Connect with us
Jim Cutler Demos

Sports TV News

Ron Jaworski: Monday Night Football ‘5 Remarkable Years Of My Life’

“The resources that ESPN threw into Monday Night Football, we had more people than football teams have. They wanted to be right and we think we delivered a great product.”

Ricky Keeler

Published

on

SiriusXM

From 2007-2011, Ron Jaworski was a part of the Monday Night Football broadcast for ESPN, so he would have the inside scoop on the MNF experience.

On the podcast NFL Explained with Michael Yam and Aditi Kinkhabwala, Jaworski was one of the guests along with Melissa Stark from the NFL Network on an episode solely about the history of Monday Night Football. In fact, Jaworski found out he got the job while he was at an Arena Football League game as part owner and team president of the Philadelphia Soul.

“It was absolutely crazy…We were playing a game and that’s when I got notified I was going to be asked to do Monday Night Football, at halftime of that game. I was told, Norby Williamson at the time was the coordinating producer, he came late to the game because his plane was delayed. At halftime, he told me you are going to get the deal for Monday Night Football, but you can’t tell anyone.”

The reason that Williamson couldn’t go public with the news that Jaworski was joining Monday Night Football was because he had not told Joe Theismann what was going on with the changes.

“Norby was very professional about his approach. Joe Theismann was calling games with Tony Kornheiser and Mike Tirico. He said I’m going to meet with Joe personally and let him know a change is being made, so I totally respected the professionalism of Norby and Joe handled it very well. To this day, we remain dear friends. My wife was sitting next to me at the game, so I asked could I tell my wife?”

“I couldn’t have been more ecstatic. To work with Mike Tirico, who was kind of my mentor all along and Tony Kornheiser, who I worked with for a couple of years and Jon Gruden. It was five remarkable years of my life. Chip Dean was a great producer. Jay Rothman was absolutely outstanding. The resources that ESPN threw into Monday Night Football, we had more people than football teams have. They wanted to be right and we think we delivered a great product.” 

On the podcast, Jaworski did talk about the moment that he swore during a game back in 2011 between the Patriots and the Dolphins: 

“I didn’t think I did, but I think I did. It was slightly embarrassing and at the time was very embarrassing. We went to a break and Jay Rothman says, Jaws, I think you swore. I did say ‘shit’, so it wasn’t like a bad word. Jay says, you got to apologize. When we came out of the break, the camera was directly on me and I got Gruden and Tirico next to me and they were laughing.” 

While it had to be an embarrassing moment for Jaworski, it did get him some recognition from Howard Stern on Stern’s radio show, which stood out to someone in the Jaworski household:

 “The next morning, my daughter, who watches the games, says ‘Howard Stern is talking about you on radio’. My daughter was more impressed with that. Stern said some refreshing comments saying that’s how Jaws calls a game.” 

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.

Sports TV News

Report: NFL to Put Christmas Day Doubleheader Up For Bids

Bidding is expected to start at $50 million among the current NFL media partners but some think the games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

Avatar photo

Published

on

NFL Logo

The NFL will reportedly put its Christmas Day games up for auction, allowing its current media partners to bid for the games. Now, it’s up to CBS, FOX, ESPN, NBC, and Prime Video to pay up for rights to one of these two marquee games.

According to Front Office Sports Michael McCarthy, preference will be given to linear networks, so Prime Video and Peacock may sit this one out. Bidding is expected to start at $50 million but McCarthy and his sources expect that number to rise. John Kosner, the former ESPN executive, thinks the new Christmas Day games could sell for $75 million to $100 million apiece.

The NFL announced a Wednesday Christmas Day doubleheader during its annual league meetings. The league originally said it wouldn’t force games on Christmas Day if the holiday fell on an odd day of the week, though as the NFL continues to put games on days outside of Sundays, Mondays, Thursdays, and sometimes Saturdays, we’re running out of days that don’t feature NFL football.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports TV News

Colorado Rockies & DirecTV Reach Agreement to Carry Games on TV

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination for their favorite local teams. We will continue to work with MLB…so fans can get their games.”

