1. Fox’s Kevin Burkhardt and Tom Brady will call the Commanders-Lions playoff game Saturday at 8 p.m. ET.
Brady is also part of the Raiders’ brain trust that is reportedly interested in hiring Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson for their vacant head coaching position.
Because of this twist, there are some people screaming, “CONFLICT OF INTEREST!”
Whether there is a conflict of interest or not, I don’t see how this will have any impact on Brady’s call of the game. In fact, I don’t think Brady’s call of the game will be different in any way, shape or form because he wants to hire Johnson.
The problems with conflicts of interest arise when we don’t know about the conflict of interest. Such as broadcasters sharing the same agent as a head coach or player. But if we all know going into the game that Brady wants Johnson to become the Raiders’ head coach, what exactly is the issue? I do think Fox and Brady are obligated to mention that Brady and the Raiders have interest in Johnson during their intro to the game. That transparency is important here. But it doesn’t have anything to do with conflict of interest.
During every single Lions game, the broadcasters, no matter who they are, prop up Johnson and praise him to no end for the job he’s done in Detroit. Is Brady going to go a little extra in hopes of winning over Johnson? Some people watching the game will absolutely think that, but it’s nonsense.
Naturally, many people watching the game, especially Commanders fans, will think Brady is “rooting for” Detroit because of the Johnson connection, but that’s on the fans for being nutty and thinking announcers root, not on Brady. And Commanders fans would think think that regardless of the Johnson connection.
People love to declare, “CONFLICT OF INTEREST,” but I’ve yet to see exactly what the conflict of interest will be Saturday night. Someone please let me know.
2. If you’re a sports fan who isn’t interested in anything else but sports, DirecTV is trying to lure you in with a new offering. The satellite company has announced a new package called “MySports,” which will feature 40 channels.
Among those channels, according to the DirecTV press release: ACC Network, Big Ten Network, DIRECTV 4K Live, DIRECTV 4K Live 2, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNews, ESPNU, Fox Sports 1, Fox Sports 2, Golf Channel, MLB Network, NBA TV, NFL Network, NHL Network, SEC Network, TBS, TNT, TruTV and USA Network. Local channels will initially include any stations owned and operated by ABC, FOX, and NBC, with additional stations coming online soon.
The package will cost $49.00 for the first three months and then increase to $69.99 a month.
3. The Penn State–Notre Dame College Football Playoff semifinal game on Thursday drew 17.8 million viewers for ESPN.
The Ohio State–Texas game on Friday drew 20.6 million viewers for ESPN.
It’s hard to compare these numbers to anything else because this is the first year of the 12-team playoff and the first time there were semifinals games on Thursday and Friday nights.
But no matter how you spin it, that Notre Dame–Penn State number has to be considered a disappointment when you factor in Thursday is a better night for viewership than Friday and the game went down to the wire, featuring a wild fourth quarter.
I’ve said for years that Notre Dame isn’t as relevant nationally as the media would have you believe. I stand by that take even more after seeing the playoff numbers.
Think about this. The Lions and Niners played a completely meaningless game in Week 17. The game meant absolutely nothing to each team. Somehow, ESPN generated 22.2 million viewers for that game. Notre Dame–Penn State brought nearly five million fewer people.
4. Fox drew 35.9 million viewers for Sunday’s Packers-Eagles wild-card playoff game.
To show you the power of the Cowboys as a TV draw, last season, Fox landed 43.4 million viewers for the Packers-Cowboys wild-card game.
5. You can’t really get more prime-time games and 4:25 p.m. ET games than the Cowboys already get, but if you’re wondering what would happen next season if Deion Sanders became the coach in Dallas, the most times a team can appear in prime time is six. There is no limit on 4:25 p.m. games. In other words, don’t expect to see the Cowboys play many, if any, games at 1 p.m. ET on Sundays next season if Deion is on the sidelines.
6. This week’s SI Media With Jimmy Traina features a conversation with CBS play-by-play announcer Ian Eagle.
Eagle talks about calling NFL playoff games. He also shares his thoughts on what it was like to call the Chiefs-Steelers Christmas Day game for Netflix, working with J.J. Watt and Pittsburgh getting snubbed at halftime while the Texans got Beyonce. Eagle also revealed the advice he gave us son, Noah, on calling a blowout in the other Christmas Day game on Netflix.
In addition, Eagle addresses reports that he will be Amazon’s lead NBA voice next year and discusses what it was like to call his first Final Four. Other topics covered include Eagle’s hotel issues, his addiction to pens and Chris “Mad Dog” Russo.
