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ESPN Gave Mike Greenberg Tapes Of Chris Berman & Trey Wingo To Study For NFL Draft

“Being a part of the NFL Draft isn’t new for Greenberg. He was the co-host of ESPN Radio’s Draft coverage from 2004-2006 when it was at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, but he doesn’t expect that his radio experience will be anything like TV.”

Ricky Keeler

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Next Thursday night, Mike Greenberg will be in the lead chair of ESPN’s NFL Draft coverage live in Cleveland, Ohio alongside Louis Riddick, Booger McFarland, and Mel Kiper Jr. 

This week, Greenberg was on The Adam Schefter Podcast with Schefter to talk about his preparation for hosting the draft. He told Schefter that hosting Rounds 1-3, means he has to know more about this draft than anyone before it.

“I love the draft, but I usually know about 20 of the players intimately. This time around because I am doing the first 3 rounds, I set a goal of knowing 120 players intimately. That takes a lot of work. By the time we get there, I will have not only done notes, but watched tape on 120 players with the hope nobody sneaks in.” 

Hosting the draft brings back great memories for Greenberg. Back in 1991, his first ever assignment as a sports reporter was covering the Chicago Bears draft that season. He told Schefter he got paid $20 to cover the event from 8 AM-midnight, but he would have paid $20 to cover it back then. 

Being a part of the NFL Draft isn’t new for Greenberg. He was the co-host of ESPN Radio’s Draft coverage from 2004-2006 when it was at Radio City Music Hall in New York City, but he doesn’t expect that his radio experience will be anything like TV.

“It couldn’t be more different. You can’t see anything on the radio. There was nothing to do but us talk. In this case, we are seeing these great pictures of the crowd reacting, the players and their families reacting. You want to let that breathe a little.”

Part of Greenberg’s research was to watch some past drafts. The producer of the NFL Draft, Bryan Ryder, sent him two of them, one hosted by Chris Berman and one hosted by Trey Wingo so Greenberg can look at the mechanics of hosting. In fact, Greenberg looks at advice Berman gave him that has stuck with him about how to host the NFL Draft.

“We’ve exchanged a lot of notes and the most interesting piece of advice he gave me was I’ve approached this like an NFL show, from the NFL team point of view. Now that I have heard him say that, you can hear it philosophically [from the past coverage]. You have the power structure of the entire league being re-shaped while at the very same time, the wildest dreams of 32 young men and their entire families coming true. When he said that to me, it really crystalized in my mind.”

So, what is Greenberg’s goal for a successful draft coverage? He hopes he can help the other people at the desk shine.

“I am facilitating our coverage of the draft. If everyone feels like the coverage was really good, I got everything I wanted and they don’t remember who was sitting in the middle of it all, then I did a good job.”

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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.

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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.

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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.”

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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.

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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.

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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.

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