be real contenders for LIV, Fox Sports potentially could have been a fit, but Fox said no to the revenue sharing with no fee that The CW ultimately agreed to with LIV.
Phil Mickelson and other stars of LIV Golf will be relegated to being seen on The CW.AP
Besides Fox Sports’ superior reach, this would have made LIV more mainstream with a better chance for acceptance and growth.
With the opening rounds of its tournaments available exclusively on The CW app, LIV will feel very niche — even with some of the world’s top players involved. And though the Saudi-backed tour’s goal may be able to succeed with “sportswashing,” there doesn’t really seem to be a plan at the moment for having a viable business. The CW deal is a start, but the network is actually distributed less widely than YouTube, and I don’t think, as opposed to a platform such as Fox, it will give potential LIV sponsors enough of a cover to really want to get too involved. And though LIV officials are acting as if it was all good, it really isn’t that great.
“Alert to an opportunity to impress his boss, LIV’s chief media officer, Will Staeger, conjured a version of events that would have even George Santos calling for narrative restraint.
“‘Following a competitive bidding window with multiple U.S. networks and streaming platforms, the sports story of 2022 has just moved into pole position for the top story of 2023,’ [Staeger] wrote in a social media post.
“Staeger’s comment raises two questions for those among us predisposed to cynicism: did autocorrect change ‘begging’ to ‘bidding,’ and how does a competitive process among multiple parties result in giving away the product for free to the worst-case option?”
FAN’s old guard out
Yankees reporter Sweeny Murti (with Chasen Shreve at spring training in 2018) is the latest member of WFAN’s old guard to leave the station.Charles Wenzelberg/New York Post
All media is evolving, and WFAN — the top sports radio station in the country — is no different. Sweeny Murti, gone after three decades with the station, joins a long list of FAN’s core that is either no longer with the station or has a reduced role. Murti, who announced his departure on Friday, joins Mike Francesa, Steve Somers, Joe Benigno, Eddie Coleman, John Minko and ex-program director Mark Chernoff as former staples of 660 AM/101.9 FM.
Murti had been on the Yankees beat for 22 years, but in recent years had stopped traveling. FAN also has become less reliant on regular spots, most notably in the afternoons, when Craig Carton is not a fan of them, which follows the philosophy of “Boomer & Gio” morning producer Al Dukes, who doesn’t like most interviews.
Murti had remained full-time even as his role went from traveling with the team to doing just the post-game show. FAN offered to keep him on the post-game part-time, but he declined.
The sports media business has changed, and COVID has accelerated for some outlets (not The Post, thankfully) the idea that you don’t have to be there to cover a team properly.
Institutional knowledge is lost, which the people who either don’t know better or don’t want to know may not fully understand. Murti had a very nice run on New York radio for three decades. The FAN loses that institutional knowledge without him. Good thing its hosts can still read the papers.
Troy Aikman feels regretful over a controversial comment he made during the Chiefs-Raiders game on “Monday Night Football” this week in which he said he hopes the NFL “take[s] the dresses off” after another contentious roughing the passer call.
During a radio appearance on 96.7 “The Ticket” on Thursday, Aikman called his remarks “dumb” when one of the hosts noted that there was “some reaction” to his “strong” comments.
“My comments were dumb, just shouldn’t have made them,” Aikman said. “Just dumb remarks on my part.”
Aikman, 55, came under fire Monday while discussing a questionable roughing the passer call in the first half after Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones hit Raiders quarterback Derek Carr from behind.
“My hope is the competition committee looks at this in the next set of meetings and, you know, we take the dresses off,” Aikman said on the broadcast during the game. The Chiefs went on to win the AFC West matchup, 30-29.
ESPN’s Troy Aikman on the field before the Giants-Cowboys “Monday Night Football” game on Sept. 26, 2022.Bill Kostroun
Troy Aikman: “My hope is the [NFL] Competition Committee looks at this in the next set of meetings, and you know, we take the dresses off.” pic.twitter.com/5DqdLJ8Ccx
The Cowboys legend received public criticism on social media, with some calling his comment “sexist.”
ESPN has not issued a statement about Aikman’s comments.
Aikman, along with his broadcast partner Joe Buck, left Fox Sports for ESPN during the offseason. Aikman’s five-year contract is worth in the $90 million range, The Post’s Andrew Marchand has reported. The duo called NFL games on Fox together for 20 years, which included six Super Bowls.
Troy Aikman looks on wearing his gold jacket during the Pro Football HOF Centennial Class of 2020 enshrinement ceremonies on Aug. 7, 2021 at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium, in Canton, OH. Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Troy Aikman attends the 2022 ABC Disney Upfront at Basketball City – Pier 36 – South Street on May 17, 2022 in New York City. WireImage
Aikman and Buck will be back in the “Monday Night Football” booth next week when the Broncos visit the Chargers in Los Angeles.
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