By George Eichorn
The Detroit Monitor
copyright 09-04-2008
The blitz is on! The National Football League is back on television and the blitz of regular season, holiday, post-season action on network and cable television does not end until the Pro Bowl on February 8 in Honolulu. Here is our comprehensive Monitor preview of the NFL on TV and radio.
- Local TV: Fourteen of the 16 regular season Detroit Lions games could be televised by Fox affiliate WJBK-TV, channel 2, in Detroit. Fox owns rights to those 14 games starting with the home opener on September 14 versus Green Bay, at Ford Field. Of course, Lions fans would need to sell out the 62,000-seat stadium to lift the league’s blackout rule. Two Lions games — November 9 versus Jacksonville and November 27 against Tennessee — will appear on CBS affiliate, WWJ-TV, channel 62, should they sell out. Channel 2 will return its Lions live pregame show with sports director Dan Miller and reporters/analysts Jennifer Hammond, Tom Kowalski and Bob Wojnowski, prior to every Lions telecast.
- National TV: Fox returns with its exclusive National Football Conference (NFC) slate of games starting Sunday with the Lions at Atlanta, 1 p.m. and a doubleheader game at 4:15 p.m. Highlights include Seattle at Dallas on Thanksgiving Day, NFC Wildcard and Divisional playoff games and the NFC Championship Game, January 18.
The No. 1 announcer team is Joe Buck-Troy Aikman with sideline reporter Pam Oliver. Other Fox talent: play-by-play guys Kenny Albert, Thom Brennaman, Tim Hasselbeck, Chris Myers, Ron Pitts, Chris Rose, Sam Rosen, Dick Stockton, Pat Summerall, Matt Vasgersian and analysts Brian Baldinger, Tony Boselli, Terry Donahue, Daryl Johnston, J.C. Pearson, Tim Ryan, Rod Woodson,
Other sideline reporters are Brian Giesenschlag, Mike Hall, Jennifer Hammond, Buck Lanford, Dawn Mitchell, Myers, Danyelle Sargent, Tony Siragusa, Drew Smith and Nischelle Turner. On its studio show, Fox gets Michael Strahan from the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants, joining returnees Curt Menefee (host), Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long and Jimmy Johnson.
CBS returns for its American Football Conference (AFC) slate, starting September 7 at 1 p.m. Highlights include the Lions-Titans on Turkey Day, the AFC Wildcard and Divisional playoff games and the AFC Championship Game, January 18.
CBS announcing stable starts with the top team of Jim Nantz-Phil Simms. Also on play-by-play: Don Criqui, Ian Eagle, Dick Enberg, Greg Gumbel, Kevin Harlan, Detroit native Gus Johnson and Bill Macatee. Joining the analyst corps is Dan Fouts, who also works some CBS Southeastern Conference games. Others include Steve Beuerlein, Randy Cross, Dan Dierdorf, Rich Gannon, Steve Tasker, Solomon Wilcots. CBS studio host is James Brown, with Bill Cowher, Boomer Esiason, Dan Marino and contributor Charley Casserly.
NBC pays roughly $600 million annually for Sunday night games. They kick off the season on a Thursday, September 4, as the Super Bowl Champion New York Giants host the Washington Redskins at 7 p.m. Sunday night action starts September 7 with Chicago at Indianapolis, 8:15 p.m. No Lions games are currently scheduled on NBC Sundays but that can change under the NFL’s flexible, weeks 11-17 scheduling.
The big prize, Super Bowl XLIII, is on NBC come February 1, 2009, nearly three years to the day they were in Detroit for SBXL. Al Michaels and John Madden are back in the booth with Andrea Kremer and Peter King contributing from the sidelines. Studio host is Bob Costas with co-hosts Keith Olbermann and Dan Patrick, the former ESPN fixture. Cris Collinsworth, Jerome (The Bus) Bettis and Tiki Barber analyze.
- National Cable: ESPN pays $1.1 billion annually for Monday night games (and no playoff games), the most by any network covering the NFL. ESPN opens September 8 with a doubleheader — Minnesota at Green Bay (7 p.m.) and Denver at Oakland (10:15 p.m.). Their coverage ends December 22 with Green Bay at Chicago. Ann Arbor’s Mike Tirico is back on the no. 1 announcing team with Ron Jaworski and Tony Kornheiser. Last year’s no. 2 team was comprised of Mike Greenberg-Mike Golic-Mike Ditka. No Lions games are slated on Monday nights.
