NBC's Mike Tirico will fill in for Al Michaels on play-by-play for several "SNF" games this season, and Michaels said the setup "works out perfectly" for him. He said, "Mike comes in, he does the third week of the season, which is Green Bay at New Orleans. Then I’m back for six, seven weeks, then Mike does Thanksgiving and the Sunday after Thanksgiving." Michaels added, "It’s great for Mike and it’s great for me. ... We brought Mike in in 2016. He had done 10 years on Monday night and I had done the prior 20" (NBCSPORTS.com, 9/7).
OPEN TO NEW IDEAS: In L.A., Helene Elliott noted ESPN’s Pam Shriver did not travel to N.Y. for the U.S. Open due to “concern for her family’s well-being” amid the pandemic. That led the net to send “TV lights, a camera and some cords” so she could appear on the broadcasts from her house. Shriver had to "rely on a local electronics store for a monitor so she could more easily tap into match statistics,” and she uses her kids’ “long-corded gaming mouse for troubleshooting with the camera” (L.A. TIMES, 9/7).
MEDIA MANAGER: In Chicago, Phil Rosenthal noted MLB Cardinals manager Mike Shildt “abruptly ended his in-game chat” with ESPN’s Matt Vasgersian and Alex Rodriguez during Sunday’s game against the Cubs “without ever actually answering a question.” After mentioning the death of Baseball HOFer Lou Brock, Shildt said, “Hey guys, I’ve got to go manage.” The exchange lasted just 35 seconds, and Vasgersian said, “That might be the shortest manager interview in the history of ‘Sunday Night Baseball’” (CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 9/7).
