In S.F., Henry Schulman reports MLB Giants radio broadcaster Dave Flemming is "one of several candidates for the high-profile gig as play-by-play voice on ESPN’s 'Sunday Night Baseball.'" Flemming said that he "expressed interest in the job." It would "not impact his role with the Giants, whom he said have supported his national work." Other candidates include ESPN's Karl Ravech and Jon Sciambi. Dan Shulman is "stepping down from the highly coveted TV job because wants to travel less and spend more time at home in Toronto" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/11).
COMING TO THE MOUND: Former MLBer Dallas Braden has joined NBC Sports California to call 35 A's games as a booth analyst and 54 games in the new position of field analyst. He will continue to contribute to pre- and postgame shows. Longtime in-ballpark host Kara Tsuboi also will join the broadcast team as a sideline reporter for select home games (NBC Sports California). Braden will be "supplanting" Mark Mulder in the broadcast booth this season (S.F. CHRONICLE, 1/11).
NO EASY TASK: NBC's Michele Tafoya said that her preparation "changes for NFL playoff games, in which the broadcast becomes more focused on moment-to-moment stories such as injuries and substitutions versus the personality pieces normally weaved into broadcasts." She admitted that it is "frustrating when she has great interviews that don’t end up in the broadcast." Tafoya typically gets "less than 30 seconds for each report, which forces her to be succinct" (PHILLY.com, 1/10).
NOTES: Basketball HOFer Lisa Leslie will serve as an analyst for the Magic pre- and postgame shows on FS Florida for the remainder of the season (FS Florida)....Trenni Kusnierek and Abby Chin will serve as curling reporters for NBC's broadcast of the Pyeonchang Games, while Leila Rahimi will serve as a women's hockey reporter (NBC).