ESPN’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” (11 a.m.) and “Monday Night Countdown” (7 p.m.). There are Sunday expanded “SportsCenter” shows at 8 and 10 a.m. and Chris Berman (30th season) is opposite NBC’s Sunday night (7 p.m.) as SportsCenter anchor. ESPN hosts/analysts/reporters include Berman, Ditka, Cris Carter, newcomer Trent Dilfer, Greg Garber, Tom Jackson, Keyshawn Johnson, Mel Kiper, Jr., Suzy Kolber, Kenny Mayne, Chris Mortensen, Floyd Reese, Stuart Scott, Emmitt Smith, Michele Tafoya and Steve Young. Correspondents include Bob Holtzman, Rachel Nichols, Wendi Nix, Sal Paolantonio and Ed Werder.
The NFL Network, run by the league, televises eight games starting November 6 with Denver at Cleveland, 8:15 p.m. On Thanksgiving night, there’s Arizona at Philadelphia, same time. The lone Saturday date on the slate is December 20 with Baltimore at Dallas. Bob Papa, Giants radio announcer, replaces Bryant Gumbel as play-by-play voice alongside analyst Collinsworth.
NFL Network has a new Sunday two-hour pregame show, “NFL GameDay”, 10 a.m. to noon. This show competes with ESPN’s “NFL Countdown.” NFL Network pregame show talent includes former quarterback Warren Sapp and one-time runner Marshall Faulk.
Fox Sports Net has its “Pro Football Preview” on Friday nights. San Diego Chargers player Shawne Merriman contributes. Showtime has the old HBO favorite, “Inside the NFL” with CBS’ Brown and Simms, NBC’s Collinsworth, Fox’s Strahan and NFL Network‘s Sapp.
- Local Radio: Season 13 is underway for the Lions with Infinity Broadcasting and fifth on flagship station WXYT-FM 97.1 (The Ticket). Thirty-six stations comprise the Lions Radio Network. Games are simulcast on WXYT-AM if there are no Tigers or Red Wings conflicts. Dan Miller is back for his fourth season on play-by-play while Jim Brandstatter is in his 22nd year. Sideline reporter Tony Ortiz is in his 8th season. Mike Valenti, Doug Karsch and other on-air staff contribute.
WDFN-AM 1130 (The Fan) offers up select NFL broadcasts plus Lions and NFL insight from Tom Kowalski on various shows hosted by Mike Stone, Bob Wojnowski, Matt Shepard and Sean Baligian.
- National Radio: The NFL on Westwood One (CBS) opens with the Redskins-Giants September 4. Expected back from 2007 are Mike Alberts-Boomer Esiason-Jim Gray (Monday nights), Dick Enberg-Dennis Green-Bonnie Bernstein (Thursday nights), Don Criqui-John Dockery-Tommy Tighe (Saturday nights), Dave Sims-Bob Trumpy-Tighe (Sunday nights), Bill Rosinski-Dan Reeves and Harry Kalas-Jim Fassel-Tighe (Sunday afternoon doubleheaders). Detroit’s Mark Champion, Kevin Kiley and Rosinki-Reeves works Thanksgiving Day. Champion also subs for Kalas on select Sunday afternoon games.
Westwood has the entire slate of NFL Wildcard and Divisional playoff games plus the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl.
The NFL on ESPN Radio provides affiliate stations with plenty of features, interviews, analysis and guest commentators from reporters John Clayton, Colin Cowherd, Jeremy Green and Ryan Russillo.
- Online: NBC simulcasts its games online. CBS’ pregame show will expand online. CBSSports.com debuted a 90-minute “Fantasy Football Today” at 11 a.m. Sundays. ESPN.com offers extensive NFL coverage with Clayton, Len Pasquarelli and a expert reporters on its ESPN Football Blog Network. Kevin Seifert covers the NFL North.
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By Butch Davis
Special Report for: DSBA
Indy Car Series driver Darren Manning of the A.J. Foyt Racing team along with Grand Prix Event Chairman Bud Denker, Public and Community Relations Director Merrill Cain and Communications Associate Edward J. Williams were all featured guests Wednesday at the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association (DSBA) media event luncheon. The luncheon that was held at Hockeytown Café in Detroit, Wednesday afternoon as featured guests all took turns to promote the upcoming Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix, August 29-31, 2008.
