In Birmingham, Michael Casagrande noted former NFLer Greg McElroy is "signing a long-term deal" with the SEC Network. McElroy, an Alabama alumni, said, "I'll be going to cover the game and be unbiased and tell what I really think. I think the world of every one of those schools. ... I'll have an unbiased opinion and will enjoy covering the game in a neutral way" (AL.com, 3/24). Also in Birmingham, Kevin Scarbinsky wrote it is "not easy to earn the respect of reporters for giving thoughtful, well-spoken answers to their questions, but McElroy delivered on a regular basis" while at Alabama. McElroy "just might turn out to be the kind of smart, savvy, funny and unfiltered voice" the SEC Network needs (AL.com, 3/24).
CHANGE IN THE ROTATION: The AP reported former MLB managers Ozzie Guillen and Eric Wedge are "in the ESPN lineup this season for 'Baseball Tonight.'" ESPN on Monday also announced that former MLBer Dallas Braden is "set to become a studio analyst for the nightly show." Guillen will be "part of the ESPN crew throughout the season," while Wedge will "be on ESPN television and radio" (AP, 3/24).
NO PAIN, NO GAIN: In New Jersey, Andrew Gross noted MSG Network NHL Rangers analyst Joe Micheletti on March 12 suffered a torn Achilles tendon in a pickup basketball game, but tomorrow he will be "on the team plane heading to Calgary for the start of a four-game road trip despite some reservations from his doctor." Micheletti said, "What's done is done. It's a pain, but it'll pass" (Bergen RECORD, 3/25).
NO-WIN SCENARIO: In Boston, Gerry Callahan wrote there is "no fireable offense" for NESN Red Sox announcer Jerry Remy, whose son, Jared, is charged with murdering his girlfriend Jennifer Martel last August. Callahan wrote, "I think his father should be able to go to work and do his job, as long as he wants, as long as he can." He "shouldn't be stripped of his livelihood and sent home." Jared Remy "should go to prison for the rest of his life," but Jerry Remy "should go back to work" (BOSTON HERALD, 3/25). However, Boston-based WEEI-FM's Kirk Minihane wrote under the header, "Time For Jerry Remy To Go." If Remy "were a high school teacher or worked at the post office, he'd never lose his job over this." But it is "going to be an impossibly tough sell for NESN to put Remy on TV night after night with what we now know" (WEEI.com, 3/25).
