Rinaldi joins Fox as an on-air reporter for its biggest sports properties including MLB, NFL, college sportsESPN Images
Many ESPN personalities are coming out praising Tom Rinaldi after news broke that the essayist is leaving for Fox. Marty Smith wrote, "Many colleagues have detailed Tom Rinaldi's impact on their lives & careers. Few people have impacted mine more deeply. Tom is a friend. Mentor. Compass. I've never met a better listener. Quite simply, he's the standard by which every storyteller in sports TV is measured." Michele Steele wrote, "Tom Rinaldi has a gift - channeling emotion into words & pictures, and doing it consistently on the biggest stage. ... All the best to a great teammate." Rece Davis: "Tom has been a friend, colleague and confidante. People open up to him because he’s genuine. He cares. Great writer & storyteller, exemplary family man." Scott Van Pelt wrote, "He’s so brilliant, so gifted and such an incredible teammate. More than that, he’s my friend. That won’t change. I will miss his company & we will miss his talent. You got the best @FOXSports." Author James Andrew Miller wrote, "If anyone at @espn tells you this doesn't hurt, they be lying" (TWITTER.com, 12/16).
COVERING FOX' BIGGEST PROPERTIES: Rinaldi will serve as an on-air reporter for Fox and will work on the network’s biggest sports properties: the NFL, MLB and college sports. The move is a blow to ESPN, where the well-liked Rinaldi has worked since '02 and won several national awards for feature stories on shows like “College GameDay,” “E:60” and “SportsCenter.” Four years ago, he wrote “The Red Bandanna: A Life, A Choice, A Legacy,” about a Boston College lacrosse player who died in the 9/11 attacks. Rinaldi’s last ESPN assignment before he moves to Fox will be the Rose Bowl on New Year’s Day. ESPN has not yet figured out who will replace Rinaldi for the CFP championship. ESPN will replace Rinaldi with Jeremy Schapp on tennis; Jen Lada and Gene Wojciechowski on “College GameDay;” and Marty Smith and Wojciechowski on golf. ESPN will use a cast that includes Sam Borden, Chris Connelly, Mina Kimes, Jason Reid, Marc Spears, Wright Thompson, Pablo Torre and Jesse Washington to replace Rinaldi on “SportsCenter” features (John Ourand, THE DAILY).
DEAL INCLUDES "STAGGERING INCREASE": VARIETY's Brian Steinberg cites a sources as saying that Rinaldi and ESPN "enjoyed a good relationship ... but Fox Sports’ offer was said to include a staggering increase" that ESPN execs "felt would be imprudent to match." Rinaldi's departure "comes amid an exodus of top content executives" at the Disney-owned sports-media company including Connor Schell and Libby Geist (VARIETY.com, 12/17). In N.Y., Andrew Marchand, who first reported Rinaldi's departure, noted he is leaving "at his own discretion." However, he is the latest on-air personality to leave ESPN for Fox (N.Y. POST, 12/16).
