Top Fox NFL analyst Troy Aikman said he does not believe he is "in the role I will ultimately be in," as there likely is "more for me." Aikman recently signed a three-year extension with the net and said, "This job with Fox has been great. ... Broadcasting has afforded me a great life to raise my daughters in. I'm at home during the week and some weekends." He added, "Front-office work is something I would be interested in, but I couldn't commit the time to that with young daughters. When they grow up, I still think there's something left for me to do that has maybe been in the back of my mind a long time. We'll see if an opportunity presents itself" (DALLAS MORNING NEWS, 12/29).
IN FRONT OF THE NEWS: ESPNs Brent Musburger and Jesse Palmer are calling the Oklahoma-Auburn Allstate Sugar Bowl on Monday, and Musburger said the assault controversy around OU RB Joe Mixon "certainly will be mentioned" during the broadcast. However, Musburger said, "I have a theory to things like this and I follow it. You get to it early and you get behind it and then you concentrate on the ballgame that's at hand. Ninety-eight or ninety-nine percent of the people watching will have seen that video. They do not want to be beaten over the head with it by the time they come to the ballgame" (OKLAHOMAN, 12/29).
ALL HANDS ON DECK: In Salt Lake City, Kyle Goon noted rules analyst Mike Pereira was "just one of a handful of Fox broadcasters" providing coverage for the Foster Farms Bowl. With Wednesday's game being the "only bowl game on Fox this year, the network put out a full-court press with a pre-game studio show including Matt Leinart and Dave Wannstedt, as well as Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt calling the game from the booth" (SALT LAKE TRIBUNE, 12/29).
A THIRD WHEEL? RACER.com's Robin Miller wrote Fox "might be a player along with ABC and NBC" for IndyCar's next TV contract after the '18 season. However, what "would behoove IndyCar would be for NBC and NBCSN to cover the entire season," with five or six races on NBC and the rest on NBCSN. Miller: "I don't think too many IndyCar fans would have a problem with that, either" (RACER.com, 12/28).
