Sports Radio News

Mack Brown Joins ESPN

Published

9 years ago

July 24, 2014

Mack Brown mapped out his career plan at a young age: He wanted to be a football coach first – and he was, from 1973 through last season – before either moving upstairs, as an athletic director, or into television, as a college football analyst.

Seven months after the final game of his coaching career, one highlighted by the 2005 national championship, Brown will join ESPN in August as a college football analyst, providing studio work across the network’s football-themed platforms and, on Saturdays, starring as one-third of ABC’s College Football Countdown program.

Countdown, which airs as the lead-in to both ABC’s afternoon and prime-time kickoffs, will team Brown and former Florida State quarterback Danny Kanell with host John Saunders.

“I’ll be able to share my excitement this year in a little different way than the last 42 years,” Brown told USA TODAY Sports.

Brown began casual conversations with ESPN about his post-coaching plans three years ago, after the network began a deep relationship with the University of Texas following the debut of the Longhorn Network.

“We’ve kind of been talking about it over the three years,” Brown said. “It wasn’t a regular conversation, but it’s something (ESPN President John Skipper) said: If and when you quit, we’d love to talk to you. He made that call, and I’m really excited about it.”

Brown will make his first appearance on Aug. 10, when he joins Kanell and studio host Rece Davis in reporting from Ohio State, ESPN senior coordinating producer Bill Graff said. Come the start of the regular season, a second coach will join Brown in making his television debut: Butch Davis, most recently of North Carolina, will appear on ESPN2’s day-long studio coverage.

For the rest of this story check out USA Today Sports where it was originally published

Jason Barrett

Jason Barrett is the owner and operator of Barrett Sports Media. Prior to launching BSM he served as a sports radio programmer, launching brands such as 95.7 The Game in San Francisco and 101 ESPN in St. Louis. He has also produced national shows for ESPN Radio including GameNight and the Dan Patrick Show. You can find him on Twitter @SportsRadioPD or reach him by email at [email protected].

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Sports Radio News

Mad Dog: Gus Johnson ‘Bothered The Hell Out of Me’ Saturday

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine.”

Published

7 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: SiriusXM)

FOX Sports college football voice Gus Johnson has made no bones about his affinity for Ohio State wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. However, Chris “Mad Dog” Russo has heard enough.

During his Mad Dog Unleashed program on SiriusXM, Russo shared that not only was Johnson obnoxious for the constant use of a nickname he bestowed up Harrison, but he was also misguided for calling Ohio State/Michigan the greatest rivalry in sports.

“Gus Johnson — the hype machine that he is — please, when you broadcast a ballgame, I don’t need to hear about Maserati Marv, number one. And number two, that’s not the greatest rivalry in sports history. Have you heard of the Yankees and the Red Sox? Giants and the Dodgers? How about Bears/Packers? Have you heard about that?

“For crying out loud, Michigan/Ohio State isn’t even better than North Carolina/Duke, who play twice a year. So let’s be careful with the hype machine. That bothered the hell out of me.”

When a caller pushed back on Russo’s opinion on the Michigan/Ohio State rivalry, he continued by saying “That rivalry’s not Yankees/Red Sox. To compare college football to the Yankees and the Red Sox is ludicrous.”

BSM Staff

Sports Radio News

Nashville Predators Radio Voice Pete Weber Calling 2,000th Game Tuesday

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team. I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Published

7 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

(Photo: Nashville Predators)

Nashville Predators radio voice Pete Weber is set to hit a career milestone Tuesday, as he’ll call his 2,000th game for the NHL franchise.

Weber told The Tennessean that he has relished the opportunity to be the voice of a team since its inception. He claimed he applied for and was a finalist for the radio play-by-play job when the Carolina Panthers were conceived, before ultimately landing with the Predators.

“I always wanted to be there for the birth of a team,” said Weber. “I feel like I’ve been a pretty fair midwife here.”

Despite missing time late last season due to a rare brain condition, Weber said he has no plans of retiring anytime soon.

“I have not thought about it, other than when I thought about how (former Philadelphia Phillies announcer) Harry Kalas was carried dead out of the broadcast booth in Washington,” Pete Weber said. “I thought, ‘Well, that’s an interesting way to go. I don’t necessarily know that I want to do it like that. But it could happen. I’m not going to say no.”

Weber’s 2,000th game will come as the Nashville Predators play host to the Pittsburgh Penguins. 102.5 The Game is the flagship home of the Predators Radio Network.

BSM Staff

Sports Radio News

iHeartMedia Ending WEEI Simulcast in Cape Cod

A job opening for a sports talk co-host/producer/programming assistant that says its salary will “be funded by the savings that the market is acquiring from the expiring Audacy/WEEI & Red Sox contracts”.

Published

8 hours ago

November 28, 2023

BSM Staff

iHeartMedia is preparing to drop its simulcast of WEEI on its 96.3 WEII-FM signal in Hyannis/Cape Cod.

According to a report from Radio Insight, iHeartMedia has posted a job opening for a sports talk co-host/producer/programming assistant that says its salary will “be funded by the savings that the market is acquiring from the expiring Audacy/WEEI & Red Sox contracts”.

It goes on to state that the contract between the company and Audacy was $300,000 annually and it paid the Red Sox $65,000 annually.

The job posting alleges 96.3 FM will continue to carry sports programming with a local show.

WEEI is currently simulcast on stations in Springfield and Worcester, MA; Providence; Portland, Maine; and on stations in New Hampshire and Vermont, as well. Earlier this year, the station’s offices in Warwick, Rhode Island closed as part of a cost-cutting measure.

WEII-FM is licensed to Dennis, MA and features a 25,000-watt Class B signal.

BSM Staff