Fox Sports NFL producer Richie Zyontz on Thursday addressed why the net cut short Seahawks CB Richard Sherman's postgame interview with the net's Erin Andrews after the NFC Championship, saying, "I saw a train coming down the tracks," according to Richard Deitsch of SI.com. Zyontz: "It started crossing over a line that I did not want to see us go. Erin handled it very well, but I kind of said, Let’s end this thing. He’s a good guy, an intelligent guy, an emotional guy and it was very compelling to watch. But it started getting a little dangerous for us." While the footage "makes it appear that Sherman walked away from Andrews, Fox producers said on Thursday that they cut away" (SI.com, 1/23). In Seattle, Ari Liljenwall noted Andrews on her Twitter feed "posted several pictures with Sherman on Thursday morning after taping a segment" for next week’s Super Bowl coverage (SEATTLEPI.com, 1/23).
HARLAN CRITICAL OF ANDREWS' REACTION: CBS Sports' Kevin Harlan during an appearance on Pittsburgh's KDKA-AM Thursday criticized the way Andrews handled the Sherman interview. Harlan said, "I don’t know if she was unprepared, her reaction was more about her than the guy. It was very odd. If you go back and look at that interview -- which has been the talk of the country since it occurred and maybe taken something away from the wonderful game and season certainly Seattle has played -- her reaction was more like drama queenish." Harlan continued, "If Michele Tafoya or someone like that were interviewing, I can’t help believe that she would have asked the appropriate follow-up and been a little bit more composed, whereas the gal that was asking the questions was almost like she was on a stage. It wasn’t about her, it’s all about him, and the more I think about it, the more irritated I get." Harlan said after Sherman's outburst, Andrews "had that reaction and then things just kind of tumbled over from that point on." He added, "I just wonder if a different interviewer would have changed the entire complexion we've all got of him and that team and that win by virtue of that interview." Harlan noted Sherman mentioned 49ers WR Michael Crabtree's name in his initial comments, so had Andrews "been listening, she would have known that's who he was talking about, and yet she kind of provoked him even more." Harlan: "The consummate interviewer is a good listener" ("Starkey and Mueller," KDKA-AM, 1/23).
GOING GLOBAL: The HOLLYWOOD REPORTER's Stuart Kemp reported several European countries "will be offered the taste of the biggest game in American football as Super Bowl XLVIII will be broadcast live on Fox International Channels." The game "will be available live to more than 12 million households on Fox Sports in Italy, the Netherlands, Turkey and Cyprus, and on Fox in Greece, Bulgaria, Serbia, Croatia and Slovenia." This "marks the first time 'the other kind of football' for Europeans is broadcast live on FIC in Europe" (HOLLYWOODREPORTER.com, 1/23).
