Fox Sports President & COO Eric Shanks said he "absolutely and completely" understands the backlash over the network’s hiring of Michael Vick, although he added it was “the right thing to do,” according to A.J. Perez of USA TODAY. Vick will be a "studio analyst for 'Fox NFL Kickoff' and make appearances on FS1 shows." Shanks: "It’s not a different reaction than what we had prepared ourselves for internally at Fox Sports. We discuss it. We talk about what happened then. What type of person is Mike is now? What debt has he paid to society? We still believe it’s the right thing to do." Perez notes as evidenced by the negative reaction, many "thought that Vick’s ties to dogfighting should preclude him from having a broadcast career." Shanks: "Over the last 10 or 11 years, not only has he paid his debt to society, but he’s done everything a person who has made a terrible mistake like that can do. We felt it was the right person at the right time for us" (USA TODAY, 8/31).
READY FOR HIS CLOSEUP: CBS’ top NFL broadcast team will have a much different look next week for the Week 1 Raiders-Titans matchup in Nashville. Along with Tony Romo joining Jim Nantz, Jim Rikhoff will take the reins as lead producer for the first time. As for the Cowboys QB-turned analyst, Rikhoff said he is not worried. “He’s been in a lot of pressurized situations,” Rikhoff said. “He’s ready to build a good foundation where we can get better every week.” Romo was slated to call last Friday’s Chiefs-Seahawks preseason game alongside Nantz, but was not able to due to the birth of his third son. Romo since beginning his preparation in April has called eight practice games: five in the studio and three on the road. Rikhoff: “He’s a quick study. Now we’re coming down to just tweaking things” (Josh Carpenter, Assistant Editor). CBS Sports Chair Sean McManus said of Romo, "He’s going to be really, really good. But as I said when we hired Tony, he’s going to be better in Week 6 than he was in Week 1, and he’s going to be better in year two than he is in year one. This is a difficult job, it takes a lot of reps and it’s very much a work in progress. Tony has all the abilities you need to be a good analyst. He is insightful in his comments. He really is a student of the game. He’s likeable. He doesn't take himself too seriously. He’s the ideal candidate to carry on a great tradition of lead analysts at CBS Sports” (John Ourand, Staff Writer). On Long Island, Neil Best notes Romo "feels far more prepared than when he first practiced with Nantz in mid-May in a Manhattan studio." He said, "I’ve been putting so much time into this, so you don’t have time to miss playing or thinking about that. You’re more excited about trying to become great at this craft" (NEWSDAY, 8/31). In Miami, Barry Jackson writes Romo is "smart, self-deprecating and has many of the qualities needed to be a very good game analyst" (MIAMI HERALD, 8/30).
