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Countdown to Coverage: College Football’s Best TV Booth

“With so much to choose from, it makes sense we waited till the end to unveil our choices for the best TV crews in college football.”

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College football season is nearly here.

Forget last Saturday. It’s called Week 0 for a reason. Do you really want to believe the first game of the 2022 season was 3-9 Northwestern and 3-9 Nebraska playing halfway around the world?

Here at Barrett Sports Media, we are celebrating college football from a media angle. All week long, our editors and resident college football superfans, Arky Shea, Demetri Ravanos and Garrett Searight, will be looking at the best the media has to offer in terms of college football coverage.

The entire schedule is as follows:

MONDAY: Best Local Show

TUESDAY: Best National Radio Show

WEDNESDAY: Best College Football Podcast

THURSDAY: Best TV Show

FRIDAY: Best TV Play-by-Play Booth

This one is the big magilla. With so many games on TV every Saturday, college football offers fans their pick of a variety of talented broadcast crews.

Diversity reigns in college football television. That isn’t just about the way the people on each crew look. It’s about style and presentation.

That’s what happens when there is no single governing body to dictate the tone they want set for their sport. Fans are the winners for that!

With so much to choose from, it makes sense we waited till the end to unveil our choices for the best TV crews in college football. Here they are!

BRAD NESSLER & GARY DANIELSON ON CBS by Arky Shea

No one calls a college football game better than Brad Nessler. Period. In a land of immensely talented play-by-play talents, Nessler sits atop. He has one of the rare voices in college football that comforts you because you know college football is happening and it’s happening on a massive stage. If Nessler is in the booth, it’s a big damn deal. It’s the biggest reason I was so thrilled that he was the guy that replaced Verne Lundquist on the SEC on CBS games. I never wanted Verne to leave but since he retired, Nessler brought the gravitas.

Gary Danielson is way more talented than he his given his just due for and honestly, I have not heard a single reason why he shouldn’t be considered at the top of everyone’s board. He’s smart, well-prepared and was predicting plays before Tony Romo told you all that was a thing. He uses his time on-air wisely and points out the biggest reasons a play did or not work while at the same time, readily admitting when something doesn’t make sense to him if that moment arises. He has been the lead game analyst for the best league’s best game since 2006. If you think that’s an accident, you’ve had one too many Boilermakers.

GUS JOHNSON & JOEL KLATT ON FOX by Demetri Ravanos

Someone long ago decided that sports were not fun and that if they involved amateurs, they were sacred and should sound like church. I don’t know who that someone was, but I hate their guts and hope they roll over in their graves every time Gus Johnson is on the call of Ohio State and Michigan.

College football is a fun sport. Johnson makes it sound fun. Add in Joel Klatt, and the duo form a team that balances excitement with insight. I’m not a fan of FOX’s pregame show, but each Saturday you can bet, no matter who is playing, I will always check out Big Noon Saturday. Johnson and Klatt can make even a 20-point Nebraska loss sound interesting.

CHRIS FOWLER & KIRK HERBSTREIT on ABC by Garrett Searight

I could him-haw around what I think or I can just come out and say it. So it’s option number two. Kirk Herbstreit is the best television sports analyst of all time. His ability to understand the game and put it into terms that John Q. Public understands is unrivaled. Often times while watching a broadcast, I’ll notice something the color commentator doesn’t. I don’t ever have those moments with Herbstreit. He sees everything, and sees it before the instant replay so he can convey what he saw to you. His ability to see the entire field and see everything on the field, plus his ability to diagram plays on the telestrator after seeing it live is a masterclass in football broadcasting. Chris Fowler isn’t the world’s best play-by-play announcer, but he knows his role is to set up Herbie to shine week after week. Mission accomplished.

I gave strong consideration to Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt. I can’t pretend to be unbiased there because, as an Ohio State fan, I see an awful lot of Gus & Joel. Gus yells a bit too much nonsense for my taste, but that’s what he’s best known for. I’m always appreciative of his energy, but the star of the show is Klatt. He teaches me more about the game than any other analyst. He’s fantastic. But he’s not better than Herbstreit.

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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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