Faulk was one of three NFL Network employees who were suspended late last yeargetty images
In N.Y., Andrew Marchand cites sources as saying that former NFLers Ike Taylor and Heath Evans, as well as Pro Football HOFer Marshall Faulk, are "expected to part ways" with NFL Network soon after the trio was "suspended late last year after a woman brought a wrongful termination suit against NFL Enterprises." Taylor is "already gone," while reps for Faulk and Evans are "finishing up the language of their exits." Sources said that one clause in the deals will "prevent either side from suing the other" (N.Y. POST, 8/3).
HOMECOMING KING: In Buffalo, Alan Pergament notes former NFLer Fred Jackson will "team with Rochester sportscaster Mike Catalana on 'Bills Tonight,'" the postgame show carried on MSG Network after regular-season games. However, Catalana "no longer will be part of the TV coverage of Bills preseason games." WROC-CBS' Thad Brown is "replacing Catalana as the sideline reporter for the three preseason games" carried by WKBW-ABC. The switch is being made as a "result of Catalana's station losing the rights in Rochester" to Brown's station (BUFFALO NEWS, 8/3).
UNDER NEW MANAGEMENT: In DC, Scott Allen notes media conglomerate Urban One has "assumed operational control" of ESPN Radio 980 DC, and the changeover has "left the station's programming lineup in flux, with several longtime hosts conspicuously absent from the airwaves this week." Station Program Dir Chris Johnson was asked about a report that four of the station's hosts, including former NFLers Chris Cooley and Rick Walker, were "let go as part of budget cuts." Johnson said, "We're still in the process of finalizing our lineup." ESPN 980 has been the "flagship home of the Redskins" since '08. Redskins Exec VP and Red Zebra Broadcasting Chair Terry Bateman said that team games -- as well as pregame and postgame coverage -- will "continue to air" on ESPN 980 and DC-based WMAL-AM, and that Cooley and Walker "will remain part of the broadcasts, no matter the status of their respective shows" (WASHINGTON POST, 8/3).
