NFL Network host Rich Eisen brings humor "to his role as the host of NFL Total Access and other network programming," but he is "completely serious about his aversion to covering the league's first work stoppage in nearly a quarter-century," according to Michael Silver of YAHOO SPORTS. Things "haven't been as brutal as many people feared before NFL owners locked out players in March," but Eisen "has had his fill of lawyer interviews, updates on negotiations and analysis of the labor dispute's ramifications." Eisen: "It's been an interesting experience -- and I wouldn't wish it on anyone." Silver noted "filling airtime wasn't the sole source of Eisen's trepidation; he also wanted to make sure skeptical viewers -- and even NFL players -- didn't view him as a shill for the owners, who are technically his bosses." But NFL Net's coverage "has been refreshingly devoid of propaganda." Eisen: "I was greatly concerned because these are uncharted waters. This is the first time a network based on a single sport has ever gone through a labor dispute. There’s no playbook to work from. But our mantra from the beginning was, ‘Just treat this like any other story. Get the facts, get ‘em right and report ‘em.’ I’ve not once been told by anybody, ‘Don’t say this,’ or ‘This is what you should say; it’s a talking point.’ Thank goodness." Silver wrote there has "arguably been at least one very positive development from the need to fill airtime: The network's recent decision to start televising Eisen's popular podcasts, which have featured celebrity guests engaging in candid and spirited conversations, often on subjects other than football" (SPORTS.YAHOO.com, 7/7).
