In K.C., Pete Grathoff notes FS K.C. Royals broadcaster Joel Goldberg "confirmed he will be back for a 10th season." Also "expected to return" are commentators Rex Hudler, Steve Physioc, Jeff Montgomery and Ryan Lefebvre. It will be the "sixth season for Hudler and Physioc, Montgomery’s eighth and 19th for Lefebvre with the Royals." Lefebvre said that the "breakdown of radio/television broadcast duties hasn’t been determined yet." Meanwhile, Royals radio play-by-play announcer Denny Matthews has been "calling games since the team’s inception, and he will be back for a 49th season." Steve Stewart also "will be back calling games on radio" (K.C. STAR, 1/6).
CIVIL WAR: WEEI.com's Ryan Hannable wrote there has been a "war of words over the last week between ESPN's Trent Dilfer and Adam Schefter." Dilfer last week "didn't agree with Schefter" on his thoughts of a starting point for the Patriots trading QB Jimmy Garoppolo. Dilfer said, "It's smart that the brass in New England is using Adam (Schefter) to get that headline out there because they are starting the market there." Schefter "took offense" to that comment. Schefter said, "Nobody in New England has ever stated any price to me on Jimmy Garoppolo and nobody has ever said to me, 'Can you please put that out there so we can drum up the interest.' It's amazing that somebody that I work with and respect as much as I do would say something like that." Dilfer responded, "I sounded like I was accusing Adam of being a pawn for the New England Patriots. By no means was I implying that whatsoever" (WEEI.com, 1/3).
CHANGING TEAMS: The LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL notes former USA Today columnist Jon Saraceno "has joined" the paper's sports department. Saraceno will cover the Raiders’ "potential move to Las Vegas and the boxing scene." Saraceno "has worked as a freelance journalist for the past three years while keeping his ties to the NFL and boxing" (LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL, 1/6).
NOTES: Suns beat writer Paul Coro and columnist Paolo Boivin are "leaving The Arizona Republic." Coro "worked 19 years" for the publication and Boivin has been there since '94. Boivin is "taking a faculty job" with Arizona State Univ.'s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (BIZJOURNALS.com, 1/5)....Longtime CSN Philadelphia broadcaster Ron Burke, who was part of the first crew in '97, is "no longer with the network." Details of the separation "aren't immediately known." Burke is just the "latest well-known personality to exit the station in recent months" (PHILLY.com, 1/6).
