SPORTING NEWS' Michael McCarthy reported NBC is putting NFL sideline reporter Michele Tafoya "on swimming coverage at the Olympics for the first time," joining Dan Hicks and Rowdy Gaines. This "will be the fourth time Tafoya has worked the Olympics -- but the first time she's covered swimming." NBC Olympics Exec Producer Jim Bell in a statement said that it "makes sense to use the highly regarded 'Sunday Night Football' reporter for the must-watch competition in Rio." McCarthy noted once Tafoya "completes her Olympic assignment, she'll return to the sidelines for her sixth season" with "SNF." Andrea Kremer worked with Hicks and Gaines at the '12 London Games (SPORTINGNEWS.com, 4/18).
ON THE SIDELINES: SI.com's Richard Deitsch reported ESPN college football reporter Joe Schad "will not be part of the network’s coverage this fall." Schad joined ESPN in '05 and "worked on a number of ESPN platforms." Meanwhile, ESPN's Robert Smith "quietly announced on his Twitter feed in January that he would not be returning to ESPN after 11 years with the network." Fox Sports' college football studio "would seem a logical landing spot for Smith" (SI.com, 4/18).
PAIRS SKATING: SB NATION’s Leander Schaerlaeckens profiled NBC figure skating analysts Johnny Weir and Tara Lipinski and noted the dynamic "between the sport's most fabulously attired and entertainingly honest duo has reinvigorated NBC’s broadcasts." But the question now is whether they can “make people care about figure skating ... for those other 206 weeks out of the four-year Olympic cycle." The duo's "witty repartee on TV is consciously unscripted." NBC’s Terry Gannon, who calls competitions with them, said, “I provide the ice, and they create art and entertainment on it.” Weir: “We’ve brought attention to our sport. But the skaters themselves have to start winning international titles for the American public to be super interested again” (SBNATION.com, 4/14).
CAMPUS CONNECTION: Bill Osborn will replace Pat Bostick on Pitt's football radio broadcasts this fall. Bostick, a former Pitt QB who had called games alongside Bill Hillgrove for the past five years, is "stepping away to focus on his role as director of development for the Panther Club, the fundraising arm of Pitt’s athletic department." Osborn "previously served as the Panthers color analyst" from '95-'03 (POST-GAZETTE.com, 4/15)....Appalachian State football/basketball play-by-play announcer David Jackson has "handed in his resignation in order to pursue a more balanced life." Jackson spent 16 seasons as the voice of ASU and was also Associate AD/Broadcast Operations. He had gone on leave in January "to assess his future" (JOURNALNOW.com, 4/18).
