Golf Channel is adding to its '14 on-air lineup with Golf HOFer Juli Inkster and LPGA players Paige Mackenzie and Karen Stupples. Inkster will work as an on-course reporter for five LPGA events, while Mackenzie will co-host the net's "Morning Drive" and provide analysis on "Golf Central" while still playing a full Tour schedule. Stupples will work several LPGA events as an on-course reporter and booth analyst. She also will provide studio analysis for the net's news programming (Golf Channel). GOLFWEEK's Martin Kaufmann noted Inkster in addition to the five assignments will be "playing a front-loaded schedule of about 12 events." She said that Golf Channel Exec Producer Jack Graham "worked to accommodate her schedule and has been 'coaching me up.'” Inkster: “There’s so much to learn, so I want to start on the ground and learn the basics (following) one group and get my feet wet." Kaufmann noted Inkster "dabbled in television when her daughters were young, but decided to continue playing." Now she "wants to give TV another try." She said she plans to “shadow” Golf Channel on-course reporters Jerry Foltz, Kay Cockerill and others (GOLFWEEK.com, 11/19).
QUOTH THE RAVEN: ESPN NFL analyst Ray Lewis on Monday volunteered to pay half of a $16,000 fine administered to 49ers LB Ahmad Brooks for a hit on Saints QB Drew Brees, but in Baltimore, David Zurawik wrote under the header, "Someone Needs To Tell Ray Lewis, ESPN It's Wrong For Analyst To Be Participant In Story." Zurawik: "An analyst is not a participant. Look it up, Ray. Look it up, ESPN." Beyond the "impropriety of an analyst becoming a participant in a ruling between the league and a player, there's the loudmouth style in which Lewis is doing it." This is "what blowhards in a bar do when they have had too much to drink -- wave around their credit cards, act like big shots and say crazy, bluster-butt stuff" (BALTIMORESUN.com, 11/20).
PLAYING DODGEBALL: THE BIG LEAD's Jason McIntyre reported the Dodgers are "targeting" ESPN MLB analyst Orel Hershiser to "be the face" of the team's new RSN. Hershiser is "one of the most beloved Dodgers over the last 40 years." A source said that Hershiser’s contract is "almost up, and he is currently in negotiations with ESPN." McIntyre: "Obviously, ESPN is trying to retain Hershiser, who is an analyst on Sunday Night Baseball games and on Baseball Tonight" (THEBIGLEAD.com, 11/20).
BEHIND THE MIC: SI's Richard Deitsch wondered if Patriots QB Tom Brady or Broncos QB Peyton Manning "would make the better broadcaster?" Every network with an NFL contract "has a list of players and coaches who would make ideal broadcasters, and Manning ranks near the top of every one, based on his comfort in front of the camera, his ease in discussing X's and O's, and his sense of humor." Brady "does radio in Boston and has a guest spot" on Westwood One's "MNF" pregame show. Brady is "engaging and occasionally sneaky-funny -- but Manning's on another level." "SNF" Exec Producer Fred Gaudelli said, "The market for either would be very hot." Gaudelli "imagines Brady and Manning excelling as analysts or in studio roles, though the latter would demand firing off opinion after opinion." Gaudelli: "I don't think either one wants to be that guy" (SI, 11/25 issue).
NOTES: NBC's Bob Costas will serve as host for primetime and late-night telecasts of the '14 Sochi Games coverage. Costas has anchored every Olympics that NBC has broadcast since '92 (NBC)....LSU Sports Radio Network analyst Doug Moreau last week said that he will "return to the booth for the Tigers final two games." He "missed the first 10 games this season with undisclosed health issues" (NOLA.com, 11/20)....Marquette Univ. men's basketball radio announcer Steve True yesterday "returned to his afternoon talk show" on Milwaukee-based WAUK-AM after being struck by a car last week (JSONLINE.com, 11/20)....A source said that MASN Nationals color analyst F.P. Santangelo has "signed a contract to return" for the '14 season, his fourth in DC (WASHINGTONPOST.com, 11/20). Santangelo wrote, "Thank you to #MASN & the #Nats for believing in me and thank you to the best fans in baseball. Looking forward to the Nat Williams era!" (TWITTER.com, 11/20)....Former NBAer Jerry Stackhouse will join FS Detroit as a studio analyst for "Pistons Live" this season (FS Detroit).
