THE ATHLETIC's Richard Deitsch notes free agent NFLer Greg Olsen, who on Thursday parted with the Panthers, will be part of Fox' Super Bowl pregame coverage on Sunday, and the network is "ready to offer him a full-time broadcasting job the moment he announces he is finished playing football." Fox Sports Exec Producer Brad Zager confirmed that the net would make Olsen an immediate offer upon his retirement. Zager: "If Greg decides to retire and says, 'Look, I'm done,' we would be there to talk to Greg immediately about what he wants to do" (THEATHLETIC.com, 1/31).
PUBLICITY PUSH: In Chicago, Jeremy Mikula notes Fire Owner Joe Mansueto "hopes to see" the club achieve "greater exposure" moving forward. The Fire are entering the third and final year of their deal with ESPN+, but "hope to have games on local television." Ten matches this season "will be on national television." Mansueto said that the club is "in negotiations with several local networks with a preference for games to be on free, over-the-air TV." Mikula notes ESPN+ "would remain the Fire's streaming partner" for the '20 season (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 1/31).
FLYING SOLO: In St. Louis, Dan Caesar notes the XFL St. Louis BattleHawks are "taking an unconventional approach" this season, as the team "won't have radio play-by-play, instead relying on social media and other outlets for live coverage." BattleHawks President Kurt Hunzeker said team officials "talked to just about every (radio) station in the metro area about doing play-by-play, and as we got closer to the start of the season and fine-tuning the strategy we realized ... (this approach) allows us to create more content across more platforms to reach more people more frequently" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 1/31).