Manning, who finished fourth last season in the Indy Car Series race on Belle Isle, said at the luncheon “Big events are important and the Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix committee has meant the challenge in its pursuit of excellent of making this stop on the race circuit the best in the country.
Grand Prix Event Chairman Bud Denker said that ticket sale are up 15 percent from last year and although Sunday tickets are almost sold out, Saturday tickets for the event maybe the best buy for the money. Denker stated,” Saturday is great day to take in the event at Belle Isle with the American Le Mans Series: Warm-up & Race Detroit Sports Car Challenge presented by Bosch, Indy Car Series: Practice & Qualifying and the SCCA Speed World Challenge GT: Practice.” In addition, Denker said, “Shortly after 6 p.m. on Saturday, August 30, the summertime groove of Sugar Ray will entertain fans at the Grand Prix, presented by XM Radio. The concert on the XM Stage in the Meijer Family Fun Zone is free for Saturday ticket holders at the Grand Prix and Sugar Ray will take the stage shortly after the completion of the Detroit Sports Challenge presented by Bosch American Le Mans Series race on Belle Isle.
By the way, do you remember last year when it was a very frustrating to get off the island because of transpires extremely heavy traffic? Well, Event Chairman Bud Denker insure that traffic related to leaving the island on the bus shuttles has been change to keep traffic moving getting off the island and to create with the intention of leaving Belle Isle with a credibly great excursion.
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By Todd Cameron
Yesterday I received my monthly edition of The Scoreboard, the newsletter for the Detroit Sports Broadcasters Association, and the member spotlight was none other than Paul Carey.
Besides being nicknamed ‘The Voice Of God’ and being recognized as Ernie Harwell’s fantastic play-by-play partner for 19 seasons of Detroit Tiger baseball, Carey was a tireless advocate of prep football and basketball in the state of Michigan from his WJR studio seat. Carey hosted the Michigan High School Football & Basketball Scoreboard Show at midnight on ‘JR for nearly 30 years. In an age of pre-Internet media, Carey was the only source for the lion’s share of scores that mattered most to metro Detroiters until the Saturday papers came out.
It’s time to recognize Paul Carey for his outstanding contribution to the advancement of prep sports in Michigan.
I’m proposing an idea to the Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) to create the Paul Carey Award. Presented at the association’s football championships at Ford Field, the award would recognize a state media member for their contribution to covering prep sports, a deserving writer or broadcaster of high school sports in the state of Michigan. The award’s recipient should be decided by a committee after culling a list of deserving nominees from the athletic directors of the state association. Yes, it would garner a little additional attention to the state football finals, but more importantly, it would bring light to the outstanding contributions of so many dedicated media members statewide that treat prep sports like most writers treat a SuperBowl.
Speaking from personal experience, I’ll never forget waking up on a Saturday morning and finding a picture of myself and my Ferndale High rival on the cover, above the fold, mind you, of The Daily Tribune. Royal Oak’s public schools had many great athletes in the last 50 years — trust me when I say I wasn’t one of them — yet there I was. It’s a thrill many of us never forget and something I notice still today, how hard the local media works to bring positive attention to prep sports in their respective communities. This is one of the facets of prep sports that make me proud to still be around school sports today, and I can’t think of a better namesake for such an award than Paul Carey.
Carey wrote a touching but compelling foreword for my book, Metro Detroit’s High School Football Rivalries, and for my money, the foreword alone is worth the price of the book, a great retrospective of Detroit prep football. The son of a highly-respected high school football official who was the lead referee on many a Saginaw High-Saginaw Arthur Hill Thanksgiving Day game, Carey returned to Michigan after a stint in the military and took up the craft of radio. Because of his upbringing in and around Michigan prep sports, Carey developed a strong vernacular for the who and why of The Mitten’s high school scene, like how to pronounce Ishpeming and Escanaba, which games were most important for schools like Muskegon and Marysville, and who were the emerging powerhouses in Detroit’s rapidly-emerging suburbia like Southfield, Utica, Dearborn, Pontiac and Grosse Pointe.
After being hired by WJR, Carey asked permission of the station’s programming director to do the scoreboard show, and WJR jumped at the idea. It was free programming and it tied the station in with every community it reached in a very passionate way. If you think high school football is big today, it was everything back then. And so it began, a programming addition inserted at the midnight hour that became the song and verse of prep football after the marching band played it’s last note on Friday night.
