1. Al Michaels has done an excellent job in recent weeks dodging questions about his future at NBC.
The network is reportedly going to move on from Michaels as the voice of Sunday Night Football when his contract expires after the Super Bowl and replace him with Mike Tirico. Michaels is expected to become the play-by-play man for Amazon’s Thursday Night Football package beginning next season.
Because Michaels will call his 11th and, most likely, final Super Bowl this Sunday, he’s been doing a lot of media. And everyone has asked Al about going to Amazon and how he feels about NBC making the switch before giving some sort of variation of, “We’ll see what happens when my contract is up” as his answer. He even did it on the SI Media Podcast back in November beginning around the 20-minute mark of our conversation.
However, on Tuesday, Michaels had to answer that question from Howard Stern, who isn’t exactly the typical sports media interviewer. Here is how Stern approached the topic of Al being replaced on Sunday Night Football during Stern's SiriusXM show:
“Really? NBC is gonna let you walk out the door? I think it’s a big f------ error. It’s just like New England letting Brady go. Dude, I don’t get it. I think I’m in shock. This is bulls---. Everyone loves you. You’re doing great. What are they changing things up for? You got the No. 1 show. All bulls--- aside, you must be pounding your head in the wall trying to figure these guys out. Who’s running things over there? Who’s your boss?”
A flustered and uncomfortable Michaels simply responded, “Uh, O.J.,” referencing his famous role in the memorable O.J. Simpson prank call during the 1994 Bronco chase.
Of course, Stern wasn’t going to back down. “Knock it off. Tell me what you’re really feeling. Do you feel betrayed a little bit?” he asked Michaels.
“No, I feel that the decision was made predicated on making sure there was a succession plan in place,” responded Michaels.
This didn’t satisfy Stern who went on to call the NBC honchos “idiots” while Michaels hemmed and hawed.
To fully appreciate the awkwardness felt by Al, you need to listen to the clip below.
This was Stern’s second attempt during the interview to get Michaels to open up about possibly getting replaced on Sunday Night Football.
When asked whether this was happening because of Michaels’s age, the 77-year-old responded:
“In the parlance [of] football, I’ve outkicked the coverage. At a certain point, I should be done, but I’m sorry I’ve helped screw this thing up by not being done. At least in my mind I’m not done. So I love doing this. I don’t know what’s going to happen. It’s a weird time in the business.”
2. In the least surprising news you'll read today, legalized sports betting will be huge for this Super Bowl.
3. I'm not sure anyone thought that Tom Brady was handling his own social media all this time, but the future Hall of Famer came clean about it Tuesday.
4. We told you in yesterday's Traina Thoughts about Stephen A. Smith's issuing a warning to WFAN's Tiki Barber over Barber saying Smith didn't have connections in the Giants organization regarding the Brian Flores lawsuit against the team. Barber fired back on his show Tuesday.
5. Americans will watch truly watch ANY kind of football that's on TV.
6. The latest SI Media Podcast features a conversation with Bryan Curtis of The Ringer.
We covered all the latest sports media news including the entire saga of Tom Brady's retirement announcement and news break, Tony Romo's rough day in the booth for the AFC title game between the Bengals and Chiefs, why Troy Aikman has become the best NFL analyst on television, Al Michaels’s future, the ridiculousness of Radio Row and much more.
You can listen to the podcast below or download it on Apple, Spotify and Stitcher.
You can also watch the SI Media Podcast on YouTube.