Avatar photo

Published

on

Colorado Rockies

Breathe easy, Rockies fans — you will be able to watch your club on linear TV this year. At the buzzer, DirecTV and the Colorado Rockies agreed on terms to distribute the team’s games throughout its local service.

Starting today, DirecTV Choice subscribers across Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Southern Idaho, Western Nebraska, and Northern New Mexico can now watch the Rockies on a special channel simply titled, “ROCKIES.” The games will be available on DirecTV and DirecTV STREAM via channel 683.

“Colorado sports fans have made DIRECTV the top destination to get all their favorite local teams,” said Rob Thun, chief content officer of DIRECTV. “We will continue to work with MLB, the NBA, NHL, and other top leagues and their local franchises so the most avid fans can get the games they want while other customers have more choice over the content they want to pay to have in their homes.”

Reports just days ago out of Colorado said there were “no guarantees” the Rockies would not find a TV home in time for Opening Day following the sunsetting of AT&T SportsNet. The only other way to watch the team is to use its direct-to-consumer Rockies.tv streaming service, which fans say is too pricey for a team that lost 103 games last season. Luckily, the team was able to secure a TV home for 2024, though the future is still uncertain.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading

Sports TV News

Erin Andrews Reveals Infertility Journey in Emotional ‘Today Show’ Interview

FOX reporter Erin Andrews sat down with ‘The Today Show’s’ Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Avatar photo

Published

on

Erin Andrews

FOX reporter Erin Andrews shared her story of infertility and surrogacy with NBC’s Today Show. Last summer, Andrews and her husband welcomed a baby boy via surrogate after trying for a decade to get pregnant via IVF, during which she was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2016. Today, she sat down with Kristen Welker to discuss her journey, how Welker’s own journey inspired her, and more.

Andrews says Welker’s announcement on the Today Show made her think a baby could be possible. “I remember Kristin Welker’s announcement on your show,” Andrews said last year, “and I actually watched that the morning Mac was born, because that just hit me.”

When they finally sat down, Welker asked Andrews why her journey resonated with the sports reporter so much:

“Because I see myself in you. Kristen, the video of you moderating debates after you’re waiting on bad news or maybe you just received it, that’s me. I can tell you every stand-up I’ve done at a football game where I’ve gotten the news that it didn’t work. I’d be talking about Tom Brady going for this record and my record is that I still was failing…I would have chest pains every time I was waiting for the call if it worked, and I knew it wouldn’t work.

Erin Andrews on ‘Today’

Andrews knew surrogacy was the only path to having a child. Although her family’s first attempt failed, her second attempt was a success, and she got to hear her child’s heartbeat for the very first time. The pair discuss the complex emotions that come with surrogacy, saying that bonds with their child could be affected because they didn’t carry their child. However, Welker assured Andrews that those feelings go away once you can talk to your child.

Once her son was born in June, who Andrews called, “a miracle,” she then talks about her child glowingly, talking about how he is just like mom — vocal. “He’s all me,” she says.

Andrews supports Baby Quest, a non-profit that grants money to families in need of IVF or surrogacy to have a baby but don’t have the funds to pursue these expensive treatments. Both Andrews and Welker acknowledged how difficult and unattainable their journies are for some families — and Andrews even used the NFL’s “My Cleats, My Cause” initiative to raise awareness for her cause.

“People don’t need to feel embarrassed that they have a surrogate or are looking for other help,” Andrews said.

Sign up for the BSM 8@8

The Top 8 Sports Media Stories of the Day, sent directly to your inbox, every morning at 8am ET.

Invalid email address
We promise not to spam you. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Continue Reading
Advertisement

Advertisement

Upcoming Events

Barrett Media Writers

Copyright © 2024 Barrett Media.