It didn’t take long to catch on. Carey added a basketball show on Tuesdays and Fridays of the prep basketball season, and for one season, it was sponsored by the Detroit Pistons, even though the basketball show didn’t stick like football. If you were a prep sports fan like so many of us are in metro Detroit, you were up until midnight, waiting for Carey’s scoreboard show at the twelve o’clock hour. Sometimes Tiger baseball ran late, pushing the Tiger postgame, WJR news report and SportsWrap back — it didn’t matter– the football show went on, even as late as 12:45 am on one particular Friday night / Saturday morning.
I can still vividly remember Carey reporting the Friday night scores: “It was Detroit Pershing 20, Detroit Denby 16, Cass Tech defeated Cody 14-9, Detroit Martin Luther King 36, Detroit Chadsey 9…” Carey would read every Detroit Public School League score first, a clear nod the the city WJR operated within, and after the final PSL score, Carey would declare, “I’ll be back with the suburban scores after this.” Back from the commercial, Carey would rattle off every metro score with unfettered clarity and resonance. No one score was more important than any other, because Carey knew every score mattered to someone. A prep football Friday wasn’t complete until you listened to Carey’s Scoreboard Show.
Carey worked nearly four decades at WJR, broadcast with a Hall-Of-Fame partner for 19 seasons of baseball with one of the charter franchises of the American League and was accompanying vocalist on the soundtrack to the Tigers Bless You Boys’ championship season of 1984. Yet as many people in metro Detroit remember Carey for the Michigan High School Football Scoreboard Show as they do for Tiger baseball, in a city that will be a baseball town above all else. Even today, from his home in Florida, Carey still collects the All-State teams from the Detroit dailies and the Associated Press.
That’s a great, lasting legacy if you ask me, one that deserves to be remembered by the state’s prep sports leadership.
Reach Todd Cameron at 25cameron@gmail.com
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By George Eichorn of The Detroit Monitor
Who would have guessed that at this point in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon — arguably the two biggest NASCAR names the last decade-plus — would be winless. Yet they are zero of the year.
That won’t prevent Stewart in his No. 20 Toyota machine and Gordon in his No. 24 Chevrolet from making the second of two Sprint Cup Series stops in Michigan this weekend. The 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo is 200 laps (400 miles) on Sunday, August 17, at 1 p.m. and ESPN has flag-to-flag coverage.
The Carfax 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race (125 laps-250 miles) is on Saturday, August 16, 3:30 p.m., also at Michigan International Speedway. ESPN2 has the live coverage.
Competing with Stewart and Gordon at MIS are points-leader Kyle Busch, in the No. 1 car, driving a Toyota. Yes, Toyota is number one in 2008 American car sales and tops in the Sprint Cup series also.
Busch made history August 10 as he became the first driver in NASCAR history to win three road course races in one season. He led 52 laps from the pole and won the Centurion Boats at The Glen at Watkins Glen International in New York State. He also clinched a spot in the 10-race Chase for the Sprint Cup title.
Busch has a remarkable season going for him and Toyota — he’s won 16 races in NASCAR’s top three series this season — eight in Sprint Cup, six in Nationwide and two in trucks.
Rounding out the Spring Cup series top five are: Carl Edwards, car no. 9 (Ford) 242 behind Busch; Jimmie Johnson, no. 7 (Chevy) 244 behind; Dale Earnhardt Jr., no. 22 (Chevy) 269 behind, and Jeff Burton, no. 17 (Chevy) 309 behind.
In positions six through 12 are Gordon, Stewart, Kasey Kahne (Dodge), Denny Hamlin (Toyota), Greg Biffle (Ford), Kevin Harvick (Chevy) and Matt Kenseth (Ford).
Earnhardt Jr. is looking to making it two consecutive Sprint Cup series wins at MIS. Junior won the LifeLock 400 Sprint Cup Series race on Father’s Day, snapping a 76-race winless streak. It was his first career Cup victory here.
Kurt Busch is the defending champion of the 3M Performance 400. His second career MIS victory helped thrust Busch into the 12-driver Chase for the Championship. Ten drivers led during the 2007 3M Performance 400. Gordon, Biffle, Robby Gordon, Johnson, Brian Vickers, Kenseth, Kurt Busch, Earnhardt Jr., Ward Burton and Ryan Newman all had the race lead at some point.
