COVID, health issues impact draft coverage. And NFL media notes, pundits speak out on Heat
A six-pack of media notes on a Thursday:
▪ Twenty six months after COVID-19 first began to dramatically alter life around the globe, ESPN will still feel the effects of the pandemic during its NFL Draft coverage this week.
Mel Kiper Jr. won’t be in his normal spot on the ESPN set because he’s unvaccinated. ESPN will allow him to participate in all three days of coverage from his Baltimore home studio.
“I completely support everyone determining what’s best for their individual circumstance and recognize the value of vaccines,” Kiper said in a statement. “Simply put, my COVID vaccination decision is very specific to my own personal medical history.
“I appreciate my colleagues, particularly the production staff and my fellow commentators, for their support and flexibility. NFL fans are the most passionate in all of sports and I can’t wait for another great NFL draft.”
This will be Kiper’s 39th draft for ESPN.
Mike Greenberg will host the first two nights on ESPN, alongside Booger McFarland and Louis Riddick, with Kiper contributing as much as he would if he were on site.
Rece Davis anchors Day 3 coverage, with Todd McShay also joining the set.
ABC will again offer an alternate presentation of the first two nights of the draft, which tends to focus on back stories of the prospects and their journeys and less on analysis of each pick. Davis hosts that ABC coverage on Thursday and Friday with McShay and Desmond Howard.
Kirk Herbstreit was supposed to be on ABC’s set on Thursday and Friday but won’t be because doctors discovered a blood clot in his system; he said he feels fine. He will not work the draft remotely. Jesse Palmer will fill his spot on the ABC set.
ESPN has reporters stationed at headquarters for the Chiefs, Jets, Eagles and Giants.
▪ The NFL will announce 2022 season game dates, times and TV information on May 12. A few games will be announced before that, including Amazon Prime’s Sept. 15 Thursday night opener (which will be announced during round one of the draft) and this season’s international games (to be announced May 4).
Besides playing AFC East teams twice, the Dolphins are home against Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Green Bay, Minnesota and Houston, and will play on the road at Baltimore, Chicago, Cincinnati, Detroit, San Francisco and the Los Angeles Chargers.
▪ Who would win a potential second-round series between the Heat and 76ers?
ESPN’s Richard Jefferson picks Miami: “The Miami Heat are playing some very, very good basketball. It’s gritty basketball, it’s tough. You look what what Bam Adebayo can do against Joel Embiid, not guarding him one on one because nobody can guard him one on one, but you can limit your help. The versatility and depth the Heat bring, plus that intensity on the defensive end, I’m going with the Heat.”
ESPN’s Kendrick Perkins: “I give a slight edge to the 76ers, because of the emergence of Tyrese Maxey. This kid is ready for the moment. Let’s not dismiss Danny Green, a three-time champion. Tobias Harris has elevated his game. I think this series goes seven games. Even with a torn ligament in his thumb, Joel Embiid will still be the best player on the floor.”
Philadelphia holds a 3-2 lead over Toronto in their first-round series, with Game 6 on Thursday (7 p.m., NBA TV).
▪ The Heat’s second-round series will start Monday, on TNT, and the teams likely will play every other day through Game 6. That means Game 2 likely will be Wednesday evening, with Games 3 and 4 in Philadelphia or Toronto next Friday and Sunday.
▪ Local notes: The Panthers more than doubled their $6 million annual rights fee from Sinclair (which owns Bally Sports Florida) in a new multiyear deal, per Sports Business Daily.....
Tommy Hutton and JP Arencibia are getting the most Marlins assignments this season (45 to 50 games apiece), with Rod Allen getting the next most and Gaby Sanchez and Jeff Nelson each getting a handful of series.
▪ NFL media notes: In the wake of Michele Tafoya’s decision to leave broadcasting and pursue a career in politics, NBC hired Melissa Stark - the Monday Night Football sideline reporter from 2000 to 2003 - to be her replacement. Tafoya is now a co-chair of a Republican candidate for governor in Minnesota...
As part of its deal to allow Joe Buck to leave Fox with a year left on its contract and move to ESPN’s Monday Night Football, Fox will receive an extra Big Ten football telecast on the opening weekend of the season. That will be a Penn State-Purdue game on Sept. 1, per Sports Business Daily…
Fox has shown interest in acquiring Drew Brees from NBC and using him as an NFL game analyst, according to the New York Post, which also reports that former Saints coach Sean Payton is close to a deal to join Fox’s 11 a.m. Sunday NFL pregame and contribute to the noon show.
With Buck and Troy Aikman leaving for ESPN, Fox is mulling whom to pair with Kevin Burkhardt on its lead announcing team; former UM star Greg Olsen is the top internal candidate. For NBC, Brees works Notre Dame games and appears as a studio analyst on the Sunday Night NFL package....
The NFL will play three games on Christmas, which is a Sunday this year. The remainder of that weekend’s games will be played on Saturday, Dec. 24 (plus a Monday night game on Dec. 26)....
Apple reportedly has emerged as the front-runner for NFL Sunday Ticket, which has one more year left on its deal with DirecTV…
Florida broadcasting legend Gene Deckerhoff, 77, remains the voice of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but retired as the voice of the Florida State Seminoles after 48 seasons.
This story was originally published April 28, 2022 at 9:44 AM.
