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Ian Eagle Feels Responsibility in Taking Over Final Four From Jim Nantz

“Jim has done it for 30+ years. That is unprecedented, it will be unmatched, it is unparalleled.”

Ricky Keeler

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NCAA Tournament, taking over for the legendary Jim Nantz. It will add another weekend to Eagle’s busy calendar of games, but it’s a voice fans have come to know and love with any sport he calls. 

Eagle was a guest on the One Shining Podcast with Tate Frazier podcast this week and he said the succession plan was something that had been talked about and that he is beyond honored to be the voice that comes after Nantz.

“I recognize the responsibility that comes with it. Jim has done it for 30+ years. That is unprecedented, it will be unmatched, it is unparalleled. He has been associated with this event for so long and it has been such a huge part of his life. The way I viewed it is I’m succeeding him in this position and I think that’s ultimately what CBS/Turner Sports viewed it as, a succession plan for what they were going to do in the future.” 

While it will be a new role for Eagle, he wants to treat it the way he would treat it normally, which is to let the game tell the story.

“The reality for me, certainly not minimizing it, but it’s an extra weekend of my life. It’s 3 more basketball games. I’ve literally called thousands of games in my career between college basketball and the NBA. The way I’m going to attack it is to do the game the way that I always do the game. Bring energy, bring excitement, bring information, bring entertainment value, bond with your teammates (Bill Raftery, Grant Hill, Tracy Wolfson), make everyone comfortable, then get out of the way.”

Eagle has had the opportunity to call many different sporting events over his career and he mentioned to Frazier what separates March Madness from the NFL and the NBA. 

“What separates it is the names change every single year, but we are fascinated by the matchups, the cinderella, and the intensity level. This is the highest level of basketball that the majority of the participants will ever be a part of and you feel that. You feel how much it means to them, you feel the highs, you feel the lows, and the concentrated passion is what is coursing through every site that you work no matter what round it is, no matter who is participating.”

Eagle, Jim Spanarkel, and Evan Washburn will be calling the games Friday and Sunday at the Midwest Regional in Louisville, Kentucky.

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Final ‘Good Morning Football’ Episode from New York Studio Airs Before Hiatus, Move to LA

After today, ‘Good Morning Football’ will take a brief hiatus, then move to LA. But outside of host Jamie Erdahl, who else will join the show on the West Coast?

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Good Morning Football

Today marks the last Good Morning Football episode to air from its New York studios on NFL Network. After today, the show will take a brief hiatus, then move across the country to Los Angeles. But which of the shows beloved cast members will move along with it?

We already know host Jamie Erdahl will be there once she gives birth to her child. The newest GMFB show member gave an emotional send-off to the show’s New York studios before announcing she was headed for maternity leave and would see everyone in LA.

Host Kyle Brandt delivered this message late last night, saying that viewers should tune in to he and his colleagues and that “he has a lot to say.”

Earlier this week, however, host Peter Schrager delivered his own goodbye message — one that may sound like a man who’s not ready to move his family across the country at a moment’s notice:

However, no hosts outside of Erdahl have given confirmation that they’re either staying or going.

The NFL’s move to take the show from New York to Los Angeles has been widely criticized by fans and media members alike. Bill Simmons wondered if the move wouldn’t spell just the end of GMFB but the NFL Network as a whole. It has some wondering if this is the end of football’s best show.

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ESPN Coverage of Men’s NIT Tournament Quarterfinals Up 33% vs. 2023

Viewership of the Men’s NIT Quarterfinals on ESPN were up 33 percent compared to last year and featured two games that averaged over one million viewers.

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Even the NIT is riding the recent hot streak of live sports viewership numbers. According to data provided by ESPN, the 2024 NIT Quarterfinals are up 33 percent compared to last year’s tournament. Perhaps more surprisingly, two NIT quarterfinal games topped one million viewers.

The network’s Georgia/Ohio State matchup averaged 1.03 million viewers, while the Cincinnati/Indiana State contest averaged 1.02 million viewers. These two games were the most-watched NIT games since 2017 — including title games. Both Georgia and Ohio State have rabid fanbases, while many thought Indiana State was unjustly left out of the March Madness tournament, which could be a reason why viewers tuned in.

Much of the focus this season has been on the women’s game, thanks to Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese, and the undefeated South Carolina Gamecocks, led by Dawn Staley. ESPN just had its most-watched women’s college basketball season since 2008-09 because of the increased interest in the women’s game. The men’s game, however, hasn’t been heralded as much this season for whatever reason, mostly because numbers seem to be holding steady compared to previous years. However, if the NIT is posting viewership wins, that should bode well for the NCAA Tournament’s incoming viewership totals.

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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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