Sports TV News

Alex Rodriguez: Yankees Criticism on TV ‘Doesn’t Help My Case’ for Jersey Retirement

“…I get paid to tell the truth and if you guys ask me a question, I’m going to tell you exactly as I see it…”

Published

2 months ago

October 20, 2023

BSM Staff

Courtesy: Frank Micelotta, FOX, PictureGroup

Alex Rodriguez is one of the most accomplished players in the history of baseball, but his legacy is perceived by many to be somewhat tarnished because of his use of PEDs. Today, Rodriguez is on FOX Sports, contributing to its coverage of Major League Baseball. He believes his criticism of his former team makes it more difficult to get his jersey number retired.

In a recent interview with Evan Roberts and Tiki Barber on WFAN, he admitted that the decision to keep his number in the distribution cycle did not make him happy. Barber asked if he had ever been approached about a possible retirement.

“No,” Alex Rodriguez replied. “With my job on TV – and Tiki, you know this – I’m too critical to the Yankees, and that doesn’t help my case. But I get paid to tell the truth and if you guys ask me a question, I’m going to tell you exactly as I see it and not sugarcoat it because I want my number retired. If it’s not retired, then so be it.”

Rodriguez recognizes the honor of having a uniform number retired and hopes that he is given such a distinction in the future. He remains in the purview of the Yankees organization as a media member, commentating on Yankees games on the Sunday Night Baseball with KayRod alternate broadcast and discussing the team during MLB on FOX studio coverage.

Additionally, he is now colleagues with Yankees legend and Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter, establishing and maintaining a rapport as analysts tasked with breaking down the coverage.

“My relationship with Hal [Steinbrenner] and the organization is fine, but when I’m on television and they ask me a question, I can’t sugarcoat it and make something look or pretend because it’s not. I wish I could say that things were going great and they’re running it like the Phillies and the Braves and Houston and the Dodgers, but that’s not what I feel, so it’s not what I’m going to say.”

Roberts posed a theory he had devised to Alex Rodriguez about his number retirement, stating that the longer the team goes without a championship, the more likely the organization will look to honor his legacy. The Yankees have won 27 World Series championships, the most in the history of Major League Baseball, but have not captured a championship, let alone a World Series appearance, in the last 14 seasons.

“I could buy that theory, but I don’t want that to happen,” Rodriguez said. “I want them to win [and] I want them to turn this around. We have the greatest fans in baseball, and they deserve to be in October. Do you know how difficult it is not to make the playoffs in 2023?”

BSM Staff

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Sports TV News

CBS Sports Shares Details of Spongebob-Themed NFL Broadcasts

Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson return to the booth for both games alongside Dylan Schefter and Young Dylan.

Published

12 mins ago

December 5, 2023

Jeff Kotuby

Get ready for some Turtles on Christmas and some SpongeBob on Super Bowl Sunday. CBS Sports and Nickelodeon are teaming up to deliver two alternate NFL broadcasts this year — one for the Monday night “Nickmas” game between the Las Vegas Raiders and Kansas City Chiefs, and then a second, SpongeBob Squarepants-themed broadcast for Super Bowl LVIII.

Noah Eagle and Nate Burleson return to the booth for both games alongside Dylan Schefter and Young Dylan. The live-action hosts will be joined by two groups of Nicktoons depending on the game.

SpongeBob and Patrick (voiced by Tom Kenny and Bill Fagerbakke, respectively) will join Eagle and Burleson in the booth for Super Bowl LVIII, while Sandy and Larry the Lobster will provide some additional flair from the sidelines. The Bikini Bottom crew will be joined by Dora the Explorer and Boots the Monkey, who will explain penalties to the younger viewers. During the “Nickmas” Game on Dec. 25, the crew will be joined by Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle’s Raphael in the booth, while Donatello will join Schefter on the sidelines.

The Christmas Day game will be Nickelodeon’s first regular-season game, as previous Nick alternate broadcasts were all during Wild Card Weekend. Last year, Nick aired an alternate broadcast of Cowboys/49ers, which drew an audience of 41 million viewers. The games have also become a social media phenomenon from adult viewers watching tongue-in-cheek.

The Nickelodeon Super Bowl telecast and Nickelodeon NFL Nickmas Game are produced by CBS Sports in association with Nickelodeon Productions.

Jeff Kotuby

Jeff Kotuby is a nationally-published journalist with bylines on many popular broadcasting and pop culture sites, including The Streamable, eBaum’s World, Twin Galaxies, and more. Jeff grew up in the shadows of New York City and cultivated his love for sports media with the classic broadcasting voices of the area, like Mike & The Mad Dog, Mike “Doc” Emerick, and Michael Kay. You can reach Jeff on Twitter @JeffKotu3y.

Sports TV News

Pat McAfee Calls Out Roger Goodell For Not Appearing on His Show

“Hey Rog? Don’t be scared, Rog. Put your big boy pants on. It’ll be good, Rog.”

Published

4 hours ago

December 5, 2023

Jeff Kotuby

Pat McAfee still wants a “white whale” guest on his show — and it’s becoming harder and harder for that guest to resist an interview feasibly.

On today’s The Pat McAfee Show, McAfee mentioned that NBA Commissioner Adam Silver will appear on the program on the Dec. 6 episode, crediting ESPN for making it possible. McAfee then rifles off other commissioners that have appeared on his show, including NHL commish Gary Bettman and SEC commissioner Greg Sankey, and mentions that MLS commissioner Don Garber was interested in coming on the show.

Notably, three of these four leagues mentioned currently maintain a broadcasting relationship with ESPN, with the fourth (MLS) previously having one before leaving for the bosom of Apple TV+.

One league partner’s commissioner who hasn’t appeared is Roger Goodell, the NFL’s controversial commish who rarely makes media appearances outside of the NFL sphere. McAfee has long desired an interview with Goodell and called out to the commissioner personally to come on — as only he can.

“Hey Rog? Don’t be scared, Rog,” McAfee said. “Put your big boy pants on. It’ll be good, Rog.”

Among the crew egging Goodell on was New York Jets QB Aaron Rodgers, who was in the studio with McAfee and gang. The QB hasn’t been one to mince words lately and seemed more than willing to join in on the Goodell teasing to bring him on his friend’s show.

Should the crew plus Rodgers be together to speak with Goodell, it could create an interesting dichotomy for Goodell. One outspoken current player and potentially multiple former players (McAfee, along with former Colts teammate Darius Butler and Rodgers’ former Packers teammate A.J. Hawk) would provide a unique interview experience for Goodell, who is used to very controlled, one-on-one interviews with more muted individuals on the other side.

For the record, McAfee and company also pointed out that MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred hasn’t appeared either, but the guys don’t seem too torn up about it.

Jeff Kotuby

Sports TV News

NBC Won’t Broadcast XFL/USFL After Merger

“We wish them success with the new league and their new partners.”

Published

5 hours ago

December 5, 2023

BSM Staff

NBC Sports broadcasted USFL games in its first two seasons since its resurrection, but that won’t continue in 2024.

As the two leagues prepare to merge, the new season won’t begin until March 30th. Due to pre-existing contracts for PGA Tour and other golf events, the network wasn’t able to commit to broadcasting the spring football league.

“We enjoyed our relationship with the USFL and Fox, but the new earlier schedule made it impossible for us to continue,” NBC Sports Executive Vice President of Communications Greg Hughes told Sports Business Journal. “We wish them success with the new league and their new partners.”

With the departure of NBC Sports, ESPN and FOX Sports will be the two television partners for the league.

BSM Staff