CBS Sports host ADAM ZUCKER has enjoyed the summer away from the gridiron, but now the veteran broadcaster is finally busy preparing for the kickoff of the college season. Zucker: "This is the culmination of my chill period right now. From the end of the NCAA Tournament to the start of college football, it's where we simmer down in my world. Lot of coaching little league, got a puppy, played some disc golf. Fantasized about going to concerts and really just cooled the irons a bit so when kickoff comes in a matter of days I’m dying for it to happen." Zucker hosts CBS' "College Football Today" and will be a main part of CBSSN's season preview on Saturday. He took THE DAILY through his work prep, what he's keeping an eye on heading into the season and how he balances family time in N.J. with a football-obsessed lifestyle.
STORY LINES TO KEEP AN EYE ON: I’m closely following who’s going to win the quarterback job at Alabama. We’re going to always feature them prominently. I want to see how the new coaches in the SEC fare, see if JEREMY PRUITT can get the chins up in Knoxville for instance, and then Georgia has a ton of guys to replace. We have a huge UGA game week two at South Carolina that I'm looking forward to.
FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS: Most Friday nights my wife and I try to make plans to have some time to ourselves. Whether it’s something at our temple, going out with friends or go see a movie. Take a moment and act like we don’t have kids. If you live in New Jersey and have access to the Jersey Shore, you try to spend as much time down there as possible, especially when it’s so hot and disgusting like it has been this summer. My wife will take our kids down there in the summer where her parents have a place. I’ll have rehearsals Friday, and the preview show Saturday will end early enough that I’ll have enough time to hustle down there by the time the sun sets. I’ll take my computer with me and write scripts for CBSSN’s Tuesday “Inside College Football” show. If I get out of the city quickly enough Saturday there’s also a former JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER estate where he only played golf with his friends -- invite only, not part of those gardens on public display that he left to Ocean County. It’s now mostly parkland with an 18 hole disc golf course where I really love to play. So if I have time on the way down I may try to pull off the road there and play my last 18 before the season starts.
ALL IN THE FAMILY: Sundays traditionally I have to wake up earlier than I like because I’m an AP Top 25 voter. I’ll go back and watch film that morning and send it in by 10:00am ET. But because they only use five TV people in the rotation, and only four are used each year, this is actually my year off. So my Sunday mornings are a little less stressful. The kids have Sunday school, while my wife and I will try to play tennis, go out for breakfast, do something like that. My son is also now old enough where he also really likes the NFL. So while I don’t want to be on the couch all day watching TV, we always watch the Giants, though I married into an Eagles family. I pay some attention to it but we still also try to do things outside. Sunday afternoon is really that one slot where we know we’re all together.
THE GOOD EATS: There’s a place called the Stirling Hotel in Stirling, N.J. You walk in and it feels like an old saloon. But then there’s a bar outside as well as a craft beer selection through the roof. It’s such a relaxed place, real fun spot to take the kids. If people are visiting and they’re only here for a few days, we have to take them there.
Know of someone you’d like to see featured in Weekend Plans? Shoot an email to tleary@sportsbusinessdaily.com.
