News & Notes: The NFL on FOX 2015 Broadcast Team

FOX Sports have announced their broadcast teams for the 2015 season of the NFL on FOX. The NFL on FOX will remain relatively the same, with some cosmetic changes to their broadcast pairings.

Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will return as the lead broadcast team for the 14th straight season, along with third year sideline reporter Erin Andrews (second as the lead). The crew will anchor the national broadcast, as well as the America's Game of the Week on FOX. Buck, Aikman and Andrews will work Week 1's regional coverage in Chicago as the Bears host the Green Bay Packers. That will be followed by Week 2's national game as the Dallas Cowboys take on the Philadelphia Eagles. Kevin Burkhardt and John Lynch return as the B-team, with veteran FOX reporter Pam Oliver returning as field reporter after initially announcing her departure last season.  Their first assignment will be week 1 in Arizona as the Cardinals host the New Orleans Saints.

The long time tandem of Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston and Tony Siragusa (Kenny, Moose and Goose) have been broken up after 12 years. Albert and Johnston will be joined by new field reporter Laura Okmin. Siragusa will return as field analyst, with the newly formed team of Thom Brennaman and Charles Davis. Davis comes over from the College Football broadcast to replace Donovan McNabb, who was suspended from the network for a DUI arrest in Arizona. Brennaman and Davis paired on FOX's coverage of the BCS in 2007 through 2009.

Other assignments include the return of Chris Myers, Ronde Barber and reporter Jennifer Hale. Dick Stockton will be paired with David Diehl, who worked with Brennaman last season. Kristina Pink will be their field reporter. Sam Rosen will return to FOX when their schedule is loaded, and will be joined by a rotation of analysts and reporters including Chris Coley, Big Ten Network's Matt Millen and College Football's Quinn Brady, as well as the returning Kirk Morrison. The rotation of reporters includes FOX Sports.com's Peter Schrager, Golf reporter Holly Sonders and NASCAR host/reporter Danielle Trotta.  Mike Pereira returns as the broadcast rules analysts and will be on the air for any rules explanation or analysis of controversial calls.

The NFL on FOX broadcast will remain in tact with Curt Menefee and Terry Bradshaw hosting, with analysts Jimmy Johnson, Howie Long and Michael Strahan.  Jay Glazer will return as their NFL Insider and Rob Riggle will back with his comedy and predictions schtick.   The broadcast will preceded by the FOX NFL Kickoff at 11 a.m.  It was announced earlier that the show move from FOX Sports 1 to network before the main pregame show.  Talent has not been announced.

NFL on FOX Broadcast Teams
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman; Reporter: Erin Andrews
Kevin Burkhardt, John Lynch; Reporter: Pam Oliver
Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston; Reporter: Laura Okmin
Thom Brennaman, Charles Davis; Field Analyst: Tony Siragusa
Chris Myers, Ronde Barber; Reporter: Jennifer Hale
Dick Stockton, David Diehl; Reporter: Kristina Pink
Sam Rosen, Rotating Analysts: Chris Cooley, Matt Millen, Kirk Morrison, Brady Quinn
Rotating Reporters: Peter Schrager, Holly Sonders, Danielle Trotta

News & Notes: Craig Sager Ill, U.S. Open on FOX

According to his son, TNT reporter Craig Sager has leukemia and will under go surgery. No official announcement made, but he will not be part of the early rounds of Turner's NBA Playoffs coverage. [twitter] 

Sports Business Journal are reporting FOX Sports will tab Joe Buck and Greg Norman as the lead announcers for the 2015 U.S. Open. [SBJ]

Former NFL on CBS analyst Dan Deirdorf will join University of Michigan's radio broadcast next season. [Michigan home page]

2014 MLB on FOX Broadcast Talent

As a follow up their announcement of their broadcast schedule, FOX Sports announced their talent for 2014 MLB season on FOX and FOX Sports 1. As previously been reported, MLB Network's Harold Reynolds and Sports Illustrated's Tom Verducci will join Joe Buck as the main commentators for baseball in 2014. Reynolds, who has been working at MLBN since its inception in 2009, has been courted by FOX since the end of last season to replace Tim McCarver, who left the FOX broadcast after last season. (He will work a limited schedule for FOX Sports-Midwest). Verducci, who was considered a finalist as well, has worked several different roles in telecasts for FOX, MLBN and TBS as studio and game analyst as well as field reporter during the post season. The three man booth will have the call for select telecasts of the Game of the Week, the 2014 All-Star in Minneapolis in July and the postseason including the 2014 World Series. They will be joined by field reporters Ken Rosenthal and Erin Andrews for select games during the season and all of October. The trios first game assignment will be April 5th contest between the Dodgers and Giants on FOX Sports 1.

Reynolds and Verducci will continue to work at MLBN and Sports Illustrated respectively. It is unknown if Verducci will return to TBS, but not likely.

FOX has also announced the creation of two shows from their Los Angeles studios. Kevin Burkhardt, fresh off completing an impressive rookie season on FOX's NFL coverage, will host a half hour pregame show before each game. He will be joined by analysts FOX Sports Live's Gabe Kapler, the newest FOX hire, Hall of Famer inductee Frank Thomas, MLB on FOX's Eric Karros and/or former big league C.J. Notkowski. The past two seasons, FOX and MLB Network had a working agreement to host the pregame, but with the show will now be wholly produced by FOX. Ryan Field will be host for games on weeknights.

Finally, in direct competition to ESPN's staple Baseball Tonight and MLB Network's MLB Tonight, FOX Sports 1 will present MLB WhipAround on FOX Sports 1. Field or Chris Myers will host a nightly baseball recap with the aforementioned analysts Mondays thru Friday at 10 p.m. (most Wednesday it will at Midnight after UFC coverage).  The show will be a late night recap of the games of the night as well as break in coverage, mostly of FOX RSN games.
 