Kahne may be a favorite to win the 2008 3M Performance 400. He notched a second in June at MIS and now has five top-five finishes to his credit in Sprint Cup Michigan races which include a victory in the 3M Performance 400 in June 2006.
Seven seconds is the number of seconds by which winner of last year’s Carfax 250, Denny Hamlin, was in front of second place winner Kenseth. Hamlin got into the wall in his Chevrolet during a practice run only to turn around and crush the competition the next day. Hamlin managed to lead the final 40 laps and received his first career victory at MIS. His margin of victory set a Nationwide Series track record for the greatest margin of victory.
Mark Martin has led eight races in the Nationwide Series at MIS, the most of any driver. During those eight races Martin has led 304 laps, which coincidentally is also the most of any driver. The veteran has captured two Nationwide Series wins here and in his nine starts has finished in the top five every time except in 1997 and 1998 when he finished 11th and sixth, respectively.
Pit Notes: If you don’t win the pole, you may want to start fourth at MIS. Since NASCAR’s top series began racing in the Irish Hills in 1969, 12 drivers have won races starting from the fourth hole. The most recent winner from the fourth spot was Newman in June 2004. Fifteen drivers have won Cup races from the pole at MIS since 1969.
By grabbing the pole for last year’s 3M Performance 400 at MIS, Jeff Gordon now ranks third all-time in track history with five career pole awards. Besides his five poles, Gordon has won two Cup races at the two-mile oval, including in 2001 when he last won the Sprint Cup championship.
It’s an automotive fiesta this week in Michigan, with the Dream Cruise along Woodward Avenue and the two big races at MIS. Race fans won’t be getting much sleep…that much is for certain.
Tickets are available for both the 3M Performance 400 presented by Bondo NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race on Sunday and Saturday’s Carfax 250 NASCAR Nationwide Series race. Tickets range from $55-$110 for Sunday and are $50 for Saturday. Visit MISpeedway.com or call the MIS Ticket Hotline at (800) 354-1010.
Buy George Eichorn’s book, “Detroit Sports Broadcasters On the Air” for $19.99 or less at
www.amazon.com. Reach him at geichorn@yahoo.com.
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By Scott Morganroth
Special Writer
I’ve been to many great events during my 28-year media career, including two Super Bowls, but if there is one day that I’d freeze in time, it is September 27, 1999, as the Tigers defeated the Kansas City Royals 8-2 in “The Finale” at Tiger Stadium as Robert Fick’s eighth inning grand slam still stands out in my mind plus: listening to Ernie Harwell at game’s end paying tribute and watching all the great players from past to present line up from center field to home plate are moments that were unforgettable. While watching the demolition of Tiger Stadium eats my heart, there will never be an event that tops this one. Before the game, interviewing my Tigers idols just made the day that much better.
If there is one way to cushion the blow of this historical site, the Red Wings should build a new stadium at Michigan and Trumbull. They should name it Olympia Stadium and recreate the brick exterior. We know this site doesn’t lack accessibility or parking. When Mike Ilitch brought back Ernie Harwell to broadcast and let him retire on his own terms, the city rejoiced, after the public relations fiasco it created when he was dismissed. Ernie’s efforts have been outstanding in trying to preserve history and if a Hall of Famer can’t save it, no one will. But now that the demolition is started, this is a golden opportunity for Ilitch to score big with the community and turn this negative into a positive. He’ll get this stadium built faster than he thinks due to the emotion and sensibility of the situation.
“That’s the best idea I’ve heard yet for the Corner,” said longtime Tigers booster Michael McGlinnen of Livonia.
Here in South Florida, the Orange Bowl is being torn down to build a new stadium for the Marlins. The team name will be changed to the Miami Marlins, which was used years ago when there was a Florida State League team at Miami Stadium. There were Super Bowls, NCAA Championships, Miami Hurricanes and Dolphins championship teams in the current stadium site. Tiger Stadium has hosted the World Series, League Championship Series, All-Star Games, Detroit Lions games, NFL Championship Games, Joe Louis boxing bouts, etc. There is no reason that while those original sites are gone that new memories can’t be created on that land. Joe Louis Arena will also be preserved and the city could always find ways to use that building (maybe in conjunction with Cobo Center expansion) especially being on the waterfront. Detroiters need something to feel good about. This is a good place to start. While we can appreciate history, we shouldn’t be afraid of allowing history to connect the new generation to the old generation!
Reach Scott Morganaroth at scottbullm@comcast.net.
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