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Tony Romo: I Was Boring When I Started At CBS

“I sounded like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the teacher.”

Ricky Keeler

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On Sunday afternoon, Tony Romo began his fifth season calling NFL games as the lead analyst for CBS with the Chiefs’ 33-29 comeback win over the Browns. It has been a broadcasting journey in which the former Dallas Cowboys quarterback has tried to get better with every game he has called. 

Romo was a guest on the most recent episode of the Sports Illustrated Media Podcast with Jimmy Traina and discussed the boot-camp type atmosphere that CBS put him through when he got started so he would be ready to go on Day 1.

“I did so many practice games on my own. I give CBS credit. We put together a plan as we were going through it. Usually, you get hired and you do one thing and they see it. We had this almost boot camp, training camp deal. I was like I’m not going out there randomly, I want to feel how this is going to go, 1,000 reps kind of thing. But, you can’t do that because you need a live game.”

When Romo first started doing the practice games, he did not like how he sounded. He used a very recognizable pop culture reference to illustrate how bad he thought he was.

“I sounded like Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, the teacher. I watched myself and it was so boring. You would have been like this guy needs to stop doing this right now.”

In order to improve in his mind, Romo mentioned that he tried to look at the other analysts and tried to mimic what they were doing and realized what he could do to stand out.

“What it was is I am at dinner with my family and friends and everyone has their phones out and they are just reading their website and I am going to tell a story, how do I keep their attention? Very quickly I found there’s a certain tone, there’s a certain emphatic nature to it, and there’s a certain look them in the face, tap them on the shoulder. I have to keep your attention, so the only way to do it is what I do at dinner.” 

Right now, Romo isn’t looking ahead to exactly how long he will continue to be in the booth, but he knows that this profession is something he wants to do for the foreseeable future.

“I love it, I’m passionate about it, I really enjoy the game of football.”

Romo and Nantz’s game for Week 2 will be in Los Angeles when the Chargers take on Romo’s former team, the Cowboys, at SoFi Stadium. 

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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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