Kenny Albert and Thom Brennaman will return as secondary commentators and will like by joined by John Smotz. Though it has not been confirmed as of yet, Smoltz is close to signing on as secondary analyst to the A team. The former Braves starter/closer has worked mainly as a game analyst for TBS and worked occasional games on FOX and MLBN. Smoltz and TBS failed to come to an agreement before the end of last season and his last assignment for Turner was the B-series during the postseason.

NFL TV Primer: Part 1 NFL on FOX

The 2013 NFL season will mark the 20th for FOX Network and its coverage of the NFC’s game package.  This season, the NFL on FOX will see some significant expansion in its football coverage, due in part to the debuting FOX Sports One Network that premiered in mid August.

• This winter, FOX and will be the home of Super Bowl XLVII from MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The game will air on Sunday, February 2nd, 2014 and it will be the first game to be played in cold weather in a non-dome stadium.
• FOX will be the home of all NFC regular season games starting Sunday, September 8th and will have coverage of most of the NFC playoffs, including the Sunday Wild Card game, both Divisional games and the NFC Championship game
• National broadcast will once again be led by their ‘A team’ of Joe Buck and Hall of Famer Troy Aikman. Pam Oliver will return as the teams’ field reporter and will be joined by Erin Andrews for the Thanksgiving Classic and through the entire postseason. They will be the lead team throughout the postseason, with the assignment for the B Divisional game yet to be determined
• Additions: Kevin Burkhardt (Mets field reporter, MLB on FOX), Ronde Barber (former Tampa Bay Cornerback); New sideline reporters Kris Budden (former reporter for WBIR in Knoxville) and Molly McGrath (former Celtics court reporter) will be joining the lower tier broadcasts
• Departures: Ron Pitts, Mike Martz, Jaime Maggio
• New Programming: Weeknights, FS1 will air FOX Football Daily, a nightly one hour NFL show that will feature former standout NFL retirees including Randy Moss, Brian Urlacher, Scott Fujita and Barber. FS1 will also debut a one hour precursor to the noon pregame show with FOX NFL Kickoff, airing one hour before the noon broadcast. Analysts from the NFL on FOX, including Bradshaw and Aikman, will also contribute on both programs

NFL on FOX Game Announcers
Joe Buck, Troy Aikman; Reporter: Pam Oliver (& Erin Andrews from Thanksgiving to SB XLVIII)

Kenny Albert, Daryl Johnston; On Field Analyst: Tony Siragusa
Thom Brennaman, Brian Billick; Reporter: Laura Okmin

Kevin Burkhardt (new), John Lynch; Reporter: Erin Andrews/TBA after thanksgiving
Chris Myers, Tim Ryan; Reporter: Jennifer Hale
Dick Stockton, Ronde Barber (new); Reporter: Kris Budden (new)
Sam Rosen, Heath Evans; Reporter: Molly McGrath (new)

FOX NFL Programming
FOX NFL Sunday - Sunday, Noon on FOX
Hosts: Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw; Analysts: Howie Long, Michael Strahan, Jimmy Johnson; Reporter: Jay Glazer; Rules Analyst: Mike Pereira; Predictions: Rob Riggle

FOX NFL Kickoff - Sunday, 11 a.m. on FOX Sports One
Host: Joel Klatt; Analyst: Ronde Barber, Scott Fujita, Randy Moss, Brian Urlacher, various NFL on FOX analysts
 

FOX Football Daily - Weeknights, 6 p.m. on FOX Sports One
Talent: Menefee (or Klatt), Mike Hill,  Glazer, Pereira, NFL on FOX and FOX NFL Kickoff analysts

NFL on FOX National Games – 10 games to watch
Week 1: Sunday, September 8: Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers - 4:25 pm ET
Week 2: Sunday, September 15; Washington Redskins at Green Bay Packers - 1 pm ET
Week 6: Sunday, October 13; Green Bay Packers at Baltimore Ravens - 1 pm ET
Week 8: Sunday, October 27; Washington Redskins at Denver Broncos - 4:25 pm ET
Week 11: Sunday, November 17; San Francisco 49ers at New Orleans Saints - 4:25 pm ET
Week 12: Sunday, November 24; Dallas Cowboys at New York Giants- 4:25 pm
Week 13: Thanksgiving, November 28; Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions - 12:30 pm ET
Week 14: Sunday, December 8; Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers - 4:25 pm ET
Week 15: Sunday, December 15; Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys - 4:25 pm ET
Week 16: Sunday, December 22; Dallas Cowboys at Washington Redskins - 1 pm ET

Full NFL on FOX Schedule

Joe Buck working Double Duty NFL & MLB

Newsday's Niel Best broke the news late Saturday night, FOX's franchise personality Joe Buck will work double duty during October 14's network coverage of NFL football and the baseball playoffs in San Francisco.  Buck and Troy Aikman will work America's Game of the Week between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers from Candlestick Park at 4:25 p.m.  Following the game, Buck is expected to take a trolly car from Candlestick to AT&T Park and join his baseball partner Tim McCarver for game 1 of the National League Championship Series between the St. Louis Cardinals and the San Francisco Giants at around 8:15 p.m. 

If Buck doesn't make it to AT&T Park in time for the first pitch, McCarver will be flying solo.  Oy Vey!

This occurred twice before in 1978 and 1980, with ABC's Keith Jackson working noon time College Football game and jetting out off to cover ABC's baseball playoff coverage.